My Soul to Keep
Page 9
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A ride to work. Id just discovered the cause of spontaneous combustion. Surely Id burst into flames any moment.
I guess I could do that, too.
Im serious! But not too serious to let my gaze wander. After all, I was being invited to look I need a lift to work, and I was hoping we could make a stop first.
Where?
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Doug Fullers.
Kaylee he began, and I could already hear the protest forming. He sat up and I let one leg hang off the bed. Whatever Fullers into is none of our business.
Hes taking Demons Breath, I whispered with a nervous glance at the closed door, hoping his mother was still in the kitchen. How is that none of our business?
It has nothing to do with us. He stood and snatched a shirt from the back of his desk chair.
Dont you want to know where he got it? He could have killed someone last night. And if he takes any more of it, hell probably kill himself.
Nash sank into his desk chair. Youre overreacting, Kaylee.
No, youre underreacting. I scooted to the edge of his bed. What happened to looking out for your friends?
What am I supposed to do? He shrugged, frustration clear in the tense line of his shoulders. Go up to Fuller and say, Hey, man, Im not sure where youre getting secondhand air from a demon you dont even know exists, but you need to lay off it before you kill yourself? Thats not gonna sound weird. He kicked a shoe across the room to punctuate his sarcasm.
I crossed my arms over my chest, struggling to keep my voice low. Youre worried about sounding weird in front of a guy whos getting high off someone elses breath?
Why do you care, anyway? Nash demanded. You dont even like Fuller.
That doesnt mean I want to watch him die. Especially considering that his impending death would send me into an uncontrollable, screaming bean sidhe fit, forcing us to decide whether or not to try to save him. And I wont let him take Emma with him.
Nashs scowl wilted, giving way to confusion. What are you talking about?
They were all over each other last night, Nash. While he was high on Demons Breath. And it probably wasnt the first time. She could be accidentally inhaling what he exhales.
Horror flitted across Nashs face, greens and browns twisting in his irises, then he closed his eyes and reset his expression before I was even sure of what Id seen, effectively locking me out of his thought process.
I leaned against his headboard and fiddled with hispillow-case. Tod says its highly addictive and ultimately deadly to humans. What if she gets hooked on it, too? What if she already is?
Nash sighed and sank onto the bed, facing me. Look, we dont even know that Fullers actually addicted, okay? We just know he took some last night. And to even be exposed, Emma would have had to suck air straight from his lungs, right after he inhaled. And the chances of that are almost nil. Right?
How do you know? He was still exhaling enough for me to smell it on him, and theyve been all over each other for the past two weeks. Are you sure she couldnt have gotten even a tiny bit by kissing him?
I seriously doubt it, Kaylee. But before he regained control of his eyes, I saw the truth in the nervous swirl of color. Nash wasnt sure. And he was scared.
He exhaled heavily, then met my gaze again. Okay, well find out if he knows what he was taking and where he got it. But if he doesnt know, dont tell him what it is, okay? No more full disclosures to friends. Emma was plenty.
Fine. I wasnt exactly eager to tell anyone else I wasnt human, anyway.
You have to be at work at noon? I nodded, and he pulled off the shirt hed just put on, then tossed it at his open hamper like a basketball. Well leave as soon as I get out of the shower.
After breakfast, I corrected on my way to the door, smiling over my victory. Your moms making muffins.
In the kitchen, I waited for Nash in a rickety chair at the scratched, round table, watching Harmony wash dishes.
So are you enjoying your freedom? She glanced at me over her shoulder as she set a metal bowl in the dish drainer.
I shrugged. I havent experienced much of it yet.
She dried a clean, plastic-coated whisk, dropped it into an open drawer, then leaned against the counter and eyed me in blatant curiosity. Was it worth it?
Was it worth being grounded? I asked, and she nodded.
Yes. And no. Getting Regans soul back was totally worth it. Four weeks of house arrest were nothing compared to the eternity she would have suffered without her soul. But there was nothing we could do for Addy. And every time I thought about that, my stomach pitched like I was in freefall, a mixture of guilt and horror over my failure.
Do you still hear from Regan? Harmony asked when I didnt elaborate.
Not very often. I think its easier for her to try to forget about what happened with Addy. About the fact that her sister had been damned to eternal torment because she died without her soul. With nothing to release upon her death but a lungful of Demons Breath.
I guess I could do that, too.
Im serious! But not too serious to let my gaze wander. After all, I was being invited to look I need a lift to work, and I was hoping we could make a stop first.
Where?
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Doug Fullers.
Kaylee he began, and I could already hear the protest forming. He sat up and I let one leg hang off the bed. Whatever Fullers into is none of our business.
Hes taking Demons Breath, I whispered with a nervous glance at the closed door, hoping his mother was still in the kitchen. How is that none of our business?
It has nothing to do with us. He stood and snatched a shirt from the back of his desk chair.
Dont you want to know where he got it? He could have killed someone last night. And if he takes any more of it, hell probably kill himself.
Nash sank into his desk chair. Youre overreacting, Kaylee.
No, youre underreacting. I scooted to the edge of his bed. What happened to looking out for your friends?
What am I supposed to do? He shrugged, frustration clear in the tense line of his shoulders. Go up to Fuller and say, Hey, man, Im not sure where youre getting secondhand air from a demon you dont even know exists, but you need to lay off it before you kill yourself? Thats not gonna sound weird. He kicked a shoe across the room to punctuate his sarcasm.
I crossed my arms over my chest, struggling to keep my voice low. Youre worried about sounding weird in front of a guy whos getting high off someone elses breath?
Why do you care, anyway? Nash demanded. You dont even like Fuller.
That doesnt mean I want to watch him die. Especially considering that his impending death would send me into an uncontrollable, screaming bean sidhe fit, forcing us to decide whether or not to try to save him. And I wont let him take Emma with him.
Nashs scowl wilted, giving way to confusion. What are you talking about?
They were all over each other last night, Nash. While he was high on Demons Breath. And it probably wasnt the first time. She could be accidentally inhaling what he exhales.
Horror flitted across Nashs face, greens and browns twisting in his irises, then he closed his eyes and reset his expression before I was even sure of what Id seen, effectively locking me out of his thought process.
I leaned against his headboard and fiddled with hispillow-case. Tod says its highly addictive and ultimately deadly to humans. What if she gets hooked on it, too? What if she already is?
Nash sighed and sank onto the bed, facing me. Look, we dont even know that Fullers actually addicted, okay? We just know he took some last night. And to even be exposed, Emma would have had to suck air straight from his lungs, right after he inhaled. And the chances of that are almost nil. Right?
How do you know? He was still exhaling enough for me to smell it on him, and theyve been all over each other for the past two weeks. Are you sure she couldnt have gotten even a tiny bit by kissing him?
I seriously doubt it, Kaylee. But before he regained control of his eyes, I saw the truth in the nervous swirl of color. Nash wasnt sure. And he was scared.
He exhaled heavily, then met my gaze again. Okay, well find out if he knows what he was taking and where he got it. But if he doesnt know, dont tell him what it is, okay? No more full disclosures to friends. Emma was plenty.
Fine. I wasnt exactly eager to tell anyone else I wasnt human, anyway.
You have to be at work at noon? I nodded, and he pulled off the shirt hed just put on, then tossed it at his open hamper like a basketball. Well leave as soon as I get out of the shower.
After breakfast, I corrected on my way to the door, smiling over my victory. Your moms making muffins.
In the kitchen, I waited for Nash in a rickety chair at the scratched, round table, watching Harmony wash dishes.
So are you enjoying your freedom? She glanced at me over her shoulder as she set a metal bowl in the dish drainer.
I shrugged. I havent experienced much of it yet.
She dried a clean, plastic-coated whisk, dropped it into an open drawer, then leaned against the counter and eyed me in blatant curiosity. Was it worth it?
Was it worth being grounded? I asked, and she nodded.
Yes. And no. Getting Regans soul back was totally worth it. Four weeks of house arrest were nothing compared to the eternity she would have suffered without her soul. But there was nothing we could do for Addy. And every time I thought about that, my stomach pitched like I was in freefall, a mixture of guilt and horror over my failure.
Do you still hear from Regan? Harmony asked when I didnt elaborate.
Not very often. I think its easier for her to try to forget about what happened with Addy. About the fact that her sister had been damned to eternal torment because she died without her soul. With nothing to release upon her death but a lungful of Demons Breath.
