Page 84 of Corpse Roads

SOMEONE SOMEWHERE SOMEHOW - SUPER WHATEVR

Facing the huge pile of bags, I give myself a little shake. I was too tired to unpack when we got back yesterday. Walking around and trying on clothes for so long exhausted me.

I’m still building up my strength, and until I can keep on the weight that I’m supposed to be gaining, I have to take lots of naps when my energy levels crash.

Enzo totally took advantage of my desire to cheer him up and filled countless baskets with winter clothes, accessories and random things that caught my eye. He was like a man possessed.

I now have a full wardrobe of sweaters, long-sleeved t-shirts, a thicker coat and leather-soled boots that keep my feet warm. In the other bag, there’s a huge, back-breaking stack of books.

I’ve trained myself to focus for longer periods of time and can now read without getting a headache. As a result, I’ve become insatiable. Enzo let me go wild, picking up every single book I looked at.

There’s a glossy, white box in the final bag that holds my new mobile phone. I’m pretty sure this goes beyond the essentials he convinced me we were shopping for.

I almost wanted to ask if they do this for all of their clients, but I bit my tongue to avoid an awkward conversation. Hunter ordered it, so we’re bound to obey him.

“Lucky,” I chastise as she curls up on my new sweater. “You’re getting fur everywhere, girl.”

Her big, pleading eyes blink up at me.

“Don’t look at me like that. You’ll get me in trouble for being in here, let alone on the bed.”

Nuzzling into the new, turquoise bed sheets, she gets comfy and falls asleep. Hunter would kill me if he saw her in here. He’s a stickler for pointless house rules. Anything that gives him control.

After packing my new clothes away, I stack the books on my bedside table and check the window. It’s evening already; I’ve missed my usual sunset walk in the back garden.

Curling up around Lucky’s warm, snoring body, I crack the pages of a new book and lose myself to the tale of magic and mystery. Enzo and Hunter won’t be home for a while yet.

“Goldilocks?”

Looking up from the pages, I realise the room is cloaked in shadows. The evening has already slipped away. The book gripped me so hard, I don’t think I’ve blinked at all while reading into the night.

“Yeah, I’m in here.”

Leighton pops his head around the door, giving me a wave. He went out last night after an argument with Hunter about paying rent, and his door has been shut all day. I didn’t want to disturb him.

Propping himself in the doorway, he pushes back his messy mop of brown hair. My heart leaps into my mouth. There’s a huge black bruise marring his right eye, and it’s swollen all the way shut.

“Oh my God, Leigh!”

“I’m fine,” he rushes to explain. “I got into a stupid fight in the club last night. Some asshole was forcing himself on a girl. Serves me right for getting involved.”

“So you hit him?”

He smiles broadly. “Obviously. I don’t take shit like that. It was worth getting my ass kicked so she could slip away and get a taxi.”

He flops down on the bed, disturbing Lucky, who growls her displeasure. Leighton’s head lays across my blanketed legs as he snuggles closer to the dog.

“You shouldn’t be out fighting.” I fold a page corner in the book and set it down. “I don’t like seeing you hurt.”

His green eyes meet mine. “I’m alright. Did you just fold a page? Do you want Hunter to crucify you?”

“What?” I exclaim in panic.

“No, no,” he splutters, reading my fear. “It was a joke, Harlow. He’s just weird about books. Dusts them and everything.”

Taking a deep breath, I pin Leighton with a glower. “Don’t scare me like that. And don’t change the topic. Your eye looks bad.”

“Are you worried about me, princess?”

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