Page 36 of Dark Soul

She shook her head quickly. “No. Not at all. I just … things aren’t always easy.” Her look turned wistful. “Even for people who look like they have the perfect life. You know what I mean?”

He nodded. He did know what she meant.

“Where were you heading?” he asked.

“To the Starbucks,” she said, looking mildly embarrassed. “I know there are other places in town to grab a coffee, but I—“

“You like the Starbucks. I understand. I like it, too. It’s a piece of home.”

Her eyes lit up. “Yes!”

He didn’t want to drop her off at Starbucks.

“Let me take you out to dinner,” he said, suddenly.

“I’m not really hungry,” she said. Then, more quietly, “Can we go to your place?”

Dark hesitated for an instant. He didn’t have a place. That house … it was just a sham, like everything else in his life. But he could see she needed a place to unwind, and they’d be alone in the house, since Slate was still by Kvyat’s house and the rest of the guys were out as well.

“Of course,” he said.

A part of him knew it wasn’t a good idea. It was hard enough to keep his hands to himself when they were in a public place. To spend time with her alone might require more willpower than he had.

And yet, he might also be able to get her to open up to him. If something was worrying her, he’d get to the bottom of it. He’d help her. No matter what he had to do.

“It won’t bother your friends?” she asked.

“They’re out. They went to the cinema,” he lied.

“You didn’t want to see the movie?”

“I needed a bit of space. I’m used to living alone,” he said.

A half-truth.

“They’re good friends, but living with them is … not easy.”

Another half-truth.

“How long are you here for?” she asked, suddenly curious. “I didn’t realize television writers had such long holidays.”

“It’s more of a working holiday,” he said. “We’re working on a new series.”

“Something you can talk about, or you’d have to kill me if you did?” she asked, laughing.

He tried to laugh, but couldn’t. The bile was back, making him want to throw up.

“I’m just kidding, Dark.”

He shook his head. “Sorry. Got lost for a moment.” He pointed across the street. “My car’s right there,” he said.

“Okay,” Alexia finally said.

They drove in silence until the house. When they arrived, he stopped the car.

“I can wait outside the car, if you’d like to text the address to someone,” he said.

“What?”