Page 54 of Tethered
“Well, not?—”
And that’s when I find myself flat on my back, a very dangerous look on Riggs’s face, hovering over me.
“No, don’t take that back.”
“Okay,” I whisper, raising my hand to stroke his face. “I’ve never been someone’s girlfriend before, so I might mess it up.”
“Can’t tell you how fucking happy it makes me to be yours, Opie. I don’t care how many times you fuck up. I’ll fuck up too. We’ll learn together, and we’ll figure it out along the way.”
“Promise? I don’t want to guess what I’ve done wrong. And I really don’t like the cold shoulder. When my dad wasn’t yelling at me, he would go days without talking to me at all. Most people in town wouldn’t speak to me either, and I hated it. I guess I’ve found a way to navigate most of my triggers, but that one still hits me hard.”
“I would never do that to you. There may be times I need a minute to process something, but I’ll tell you that. I won’t leave you hanging, I swear.”
“Okay.”
“You know how adorable it is that you’re more worried about how I’ll react to a handful of sparks than you planning to kill your dad.”
“You make a valid point,” I mutter, making him laugh.
“Glad you think so. Now, tell me more about these witchy ways.”
I search his face to assess if he really is cool with this, but I don’t find anything but open curiosity.
“I’m connected to the house.”
“Connected how?”
“I’m not sure. I can sense things about it.”
“Like when someone’s coming up the driveway.”
“Exactly. I’ve always been aware of the house, if that makes sense. I could feel it sometimes, and I thought it knew how I felt in return. I came into my powers, or started to, the night everything went to shit. I can’t be sure if it was my childhood trauma that brought it on early or if it was always destined to be that way. When I was arrested, the house wasn’t as connected to me as it is now. It tried, but everything was too new, and I was too weak. After I was dragged from the house and the initial evidence was collected, the house shut itself down the moment the last person left. And it didn’t open until I returned home.”
“Wait, you’re telling me your dad, after everything, couldn’t get inside?”
I shake my head as he cracks up laughing. “Oh, that’s fucking beautiful. That had to piss him off something bad.”
“It did. You should have seen his face when the door swung open for me.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t try breaking in or setting fire to the place just to stop you from having it.”
“The man is spiteful enough for sure, but he had to give up his life in order for his plan to work. I think that’s why he’s even more bitter now than he was before. Back then, everyonewas scared of him. He ruled this town with an iron fist, mostly because he controlled a lot of what came in and out of town. He had the most successful ranch this side of the county, and he loved nothing more than to rub people’s faces in it. The only person who didn’t seem to care was Austin. He controlled the other part of town. Don’t get me wrong, my dad was involved in a lot of shady shit, but he couldn’t admit that. He had to appear legitimate, at least on paper, and that meant toeing the line. Austin had no such holdbacks. I suspect he had things on both my dad and Sheriff Andrews because Austin was blatant in his dealings, and neither of them did shit to stop him.”
“Hmm…”
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing, just trying to get a better picture of this Austin guy. He’s older than us by a decade, give or take. What was his interest in a teenage girl?”
“I think he found me intriguing, that’s all. Nothing happened between us back then. He just felt sorry for me and tried to help me out when it was clear I was struggling.”
“He knows what you can do?”
“It’s complicated.”
“I’m a smart guy.” He rolls us until he’s lying next to me.
“Austin knew I was a witch before I did.” I lift my arm and show him my wrist. “It’s not a tattoo, it’s a birthmark. Once that turned black, my full powers came in. Austin recognized it. Though I may come from a long line of witches, he comes from an equally long line of hunters.”
