Page 12 of Apathy
“Oh, hell no.” I laughed.
“Are you sure he knows that?”
God, his voice felt like silk over my skin, caressing every inch. As the capsules I swallowed started working, when the drowsiness and numbness started settling in, I knew I was close to succumbing to what I wanted to do.
“Not my problem if he doesn’t. I was very clear about the things I wanted and things I didn’t want.”
“And what do you want, Skylar?” He leaned closer just as Lauren stood up, leaving me alone with him. I could feel his breath on my cheek. I could feel the energy zapping between us, but I didn’t want to relent that easily.
I leaned into him, reaching his ear. “Everything,” I answered and slowly pulled away, putting some distance between us. “And nothing.”
While his face remained free of emotions, his eyes told the story I wanted to read. There was a torment there, a promise of sweet, wicked things he could do to me, but my body wasn’t my own, and I didn’t want to pull him into my mess.
I was fascinated by this tug but was also terrified of it. If I let this happen,hewould find out, and I couldn’t have that. Kane was safe because Kane didn’t have this effect on me.
I didn’t want to fight for Kane, because in reality, he was never anything more than a friend I fucked when both of us were bored. Yeah, Kane obviously developed something, or at least he thought he felt something for me, but whatever he felt wasn’t enough to keep me close to him.
Because I didn’t want him.
I knew Kane for most of my life, and yet in one day, Ash managed to do what neither Kane nor any of the other guys I fucked ever did. He fascinated me.
But it couldn’t happen.
Before he could say another word, Lauren’s voice pierced through the air. I turned around, seeing her standing next to Danny, smoking a joint, looking happy.
“Did you guys hear what happened yesterday?”
The blood in my veins froze because my yesterday was the stuff of nightmares. My mind understood that she wasn’t talking about that. How could she when she didn’t know about it? But my body still remembered his hands on me, branding my skin, leaving invisible marks that could be felt even when he wasn’t around.
“No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell us.” Rowan chuckled.
“Yeah, yeah, go and suck a dick, Ro.”
Danny wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, smiling at the interaction she had with his brother. I wondered if Lauren saw how much Danny wanted her. Was she blind or was she trying not to see?
“They found a body next to that road leading to Emercroft Lake.”
“No fucking way.” Hailey’s surprised voice filled the space. “Seriously?”
“Yep.” Lauren nodded as she leaned onto Danny. “Apparently, it was some chick. Just started university.”
“Do they know who it is?” Danny asked.
“I have no idea. I overheard two of our maids talking about it. It’s just so sad, you know?”
Yeah, it was sad. Dying was not something people could comprehend as positive, but I knew that there were worse things than death.
There were worse fates, and I just hoped that none of my friends ever found out about them.
I moved further away from Ash, putting more distance between us, until I was close to the edge of the bench. His midnight blue eyes narrowed at me, realizing what I’ve been doing.
“I don’t bite, much.”
Maybe he didn’t, but I knew someone that did more than that. And those marks… Those marks are not the kind I would like to see on Ash’s skin.
Skylar
The moment we came back to the school, I knew something was wrong. Lauren walked along my side as we went through the garden area filled with students. Some were crying, some looked terrified, while others simply looked… lost.
