Outside, the men's voices had grown loud enough to be heard inside the house.He gazed at Kallie.She had no sense of danger surrounding her.
The air was charged with electricity.The hair on his arms stood, keeping him tense.
Deep down, a part of him still remembered the sunlight in the world he came from, yet he'd lost the memory of what it felt like to have that warmth on his skin.He remembered the emotions he used to feel.But here, he lacked everything that made him feel human.
Everstill wasn't a punishment.
The town removed any emotional consequences for those who were brought here.
And without emotion, they were all suspended.
Yet, why did he feel the need to help this young girl who kept returning to him?
And how was she here and obviously in control of all her emotions?
A commotion outside drew him back to the window.The men were pointing to the house, apparently discussing among themselves whether they should try to enter it.
The town didn't get surprises, and a girl slipping through the veil twice was the biggest disruption they'd ever had.He spotted Moe, pacing back and forth.The way they all questioned Kallie's existence made him wonder if the men believed they would gain something in return.
Maybe her entrance would change Everstill.
He could feel a difference with her here.It would be irresponsible of him to believe the others weren't affected, too, and that rush of trying so hard to feel anything was addictive.
He also knew without any doubt that if another man had walked into Everstill, none of the others would've given a damn.But because Kallie was a female, they were all curious about her.
He stepped away from the window and turned toward Kallie.
"You hungry?"he asked.
She shrugged and then nodded as if she was unsure if she was allowed to be.
"Kitchen's through there," he said, jerking his chin toward the archway."There's bread.Eggs.Whatever you want.Make yourself something while I'm gone."
She hesitated."You're leaving me?"
He grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair."I need to talk to the men."
Her eyes flicked toward the window, toward the shadows moving outside."Are they mad at me because I'm visiting you?"
Finn paused with his hand on the doorknob.He didn't sugarcoat things.Never had.Never would.
"They don't want you here because you represent change.No female has ever come to Everstill," he said.
She chewed on her lower lip."What is this place?"
He shook his head, opened the door, and stepped outside before she could ask anything else.The answer wasn't easy to give.He wasn't sure he was even allowed to talk about Everstill.
Rex, all six foot seven inches of him, stood at the front of the house, arms crossed, jaw tight.Vaughn and Boone stepped forward, both watching Finn with the same wary tension.A few others lingered behind them, half in shadow, half in the open, like they weren't sure how close they wanted to get.
Nolan, usually reserved and uninterested in becoming a part of a community in Everstill, asked, "It's the same girl, isn't it?She's back?"
Finn didn't respond.
"You said she wouldn't come again."Nolan lowered his voice."You said she wasn't lost."
"She's not," Finn said.
There was a breach in the veil that controlled Everstill.She was able to slip past.Not once, but twice.
