Page 47 of Blood Bound

“Need to go over the plan one last time?” I ask.

Finn just laughs. “I’m smarter than I look, buddy. I’ve got it all up here.” He points at his temple and opens up his driver seat door. Before he can get inside, I put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey. Thanks, man. For everything. I really mean it. Nia would be toast without you.”

Finn can barely hold back his smile. “We’re not done yet,” he reminds me, before patting my forearm and getting into his car.

Thatta boy, I think. He’s finally learning.

“See you on the other side,” he salutes.

“I’ll be waiting,” I return.

Before he can even peel out of the alleyway, I’m already running to my car.

I can hardly wait to put this all into action.

I peel out onto Main street. An empty shell of a store on the corner has been set on fire. Shattered storefronts litter the apocalyptic landscape. I’d almost enjoy the chaos, if I wasn’t so worried about Nia.

Nia...

Finn has already given me the address to her friend’s place—where she’s been staying since the incident with Semyon—and I’m desperately tempted to go pay her a visit. I’m still torn on whether or not I should let her know I’m alive and fighting for her, or if I should wait until I’m actually home free before I see her again.

... But if I don’t win my fight, I’ll never get to see her again.

This could truly be my last chance to tell her how I really feel. Can I die without knowing I at least said a proper goodbye?

It’s crazy. Nia and I have really only spent one night together, yet I’ve been pining after her for months. The memory of her touch burns all over my body. The taste of her passion still lingers on my lips. I want another bite. I need another bite.

I’m starving for her, and I decide that I can’t go into another uncertain situation without at least seeing her again.

I make a hard right and roar in her direction. I’m coming for you baby, whether you like it or not.

22

Nia

“I’m just getting off work now, I’ll be home in about an hour.” Carlos sounds exhausted and I feel awful. Am I burdening him too much by staying at his place? His usual high-spirit has been at half-mast lately, but he assures me it’s just because he’s pissed about me getting fired, and ashamed that he can’t do anything about it.

“Okay, see you in a bit, boo,” I blow him a kiss over the phone and sink into his living room couch. The second we hang up, I’m back on the internet searching for jobs again. I hate feeling so useless. Carlos has essentially forced me to be a leach, because he won’t take any of my money, whether it’s to help with rent or the groceries. I told him I had savings that I could pull from, but he even refused that. “You use your savings to become a nurse,” he told me, and that was that. I’d tried arguing with him, but it was futile. If I wasn’t so scared of going back to my apartment, I’d have left a long time ago and rid my best friend of my heavy presence, but I truly have nowhere else to go.

Carlos is an angel I don’t deserve. A true godfather.

I scroll helplessly through job postings that have either already been filled or are way out of my skill bracket. Because of all the restaurant closedowns around town, the places that are still able to stay open are having a massive influx of job applications from out-of-work servers. I was so lucky to have gotten a job at Mars, but now, my little streak of luck has completely run out. The only consistent openings are in the medical field, but they all require way more education than I have.

Maybe if my mom hadn’t died, I might actually be a nurse by now...

I try not to hop aboard my own little train of self-pity. I still have a friend, I tell myself, all is not lost yet.

I keep looking for jobs, but the process is so tedious and degrading. People want so much experience for such little pay, and waitressing doesn’t seem like the kind of experience anyone wants outside of the already filled up service industry.

I’m starting to get a headache from the hopelessness of it all when a knock at Carlos’s front door suddenly breaks me out of my slump.

I check the clock on my phone. Carlos shouldn’t be home for another half-an-hour or so. Still, any distraction is a welcome one right now. Maybe I’ll even finally get to meet the cutie he keeps going on about...

I jump off the couch and skip over to the door, ready to introduce myself to one of Carlos’s friends. Any friend of Carlos is a friend of mine, I practice saying, as I unlock the door handle and pull it open.

I’m completely unprepared for who I see.

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