Page 98 of Off the Rails

I frowned as I reminded myself of that fact. Her apology had helped smooth things over a bit, but she was far from forgiven. And I had to be vigilant that she didn’t forget that I was still fuming with her.

Cyrus on the other hand didn’t seem to give a single fuck about my forgiveness. Ever since our fight, she’d spent most of her days locked away in that cave she called a bedroom. She hardly ever emerged for food or air, but when she did, she was always glued to her laptop.

Can’t even look at me. I bet she’ll be thrilled once I’m gone.

But if that was true, why had she gone to such lengths to keep me here?

The question disconcerted me. Fighting to suppress a chill, I turned my attention back to Butch, who was snoring softly beside me. All I wanted to do was to pet the bridge of his little speckled nose, but I knew better than to poke the tiger while he was sleeping.

It was a miracle he was even around considering that his favorite human was locked away in her dungeon. I still had no idea what he saw in her. For a creature with such good survival instincts, he’d chosen an odd companion.

Nash had been hanging around me for days, doing me favors and getting as close as she could without me snapping. But Blade…

Where the fuck is Blade?

She’d spent a ton of time out of the house lately. She’d disappear at odd hours of the morning and wouldn’t come back until well after sunset. We didn’t talk much when she came in — my choice rather than hers.

But try as I might to ignore her, it was impossible not to notice that she was working on something. The sweet musk of manual labor always announced her at the door, followed by the thud of steel-toed boots by the entry way.

Try as I might to avert my eyes, I couldn’t help but notice the glistening sweat over her tight muscles, nor the dirt that clung to her clothes.

She wasn’t even trying to hide it. But despite my curiosity, I was too prideful to ask.

Whatever.

I was desperate for a distraction: these lesbians would drive me crazy if I let them. Leaning back into the couch, I hoped that Sweetheart Shores’ asinine plot might be the answer I was looking for.

Straight people drama is so much simpler.

But just as I thought the zombie-brained men and their washboard apps were going to bore me to death, something else caught my attention. The slam of a door downstairs, followed by bootsteps bounding up the stairs.

Blade.

I’d hardly thought her name before the door swung open, revealing Feverpoint’s resident maniac. Her green eyes widened as she set her sights on me, and her smile stretched wider across her cheeks.

“Tess!” She leapt halfway up, apparently startled by the sight of me.

I frowned as Butch opened his eyes and leapt down from the couch. “What do you want?”

“I’ve got a surprise for you!”

“Great. Because the last one went over so well?” I sat forward, rubbing out my sore leg.

“Oh, come on. This is so different! Let me show you!” The energy was intense, even for her. She was completely unfazed by my coldness — her mania burned hot enough for the both of us, it seemed.

But as she waved me toward the door, I narrowed my eyes. “I’m not exactly in the mood to go for a walk.”

“I can carry you!”

“No.” I sighed as she crossed the room, dirty boots smudging the floor where she kneeled in front of me.

“Please? I know you’re still mad, Trinket. But I want to try to make it up to you.” Her green eyes searched mine pleadingly.

As mad as I was at Blade, I also couldn’t deny the soft spot I had for her. What she had done was so much worse than the other two. So why did my heart ache when I saw the guilt in her gaze?

“...You’ve got five minutes.” I sighed, letting her help me off the couch. “And it better be good.”

“Oh, you’re going to love this,” she laughed, that relentless charm lighting up her eyes.