Tags:
Fiction,
Paranormal,
YA),
Young Adult Fiction,
Young Adult,
Dreams,
teen fiction,
ya fiction,
ya novel,
young adult novel,
teen lit,
emotion,
teenlit,
dreaming,
some quiet place
the sky. Resentment materializes at my side and wraps his arm around me. âHowâs the pity party going?â He squeezes. I donât shake him off or respond; I just pop the lid of my beer and take a long swig. A bitter taste greets my tongue. The Emotion says something else that I donât hear, and then Iâm alone with his lingering essence and the contents of all those coolers. An antidote to the poison of the past.
Georgie will have to get another designated driver. Tossing aside the empty beer can, I walk to the coolers and get another one. The ice numbs my fingertips. Too bad it canât numb the rest of me. I glance around and grab another beer for good measure, then slip away to the edge of the beach. I lean my back against a tree and watch the bonfire. It grows brighter and bigger when Billy adds more wood, and more cars pull up, their headlights sweeping across the lake. I drown my sorrows. Laughter drifts through the air. Marty Paulson suddenly leans over to puke, and Faith shrieks.
Time loses meaning. Maybe itâs a minute, maybe itâs an hour. I pull some blades of green-brown grass out of the ground and watch the breeze carry them away, thinking about how easy it is for something to be firmly rooted one moment and gone the next.
âAlex! Whereâs Alex?â
Brianaâs voice. Sheâll be looking for me. Letting out a loud belch, I haul myself up. Itâs dark now. How did that happen? I start to make my way toward her. Halfway to the bonfire, though, I stumble and fall. Briana calls my name again, but I just roll over. The damp sand clings to me. For a few moments I stare up at the starless sky, tapping my fingers against my chest so some part of me is still moving. Clouds drift in front of the moon. I wonder if Nate Foster is looking at the same black expanse.
A face fills my vision. It takes me a moment to recognize it in the dim. When I do, though, my heart beats harder and faster. âOh. You again.â
âHello, Alex.â
The sound of his voice lurches me into motion. Weâve only spoken once, but I know whatâs coming. Heâll start talking about Nate Foster, and mercy, and letting things go when all Iâm capable of is holding on tight. I push myself up, swearing, and stumble through the trees to escape him.
He follows me effortlessly. âAlex. Alex, stop.â
Briana calls my name again, though her voice is fainter. My breathing becomes ragged and my head swims, and part of me realizes itâs fruitless to try outrunning a creature that isnât human. That doesnât stop me from trying. But Iâm not holding my liquor too well tonight, and soon Iâm having trouble remembering why I should be avoiding Forgiveness in the first place. He isnât even attempting to stop me anymore. Instead he just keeps up with my pace, a silent presence.
âHelp me,â I snap after a while, tripping over a branch. Forgiveness doesnât reach for my arm, but I move away as if he has.
âHelp you with what?â he asks finally.
Pine needles crunch underfoot. âTo find it.â I stop in a circle of trees and look up again, straining to see in the faint moonlight.
âFind what, Alex?â
Forgiveness is next to me now, so close I can feel the temperature of his skin: warm, like the lake after the sun has reached inside the depths with its bright fingers. I hate how this creature says my name. Hate it, and like it.
âThe damn rocket!â I snarl at his exquisite features. âWhat else?â
The Choice doesnât answer, and I donât wait for one. Iâm whirling again, rushing through the night, trying to forget and remember at the same time. Then the tree line suddenly breaks and weâre on the edge of a playground. My chest heaves and I stare at the red plastic slide. A memory flashes, an image of Mom waiting for me at the bottom. Come on, honey. I promise Iâll catch you.
I
Xara X. Piper;Xanakas Vaughn