Page 33 of One Shade of Gray
After our parents died in a plane crash, we’d lived together, in our family home, for almost six months before child protective services got us. When we were separated, I thought neither of us would survive it. But we did, and we even grew into semi-productive adults. I scooped another bite of the hazelnut chocolate spread. Absolutely no dysfunctionhere.
It bothered me more that I couldn’t get ahold of Jake than that Gray had up and run away. For a flash of a second I had thought Dorian was my PrinceCharming.
When Jake and I were kids we’d play king and queen outside in our tree house. We’d rule together as brother and sister, and I would have my Prince Charming to marry, and he would have his Fairy Princess. As usual, our kingdom would be a peaceful and benevolent one. Of course, that lasted until my brother discovered video games, and I got intoballet.
That tree house was still in use by the family who bought our house at auction after we were taken away. When I’d grown brave enough to face the memories, I was happy to see the kids playingthere.
The coffee let out a faint sizzle, and I poured a cup before it burned from being left in the pot toolong.
Not bothering with milk or sugar, I sat back on the counter and sipped it black. It suited my mood that way. Bitter andhot.
Wow, I thought. One man runs away from me and I turn into the bitter old witch in the forest, waiting for passing children in my gingerbreadhouse.
I decided I really wasn’t going to wallow, and I finished the spoon I’d already loaded with chocolate, downed the rest of the hot coffee, and went toshower.
After that I put on makeup, got dressed, grabbed my things, and headed outside. I lived in Paris, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. And afterRomeo and Julietin a few weeks, maybe I’d take a job in another city to get away from the memories here. I should savor the ankle-breaking cobblestone streets while Icould.
I headed the opposite direct of my home, and Gray’s, as well as the theater. When I first arrive in a new city, I spend a lot of time wandering, getting lost, figuring out how to get where I needed. Today, I did it for the pleasure of it. I wandered the city’s tunnels and avenues until the memory of Gray was so far in the back of my mind I could barely remember the damnable spicy cologne that made me want to bitehim.
A bookstore caught my eye, but as I ran my fingers across the spines, I saw Gray sitting on his living room floor holding a stack ofbooks.
“Get your shit together, woman. He is one man, you spent a few days together. Get over it.” Talking to myself probably isn’t a goodsign.
I sighed and continued on, not going in for fear he would haunt me more inside theshop.
My favorite stationary store sat on the corner a few blocks down, so I decided to head there. The heavenly scent of fresh baked bread reached me from across the street so now I had two absolutely non-Gray related stops I couldmake.
I went inside the stationary store first and puttered around pen racks and stacks of notebooks. On the back wall, books lined a tall shelf. Lovely, leather-bound journals. I petted the spines of those as well, which were already developing a beautiful patina from other customers. I had no need for journaling or I might have beentempted.
I bought a few pens, some fountain pen refill ink, and crossed the street to the bread shop. As I entered, I tripped over the step in the doorway and fell right into a man’s arms. He caught me by the elbows and helped me stand. I glanced up to say thank you only to jerk back. “Hello,Mikey.”
“Hello, Miss.” He smiled but I scowled. The smile slowly fell from his lips. “What have Idone?”
“I thought you’d be with Gray right now,” I said, instead of answering hisquestion.
He chuckled. “I thought he would still be with you rightnow.”
I shifted the bag of supplies to my purse and rubbed my hands together, cracking the knuckles, a habit I couldn’t get rid of when my anxiety was high. “If you didn’t take him somewhere, and he’s not with me, where ishe?”
15
Dorian
Iawoke shiveringin a dark room, water dripping somewhere behind me. The last thing I remembered was the sharp bite in my abdomen. Still in my pants, I glanced down and spotted two angry red circles in the middle of my waist. Damn Tasers, definitely not an invention Iappreciated.
“You’reawake.”
I glanced up toward my captor standing in the doorway. Jake, Izzy’sbrother.
Izzy.
Her face flashed before my eyes. What must she have thought of me as she woke this morningalone?
“You have no right to hold me here. This iskidnapping.”
He chuckled and leaned on the doorframe. “I won’t keep you long. Just longenough.”
“Forwhat?”
