Page 11 of Bad Moon Rising

“Lil,” I begin softly, but she pushes past me and stops when she’s directly in front of Brooks. One of her fingers lifts until it’s pointing at his chest.

I can’t help but think of how glorious she looks in the waning sunlight. How beautiful. How perfect. My fingers itch by my sides, suddenly overcome by the desperate desire to paint her. I want nothing more than to capture the fire burning in her eyes, the smooth slope of her jawline, the tiny furrow between her brows. With her orange, cascading hair, she’s a lance of fire across my vision.

What colors could I use to immortalize the exact color of her hair? The bright, brilliant orange interwoven with streaks of red and amber, with strands of golden and honey-brown? Her hair isn’t just one color. It’s a myriad of them; flames licking and caressing her porcelain cheeks.

“Don’t point that finger at me, Lily Jean,” Brooks snarls. The ire in his voice drags me kicking and screaming back to the matter at hand.

I shake my head vehemently, forcing myself back to the present. I always seem to do this at the most inappropriate times—completely zone out and craft an entire painting in my head.

“No, seriously, what is your problem, Brooks?” Lily seems unperturbed by his anger as she gets right in his face. Dusky red erupts on her cheekbones.

Amaranth red, I realize. Only a shade brighter than crimson.

Fuck, I want to paint her so badly…

“I don’t need to—” Brooks begins.

“Is this about that one night? On my sixteenth birthday? When I—”

He cuts her off with a piercing glare, one capable of curdling milk. “We don’t need to discuss this.”

Her sixteenth birthday?

What happened on her birthday?

I remember a small, intimate party with just the four of us and her parents. Jackson and I volunteered to help her mother clean up afterward, but Brooks and Lily snuck out for a few minutes. Had something happened then?

It would explain why Brooks took off the very next morning like the hounds from hell were chasing him…

And ever since that night, Lily’s been wearing that witch’s mark around her wrist. She touches it when she’s upset, like now. She’s gripping the little silver charm so hard I’m surprised it hasn’t snapped.

I file this information away to decipher at a later date, focusing instead on the brewing argument. A part of me wants to step in, to play the peacekeeper as I always do, but Lily and Brooks clearly both need to get things off their chests. I’ve never seen Lily so furious before, and I’ve never seen Brooks so…broken before.

Sure, he tries to hide it behind sharp wit and anger, but I know my brother. There’s something else going on here, something I can’t pinpoint.

“You’re a coward, Brooks,” she snaps. “A big, stupid, insufferable coward who—”

“I’m not having this conversation with you,” he snaps back. He glares down at her still-pointing finger as if it personally offends him.

“So you’re going to run again?“ She jabs at his chest, crumpling his dark shirt.

“You don’t understand my reasons for anything, so don’t pretend—”

“Maybe I don’t understand because you don’t tell me anything!” she snaps.

“Maybe because I’m not required to tell a little girl—”

“I’m not a goddamn little girl!”

This is getting us nowhere. If they can’t have a civilized discussion, I’ll need to put an end to things before shit hits the fan.

“Brooks. Lily.” I reach forward to grab Lily’s wrist. My dark nail polish is a startling contrast to her porcelain skin, and I can’t help but note the freckles my fingers unintentionally caress. Heat migrates up my arm from that menial connection, and I wonder if she can feel it too. “You guys screaming at each other isn’t helping matters.”

“It’s because she’s so damn infuriating,” Brooks snarls at the same time Lily says, “It’s because he’s a Neanderthal with the social skills of an ape!”

Both of them are breathing heavily. Lily’s chest pushes against her shirt in a way that has me wanting to lower my eyes. But I don’t.

“Why don’t we both just take deep breaths and—” My calming instructions are interrupted by a strident voice shouting Lily’s name.

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