Page 30 of Scars of the Sun
I frowned as I struck a match and lit the end of the tightly rolled blunt. Even with my loose fingers, it was more neatly rolled than Ty’s had been. Still had it.
Before I could respond, Tyler cut inagain. He ran his hands through the guy’s hair. “Take off your shirt,” he directed at the redhead. “And no, he’s got agirlfriend.” The teasing in his voice and annoyance on his face made for a weird combination where I didn’t know what to get defensive over. That ‘girlfriend’ felt exciting but also wrong? Or that he somehow saw being attached to another as lesser? Which didn’t fucking help the conflict I was already experiencing.
“I came here for advice, shithead. Not to just get high and talked down to.”
Max-Matthew-Adrian tossed his shirt onto the floor and kept his hands obediently in his lap. I could pick out a series of bite mark-shaped scars on his neck, which explained the familiarity he exuded with Tyler touching him. “How boring. Hope she’s not atotalsnooze,” he added but grinned.
My instincts were still on alert amidst the drugs, because I felt my fangs emerge as I growled and leaned toward him for insulting her.
The guy blanched, going even paler than he already was, and pressed against the back of his seat. I stayed glaring, waiting for him to fucking say something else, but Tyler sliced through the tension with an amused chuckle. He tapped his finger along the guy’s neck that was straining with fear. “Watch it, Finn. Best not get between an animal and his mate.” To me and my own shocked face, he gave a sideways glance, “Just be with her. Quit fucking worrying about what it means because you alreadyknowwhat it means.” And without preamble, his fangs dropped and sank into Finn’s neck.
The guy’s yelp of surprise soon turned to moans, and I didn’t miss the tenting of both of their pants while Tyler drank greedily, thin trails of blood escaping his lips and running down Finn’s bare chest. The lust filling the room was more stifling than the smoke in my lungs.
Shoving to my feet, I held the blunt between my lips as I marched toward the kitchen and then further until I was out of the back door. The sun was only a faint orange sliver amongst the tree line, now, and the illuminated pool cast an aquamarine glow that filled my vision.
“Fuck this,” I said at nothing and everything. “She’s not—” but I couldn’t finish the sentence. My throat spasmed with something other than a cough. Angrily, I shoved off my clothes and took one last hit from the blunt. I was no fucking closerto understanding this thing between Ramona and Ithat I really didn’t need tobecomea thing in the first place.
She was… good. Underneath or perhapsbecauseof the hard exterior and gooey inside, she was better than me, and I couldn’t afford a distraction like her to make me slip up further than I already had.
Because when were they going to come looking for Benny? Or was he low-level enough to have his disappearance be only a minor inconvenience to them? What—what would she say, how would she look at me, if she knew all the things I had done? What danger being with me would actually bring.
A blissful groan from inside reached my ears, and I crouched, stubbing out the blunt on the concrete lip of the pool. Great. Now I’d gone from relaxed to fucking anxious and in no better place than how I’d started.
I launched into the water, hoping it’d help calm my thoughts again or take away some of these burdens, at least for a little while. But as I let the water envelop me, the weightless feeling only reminded me of how I felt with her.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
RAMONA
Iwaited in the front of the witch house, as I’d started calling it after hearing a few members of the pack refer to Sylvie’s grandmother’s home as such. We’d gotten out early on this Saturday morning, so the heat hadn’t fully awoken yet. Though I’d normally slept in as much as I could, my brother and his family were early risers, and my internal clock was already adjusting to the shift in schedule.
I took an icy gulp of the iced coffee in my hand. At least, I was almost adjusted. Enough to sneak a sunrise cigarette while Sylvie and Orion started on the babies’ routines.
My mom had smoked all my life, my dad occasionally, and my brother had until quitting around the time he met Sylvie. The cancer sticks had only the briefest of appeals, but when I’d had those two weeks of crawling my way back from the edge, they’d become a part of my outdoor time ritual.
I was tapering off of them, but this morning had been one where I’d indulged. Río and I had hung out a few times since he’d told me he wouldn’t be staying in Antler Pointe. There was nothing to make of that information but meet it with steady resignation. Expectations would only end up hurting me.
And after being so numb to almost everything, my emotions felt raw and pink, like newborn babies that would throw meltdowns at the slightest provocation, leaving me scrambling and quick to tears myself.
Weird analogy, but it feels right.
An old, economical sedan turned onto the short driveway, and I saw my friend stuffed into the driver’s seat and grinning at me. I waved and returned his sunny smile as he unfolded himself out of the car that looked way too small for him.
Delaney wore a pink t-shirt and hunter green shorts that matched the headband he used to hold back his golden hair. He jogged up to me, arms rising like he wanted to give me a hug, before pausing. I sighed and initiated the hug myself. And, instead of the quick gesture, he squeezed me tightly and even rocked a little bit before letting me go. My chest fluttered, but the color of it was different. Río made me feel… crimson. With passion and desire and something deeper that threatened to blow everything up.
With Delaney, it was almost the color of his shirt. Sweet and fun and comforting. His orange and vanilla smelled lively today, and I felt my body work to react to and reflect his enthusiastic nature. “I hope I’m not too late! I don’t have any gardening experience, so I was a little unsure what to wear, and I’m still a little unfamiliar with this town, so I got turned around, but it’s so nice to see you!” His deep voice jumped with his energetic words, and I would’ve struggled more to follow if I hadn’t been accustomed to my niece and nephew’s similar sort of prattling by now.
“No specific time. Just wanted to beat the heat as much as possible. And you look fine.” I started toward the side of the house and around the back, and Delaney followed. His scent was popping with citrusy excitement, and for a second, I worried that I wouldn’t have enough energy to keep up with him.
The garden was like a meticulously planned jungle, and I sensed Delaney’s surge of surprise and delight as he took in what I’d already grown used to seeing. The large section of colorful flowers and blooms with neat pathways for better access when tending. The multiple areas for vegetables that were another variety of greens and pops of color. A few benches sat amongst everything, and I set my half-finished coffee on the iron seat before starting on the tour.
“Sylvie and her coven sister Josie enhance the garden as much as they can, so it takes care of itself a lot more than a normal one would. But we still have a lot of tending and harvesting to do with the vegetables and herbs. And since they keep it going through all seasons, it’s a year-round thing.” I kept us on the pathways, pointing out and identifying everything I could remember and gave a little description of how I’d been instructed to care for them. “And, apparently, it’s okay that these to turn red instead of just staying green.”
I turned back to Delaney’s large form behind me, catching a strange thread of unease, and he was rubbing at his cheek with wary eyes casting around. I was about to ask him what was the matter, but his Adam’s apple bobbed with a swallow before he answered my unspoken question, “I don’t think I’ll be able to remember all of this.”
My lips turned down. “Oh, that’s okay. No one’s saying you have to. Sylvie is inside with the babies for a sec, but I usually just do what she tells me. That’s the only reason I know all this.”
He dropped his hands to his front and fiddled with the drawstring tie of his shorts. “You’re really smart.”