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The glower returned. “I'm not—”
“But I'm smart enough to know this isn't going to be some grand romantic adventure. I'm running away. I'll be living on the streets. Even if we find your dad, I'm not sure he's going to be able to fix my life. ” I thought of Aunt Lauren and felt a pang of grief. “I'm not sure it can be fixed. ”
“So I'm supposed to be grateful to you for going?”
?
??I never said—”
He shifted back into looming mode. “You need to get out of here just as much as Simon does, maybe more. You might not see the danger you're in, but I do. And I'm worried. ”
“Worried? About me?”
He shrugged. “Sure. Concerned. You know. ” He couldn't even look me in the eye when he said it. “Yeah, we need you, but I do want to help a fellow supernatural. ” He snuck a glance my way. “We gotta stick together. ”
“Don't you dare. ”
“What?”
His gaze broke away, started roaming the bathroom.
“You're right,” I said. “I do need help. My life is falling apart and maybe someday I'll look back on this as the biggest, stupidest mistake I've ever made, but at this moment, it's the only solution I see. You need me to be your designated damsel in distress? Okay. But don't ever say you're doing this for me. This has nothing to do with me, Don't you dare pretend it does. ”
I turned and walked out.
Thirty-three
I WONDERED WHETHER, AFTER our escape, I'd find time to sleep. Because I certainly hadn't been getting much at Lyle House.
That night I was so exhausted I didn't even have a chance to lie there, raging about Derek or fretting about the step I was about to take. I hit the bed and fell straight into dreams of wailing police sirens and baying tracking dogs. Of a boy trapped in a hospital bed and a boy trapped in a group home and ghosts trapped in rotting corpses. Of zombies screaming for mercy and a girl screaming, “But I didn't mean it,” and a boy saying, “I didn't mean it either. Doesn't matter. ”
The dreams spun and melted together until one slid free. An image buried by the stronger, louder ones, separating and saying, “What about me?”
I bolted awake and sat there, suspended in the dark, reeling in that tangled memory, the questions it raised, the answers it promised.
Then I leaped from bed.
* * *
I tapped at the bedroom door.
“Derek?”
Rough snores answered.
I rapped at the door again, raising my voice as loud as I dared.
“Derek?”
My toes curled against the icy hardwood and I rubbed the goose bumps on my arms. I should have grabbed a sweater. And socks.
I shouldn't even be here. I'd told the guy off, made the perfect exit… and was now creeping back, begging him to talk to me.
Talk about ruining a scene.
As I lifted my hand to knock, the doorknob clicked. When the door creaked open, I lifted my gaze to eye level, an apology on my lips, and found myself staring at a chest. A bare chest. . . and not a boy's chest. Broad and muscular, a scattering of angry red acne dots the only sign that it wasn't attached to a grown man.
Around the house, Derek always wore oversized sweatshirts and baggy jeans. If I'd pictured what he looked like under them—which I hadn't—I would have guessed stocky, bordering on overweight. All that food he scarfed down had to go somewhere. And, apparently, it did—just not to fat.
My cheeks heated and my gaze dropped from Derek's chest… only to see he was wearing nothing but boxers.
“Chloe?”
My gaze shot—gratefully—to his face.
He peered at me. “Chloe? What—?”
“You owe me. ”
“Huh?” He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, snarled a yawn, and rolled his shoulders. “What time is it?”
“Late. Or early. It doesn't matter. I need your help and you owe me. Get dressed and be downstairs in five minutes. ”
I turned on my heel and headed for the stairs.
* * *
Would Derek follow me? Probably not, considering I'd ignored his “meet me in five minutes” command that afternoon.
I'd planned to not leave his doorway until he agreed to help me. But I hadn't expected him to be nearly naked during the conversation. It also reminded me that I was wearing only pajama pants and a tank top. When I got downstairs, I found the sweatshirt Rae had shucked in the media room earlier. I was pulling it on as I walked into the hall, and nearly smacked into Derek.
He wore sweatpants and a T-?shirt and had stopped in the middle of the hall, furiously scratching one bare forearm.
“Fleas?” I said.
The joke was an admittedly lame attempt to lighten the mood from earlier, and I didn't think it deserved the glower he gave me.
“Let's just get this over with,” he said. “I'm not in a good mood. ”
I could have asked how that was different from normal, but bit my tongue, motioned him into the media room and closed the door. Then I cocked my head, listening.
“We're fine here,” he said. “Just keep it down. Someone comes, I'll hear. ”
I moved across the room and stopped in a patch of moonlight. When he followed, I got my first good look at him in the light. His face was pale, his cheeks flaming red, and not from the acne. Sweat plastered his hair around his face and his red-?rimmed eyes glittered, struggling to focus.
“You've got a fever,” I said.
“Maybe. ” He raked his hair back. “Something I ate, I guess. ”
“Or some bug you picked up. ”
He shook his head. “I don't…” He hesitated, then pushed on. “I don't get sick. Not often anyway. Part of my . . . condition. This seems to be a reaction. ” He scratched his arms again. “No big deal. I'm just off. Crankier than usual, Simon would say. ”
