Page 85 of Drowning in Darkness

“We just ate,” he calls out.

And I just brushed my teeth with the intention of heading to bed with nothing but a good book for company, but here we are. “Ah, that was my real food belly. This is my snack belly. They’re two entirely different beasts.”

“That’s not a thing,” he grumbles as he abandons whatever he was doing in favor of following me.

“I didn’t realize you were an expert on anatomy.”

“I’m not, but it’s basic biology.”

Look at him taking the bait like a good boy. “Really? So you’re an expert on basic biology?”

“Basic is the exact opposite of expert.”

“You know, I was more of a chemistry girl. I find the different ways a molecule reacts under differing conditions fascinating.”

As expected, I find a drawer full of the stuff that’s really bad for you, and each one of them I love. He’s practically screaming his attraction and care for me in these silent acts.

“Like what?”

He got M&M’s? Marry me now. I pile the snacks onto the countertop and fish out some bowls to pour them into. “Oh, you know, the way water is a liquid and turns to a solid in cold temperatures but disperses as steam under heat.” I grab two sodas to finish the snack tray off.

“Yeah, that’s interesting for sure.”

There’s a small hitch in his voice which I’m thoroughly enjoying.

“Right? Footprints in the snow, ripples in the lake, and handprints on the glass all prove someone was there.”

He blinks. I’m having the time of my life. I don’t know why I thought I needed the outside world when all my joy could be found right here, getting under the skin of this man.

“So are we venturing into the world of teen horror, or vampire teen drama?”

“Not the vampires,” he groans. “Never the vampires.”

Is The Vampire Diaries streaming? It would give me access to days, if not weeks, of torture material. The thought of being here with him for an extended period doesn’t fill me with dread, even though I fought hard to get out of a restricted environment. It doesn’t make sense, but maybe it’s the company.

He grabs the tray laden with snacks and carries it into the sitting room with an air of defeat. I trail behind him and wait for him to take a seat so I can position myself perfectly. He drops his ass into the center of the central part of the sofa, so I join him, getting cosy in one corner. I could sidle up next to him, but I don’t want it to be too obvious.

He pulls up the streaming service and locates the first Scream movie with ease.

“You like those movies too?” I check.

He glances over at me, eyes briefly falling to my bare legs as I tuck them under my butt and reach for a handful of M&M’s. “They are so bad⁠—”

“—that they are good,” I reply with a grin. “Look at that. We have the same guilty pleasure.”

He studies me for a heartbeat before picking up his laptop and engrossing himself in whatever needs his attention. He huffs a laugh as one of the girls makes a fatal and mistake, which costs her her life.

“Something funny, Austin?” I taunt.

He shakes his head. “They’re living and breathing a nightmare situation with an insane serial killer on the loose, and they still insist on doing shit on their own like they’re invincible.”

“The power of youth that hasn’t been touched by evil is enormous,” I tell him. He might never have known that perceived safety we enter the world with using the proverbial rose-tinted glasses, but I have, and the jolt to the reality of evil stalking the brightest of corridors and the lightest of rooms is jarring at best and soul destroying at worst. “We all make stupid decisions under the belief that people don’t harbor ill intent.”

“That’s not reality.”

“Trust me, I know.”

“I hate that you do.”