Page 13 of Summer's Edge

“He saved my life,” I mutter.

“Yeah, well, that doesn’t mean he can tell you how to live it. You’re a man. Be a man.”

She waits a few moments, then scoffs when I don’t say anything, turns back around and continues to the cabin.

“Don’t follow me.”

Her words are full of sharp finality. So why do I think she wants the exact opposite of that? Or is that just what my dumb cock still wants?

But I won’t do it.

Some things you never come back from. And getting another taste of Summer is one of those things. No matter how much I want to show her exactly how much of a man I am.

FIVE

Summer

That’s probably as close as I ever got to throwing myself at Edge over the years—or throwing myself at any guy, for that matter—and the rejection stings a million times worse because of that.

Why did I even have to get up when he came in?

I could’ve just dozed off on the bed, and to hell with everything else.

Now I’ve embarrassed myself so badly that I’ll probably never sleep again. Especially not on this smelly, lumpy old mattress. I have no idea what it’s stuffed with, but parts of it are poking me much harder than a mattress should poke.

I practically begged him to keep kissing me. What’s wrong with me?

I can hear the fire crackling outside. I can hear the breeze in the trees and an owl hooting somewhere near every once in a while. I even imagine I can hear him breathing. And eventually all that turns into a lullaby.

Though mostly I’m just so sick of thinking about all the ways I’ve made a fool of myself in the last day or so. First nearly getting kidnapped in Mexico, then ending up here and flying off at Edge like some sex-obsessed banshee.

I’m sure I’m only acting this out of control because I’ll be back home soon. Safe, ensconced, my wings once again clipped.

And that’s pretty much what I dreamed of when I finally dozed off.

I dreamed of walking in the vast redwood forest surrounding Sanctuary and finding a bird that couldn’t fly. It was just lying there in the grass, staring up at me, its black eyes like two pretty glass marbles, its delicate wing bent at an awkward angle. I couldn’t just leave it there. And I was too scared to pick it up, afraid I’d hurt it even worse if I tried.

I couldn’t decide what to do, so I just woke up instead.

It’s the dead of night and the sounds outside somehow seem more ominous and distant, although they’re virtually the same as the ones I fell asleep to. Except for the crackling of the fire. The locked heart pendant I wear around my neck and hardly ever take off is very hot against my skin.

My mom got it for me when I turned sixteen, making me promise I’ll always be careful about who I give my heart to. Over the years, I’ve rarely taken it off, since giving my heart away to anyone was such a slim possibility. It became the symbol of my captivity, so it makes sense it’s burning now that I’m about to return to my golden cage back home.

I get up, the creaking of the floorboards adding yet another note to the eerie, secluded feeling as I walk to the door. The fire has died down to just embers glowing under a pile of ash.

The larger dark pile by it is Edge sleeping on his side.

The white, artificial glow of my phone’s flashlight takes some of the eeriness away. But it quickly returns as I notice that Edge is murmuring and shaking as he sleeps. The latter has nothing to do with the chill… it’s not cold. It clearly has everything to do with whatever he’s dreaming. And it’s nothing good if the shakes and the mutters are anything to go by.

He’s talking to someone in his nightmare, begging them to stay home, to stay safe, to not go somewhere… somewhere where they will die. Where everyone they love will die. Where blood will flow like water and there will be no winners. Only losers. Only losers forever. His pleas get more and more heated, more and more desperate.

The words cut me deep in the chest even though they make no sense to me. Even though they’re clearly just the result of a bad dream and I’m still plenty mad at him for rejecting me the way he did. He’s in pain. And I feel it too.

So I crouch down and lay my hand on his shoulder.

“Wake up, Edge,” I say quietly as I squeeze his shoulder gently.

He wakes up with a full body jerk and is on his feet the next moment, the sheer speed of his movement making me topple backwards on my ass.

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