Oblivion

by Jennifer L. Armentrout

  She laughed, and I wanted to shout my approval. “Let me guess, your favorite kind of picture book is the one you can color in?”

  “I never stay in the lines.” I winked.

  “Of course not.” She looked away, swallowing. The laughter and the smile died off. “I’ve got…to go.”

  I swung around. “I’ll walk you home.”

  “Um, I live right there.”

  “Hey, I’m being a gentleman.” I offered my arm. “May I?”

  Laughing under her breath, Kat shook her head, but she folded her arm around mine. She started to walk, but I bent at the knees and scooped her up in the air. She squeaked as one hand fisted the front of my shirt. “Daemon—”

  “Did I tell you I carried you all the way back to the house the night you were sick? Thought that was a dream, eh? Nope. Real.” I went down one step as she stared wide-eyed at me. “Twice in one week. We’re making this a habit.”

  Our gazes met, and then I grinned at her. A second passed, and I shot off the porch, moving so fast that the wind muffled her surprised shriek. I stopped on her porch and smiled down at her. “I was faster the last time.”

  “Really,” she said slowly, dumbfounded. “You…going to put me down?”

  “Mmm.” Our eyes met again. My arms tightened, holding her close. I didn’t want to put her down. “Been thinking about our bet? Wanna give in now?”

  Her lips thinned. “Put me down, Daemon.”

  Reluctantly, I placed her on her feet, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to remove my arms. “I’ve been thinking.”

  “Oh, God…”

  “This bet really isn’t fair to you. New Year’s Day? Hell, I’ll have you admitting your undying devotion to me by Thanksgiving.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m sure I’ll hold out until Halloween.”

  I frowned. “That’s already passed.”

  “Exactly,” she muttered.

  A laugh burst out of me, and she shook her head. A strand of hair fell across her cheek. I caught it, tucking it back behind her ear. Her lips pressed together as the back of my knuckles glided over her skin. My fingers lingered along the soft skin behind her ear. God, I wanted…

  Wanted so damn much.

  I stepped back and turned around before I went too far even though I wanted to take a stick of dynamite to the invisible line drawn between us. I’d done that earlier today, in the library. Going there again in one day would cause Kat to build walls that would take a lot to knock down.

  Staring up at the sky, I counted to ten. “The stars… They’re beautiful tonight.”

  Kat stepped so she stood beside me. “Yeah, they are.” There was a pause. “Do they remind you of your home?”

  “I wish they did. Memories, even bittersweet ones, are better than nothing, you know?”

  She brushed the same piece of hair back when it fell forward again. “The Elders—do they remember anything about Lux?”

  I nodded.

  “Have you ever asked them to tell you about it?”

  I started to respond, but then laughed. “It is that simple, right? But I try to avoid the colony as much as possible.”

  “What about Mr. Garrison?”

  “Matthew?” I shook my head. “He won’t talk about it. I think it’s too hard on him—the war and losing his family.”

  A long moment passed and she said, “I’m sorry.”

  I looked at her, confused. “Why would you apologize?”

  “I…I’m just sorry for everything…you guys have had to go through.”

  Holding her gaze for a moment, I then looked away, laughing drily. “Keep talking like that, Kitten, and I…”

  “You what?”

  I would gather you close and never let go. Not like I could say that. I smiled slightly, tilting my head to the side. “I’ve decided to go easy on you. I’ll keep New Year’s Day as the deadline.”

  Kat started to respond, but I backed off the porch before she could, letting what I said and what I didn’t say linger in the space between us.

  Chapter 7

  Kat was acting…weird in class on Monday. Weirder than normal. Like she expected someone to jump out of thin air in front of her. She was quiet through trig, and I worried that she was getting sick again, even though she appeared to be fine.

  Classes dragged. As usual.

  I hit the cafeteria at lunch and immediately wished I’d gone out to grab something to eat. The slab of meat on my plate appeared to be Salisbury steak and gravy. Maybe. Wasn’t sure.

  As I turned, I started toward where Kat was sitting with Dee but drew up short. Adam was with them, as were Lesa and Carissa. My gaze shot to where we normally sat. Ash looked bored, her short blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. Andrew looked nuclear.

  Considering I hadn’t really talked to Andrew since I planted his face in the table, I should probably try being less of a douche.

  I sat down next to Andrew, dropping my plate. The other Luxen jerked. “Hey,” I said, sitting down.

  He shot me a look as he stabbed his plastic fork in the mashed potatoes. “Thought you’d be over there today.” With his back to the table Kat was at, he directed his thumb over his shoulder.

  “I like to spice things up,” I replied.

  Ash twisted toward me. Under the table, one of her long legs brushed against mine. She smiled when I arched a brow at her. “It’s got to be super boring over there. You missed us.”

  I didn’t respond.

  “Actually, I think they’re talking about the party you’re having on Friday.” Andrew shoved a fork full of mashed potatoes into his mouth. “Thanks for the invite, ass.”

  My lips curled up on one side. “You’re welcome.”

  “It’s not his party. It’s Dee’s.” Ash moved again, and this time I felt her foot brush against my calf. “But we’re invited. I’m not going to miss the first-ever party at your house, not with your parents not in town.”

  Since others were at the table, I saw right through most of what she was saying. I shifted my leg, moving it away from her. “Yeah. It’s going to be awesome.”

  Her eyes narrowed.

  Andrew leaned forward, lowering his voice. “Do you think a party is a good idea?”

  “Nope.” I bit into the gravy-covered steak. Tasted like flour and sawdust, sort of like Kat’s pancakes.

  “And you’re okay with it?”

  I sighed, forcing myself to eat the crap. “Not really.”

  Andrew started to say something, but high-pitched laughter from the table caught his attention. He glanced over my shoulder and I looked behind me. It was a girl—a cheerleader, I think. Kimmy? Kami? Tammy? No clue.

  “She’s such a slut,” the girl said, wrinkling her nose. “She went after Simon.”

  I had a really bad feeling about this conversation.

  The guy sitting next to her, one of the football players, grinned. “From what Simon says, Katy knows how to use her mouth. Maybe you should take some lessons from her.”

  My vision damn near turned red as the girl responded angrily. Hands fisting, I started to turn around and pick up one of them, if not both of them, and throw them into the wall.

  Ash put her hand on my arm and spoke with her voice low. “Don’t. You need to not do whatever it is you’re planning to do.”

  “I’m not planning to do anything,” I gritted out. What in the actual hell was Simon saying about Kat? It was total bullshit.

  Ash jumped in, distracting me before I could say anything. “Leave it alone,” she warned. “It’s just people being dumb.”

  More like people just being seconds away from being blasted into next week. Forcing myself to turn back around, I promised that I would so deal with that shit later.

  Her bright blue eyes fastened on her brother. “Anyway,” she said, tipping her chin. “Have you heard from Uncle Lane or Uncle Vaughn recently?”

  My brows lifted and I almost choked on my spit. Uncle Lane and Uncle Vaughn? Shit. That was actuall
y almost funny, except… “Come to think of it, no, I haven’t heard from either of them.”

  “Neither have we.” Andrew had finished off his potatoes and was eyeing mine. They may have been instant and tasted like paste, but I’d shank him if he reached for them. “Kind of strange, isn’t it?”

  Yeah, that was strange. Our DOD babysitters hadn’t gone longer than two weeks without checking in, and it had been… Shit, how long had it been since I’d last seen one of them? A while. Their absence, now that I thought about it, didn’t sit very well, especially after the light show that had gone down on Halloween.

  “All right, I’m out.” Ash stood, leaving her plate on the table. “See you losers later.”

  I had no idea where she was going, but my mind was whirling around the officers’ absence. Normally the DOD would be all up in our business after something like that, and all I’d seen was the black tinted-out Expedition at the hospital when…when Kat had been there.

  I glanced over at Kat’s table, and all thoughts of the DOD dropped to the wayside. My hand tightened around the plastic fork.

  Some guy was sitting next to Kat. No—wait. I’d seen him before. He was the guy I’d almost run over in the hallway Friday. Kat knew him? The guy smiled at something she said. Kat tipped her head back. Strands of long dark hair fell back over her shoulders as she laughed.

  The plastic fork snapped in my hand, startling me.

  “Whoa.” Andrew eyed me. “You’re not going to slam my face into the table again, are you?”

  “Do you know who that is?” I asked instead.

  “Who?”

  I jerked my chin over at the table. “That guy.”

  Frowning, Andrew looked over his shoulder. “The guy sitting next to Katy?”

  “Yeah.” I let the shattered pieces of the fork fall to the table.

  Andrew turned around, facing me. “I have no idea, man. He must be new.”

  The guy laughed this time and then he leaned in against Kat, bumping her shoulder with his like he was her new best friend.

  What. In. The. Hell.

  Something in my chest fisted. This bitter, acidic sensation shot through my veins as I watched Kat and this guy. I didn’t know what it was, couldn’t put a name to it, but I didn’t like it. Not one bit.

  I shouldn’t even be paying attention to this. The whole thing with the absentee DOD was far more important. Should be top freaking priority, but I couldn’t stop staring at their table. Every time this asshole laughed or Kat smiled, I wanted to walk over there and toss the dude through one of the glass windows. Probably would get into some trouble over that, but I was seriously debating it. There was a damn near primal urge to claim what was—

  Kat looked over at my table, and even though there was a sea of bodies between us, our gazes connected. The fisting in my chest increased. I don’t know how long we stared at each other, but the only thing that broke it was the warning bell ringing overhead, signaling the end of lunch.

  Standing up quickly, she picked up her plate and started to reach for her bag. The guy beat her to it. Picking it up off the floor, he draped the strap over her shoulder. Blood roared in my ears.

  “Yo. Dude.” Andrew leaned across the table and clamped his hand on my shoulder. My head swung sharply in his direction. His voice was low. “Your eyes.”

  I blinked, forcing the whitish tint from my vision as I pulled back from Andrew. Rising to my feet, I looked over at the table. Kat was gone. So was the guy. And that sour feeling was burning a hole right through my gut.

  I waited for Dee outside her last class. She stepped out, swinging her bag over her shoulder. Spotting me, she raised her dark brows. “Whatcha doing here?”

  Pushing off the wall, I fell in step beside her. “Maybe I just wanted to walk my sister to her locker.”

  Dee snorted. “Yeah. Okay. And I’m not going to my locker. Don’t need to.”

  “Perfect.” Having already dropped my stuff off at mine, I shoved my hands in the pockets of my jeans. “What are you doing now?”

  “Not sure. Might go see Adam. Might go home.” Stepping sideways to avoid knocking into a smaller boy, I carefully edged past the crowd. It was a mass exodus. “You’re not hanging out with Kat?”

  “Uh.” She focused straight ahead, her eyes wide. “No.”

  I wet my lips as we hit the double doors. I opened them with my elbow, letting Dee pass through. “And why is that? You two not BFFs anymore?”

  Her lips pursed. “I think she’s busy today.”

  A boulder formed in my stomach. “Kat busy? Doing what?”

  “You say that like she doesn’t have a life,” she said, sliding me a pinched look as we left the sidewalk and cut across the grass toward the parking lot.

  I started to defend myself and then realized that I kind of did sound like that. “Sorry,” I muttered. “I just meant that she’s usually with you.”

  “Well, you do know she has other friends, like Carissa and Lesa.”

  Relief pecked through me as a gust of cold wind smacked into us. “Is she with them?”

  “No.” Dee sighed as she stopped at her Jetta. Opening the car door, she threw her bag in and faced me. “I’m not even sure why I’m telling you this, because I have a feeling you’re not going to be happy, but she went with someone to Smoke Hole diner.”

  And all the relief was gone in an instant. “With that guy from lunch?”

  Dee nodded, and she exhaled loudly. “And he’s coming to the party Friday night.”

  I stared at her. “What in the actual fu—?”

  “I didn’t really invite him. The girls did, and you know, it’s not a big deal. He is actually pretty nice and he’s normal,” she said, meeting my eyes. “And I think Kat needs—”

  “She doesn’t need normal,” I snapped.

  Her emerald eyes brightened. “Then what does she need, Daemon?”

  Me.

  I wanted to shout that from the top of Spruce Knob, scream it in everyone’s face. Not weird or anything. But I was pissed. Stepping around Dee, I left her standing there and headed toward my car. I got in behind the wheel and cranked the engine.

  Pulling out of the parking lot, I headed toward the house. I wasn’t going to the diner. It would be messed up even for me to do that. Once I hit the highway, I reached into my pocket and dug out my cell phone. Tapping on the screen, I hit the contacts and started scrolling until I found the contact I was looking for.

  Kitten.

  I started to hit her name, but cursed under my breath. Shoving the phone back in my pocket, I focused on the road ahead. I should go see Matt and ask if he’d heard from Uncle DOD recently. That was important.

  Except once I got all the way home, I sat in the driveway for a damn eternity and then peeled out of it. I wasn’t even kidding myself. I knew where I was going. I was that messed up. But it was like I had to see it for myself that she was really at a diner with some ass who just waltzed into town.

  I pulled into the parking lot of Smoke Hole and killed the engine. Seconds away from opening the car door, having no idea what I was doing, I felt the warm shiver along the back of my neck. My gaze cut across the parking lot and I saw them standing under a tree talking. Branches shook above them, scattering dried leaves. I reached back, rubbing my hand along the nape of my neck. If I felt her, didn’t she—

  The guy leaned toward her just as a loud crack echoed through the parking lot. A thick, skull-crushing branch broke free, spiraling down on them. I was out of the car, my heart dropping and my eyes never leaving them. If that branch hit Kat, it would…

  Kat shot toward the guy and a rush of power rippled over the parking lot, lifting the hairs along my arms, and the branch.

  It stopped.