This Blood that Bonds Us (This Blood that Binds Us #4)

32. Thirty-Two

Thirty-Two

Kimberly

I’d sobered up long before the boys had, and as I did, all my fears and thoughts came tumbling back one by one. We took our time on our way back to the car. At least the alcohol had lasted long enough for me to brave through Presley’s second favor. All three of us sang karaoke in a nearly empty bar in the middle of the day. I’d have done it regardless, because it was good to see him smile.

The boys sang Avril Lavigne at the top of their lungs as we walked back toward the car. The sun was gone, but it wasn’t late yet. Only 5:00 p.m., but it felt like midnight in the pitch-black cold that encircled us. The soft rumble of cars on the nearly barren roads eased my worries, and the snow-blanketed trees covered us. We were alone there, and it was comforting when it was just us three.

Presley grabbed the edge of a streetlight and jumped on the base, spinning around in his drunken state while Aaron kneeled to the ground and serenaded him on one knee. The plastic base cracked, and I prepared for it to fall. It was the normal Calem ridiculousness that I had missed. We hadn’t had a carefree night in what felt like months. I didn’t like to count how long it had actually been, but I had a calendar. I knew the time down to the day—the hour even. I never talked about it, but I liked to know in case it could be useful somehow.

The boys spun around in the snow, lightly grabbing me and blending me into their shuffle. A bright flash of green sparked in my peripheral.

“Whoa, do you see that?” I pointed to a green hue that blurred and bended in the darkness of the night sky. I followed it, running in my new body that had started to be more fun. I liked that when I saw places I could go and be there in seconds.

“Kim!” the boys called after me as I disappeared into the trees, but their footsteps stayed close. Through the trees, the lights of the city grew dim and the green hue in the sky got brighter. I went for an opening in the trees. My boots weren’t made for the amount of snow covering my calves, but it didn’t stop me from following that light until I stared in awe at the wispy green light bending in the sky.

Presley tackled me from behind with a laugh. “Don’t tell me you’re dragging us into the mountain of snow to see the green gas in the sky.”

We fell into the snow, and Aaron came in shortly after.

“You’ve never wanted to see the northern lights?” I asked while laying my head in the blanket of snow. The boys followed suit, nudging their heads close to mine as they stared at the sky.

“I kinda forgot it existed, but you’re right. It’s so cool!” Presley exclaimed.

“Have you always dreamed of seeing it, Burns?” Aaron’s hand found mine in the snow.

“Kind of. I imagined I’d come out here and hike. Alone.”

“Typical Kim. Always trying to get herself killed somehow,” Presley said.

The laughter settled between us. Seconds turned to minutes as we watched the light twist and bend in a swirling pool of green and blue.

Presley broke the silence. “Remember that shitty picnic by the lake when we almost killed you by making you jump in the lake a hundred times?”

“Kimberly’s birthday,” Aaron murmured.

I could never forget. The hike there and our time spent at the lake. All five of us with the unwilling William to accompany us. The Calem boys serenaded me as my birthday present, and I’d never stopped thinking about it. The sight of all four of them and the love they shared overwhelmed me. Silently, I’d hoped it would rub off on me.

My face warmed and tears stung my eyes. “Luke made the best cake I’ve ever tasted.”

“I really miss Zach’s pissed-off scowl. He’d be so annoyed we decided to run off and lay in the snow,” Presley said.

“Luke would love the lights,” Aaron said.

“He’d probably tell us to journal this moment, to write about it in our diaries and tell all our feelings.”

We all laughed. I couldn’t see their faces, but their grief fell into mine. We’d broken our golden unspoken rule to not speak of the twins.

Presley’s laughter sputtered to an end, but a roughness stayed in his voice. “Do you think it was worth it? Sometimes, I wish Blackheart didn’t exist because then it wouldn’t feel like this.”

That place wasn’t their beginning, but it had been the start of something for them. Zach and Luke were secretive, keeping a distance, but finally we’d worked together as a team. They’d pulled back the veil and let their brothers in. It left a mark on them, and it certainly left a mark on me.

“It was worth it. It was just the beginning, Pres. Not the end.”

“You really believe that?” Presley asked, voice breaking.

“More than I’ve ever believed anything else.” Aaron’s voice was strong as he squeezed my hand tighter. “We’re going to get them back. I promise.”

“But what if it costs . . . everything?” Presley asked.

“I’m all in,” Aaron said with a finality and sureness that startled me. I’d needed that answer from him, and his brother did too.

“Me too.” I grabbed Presley’s hand just above my head.

We would get them back, whatever it took. The thought should have scared me, and I knew it would haunt me late at night, but I couldn’t be scared holding the hands of the people I loved most in the world. Instead, as I stared at those bending lights, I felt what could be described only as unfortunate, powerful hope.