Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 80563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80563 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 322(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
She just shakes her head but doesn’t hesitate. “Then, Lucas, I invite you into my home.” I hear her heart flutter as soon as the words leave her lips. She’s not stupid, not at all, and she’s well aware that I could speed inside, press her up against the wall, and sink my fangs into her neck before she can say a spell.
I step in and close the door behind me, then take a second to look around. The foyer is in the center of the house, and the stairs come down right in front of the door. There’s a small office off to one side, with cluttered desk and full bookshelves lining one wall, and a living room to the other side.
Callie kicks off her heels and goes through the foyer and into the kitchen, not stopping until she’s at her fridge. She opens a middle drawer on her fridge and pulls out a bottle of wine.
She’s already drunk. What is she trying to forget?
“Haven’t you had enough?” I take the bottle from her hands. “I admit it’s been a millennia or two since I’ve had anything other than blood to drink, but judging by your size, you’ve had more than enough tonight.”
“Oh please.” She grabs the bottle out of my hands. Her face is set, but her eyes can’t lie. The darkness is storming inside of her, threatening to swallow her whole. My insides clench—a feeling I haven’t felt in years—and I want nothing more than to reach out and comfort her.
But…why?
“I can drink as much as I like. Why[HW6] , are you worried I’ll overdo it and die or something?”
I study her face, hoping for another clue. She gives me nothing but a hardened expression. “Not worried, though I do think you’ve already overdone it.”
She twists the top of the bottle of wine as if it were capped before realizing there’s a cork in it. Setting the bottle of wine on the counter, she holds her hand over it and magically brings the cork out of the bottle. I don’t drink anything but blood, but that little party trick was impressive as well.
“Why are you set on drinking yourself to death?” I pick up the bottle again before she can pour herself a glass.
“I’m not.”
“Really? You have enough alcohol in you to make me feel drunk if I were to drink your blood.” I can’t let myself think about it too hard or I’ll get, well…hard.
“I didn’t realize it worked like that.”
“It doesn’t affect me as much as it affects you, but what you eat or drink does make its way to your bloodstream.”
“Hmm. Good to know.”
“Really, Callie,” I start and lean in. She meets my eyes only to look away, and then back again. “What are you running from?”
Her eyes fall shut, long lashes coming together. Her shoulders hunch forward as she lets go of the facade she’s putting on. She’s no longer badass witch Callie.
She’s just Callie.
And I still think she’s pretty fucking badass.
“There’s an emptiness inside me.” Her voice is thin and hallow[HW7] and each word speaks to me on a level I didn’t know possible. “And no matter what I do or how hard I try to ignore it, it never goes away. The emptiness will always be there, slowly eating away, seeping deeper and deeper into my bones until it becomes a part of me.”
If my heart could beat it would be hammering away in my chest right now. I feel the emptiness too. It’s a void inside of me. It’s consumed me over the years and I’ve let it. I fell so far into the dark I can’t see any light above me.
I am the dark, and I never thought anyone would ever understand. Let alone someone who’s still alive.
“And I’m mentally preparing myself for possibly considering going to my niece’s birthday party in like a week,” she adds.
Just when I think I might have figured her out… “You’re drinking now for a party that’s a week away?”
“It’s a long story, and no, I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I believe you,” I tell her. She doesn’t want attention. Doesn’t want me to poke and prod at her until she relents. The emptiness inside hurts her, much like it hurts me.
I don’t want to talk about it either.
I just want something to fill it…to let me feel something other than the numb hollowness inside of me. Our gazes meet, suddenly I realize that it’s not something that will save me from the darkness, but someone.[HW8]
Her lips part and her heart bounds through her veins again. We both want to feel, and while I don’t know if I can fix what’s broken inside of me, I know I can make us both forget about the pain we’re destined to carry inside of us.