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I’m not sure why.
It doesn’t matter.
My feet move as our group moves away from the parking lot, away from where this whole thing started.
We jog out onto the street, finally catching our breath as people surround the fires. It’s not just the residents of the apartment building anymore. It seems to have attracted quite a bit of attention. Sirens blare in the background, emergency services on their way.
Trine stands next to me. “Rei,” she says. “Are you okay?”
She seems genuinely concerned, which isn’t at all what I wanted. I don’t want her to worry about me when I’m so worried about her.
“I’m okay,” I say, turning to look at her.
She raises her eyebrows. She obviously doesn’t believe me. I hold her shoulder and squeeze it softly. “I’m going to be okay,” I say. “I promise. For the time being, I think we need to get out of here.”
“Where are we going?” she asks. I don’t think she’s asking me; she’s asking all of us. But none of us seem to know exactly what we’re supposed to do now, so it doesn’t surprise me at all when Bryony answers her.
“We go where we always go when things are fucked up,” she mumbles under her breath.
Trine rolls her eyes, her arms crossed over her chest, but she shrugs her shoulders and nods. “Yeah,” she says. “I guess that makes sense.”
TRINE
We have to take two taxis to get to Alana’s house. There is no way we can all fit in one car. When we file into the car, I notice that Misha is looking down at his phone, his brow furrowed in concern.
I know he’s been worried about me and I feel like I’ve barely seen him lately with everything that has been going on.
Luckily, he sits in the taxi next to me without me having to ask. I think he’s feeling a little protective toward me. Rei rides in the front, with Malon, Luke and Bryony in the taxi right in front of us.
Misha puts his phone down on his lap as he sighs, his dark eyes catching my gaze. “Hi,” he says, his hands outstretched on the seat between us. I let my gaze slide down the length of his arm, over the black ink coiling over his skin. “How are you holding up?”
I look up at him. He looks tired, dark shadows under his eyes accentuating just how dark his eyes are.
He smiles at me, and I have to do my best not to laugh. Not because this is funny–literally none of this is funny–but because this is all so fucking absurd.
A couple of months ago, I was worrying about setlists.
Now I have to worry about fires and inheritances and demons. Not to mention the effect that this is having on the exorcists, and fuck, even Malon. I don’t know much about demons but I know he’s not having a good time.
I close my eyes as I rest my head on Misha’s shoulder and close my eyes. He drapes his arms around my shoulder as I take a deep breath. He smells so good, like a campfire after rain.
“I didn’t mean to spring anything on you,” he says. He’s talking so quietly, he’s practically whispering. But I know that Rei can hear–fuck, I know the driver can probably hear, and he’s probably wondering what the fuck this is about, considering we just left a parking lot where things were catching on fire and we’re driving away from where the cars with the sirens are going toward.
He doesn’t ask questions, though, or if he does, I don’t notice.
Misha whispers in my ear again. “Luke and I were just worried about you. We’re all worried about you.”
I resist the urge to straighten up. I’m suddenly so tired, I could sleep on Misha’s shoulder for weeks.
“It’s okay,” I say, more to myself than to him. “I know you’re just trying to help.”
“It’s your call, ultimately, but I just don’t think he’s a good influence.”
I laugh under my breath. “Are you talking about Malon? Because if we’re talking about bad influences, all of you are bad influences,” I answer. “Before any of you came into my life, it was perfectly ordinary.”
This time, he laughs in response. “You’re wrong, Trine,” he says. “There’s nothing ordinary about you.”
He traces the outline of my face with a long finger, finally motioning for me to turn around so I can face him. When he presses his lips against mine, he does so softly, to the point where I can barely feel him.
