“You can always come home with me.” He said.
I laughed into his shirt. “No I have to be stronger than that, my mom deserves it. Not this, and definitely not that whore. What kind of woman jumps into bed with a man who just lost his wife?”
Dean leaned back to meet my gaze. “What do you mean what kind of woman, isn’t it just Lilith?”
I shook my head no. “I don’t think so, when I touched her hand I sensed evil beneath her skin, but I didn’t see the black eyes or ribbons of Lilith inhabiting her body. I honestly think the woman herself is evil enough to want my mother dead and me in an asylum. I think.” I took a deep breath. “I think my dad has been cheating with her for a while.”
Dean took a step back and his mouth dropped open. “Seriously?”
I gave him a half smile and looked back at my house. The front blinds parted, and an unfamiliar face stood staring out at me. I didn’t know Bridget yet, but I was determined to change that. If she was seeing my father, possessed by Lilith or not, I needed to know if she was really evil.
“If you need me…” He said smoothing the hair from my face.
The idea of being away from him felt strange. He was so much a part of my life it was like he was an extension of my own body. A rugged, tall, and more muscled body, but all mine just the same.
He kissed my mouth. His tongue exploring the crevices of my mouth. It was the first time I’d really let him kiss me in over a week. God I missed him. My body fought against my brains control until the snap echoed in my brain. My fingers ran up his shirt and across his stomach. He shivered when my fingers dipped below his jeans.
He jumped back and held my hands away from him.
“Pacey…what in the world are you doing?”
A devilish smiled tugged at my mouth. “Nothing.”
Dean shook his head and pulled me tight against him. “I love you. If you need me…call. I can be here in five minutes. I hate leaving you here.”
He glanced back at the house, but I shook my head no.
“I’ll be okay.”
“I could sleep out here in my truck?” He offered.
I laughed. “No I’m sure your mom has been missing you. Go home, I’ll call if I need you.” And I did need him, every moment of every day for the rest of my life. But saying that would just make him sleep on my front porch and that would only piss off my dad.
“I love you. Now go home.” I said.
He smiled kissed me once more and rushed to his truck. I grabbed my bag and turned to stare up at the house where my mother had died. The same house I grew up in, where I myself almost died. I took a deep breath for courage and walked inside.
Dinner that night was bizarre. Bridget looked at home in my mother’s kitchen and I had to fight nausea while I watched her navigate through the cupboards and drawers like she owned the place. She made spaghetti. I picked at my food but refused to actually eat it. I wouldn’t put it past her to poison me. She was after all the one who talked my father into signing my commitment papers.
“Pacey dear don’t you like your linguine?” Bridget’s shrill voice made my eardrums hurt.
“It’s fine.” I said flatly.
My father spent the remainder of dinner ignoring me or staring with disdain. Dean’s house was looking better and better every minute.
“I’m going to bed.” I shoved my plate away from me and rose from the dinner table.
Bridget’s breath caught. “At least clean your plate.”
I snorted and walked away from the dining room without responding. She was sure as hell not my mother.
I could hear my dad making excuses for me when Bridget’s high voice barked in anger. The woman was awful. Fake. I could see behind her acrylic nails and blond highlights. She wanted to paint the picture of class and beauty, but inside she was decay. Selfish and rotten to the core. Only a woman like that would go after another woman’s husband.
The next morning Wes showed up bright and early. Rhi was with him. They rolled in cheerfully and I envied them their light mood. I was still carrying the anger from the night before.
“Hey P.” Rhi said when she strolled through my door.
Her eyes weren’t nearly as heavy with eyeliner, and her nose ring was missing. She looked different…happier. It was as if my week away hadn’t even happened. Wes smiled when he saw me.
“Hey you, did Dean tell you the good news?”
“Yep.” I said a little too sharply. Bitsy’s soft face rose in my mind. Did Rhi really do that to my poor kitten?
“Did you kill my cat?” I said between clenched teeth.
Rhiannon frowned, the worry pulling at her eyes. “Hell no, why would you even ask me that?”
I dug through my jeans pocket for my phone. I scrolled through my incoming messages for the text. I shoved the phone into Rhi’s hand. Wes hissed when he saw it. Rhi gagged and threw the phone into Wes’s outstretched hands.
“I swear to God Pacey I didn’t do that. My phone was stolen…ask Wes he knows.”
Wes nodded and handed me back the phone. The anger I’d being carrying around towards Rhiannon evaporated.
“Thank God.” I said.
Rhi held out a hand in truce and I pushed it away and threw my arms around her. Tears sprung to my eyes.
“I’m sorry I doubted you.”
Rhi laughed. “I’m a total bitch most of the time so I can’t even blame you. I didn’t shoot our friends or hurt your cat. I was really angry when Wes told me what you thought but…I guess I’m over it. You’re my best friend.”
We held onto each other for a while longer. Wes finally pulled us free.
“As hot as this is, we do have shit to do today.” He said.
I laughed and then frowned when I saw Bridget hiding in the shadows of the kitchen watching us.
“What’s wrong?” She asked.
I glanced farther inside and noticed my dad making breakfast. It was obvious Bridget had stayed over, which only added to my bad mood.
“Come to my room.” I whispered.
Wes’s eyes went wide as he tilted to see into the kitchen. I wacked his arm and pointed towards the stairs. Dean texted to let me know he was on his way. When we were finally alone in my room with the door shut I let my voice rise in anger.
“I can’t stand that bitch.”
Rhi snorted. “You mean daddy’s new plaything.”
I groaned and threw myself down on my bed. Wes laid beside me and reached for my hand.
“It can’t be that bad.” He said.
Rhi laid down on my other side and laughed. “You’re kidding right, she looks like a troller.”
“Troller?” I asked.
Rhi sat up and glanced down at us. “Yea you know one of those woman who trolls for married men because the single ones are too easy. She likes the challenge, it makes her feel better about herself. Twisted right?”
Wes and I laughed and then I said. “Where do you get this stuff?”
Rhi smiled. “Jerry Springer of course.”
She laid back down and I resumed staring at the ceiling. A dark water stain was near the right corner near the window. Last fall we’d gotten heavy rains and the roof leaked. My mom had bought the paint only a few months ago to paint over it.
My heart clenched. I squeezed my eyes shut against the pain.
“You know.” Wes said clearing his throat. “Your dad could just be lonely…they were married for what…twenty years. Longer. That has to be hard.”
I swallowed and opened my eyes. He was sitting up and staring down at me and Rhi.
“I’m sorry Pace, people do stupid stuff sometimes.”
I smiled wearily and nodded. He blushed and looked away. Probably remembering our own stupid past.
Someone knocked softly on the bedroom door before opening it. Dean peaked in and grinned.
“Hey, did I miss the threesome?”
Rhi laughed and got up from the bed. Wes followed her lead. But I propped myself up on my elbows and
yanked my head in invitation. Dean flew from the doorway to the bed and landed hard at my side. His arm pulled me down and he kissed my neck noisily.
“Gross.” Rhi said from the doorway.
“We’ll be waiting downstairs.” Wes said on a laugh.
I nestled inside Deans arms and stared back up at the water stain.
“How was last night?” He asked.
I groaned.
“That bad.”
I sucked in a breath and said. “Worst. She cooked.”
He laughed and I elbowed him in the side.
“It’ll get better.” He whispered and kissed my head.
“When?” I said on a sigh.
“Today, every day, as long as you keep trying.”
My dad was downstairs waiting when Dean and I emerged from my bedroom. I was aware that my hair was messy and my clothes were wrinkled, but I didn’t care. The day he said he was sorry for his date staying over, I’d be sorry for making out with mine.
“Pacey.” My dad said.
I stopped as my fingers reached for the shiny gold front door knob.
“Yea.” I didn’t turn to meet his face. I stared at the wood grain and squeezed Dean’s hand. He squeezed back in comfort.
“How long do you plan on being out?”
I took a deep breath and turned. Bridget was watching us from the kitchen. Her eyes were narrowed. I rolled my own and then looked back at my father.
“I don’t really know, are you going to try to give me a curfew?”
My dad laughed. “Not hardly. I just…I worry.”
I met his eyes and felt my heart drop. He was sad, I could see the tears swimming in his eyes. I took a deep breath and took a step forward. I glanced at Bridget and smiled knowing full well that what I was about to do would put more distance between them. I dropped Dean’s hand and wrapped my arms around my father. His arms slipped around me and his body shuttered.
“I’m sorry baby.” He whispered.
“It’s okay daddy…I still love you.”
I drew back after a few minutes and wiped my eyes. Dean held out his hand and I took it, but not before I saw the look of anger on Bridget’s face. That wedge she was trying to create just got a tiny bit smaller. I finger waved to her and followed Dean out the front door.
Chapter Sixteen
Demon Hunters
By the time we got on the freeway, we’d already missed the morning traffic. The bad thing was that since it was a Saturday it didn’t really matter what time of day we left, traffic would be bad regardless.
While we were on the road. I practiced my second sight. Before I left the mental ward Ruthie had told me that one of the best ways to learn how to control my new gift was to practice on family and friends. On the people I could trust the most.
The idea was that if they tried to block me, I’d learn to navigate their minds without them realizing it. In the end I would get stronger, and learn how to sift through the overwhelming amount of data people kept in their heads.
So far, I’d learned about Dean losing his virginity to his dead girlfriend, and Rhi and Wes’s first kiss.
“Don’t think about Wes…Don’t think about Wes.”
I started laughing when I heard Rhi actively trying to block me from the memory.
“I can’t believe you guys kissed and neither one of you told me.”
Wes’ mouth dropped open and Dean laughed. “Way to go Rhiannon.”
Rhi surprised us all when she blushed.
“You’re not mad are you?” She asked.
I snorted and said. “Devastated I mean, why wouldn’t I love him, with his scaly feet and sweating palms. Don’t forget about that slight hump in his back I mean really. Didn’t I already go there.”
Wes let out a strangled sound. “Excuse me, I remember specifically that you had ice feet, and two webbed toes.”
“How dare you…Dean loves my toes.”
Dean gave me a smug look that said he didn’t actually love them.
Rhi laughed. “No wonder it didn’t work you guys are too much like brother and sister.”
And she was right, that was why it had never worked in the first place. But maybe it could for them. I could tell she really liked him, maybe she had the entire time I’d dated him and I’d been too selfish to notice.
Time went by at a snail’s pace. There was only so much digging I could do in my friend’s brains before it became seriously invasive. We played a few road games but after a while silence settled around us and I couldn’t take it anymore.
“How much longer?” I whined.
Wes sighed and said. “Five minutes less than the last time you asked.”
Even with my strengthening gift, it was hard to be crammed in a vehicle with three other people. I could only hold out for so long before I wondered what they were thinking and then immediately regretted the decision to peek.
It was like unwrapping your presents before Christmas, it took all the fun out of not knowing. Besides, it was surprising how much people thought about silly unimportant things, like what they wanted to eat for lunch, or the lyrics to a song they couldn’t remember.
The brick building was devoid of people when we drove up. It’s tall impressive stature was imposing as I stared up at it. Somewhere inside that building was a person that might be able to tell me how to kill a demon. A warm rush of hope blossomed in my chest.
The building itself was worn by time. The bricks broken and stained. Green vines crawled up one side and branched out above the glass doors. Trees of various shapes and colors grew scattered around the exterior. A bronze plaque with three words stood out against the brick wall Vincit Omnia Veritas. Latin.
I’d taken Latin for two years before I finally got sick of it. It was a dead language, one I was sure I’d never use. The significance wasn’t lost on me. It translated to The Truth Conquers All. I took a deep breath and got out of the car. Hopefully that truth found me inside.
The welcoming scent of mildew and worn books greeted my nose. The others milled around me quietly while Wes disappeared farther inside the library. A stooped older woman sat on a stool next to the front desk. Small wire rimmed glasses perched on the end of her nose, a silver chain circling her head kept them from falling to the floor.
She was everything you always expected in a librarian. Her shoulders were rounded as she held the book in front of her. Her body curving towards the book as if to shield it from prying eyes. We walked past her farther into the library.
Half a dozen tables were placed symmetrically on the right side of the room. Stacks of bookshelves encasing them. Wes was sitting with three other people at the only occupied table. Other than them and the woman at the front desk, the library was empty.
Two of the three were male, one was handsome in that tan boyish and easygoing way. The other was harsh, solid, boxy, and forceful. He looked like he knew how to cause pain, and had probably been at the other end of it at one time. His head was shaved and his eyes so dark I wasn’t sure there was any way to describe them other than black.
The third person was female, with bright red and magenta colored hair and very pretty. Books sat on the table surrounding her, and another one lay open in her hands. Her long hair piled chaotically on top of her head. She wore dark jeans, a tee shirt, and black thick framed glasses. She ignored the boys who sat with their heads close together whispering. Her jaw locked in annoyance.
Wes turned when he saw us approaching and stood. He held out a hand to handsome and said. “This is Kyle, my roommate.” He pointed at dark brute. “This is Alex, and this…” He paused to glance at the red headed female actively trying to ignore him. “Is Charlie.”
Dean and I said hello in unison. Rhi faked a yawn. She wasn’t big on libraries or research really. I had a feeling she’d have been happier at home planning Lexie’s social murder.
Kyle spoke first marking himself as the trio’s unofficial leader. “Hi, it’s nice to meet you.” He nodded at the others but his eyes sta
yed on me.
Brute, or Alex rather, half smiled and raised a brow. He stood and sauntered towards me, his eyes on the scars visible on my neck.
“I don’t know what it is about girls with scars, but I’m finding myself very attracted to them lately.” He turned towards Kyle. “What was that chic’s name again, the one back where you grew up?”
Kyle took a deep breath and frowned. “Lo.”
Charlie’s head shot up then. Her eyes drifting towards Alex then to Kyle, then back to Alex again…A look of uncertainty creased the furrow between her eyes.
“Hi.” Charlie said when her gaze landed on me.
I walked past handsome Kyle, and brute Alex, and held out my hand. Charlie took it and squeezed once before releasing it. The boys corralled Dean, Wes, and Rhi towards a different part of the library leaving me alone with Charlie.
“Take a seat.” She said with confidence. Making me realize at once that she was their leader and not Kyle.
I took a chair across from her and tried to hide the shake in my fingers. Charlie’s eyes glanced down my face then paused on the scars at my neck.
“Did she do those?” She asked motioning towards the marks.
“Yes.” I said with a hiss.
I didn’t hate the staring as much as I hated what it usually implied. Pity, was something I’d never easily digest.
She reached out with one pale hand. “May I?”
I took a deep breath and shrugged. “Sure.”
She leaned across the table and moved my shirt sleeve up, inspecting the scars that were on my lower arm and then my shoulder. Her fingers were cold and a shiver ran down my spine. I squirmed against the sensation and she withdrew.
“Do you have the weapon from the injuries?” She asked.
I frowned. Why would I keep the knife that had tried to kill me and successfully taken the life of my mother.
“It’s just, the weapon is powerful for you.” She said.
My face must have scrunched in frustration, because her eyes softened and she tilted her head in understanding.
Lilith Page 14
