Page 39 of Malice and Surrender
Glancing around to make sure that no one was peeking through a drape or walking down the street, I turned to follow the path to Raine’s backyard. I had no idea if she lived alone, but the house was dark, so it was worth the risk.
The backyard was similar to the front. Overgrown with weeds, but not a blade of grass could be found in the dirt. A single chair was on the cracked and weathered patio, but aside from that, there was absolutely nothing. I pulled my small bag of tricks from my pocket and turned on the miniature flashlight. Holding it between my teeth, I worked at the lock. It was surprisingly sturdy for a shitty little house.
It took a lot more time than I anticipated, but I finally got the door unlocked. I hadn’t met a lock yet that I couldn’t pick. Reaching out with my gloved hand, I slowly opened the door and looked around for an alarm system. I didn’t think she had one. No little sticker in the window acting as a ward or any extra wires, cameras, or lights, but it was always best to be safe.
Moving to the front door, I also checked there for a security panel before relaxing. It felt strange to be inside Raine’s personal space again. The last time was when I kissed her, setting off a chain of events I never saw coming.
I knocked on Raine’s door, and she looked up from the book she was reading. Fuck, she was pretty. I hated that I thought my best friend, who was off-limits, was hot. It was a blessing and curse that we lived in the same house.
My birthday was yesterday, and it was bittersweet. I was now an adult, and I would be heading out into the world to forge my own path, as the lame-ass Mr. Wright would say. But it meant I was leaving Raine, and she was still considered a teen for two-years, two-weeks, and one day. So it was a good thing I was going to be moving out, because every day was a temptation. She was who I dreamed about at night. Raine was also the star of my dirty fantasies, and I knew I’d break if I stayed. I would end up doing something that would get us both in deep shit.
“Hey, Tink, can I come in?” I held out the last piece of my cake and two forks. “I bring a halfway decent cake with way-too-sweet icing but a surprisingly decent jam filling.”
Raine laughed, and it made me smile. No matter what, she could always make me smile. “That was a heck of a sales pitch. Not sure you’re going to make it as a used car salesman, but I’m sold on the okay-but-not-so-great cake.”
Walking in, I paused to close the door most of the way. I didn’t dare close it fully, just in case we were found in here alone. My unusual meetings with Mrs. Collins had become more frequent the last month, and she insisted I see her at midnight. I had to refuse because of my fight later. She looked pissed at me, and I wanted to stop, but I felt trapped between a bad spot and a fucking worse one.
If I told someone what was happening, there was a good chance they would think I was just some horny teen who took advantage of Mrs. Collins. If she told her husband, I was a dead man. My best option was to move out, go to school, and never look back.
“You okay?”
I lifted my head from the heavy thoughts and winked at Raine. “Yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
One adorable shoulder lifted and fell. “I don’t know, but you haven’t seemed very happy lately. I miss my teasing Kai, who would make fun of the fact I have my hair in pigtails and call me his Tink.”
I laughed. “They do look dorky,” I teased. “Just a lot on my mind, I guess,” I lied. I hated lying to Raine, but I couldn’t tell her what was really going on in my head. I stuffed a forkful of the cake in my mouth and chewed, not really tasting it.
I couldn’t help staring at her. She was lying on her stomach, feet swaying back and forth in the air. Raine was small for her age, which made her look younger than she was. She was obsessed with pink. I hated the color, but of course, it looked amazing on her. Today she had on a cotton candy-colored tank top and shorts, showing way more skin than I should notice.
“You going to eat any more?” Raine asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.
“Naw, you go ahead. I have a fight later. That much sugar will make me feel sick,” I said.
“I don’t think you should go,” Raine said softly before polishing off the last of the cake.
She pushed herself up and maneuvered so she was sitting beside me but facing the opposite direction. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she nudged me, and my heart jumped around in my chest as she stared into my eyes.
“Tell me you won’t go, at least this once. I didn’t mean to, but I saw your side earlier when you were changing.” Her eyes flicked down, and her cheeks pinked. “You had your door open. I wasn’t spying or anything, but I saw the bruises.”
Her eyes lifted to mine, and I don’t know what came over me, but I leaned in and kissed her softly. Raine’s eyes went wide, but she didn’t pull away, and before I knew it, I was cupping her face and kissing her hard. God, she tasted so sweet, so perfect, exactly how I imagined.
A strange desperation had taken hold of me, and I didn’t want to let her go. I didn’t want to leave her here in this house while I went off to school. She was the only thing that made me feel like I wasn’t just the kid who watched his mother die or had his father carted off to prison for murder. When I was with her, I wasn’t the asshole that got into fights at school, and I wasn’t the guy everyone thought wouldn’t go anywhere. She made me want to be better just by being her.
“Stop, stop,” Raine said.
Hands hit my chest, and my eyes snapped open. I stared down into Raine’s eyes in confusion, trying to remember when I pushed her down onto her back or how I ended up lying on top of her while we kissed.
“Shit,” I swore and pushed myself onto my knees.
As soon as I did, Raine jumped up, tears in her eyes. “I’m sorry, I’m not ready.”
She bolted out of the room and down the stairs so fast that I didn’t even have time to form a sentence.
“Son of a bitch,” I growled out and punched the floor as hard as I could. What the fuck had I just done?
My hands touched every surface. From the top of the television to the soft grey pillows on the couch. I looked at the small framed pictures she had, but there were none of Mr. and Mrs. Collins or anyone I recognized. I pulled the frame off the wall and opened the back to find nothing but the original image that it came with from the store. I looked at the photo of the fake smiling family, and my brow furrowed.
I couldn’t say why this bothered me, but it didn’t feel like the Raine I’d known. The girl who had made art out of rice and pop-top tabs and it still looked fantastic. She had posters on every wall and kept the most ridiculous pictures of us that I wanted to throw away. She kept everything and loved life. I looked around, and the room seemed empty and void of all emotion.
