Page 2 of Deluge

A bastard begetting a bastard that can dispose of his own kin should have to get hooked on something that will kill him slowly.

Night after night, I’ve come to this goddamn street, watching patiently as shadows move by the window.

Luna’s frame has always been easy enough to make out—I lived with her for longer than I wanted to, to memorize how her hips sway when she walks and the curves of her body.

But it’s the sturdier frame, the one that sometimes moves a little too slow to still belong to a healthy man, that I watch carefully.

One day I’ll be brave enough to knock on his door, but for now, I just sit outside and watch them.

I’m not a Greene. I’m not,I think, as silent wrath starts to build inside of me.I’m not sick. I don’t want to be likehim.

To hear Luna tell the story before she went damn near catatonic, the only way to get this man to accept me into his home is to abide by the rules.

Not once was I ever told what they all were, save one. The most important rule of all:keep the family line pure.

While I’ve tried to convince myself to be ignorant of what she meant, I know the truth deep in my heart.

Kalen would have done better in this family line. It was obvious enough when I saw him with Mom.

I take a deep breath and let it out before taking another pull on my cigarette. Thinking of my brother is only going to make me either leave feeling like shit or cause me to drive the carintothe house to get His Majesty’s fucking attention.

I roll my right shoulder before placing the cigarette loosely between my lips and leaning back against the rest of the seat.

As my eyes begin to flutter closed, a gentletap, tap, tap,scares the shit out of me, and my teeth instinctively clamp down around the filter of the cigarette to keep it from falling into my lap.

I take a deep breath to compose myself, rake a hand back through my hair, then cast an annoyed glance at the driver’s side window.

Leaning down and peering at me with a curious, full, upper-lip smile, a pointy upturned nose, and the biggest, sleepy doe-shaped eyes I’ve ever seen is… a complete stranger.

A glance behind her reveals a group of friends watching me with amused eyes. I already know that this is egged on by the party behind her, and I will probably end up leaving in a foul mood.

Great.

I shake my head as I take the now-broken cigarette out of my mouth and toss it into the ashtray before pressing the button on the console to lower the window just enough to make conversation.

“Can I help you?” I ask the girl.

Her smile widens a little as she leans closer to the window, her tiny, naturally tan fingers gingerly gripping the top of the glass.

“I’ve seen you out here a lot,” she remarks slowly. “In this same spot. Are you looking for someone on this block?”

I clear my throat as my eyes linger briefly on the freckles on her cheeks and the bridge of her nose.

“No. Not really,” I finally answer, raising my eyes to hers.Light brown and gleaming with curiosity.

“Oh. Okay, well, I guess I’ll leave you alone then,” she states with a shrug as her fingers drop from the mirror. “Have a good night.”

“Yeah, thanks. I mean, you too,” I stammer as I press the button again to raise the window.

Before I have a chance to turn the engine over, there’s another tap at the window.

Looking over, I see her standing there again, a hand on her hip and that smile still on her lips.

“Yeah?” I ask after I lower it again.

“Jessa. I’m Jessa. That’s Camille, that’s Demi, and that’s Brynn,” she states, jerking her head toward the group of girls behind her.

“What?” I ask in confusion. I’m trying to figure out what about my demeanor asked for any of this information when she steps away from the window and smiles softly at me again.