My Soul to Steal
Page 2
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I just I need some time.
He nodded, and his eyes shone with the first flash of hope Id seen from him in ages. Yeah. We have time.
In fact, we had lots and lots of time. Bean sidhes age very slowly from puberty on, so while Id likely be carded until I was forty, if Nash and I actually managed to work things out, wed have nearly four hundred years together, barring catastrophe.
Although actually barring catastrophe seemed highly unlikely, considering that since the school year began, my life had been defined by a series of disasters, barely held together by the beautifully strong thread of Nashs presence in my life. At least, until recently. But now I was clinging to the wreckage of my existence, holding the pieces together on my own, trying to decide if I would be helping us both or hurting us by letting him back in.
So, hows Em? Nash asked, his voice lowered as he glanced at something over my shoulder.
I twisted to see Emma Marshall, my best friend, heading toward us across the nearly deserted quad. Everyone with half a brainor nothing to hidewas eating inside, where it was warm. Em carried a tray holding a slice of pizza and a Diet Coke, content to eat with us outside, not because she couldnt face the crowd ready to judge her, but because she didnt care what they thought.
Ems strong. Shes dealing. And though she didnt know it, in many ways, Emma was my hero, based on her resilience alone.
Doug Fuller, Ems boyfriend of almost a month, had died from an overdose of frost two weeks earlier, and though theyd been connected at the crotch, rather than at the heart, shed been understandably upset by his death. Especially considering that she couldnt comprehend the Netherworld origin of the drug that had killed him.
Nash lowered his voice even further as she walked toward us. Did you go to the funeral?
Yeah. Doug had been one of Eastlake Highs starting linebackers. Practically the whole school had shown up at his funeralexcept for Nash. Hed been too sick from withdrawal to get out of bed. And Scott, their third musketeer. Scott had survived addiction to frostbut at a devastating price. Hed suffered brain damage and now had a permanent, hardwired mental connection to the hellion whose breath had killed Doug and mortally wounded my relationship with Nash.
Hey. Emma came to a stop on my right and glanced from me to Nash, then back before taking a seat next to me. Someone bring me up to speed. Are we making up or breaking up? Cause this limbo is kind of driving me nuts. She grinned, and I could have thanked the universe in that moment for the ray of sunshine that was Emma.
How low can you go? I asked, then crunched into a French fry.
Lower than you know Nash replied, witha hint of an awkward grin.
Em rolled her eyes. Somore limbo?
Nash looked just as ready for my answer as she did. I exhaled heavily. For now.
He sighed and Emma frowned. Like I was being unreasonable. But she didnt know the details of our breakup. I couldnt tell her that hed let a hellion take over my body and play doctor with himto Nashs credit, he hadnt known it wasnt me that first timewithout even telling me I was being worn like a human costume.
I couldnt tell her because the same thing had happened to her, and for her own safety and sense of security, I didnt want her to know that her body had been hijacked by the hellion responsible for her boyfriends death. Her friendship with me had already put her in more than enough danger.
Oh, fine. Drag out the melodrama for as long as you want. At least itll give everyone around here something else to talk about. Something other than Doug and Scott.
If they hadnt already had two weeks to deal with grief and let off steam, the whole school probably would have been reeling from the double loss. The looks and whispers when we passed in the hall were hard enough to deal with as it was.
So, did you see the new girl? Emma asked, making a valiant attempt to change the subject as she tore the crust from her triangle of pizza.
What new girl? I didnt really care, but the switch in topic gave me a chance to thinkor at least talkabout something other than me and Nash, and the fact that there was currently no me and Nash.
Dont remember her name. Emma dipped her crust into a paper condiment cup full of French dressing. But shes a senior. Can you imagine? Switching schools the last semester of your senior year?
Yeah, that would suck, I agreed, staring at my tray, pretending I didnt notice Nash staring at me. Was it going to be like this from now on? Us sitting across from each other, watchingor pointedly not watchingeach other? Sitting in silence or talking about nothing anyone really cared about? Maybe I should have stayed in the cafeteria. This isnt gonna work.
Shes in my English class. She looked pretty lonely, so I invited her to sit with us. Emma bit into her crust and chewed while I glanced up at her in surprise.
First of all, Em didnt have other girlfriends. Most girls didnt like Emma for the same reason guys couldnt stay away from her. It had been just the two of us since the seventh grade, when her mouth and her brand-new C-cups intimidated the entire female half of the student body.
Second of all
Why is there a senior in your junior English class? Nash said it before I could.
He nodded, and his eyes shone with the first flash of hope Id seen from him in ages. Yeah. We have time.
In fact, we had lots and lots of time. Bean sidhes age very slowly from puberty on, so while Id likely be carded until I was forty, if Nash and I actually managed to work things out, wed have nearly four hundred years together, barring catastrophe.
Although actually barring catastrophe seemed highly unlikely, considering that since the school year began, my life had been defined by a series of disasters, barely held together by the beautifully strong thread of Nashs presence in my life. At least, until recently. But now I was clinging to the wreckage of my existence, holding the pieces together on my own, trying to decide if I would be helping us both or hurting us by letting him back in.
So, hows Em? Nash asked, his voice lowered as he glanced at something over my shoulder.
I twisted to see Emma Marshall, my best friend, heading toward us across the nearly deserted quad. Everyone with half a brainor nothing to hidewas eating inside, where it was warm. Em carried a tray holding a slice of pizza and a Diet Coke, content to eat with us outside, not because she couldnt face the crowd ready to judge her, but because she didnt care what they thought.
Ems strong. Shes dealing. And though she didnt know it, in many ways, Emma was my hero, based on her resilience alone.
Doug Fuller, Ems boyfriend of almost a month, had died from an overdose of frost two weeks earlier, and though theyd been connected at the crotch, rather than at the heart, shed been understandably upset by his death. Especially considering that she couldnt comprehend the Netherworld origin of the drug that had killed him.
Nash lowered his voice even further as she walked toward us. Did you go to the funeral?
Yeah. Doug had been one of Eastlake Highs starting linebackers. Practically the whole school had shown up at his funeralexcept for Nash. Hed been too sick from withdrawal to get out of bed. And Scott, their third musketeer. Scott had survived addiction to frostbut at a devastating price. Hed suffered brain damage and now had a permanent, hardwired mental connection to the hellion whose breath had killed Doug and mortally wounded my relationship with Nash.
Hey. Emma came to a stop on my right and glanced from me to Nash, then back before taking a seat next to me. Someone bring me up to speed. Are we making up or breaking up? Cause this limbo is kind of driving me nuts. She grinned, and I could have thanked the universe in that moment for the ray of sunshine that was Emma.
How low can you go? I asked, then crunched into a French fry.
Lower than you know Nash replied, witha hint of an awkward grin.
Em rolled her eyes. Somore limbo?
Nash looked just as ready for my answer as she did. I exhaled heavily. For now.
He sighed and Emma frowned. Like I was being unreasonable. But she didnt know the details of our breakup. I couldnt tell her that hed let a hellion take over my body and play doctor with himto Nashs credit, he hadnt known it wasnt me that first timewithout even telling me I was being worn like a human costume.
I couldnt tell her because the same thing had happened to her, and for her own safety and sense of security, I didnt want her to know that her body had been hijacked by the hellion responsible for her boyfriends death. Her friendship with me had already put her in more than enough danger.
Oh, fine. Drag out the melodrama for as long as you want. At least itll give everyone around here something else to talk about. Something other than Doug and Scott.
If they hadnt already had two weeks to deal with grief and let off steam, the whole school probably would have been reeling from the double loss. The looks and whispers when we passed in the hall were hard enough to deal with as it was.
So, did you see the new girl? Emma asked, making a valiant attempt to change the subject as she tore the crust from her triangle of pizza.
What new girl? I didnt really care, but the switch in topic gave me a chance to thinkor at least talkabout something other than me and Nash, and the fact that there was currently no me and Nash.
Dont remember her name. Emma dipped her crust into a paper condiment cup full of French dressing. But shes a senior. Can you imagine? Switching schools the last semester of your senior year?
Yeah, that would suck, I agreed, staring at my tray, pretending I didnt notice Nash staring at me. Was it going to be like this from now on? Us sitting across from each other, watchingor pointedly not watchingeach other? Sitting in silence or talking about nothing anyone really cared about? Maybe I should have stayed in the cafeteria. This isnt gonna work.
Shes in my English class. She looked pretty lonely, so I invited her to sit with us. Emma bit into her crust and chewed while I glanced up at her in surprise.
First of all, Em didnt have other girlfriends. Most girls didnt like Emma for the same reason guys couldnt stay away from her. It had been just the two of us since the seventh grade, when her mouth and her brand-new C-cups intimidated the entire female half of the student body.
Second of all
Why is there a senior in your junior English class? Nash said it before I could.
