After getting in the car and driving out of the parking lot, Wes looked down at his watch and frowned at the time. “We can get you some clothes later today—I have to pick up Luca. Do you want me to drop you off on the way, or do you want to wait in the car with me?”
“I’ll come! I’ve never picked anyone up from school before. It sounds fun.” And she could listen to music in the car while they waited.
“I think you’re the only person in the entire world who would say waiting in the pickup line at a school is a fun time.”
She felt something pulse in her chest because he referred to her as a person. “I thought Luca walked home from school.”
“He does most days, but he still allows me to pick him up twice during the week.” Bray thought the bond between Wes and Luca was incredibly sweet and genuine. She wished again that she still had something like that with Brenik, but she shrugged off the negativity. One day there would be—nothing between them could ever truly be broken. He was her little brother, and she’d always be there for him.
Wes pulled up to the brick building of the school, and they were already the first one in line. He was about to turn off the engine but paused. “I normally shut the car off, but I can leave it on for you if you want.”
“It’s not hot, and you forget I do live in a hole inside a tree—no AC in there.” She smiled and rolled down her window. “But leave the music on, please.”
Wes shut off the car and left the radio on as requested, then cranked down his window. Turning to her, he asked, “So tell me about your brother. Can he become human, too?”
Cringing, she rested her head against the seat and stared at the roof. “He’s actually my twin, but he cannot become human—he never quite learned how to cope with that.”
“Why?”
She thought about her answer, trying to put herself in Brenik’s wings. “Well, I was the only one granted the gift from the Stone of Desire. And since it’s just the two of us, I’m the only one who has been around him for the past ten years on Earth—besides Ruth, who found us when we crossed over. Junah took care of us back in Laith for the other ten years. So, I think he feels restricted.”
“Can’t you just go and hang out with other … bats?” He scratched the side of his head, not looking at her, as if it was hard to say the word and not associate it with the earthling animal.
“No, it’s only us here—most of our kind became endangered back in Laith.”
“You appear normal from the outside,” Wes ventured, “so you could do pretty much anything you want to, right?”
Staring down at her hands, Bray thought about it. “No. No, I can’t. I can’t because of Brenik. It isn’t fair for him, so it shouldn’t be fair for me.”
“That’s a bunch of bullshit. He should be happy that at least one of you can change, instead of just staying cooped up in a hole all day.” He gritted his teeth, appearing bothered by the whole thing.
“But he cannot mate,” Bray said, her voice serious with an expression to match.
One of his brown eyebrows slid up, arching so high, it disappeared under his hairline. “What?”
“He cannot have intercourse with anyone.”
Wes shook his head. “I know what mating is, but I don’t understand. Wait … oh … because you can.” He turned to the rolled down window, set his arm on the ledge, and stared outside like it was the most interesting sort of scenery. Talking to the outside, he said, “That’s still not a reason to, you know, force you to stay that way.” He faced her, then.
“He didn’t force me. I just told him I wouldn’t change anymore.” Maybe it should have bothered her, but it didn’t.
“But you offered to help me today with the gardening, and you said after the fact that you were going to change,” Wes pointed out. That’s true. She would have changed.
“You did look like you really needed the help.” A familiar song came through the car speakers. “Oh, this is a good song!” She sang along with the music.
Chuckling, Wes started to look a little more relaxed. Bray listened to the music as they talked for a while longer, until they heard the bell ring from inside the school.
“Let me hide in the back,” she said hurriedly. Before Wes could respond, she opened the car door and hopped in the backseat, crashing to the floor.
“Really?” Wes peered over the seat and down at her.
She gazed up at his face, noticing a pale scar above the left side of his lip. “Shh! You are going to ruin the surprise.”
“I don’t know. Luca’s pretty tricky to surprise,” Wes said but put on his best poker face as he turned back around.
Bray heard the car door handle lift and open—she shot up as soon as Luca told Wes “hey.”
“Surprise!” she shouted, hands banging into the roof.
A small scream escaped Luca’s throat, and Wes was laughing, a deep rumble coming out between his lips.
Luca leaned around the seat, eyebrows all the way up, hair dangling over his eye, and Bray couldn’t stop laughing. “What? How?” he asked, grinning widely.
“I’ll explain it all to you when we get back,” she answered as she crawled from the floormat and sat in the middle of the backseat.
Back at the house, Bray told Luca the same story she had told Wes, except leaving out the whole mating situation. She wasn’t going to be the one to tell Luca about all that, and she was sure Wes didn’t want her to discuss it with him either.
Wes returned outside to grab the bag from the dollar store out of the trunk of his car. He wiped his shoes on the doormat and tossed the feathers and gummy bears onto Luca’s lap, followed by the gummy worms onto Bray’s. She had somehow forgotten about those, but immediately tore open the bag and plopped one into her mouth, chewing the squishy object slowly.
“Thanks, Wes. These will be perfect to go with the rest of my costume.” Luca beamed, holding up the feathers, and his excited smile made Bray remember Halloween was only a few days away. Each year, Bray normally spent the holiday with Brenik while Ruth handed out candy. Ruth would sew them outfits each year, and the older they got, they still continued the tradition. But not this year, or any in the future.
“No problem, Lu. You know”—Wes’s head whipped to the side to face Bray—“she’s never seen Hook.”
“What?” Luca screeched, hands flying in the air and slamming down on the couch. “How is this possible? I let it slide with Brainscan this morning because that isn’t as well known, but Hook? I’m turning it on right now. Is that okay, Wes?” He was already digging through a cardboard box of VHS tapes beside the TV, until he found the one he was looking for.
Luca came back, shoving the picture on a VHS box in her face. “She looks like you, only with different wings.” He pointed to a picture of a fairy on the cover.
“What?” Wes laughed and grabbed the box out of Luca’s hand. “Are you kidding me? Bray’s hair is long and black, she has blue eyes, and her skin is the palest I’ve ever seen.”
Ripping the box back out of Wes’s hand, Luca said, “To each their own. Our opinions differ in this case.” Luca turned to face Bray as Wes strolled into the kitchen to start cooking dinner. “Anyway, it’s like a Peter Pan retelling, only Peter is old.”
“If it’s Peter Pan, then I’ll watch it.” She smiled and bumped her shoulder against Luca’s.
9
Brenik
Why do I have to feel like this? Brenik thought when he woke from his sleep. There was something inside him that caused him to feel this way. He loved his sister and knew things would have been different if their mother had stayed for them—for him. But she did not.
Bray had always been there, even when he hadn’t wanted her to be. Maybe one day he would realize how thankful he actually was for her and finally let the jealousy cease to exist. It had already started to wane after the Stone’s gift to him.
Pushing away the covers to sit up on the edge of the bed, Brenik rubbed a hand down his still-tired face. He got up to
search the room for a pair of shoes, but found nothing, only a wristwatch inside the top drawer of the dresser. It was already six-forty.
He wasn’t sure if he wanted to see anyone at the moment, but that was the old Brenik trying to get inside his head: the loner—the wanderer—the outsider.
Admiring himself in the oval mirror, Brenik appeared perfect, except for the wrinkles in his shirt from sleeping. He glided his hands down his face one more time, appreciatively feeling the smoothness of his skin. Before he left for Jeremy’s, he glanced at the portrait of himself and smiled.
“I see you didn’t find any shoes.” Jeremy laughed as he opened the door wider for Brenik to enter.
“Too lazy to put them on. Maybe I’ll borrow some of yours later.” Jeremy’s own feet were also bare, and they looked to be about the same size as Brenik’s.
“Depends on which pair.” Laughing even louder than before, Jeremy waved him in to where the couch was. “Here, sit down, the game’s about to start. I’ll go grab us a couple of beers.”
Brenik sat down onto the already warm cushions of the leather couch, and they crunched and squeaked with each movement. He found the noise exasperating.
“Here you go,” Jeremy said as he popped off the lid and handed Brenik the cold glass bottle.
“Thanks.” Gripping the bottle tightly, Brenik sipped the cool liquid and found the taste inadequate. Maybe later he would ask for something stronger. That time didn’t come because after a few moments, he immediately regretted drinking anything. “Bathroom?” he asked in a rush.
“Over there.” Jeremy pointed in the direction of where it was. Brenik shot for the door, throwing it closed behind him. He had forgotten about earlier with the orange—when the black liquid had bubbled up his throat, slow as a snake slithering out.
The beer didn’t come out as liquid either, but made a soft plopping sound as the solid thing thumped into the water—the inky black object the size of a worm.
“You all right in there?” Jeremy knocked on the door with worry in his voice.
No, Brenik knew he was not all right. “Yeah, the beer didn’t sit well with my stomach.”
“From one sip?” Jeremy asked incredulously.
“Yes!” Brenik snapped, not meaning to and instantly felt bad.
“There’s mouthwash in there if you want to use it.”
“Okay.” Turning toward the sink, Brenik noticed the bottle of green mouthwash, and the stack of paper cups sitting beside it. Hesitantly, he lifted his head from the toilet and stood to grab the bottle.
Pouring the liquid into his mouth, Brenik swished it a few times before hurrying to spit it out, not wanting to vomit up anything else black and solid.
After calming himself, he exited the bathroom and found Jeremy already seated on the couch, legs spread wide open with the beer propped in his hand against his thigh, while intensely watching the game.
“Do you want something else to drink since you can’t hold your beer?” Jeremy chuckled lowly as his ebony eyebrows shot up and then his lips puckered, causing Brenik to stare directly at those well-formed lips.
He knew at that moment exactly what he was thirsty for, the episode with the beer already forgotten. “Maybe in a bit,” Brenik said, feeling confident enough that there wouldn’t be any time for drinking.
“No problem,” Jeremy responded, with his gaze glued on the TV.
Strolling toward the couch, Brenik felt a light flutter through his entire body. The gentle sensation pulsated more and more until a growing intensity took its place when he sat down next to Jeremy.
Jeremy didn’t seem to notice that Brenik inched closer, his arm practically brushing the dark skin of Jeremy’s arm. Their skin was like night and day next to each other—the perfect yin to the yang.
The saliva inside Brenik’s mouth built up from the craving beating against his taste buds and intestines.
Brenik had no idea what was going on with the football game because all he could focus on was the growing bulge that now throbbed against his pants.
With not a care except to get what he wanted, Brenik leaned forward and gingerly pulled the bottle out of Jeremy’s hand, and placed it on the wooden table in front of them. “I think I’m thirsty now,” he said, flirtatiousness enveloping each and every word in the short sentence.
Jeremy scanned Brenik’s face for a second, appearing confused. A look of realization worked its way onto Jeremy’s face and he leaped up from the couch. He took several steps back, holding his hands up defensively. “Whoa! Hey, man, I don’t swing that way. I mean, it’s cool if you do, but I don’t.”
Brenik could hear the false sincerity of those words, and he could smell the desire that radiated from Jeremy. The bulge in Jeremy’s pants seemed to grow as Brenik swiped his tongue across his lower lip and stepped closer to him.
“Are you sure?” Brenik asked as he moved forward enough to where they were practically touching. If Jeremy’s answer was yes, then he would turn around and leave.
“No?” A question in his answer gave Brenik all the incentive he needed. He edged forward, chest touching chest, and backed Jeremy up into the wood-paneled wall. They stared at each other for a moment before Brenik crashed his mouth against Jeremy’s. Jeremy pulled Brenik’s head closer and opened his mouth to him, and they moved their lips back and forth against each other—their tongues tasting one another.
The taste wasn’t what he craved, though—Brenik needed more. “Turn around,” he instructed.
“You want me to turn around?” Jeremy leaned back, eyes filled with desire, knowing good and well what Brenik wanted.
“I said turn around,” he commanded.
As if he was in a hurry, Jeremy faced the other direction. Brenik pressed firmly against him from behind, his breath striking Jeremy’s warm neck. He tugged Jeremy’s shirt over his head, tossing it to the floor, before licking his way up from Jeremy’s shoulder, to his neck, then to right under his jaw.
A low growl escaped Jeremy’s throat as Brenik slid his arms around Jeremy’s sides to his abs, and straight to his pants. Unzipping Jeremey’s zipper with a slowness that teased them both, Brenik reached in and pulled him out, taking his large size in his hand.
Brenik may have never done this to anyone else before, but he had done it so many times to himself that he was a master at it. He stroked Jeremy up and down while tightening his grip and rubbing his own self against Jeremy’s backside.
It didn’t take long before release hit Jeremy, and he groaned loudly. Brenik ignored Jeremy’s pleasured state, feeling unfulfilled—it wasn’t enough for him—he needed a different sort of release to conquer the one inside his pants.
The smell of Jeremy’s neck and the increased pulse in that lovely thin vein called out to Brenik. A natural instinct had his canine teeth lowering. He told himself no at first, but he couldn’t control it because he was also telling himself yes. With one quick flick of the head, Brenik buried his teeth deep into the side of Jeremy’s neck—the skin easily breaking and opening for him as if it wanted the euphoria, too.
Jeremy let out a cry of pain that withered into a soft moan of ecstasy. The flesh of Jeremy’s neck pressed against Brenik’s lips as he drank the red liquid, fulfilling him and not fulfilling him at the same time.
He couldn’t stop, not even if he wanted to—the metallic taste intensified everything, lighting him up from the inside out. Jeremy’s breaths slowed down, and Brenik needed more.
The breathing from the body ceased, but Brenik didn’t finish until the last drop sat on his tongue. Carefully, he lay the body softly on the wood floor and took off for his own cabin. He didn’t think about what he had done, only what he needed to do.
Blood. The last drop of blood from a human will need to be added for you to stay as you are. The words of the Stone repeated over and over and over and over in Brenik’s head as he hurried across the tall grass, finally reaching his cabin.
Not stopping once, Brenik ran through the house toward the
bedroom, then placed his finger inside his mouth into the pool of liquid surrounding his tongue. In front of the portrait, Brenik examined it thoroughly and pressed his index finger against his painted face on the canvas.
The red blood settled there for several long seconds before becoming engulfed by the portrait, fading bit by bit until there was no red left to be seen.
A fullness flowed through his spine, his bones, his muscles, and his skin—as if everything was tightening.
In the mirror's glass, Brenik studied his image, which watched him in return—the same way the portrait did. He appeared fresher, not realizing how tired he had looked before. His pale skin glowed and his hair shined, almost radiantly.
Jeremy, Brenik thought. Hurrying back to the other cabin, he knew what he had done was wrong. Brenik wished there could have been another way, but he hadn’t been able to control himself.
The body lay on the floor, looking pale even against Jeremy’s dark skin. Tiptoeing forward, Brenik knelt toward Jeremy and kissed his own index and middle finger with a soft press of his lips. He placed his fingers against Jeremy’s dead lips. “Maybe in another lifetime things could have been different.” He had to brush away the somber emotion that washed over him.
Brenik needed to figure out how he was going to do this, how often this situation would occur. Gazing down at Jeremy, Brenik scanned his body, knowing they were the same size. Not fully wanting to, he scrambled around the house, filling a trash bag with clothing, money, and other essentials he would need.
Hate consumed him for what he was doing, but he told himself that Jeremy was dead—there was nothing he could do to change that.
Brenik scurried back to his new home. The other cabins close by were empty, so he wasn’t sure how long it would take for Jeremy’s body to be discovered.
Without pause, he dropped the bag in the living room and went to the bedroom to sit down, smacking his hands against his face.
“What is wrong with me?” Brenik stood up and paced back and forth across the wood flooring of his room, his whole body thumping along with each step. “I hate myself. I love myself. I hate myself. I love myself. It felt good doing it.”
Clouded by Envy Page 7
