Page 16 of Twisted Lies

As with our first kiss on Christmas, I feel butterflies invade the pit of my stomach and flutter about. Every part of my body comes alive as he kisses me back. His hand moves to my head, holding me in place as he takes control of the kiss—his tongue dances with mine as we move together.Moremy mind whispers. He breaks the kiss for a moment, and we stare once more at each other, our lips plump and pulsing from the kiss. He pulls me back to his lips a second later, as if he couldn’t bear being away from me any longer than necessary.

I need to stop this,my mind snaps at me, but still, I move against him, enjoying what his lips are doing. Forcing myself to break away, I jerk away from his chest and rush out, not daring to look back. I don’t know how I’m going to face him after this. I should never have kissed him, but I wanted to prove a point. The only thing I ended up proving is that he’s still a great kisser, and I want him more than ever.Damn him and damn me.

* * *

After running like a coward from the pool, I take a shower and try to gain some sense of control.He’s seen my scars. He knows there’s something not right about me.There will be more questions I can’t answer. Stepping forward, I bang my head against the shower wall.Idiot. Why did I go to the pool? I should have just stayed in my room and avoided any problems.

They weren’t supposed to be home.I just wanted to have some time to let my problems disappear. All I’ve done is make things worse. My hands rest against my scars, and my fingers dig into them. All I want to do is cut them out along with all the memories that are attached. I want to be able to get out of this shower and just leave. None of these things are possible.

Kevin wouldn’t allow me to go, and even if he did, where would I go? Living here with Kevin and Mia has been one of the more normal experiences of my life, and that’s just sad. A therapist would be able to retire on my life alone. A crazed laugh escapes, and my fingers continue to dig into my side. He knows there’s something wrong with me. Glancing down, I watch the water flow into the drain.

Closing my eyes, I breathe, then force myself to open them again. What was once clean water has transformed into red. My hand moves to my mouth to muffle the building scream. Not again.This can’t be happening. It’s not. It’s not. It’s not real. It’s in my mind. I’m in the shower at Kevin’s house. I’m upset over what just happened at the pool. It’s a trick. It’s not real—it’s all in my head.I need to get out. Rushing back, my foot slips in my rush on the wet tile, and I fall back, hitting my head in the process. The water rushes over my body, and I sit. I don’t have the strength to stand. Everything is crashing down.

* * *

ELIJAH

That was a hell of a kiss. From the way she ran out, she was just as affected as me. For a brief moment, my mind stopped thinking. It was an extremely dangerous split second. I was unaware of everything but the feel of her in my arms. The room could have caught fire, and I wouldn’t have noticed. Not good. Not good at all. Fuck this. I don’t want this shit in my life.

Standing, I quickly follow in her footsteps. I’m going to do one of two things when I catch her: fuck her or end this shit show before it goes any further. I’m still debating which option when I knock on the door. No answer. I knock again, louder. She asks me to knock, and when I do, she doesn’t answer. My luck, she’s made her bedsheets into a rope and is halfway out the window. Twisting the knob, I enter her room and hear the shower running. She’s not going to get away with escaping that easily.

At first, I don’t see her, as I’m expecting her to be standing. I catch movement from the corner of my eye. Lily’s sitting on the floor, her eyes unfocused and wide. She’s yet to notice me and appears to be in another world. I’ve seen pain, loss, sadness, excitement, joy, and every human emotion in between in my life. I’ve never seen such haunting on a person’s face. I rip the towel from the hook as I rush forward. Shoving the shower door open, I step into the water. I bend down, wrap the towel around her small body, and scoop her up. She makes no sound. Swiftly I move to the bedroom and lay her on the bed, the towel still covering her body.

She appears even smaller on top of the bed. Her eyes stare past me to the wall with laser point accuracy. I’m out of my element. If she were screaming or even crying, I could think of something to do, but the lack of emotion is frightening. I’m not a man who frightens easily.

As if she were coming out of a trance, her eyes blink rapidly, and she moves her head back and forth as the glossy look fades from her eyes.

“What…what are you doing here?” she asks, glancing down at herself and moving the towel tighter.

“Again, it’s my house, and I can go wherever whenever. I came to talk to you but found you in the shower in a panic. What happened?” I demand, stepping closer to the side of the bed. “And I did knock,” I add for some reason.

“Would you turn around?” she hisses. “I want to put clothes on.”

“Nothing I’m sure I haven’t seen before.”

“Ass,” she snaps back with a little heat, a small smile slipping in. I do as she asks and turn my back. I sense her get off the bed and hear the drawer open. I hear the sound of her rifling through her clothes before pulling things out. Turning my head to the side, I catch her slim form with the towel wrapped firmly around her. I hear her walk back into the bathroom. The door closes behind her and I wait for her to reappear.

She steps back out with light jeans and a cream sweater on. A brush in her hand as she fights against a knot in her hair. “Now, are you going to tell me what happened, or do you need to put makeup on as well?”

“Still an ass,” she fires back with more heat. I’m glad she’s sounding more like herself. “Nothing happened. I had something I needed to process, and it’s done.”

“It doesn’t appear done to me. Is ‘ass’ your term of endearment for me now?”

“I’m sure I can find a much better name for you. You make it easy when your open your mouth,” she snaps before quietly adding, “I’m fine. What did you want to talk about?”

“What happened at the pool can’t happen again,” I answer. I don’t need to care about what just happened in the bathroom. As long as it does not affect my plans, she can keep her secrets. I’ll be gone soon enough.

For a brief moment, she appears hurt at my words, but that can’t be right. “I agree. Now that’s settled, leave me alone.”

“Gladly,” I bark, leaving the room in annoyance. I don’t know why I’m irritable. She agrees with me. I’m leaving her in a much better place than I found her; I’ll check my one good deed for the week off. My phone rings. Pulling it out, I see it’s Connor. This call could not have come at a better time.

“Hey.”

“Get to the house, we have business.”

“Leaving now,” I answer, making a right to the garage. This will be the best way to get my frustrations out. One good thing about working with Connor is I get plenty of opportunities to get anger out. With Connor’s temper, nine times out of ten, he’s mad at someone. Whether or not it’s someone within the organization or not simply depends on the day.

* * *

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