“It’s perfect.” Rafe turned to me suddenly, his eyes shining brightly. The next thing I knew, he was grabbing at me (still wearing the glove, I should add), kissing me long and hard. My brain stopped working as Rafe moved from my lips to my cheeks, eyelids, and neck. When he got to my shoulders, he buried his face in my multiple layers and started laughing.
“What?” I asked breathlessly, wishing he would go back to attacking me with his lips.
“You’re wearing too many clothes.” His voice came out muffled.
My face went red. “It’s snowing out, Rafe. What did you want me to wear, a bikini?”
“Dammit…” he groaned.
“If I had known how frisky a baseball glove would make you, I would have gotten you one a long time ago.” I ran my fingers through his thick, dark hair, and he groaned again in appreciation. I couldn’t help but laugh; Rafe never usually acted like this. “Is this my present? You?”
“What?” He pulled away, blinking like he had just woken up. “Tell me something; would you be satisfied with just me as a present?”
I fixed him with a level look. “Do I really need to answer that?”
“No, don’t bother.” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small box. “Merry Christmas, Gabi.”
Chapter Three
My heart hammered in double time as I stared at the small box. Certain things came in small boxes—sparkly, shiny things that made a girl squeal with happiness. What had Rafe gotten me? We hadn’t discussed presents beforehand (I did like being surprised—somewhat, anyway), so Rafe’s decision to get me jewelry was entirely his own.
Unless it wasn’t jewelry. It could be, like, a chocolate bar or something, for all I knew.
If it was chocolate, I was going to kill him.
“Why are you looking at it like you expect it to bite you?” Rafe asked. He shifted, his jacket creaking in the silence. “Open it, Gabi. You’re killing me here.”
I glanced at him and my mouth dropped open. Rafe was nervous. I had seen him face off against the scariest, ugliest beasts around without batting an eye, but giving a gift to his girlfriend made him look like he was going to puke red velvet cupcakes everywhere.
Holy crap, what was in the box?
With trembling fingers, I slid my finger under the tape and carefully peeled back the silver paper. I stifled a gasp when I saw the blue jewelry box—definitely not chocolate.
“Rafe,” I started.
He held up a hand. “Just look at it before you start lecturing me.”
I shook my head. Sure, the baseball glove I had gotten him had been expensive, but jewelry was something different altogether.
I don’t even think I deserve this…
I slowly opened the box, gasping aloud when I saw the necklace resting inside. A small rose, made entirely of tiny, glittering diamonds, hung from a white-gold chain. “Rafe,” I said again, suddenly blinking back tears.
He grimaced. “Do you hate it that much?”
“What!” I looked at him like he had just told me he was having an affair with Boneless, the evil twin-demons we had fought a few months ago. “Hate? Hate! I’m crying because—” I stopped. Why was I crying?
My gaze shifted from his concerned face to the necklace, and back to Rafe again. “I’m crying because it’s the most amazing gift and you’re amazing and I don’t deserve it—”
“Gabi,” he cut in fiercely. “Don’t you dare. Of course you deserve this.” He took the box from me, undoing the clasp and gesturing for me to turn around. After pushing aside both the hood from my coat and my hair, he draped the necklace around my neck and fastened the clasp. Immediately, my hand went up to the rose, cradling it between my fingers. Already, the weight was comforting, familiar. I would never take it off. Never.
I turned around again, my eyes wet with tears. “It’s beautiful.”
“I thought you’d like it. You know, since you love flowers and gardening…” He blushed. “I saw it and thought of you.”
God, I was the luckiest girl ever. How many of my stupid classmates were getting gifts like this from their boyfriends? How many? NONE, I was sure of it. I couldn’t wait to march back into that school and show off my brand new necklace. I should get a freaking spotlight and aim it straight at the rose, blinding everyone with the brilliant flash of the diamonds in the process. That would show them. Ice queen? Bitch? I DON’T THINK SO.
“Uh oh,” Rafe said. “You have a scary look in your eyes right now. I know that look. I’m almost afraid to ask what you’re thinking about.”
I gave him a wicked grin. “Yeah, you probably don’t want to know.”
“So what, I kissed you for the baseball glove, but I get nothing in return for the necklace?” Rafe pretended to pout. “How is that fair?”
I slid a little closer to him. “Oh, that’s right.” Closer. “I need to properly thank you for my Christmas present.” Closer still. Rafe leaned in, eyes closed, and I tilted my face toward him, our lips about to touch—
A loud bang came from the roof, and we jerked back in surprise. Rafe cursed loudly while I glanced at the roof. We were parked down a deserted side street next to a frozen lake; had a freaking tree fallen on his car?
Suddenly, a body tumbled down the windshield, and I shrieked, my arms flailing as I hit my half-full cup of hot chocolate, knocking it over in the process. I swore. Rafe kept his car immaculate; I had probably just earned myself a lifetime ban from his precious vehicle. “Dammit! What the hell is going on!”
The body turned itself over, pressing its face against the glass, and this time both Rafe and I cursed when we saw who it was.
Evan smiled at us through the windshield. “Hi, guys!” He waved energetically.
“Evan, what the hell!” Rafe demanded.
“Turn on the wipers!” I yelled. “Quick!”
Before Rafe could flip the switch and dispose of Evan like the pesky bug that he was, the blonde did a neat summersault onto the hood of the car. Jumping to the ground, he only stumbled slightly as came around to the back and let himself in before Rafe could lock the doors.
“Hellooooo!” he sang cheerfully.
“Get. Out,” Rafe commanded.
Groaning to myself, I dug through my bag in desperate search of a tissue so I could mop up the spilled hot chocolate. Already the car was smelling like the sweet beverage, although Evan’s stink soon overpowered it.
The blonde was bombed. “Merry Christmas!” he slurred, lifting up a paper bag with his left hand. He went to take a swig of whatever was inside and Rafe snatched it out of his hand, opened his car door, and threw the entire thing out into the snow. Evan gaped at him. “What the hell, man?”
“You want it?” Rafe asked. “Go get it.”
“But it’s snowing out!”
“I don’t care!”
“Evan, what’s going on?” I asked, eyeing the blonde. He looked bad, which was unusual, since Evan was the type that made girls forget their names as they tried to find a way to jump him mere moments after meeting him. His shoulder-length hair was loose and knotty, and his blue eyes were red-rimmed. And despite his upbeat words, he sounded miserable.
“It’s Christmas, Gabi,” Evan replied. “The worst, stupidest holiday ever. Everyone is out hooking up with their girlfriends, and I’m going home to visit my parents! In California!”
“Oh yes, that must be so awful,” I muttered, thinking of the beach and tropical drinks and warm weather.
“It is, it is.” He nodded energetically, then grimaced, looking like he was two seconds away from puking.
Rafe sucked in a breath. “Outside.” He grabbed hold of Evan’s shoulder. “Outside, before you throw up in my car.”
Evan shrugged him off. “I’m not going to throw up, man! I’m just so…” He frowned, looking at his empty hand, probably wondering what had happened to his drink. “I’m so angry.”
Rafe and I exchanged a glance. I shrugged. “We can’t kick him out, Rafe. It wouldn’t be�
��nice. It is Christmas and all.”
“Screw Christmas!” Evan yelled.
Throwing his hands up in defeat, Rafe slumped in his seat and shut his eyes, leaving me to find out what was wrong with Evan.
Wonderful.
Tucking one leg under the other, I scrutinized Evan again. His eyes were burning brightly, like he had a fever, and his breath stank, so I concentrated on breathing through my nose. “Why are you angry?”
“Why? Why am I angry?” Evan frowned, looking like he had forgotten the reason. I rolled my eyes, wondering if I had made a mistake. Maybe I should have let Rafe kick Evan out of the car, forcing him to find his own way home. “Ah!” Evan suddenly shouted, making me jump. “It’s because everything is so screwed up, Gabi. I screwed up…” His body shook with silent sobs.
Oh my god, now he was crying.
“Um, okay.” I held out a hand, trying to awkwardly pat Evan on the shoulder. “There…there?” I glanced at Rafe; his eyes were still closed as he hummed quietly under his breath. Thanks a lot for your help, Rafe. Then again, he was probably so used to Evan’s theatrics that he was immune to them. “Do you want to tell me what happened? Is it about Alexandra?”
Everything went still in the car, like I had just declared my love for demons. Evan lifted his head to stare at me, showing he had been fake crying, the jerk. Rafe’s eyes had popped open, but still he remained quiet.
“Well, is it?” I asked, unable to take the silence any longer. What else could he be upset about? It was Christmas, Rafe was out celebrating (well, trying to celebrate) with his girlfriend, while Alexandra Chen, Evan’s girlfriend, was in a coma. I would never admit this out loud, but I actually couldn’t blame Evan for acting this way.
“Her parents are moving her back to Manhattan,” Evan said quietly, picking at a hole in his jeans.
“Wait, what?” Rafe turned around quickly, staring at his best friend in shock. “Since when?”
“This week. A few days ago. I don’t remember.” Evan waved his hand dismissively. “Does it matter? I screwed up, man. Now she’s gone, gone, gone. Dammit, Rafe, why did you throw my booze away?”
Rafe and I exchanged a glance. Alexandra’s parents had moved her here after the demon fight that had broken her spine. Evan and Rafe had followed, unbeknownst to her parents, but if I was correctly interpreting Evan’s rambles (and it was hard to do that when he was sober, never mind drunk), he had somehow tripped up and been discovered. Maybe it was just me, but it was a little drastic to move her again just because Evan was here. I knew they hated everything about Silver Moon and the hunters, despite being former hunters themselves, but come on. What was the point in keeping them separated now? It wasn’t like they could run away together!
“So what are you going to do?” Rafe asked quietly. “Move back to Manhattan?”
“Maybe.” Evan was staring at me when he answered, and I shifted uncomfortably. I didn’t like the way he was looking at me. Sadness mixed with regret mixed with something I couldn’t quite read. I hoped he wasn’t thinking about asking Rafe to go back to New York City with him, because then I would probably have to kill him. He exhaled loudly. “I don’t know. Everything is just…wrong.” He was still looking at me when his face scrunched up. Oh crap, he was really going to start crying now.
“Evan—”
The blonde pushed open the car door and stumbled out into the frigid darkness without another word. Rafe groaned. “That moron! What is he doing?”
“Probably trying to find the bottle you threw away.”
“Probably.” Rafe paused. “Should we…leave him alone?” He glanced at me. “We are on a date here…”
And we had been just about to celebrate when Evan had interrupted us with his sob story. (How had he found us, anyway? He’d probably used a tracking spell, which was creepy…) But it was obvious he was hurting, and letting him go off to drown his sorrows in a bottle was pretty damn mean. Even for me.
“No,” I said, already reaching for my door. “No, let’s go after him before he does something stupid.”
“Too late for that,” Rafe muttered.
Chapter Four
The pavement was slippery from the falling snow, so I waited for Rafe to come around to my side of the car before attempting to walk anywhere. Wrapping my hand around his muscular arm, I clung to my boyfriend as we set off after Evan, our boots making a soft crunching noise in the snow. The wind had picked up, sending icy fingers down my neck with a vengeance. Cursing, I huddled closer to Rafe, who didn’t seem to mind at all.
This would almost be romantic if it wasn’t, you know, fifty degrees below zero. Stupid winter. Stupid cold weather. Stupid snow.
Stupid Evan.
We followed his footprints to the frozen lake, and my stomach twisted. Evan wasn’t planning on throwing himself into the icy waters, was he? I wouldn’t put it past him. I really wouldn’t.
But, no, as we came over the hill, we found him sitting there, his precious booze in hand once more. Rafe made a noise, something halfway between a sigh and a groan, and extracted his arm from me. “I’m going to talk to him.”
“And you’re going to make me stand here in the cold, waiting for you?” Why hadn’t I stayed in the car with the heat?
Rafe grimaced. “Two minutes. Then we’ll go back and finish our date, okay?” He coughed. “After we drive him home.” I made a face, and Rafe quickly added, “I’ll buy you another hot chocolate, to replace the one he made you spill.”
My lips curled into a wicked grin. “Deal.” I pointed to Evan, who was now throwing snowballs onto the frozen surface of the lake. “Go. Talk. Drag him back to the car and haul his butt home so we can get back to the kissing, Rafe.”
At that, Rafe sprinted after Evan, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
My good humor quickly evaporated as I watched Rafe settle down next to Evan, already talking. Even from here I could see the concern on his face. Setting aside the fact that Evan had crashed our date, I really did feel bad for him. The only reason Evan had moved here was to be near Alexandra, and now he was losing her all over again. What would happen if he did decide to move back to Manhattan? Would Rafe follow?
My heart stumbled a bit at that. Rafe wouldn’t go, would he? A few months ago, he probably would, but now, I’d like to think he’d stay for me. Or was I being ridiculous? We’d only been together three months. Was I presuming too much?
I had no freaking clue. Rafe was my first boyfriend, the first guy I had ever cared about, and I was so scared I was going to do something or say something to screw up this wonderful, magical thing we had going. I didn’t want to be the clingy, desperate type, but I really, really didn’t want him to move away.
From me.
Oh god, I was being stupid again. Why did I always think I was going to lose everything good in my life?
Oh, yeah, that’s right, because Mom left. And if Mom left, when life was absolutely, freaking perfect, then why wouldn’t Rafe leave?
My throat hurt as I fought off my tears. I didn’t want to start crying on our last night together before I went off to Vermont, didn’t want to make Rafe feel guilty, even though this stupid family trip I no longer wanted to go on wasn’t his fault at all. I wanted to see him off with a smile and stop being this stupid, annoying girl who couldn’t live one week without her boyfriend!
A sudden gust of wind slammed against me, causing me to take a few stumbling steps forward. “Rafe,” I called. I was going to let him know I was heading back into the car—this winter wonderland had quickly lost its charm. He didn’t hear me, so I walked closer, about to call his name again when a freaking snowball pelted me in the side of my face. Shocked, I stumbled, only just stopping myself from falling face first into the snow.
Are you kidding me! Who the hell was starting a snowball fight? My cheek already throbbing, I whirled to my right, screaming my outrage, but my cries faded to a whimper as I stared at my attacker.
A demon.
Of course.
In the dark and with the falling snow, it was a little hard to see the demon clearly, but it was a large, hulking shape, with arms so long they nearly touched the ground. It had wings (wings!) protruding from its back—long, iridescent things that resembled cicada wings. Ugh, cicadas. If that thing had an insect face, I was going to flip the hell out.
Buggy took a step closer to me. My demon-hunting boyfriend and his demon-hunting drunk best friend were still talking, unaware of what was going on. “Rafe,” I said again, loudly, and more than a little annoyed. Could this evening get any worse? “A little help here? With this demon?”
That got his attention, and I heard Rafe shout my name as he raced toward us. The demon cocked its head to the side, and its wings began vibrating with a low thrum that set me on edge. It dropped into a crouch before launching itself into the air to meet Rafe.
There was a flash of silver, bright enough to make me squeeze my eyes shut, as Rafe summoned his sword, meeting Buggy as it flew at him. Evan was half a step behind Rafe, a blue fireball clutched in one hand. And, oh my god, he was still holding his bottle in his left hand. Priorities, Evan! You can drink later! Actually, should Evan even be participating in the fight? I was more than a little afraid he would end up accidentally setting Rafe on fire.
The fireball flew through the air, narrowly missing scorching my face.
Or me.
“WHAT THE HELL, EVAN!” I screeched, this time falling flat on my butt in my attempt to get away from his magical flying fireball of doom. The snow immediately soaked through my pants—because, you know, I wasn’t cold enough to begin with. I struggled to my feet, slipping a few times as I gritted my teeth in frustration.
Someone was going to die tonight.
The Soul Healer Page 2
