Chapter 26
Kallie
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Kallie leaned against the counter. The oddness of yesterday's fight between Finn and Mace still bothered her. Finn had tackled Mace like a man possessed, and the memory made her stomach cramp.
She hated how that one instance brought back a flood of memories and how Finn had claimed he was a bad man when she was ten years old. While she didn't believe he was bad, the thought came back to her.
Now, he warned her against all the men in Everstill.
Maybe he was right, and she should be afraid. When she stepped outside earlier, all eyes were on her. She wasn't sure if she was imagining it or if the men were really watching her.
Finn carried the laundry basket into the kitchen and slapped her ass as he passed. She managed a small smile, but all she wanted to do was crawl back in bed and try to forget what happened.
She wanted to believe she was safe, but the image of Mace dragging her toward the road kept flashing behind her eyelids, and she couldn't shake the feeling that she didn't belong here. It was a personal attack, and she understood why she stood out.
If the men couldn't leave on their own and knew she could travel back and forth safely, it only made sense that they'd try to use her to leave Everstill.
It also terrified her that one day, one of the men would send her back through the rift before Finn could stop them. If that happened, she might never make it back to him.
It had taken her years to find her way back to him. What if she left and never found him again?
Finn returned to the kitchen and loaded his mug into the washer.
She slipped into the bedroom and closed the door, needing a moment to breathe.
She knelt beside her bag and dug through the contents until her fingers brushed the smooth edge of her phone.
The familiar weight in her hand reminded her of a world where people didn't drag strangers toward shadow seams. She plugged it in and waited for the dead screen to come to life.
The phone stayed black, but a faint battery icon flickered for half a second, and relief washed through her. All she had to do was charge the phone.
She didn't even know what to say to Amy. It wasn't like she could explain to the woman who lived next door where she was. Every time she came to Everstill, time seemed to pause back home while she was gone. She didn't understand how it was possible.
Amy would find it odd that she was reaching out, but she wanted to hear someone's voice from her other life. She hated how desperate she felt for something familiar, something real, something that wasn't Everstill.
Last night rattled her.
The door creaked open, and Finn stepped inside, wiping his hands on his jeans. He paused when he saw the phone in her hands, his brow furrowing. "What's that?"
She blinked at him, stunned that he didn't recognize a phone, and the next second, a cold ripple slid down her spine.
"My phone," she said slowly, holding it up.
Finn stepped closer, studying it as if it were a foreign object. "There are no phone lines in Everstill."
"This is a cell phone." She lifted the cord. "This is only to charge it."
Confusion tightened his features. She stared at him, realizing he wasn't joking about not knowing what a cell was. He'd served sixteen years in prison before finding Everstill. Weren't cell phones around at that time?
"Once it's charged, I can make calls off the nearest cell tower. No cord required." She opened her bag wider and pulled out the other things she'd brought.
She laid some gum, a map, her wallet, and a pen on the bed between them. "Remember this?"
She pulled a jacket from the bottom of her pack. Spreading it out, she ran her hand over the fabric. She wore it everywhere for a year until her last foster mother threatened to throw it away if she didn't stop wearing it.
"My old jacket?" He chuckled. "I had you wear it when..."
He sobered. She swallowed hard. That had been a hard day for both of them when he pushed her through the rift. She hadn't wanted to leave him.
Finn sat beside her on the floor and picked up the gum with careful fingers. He turned it over, studying the package.
"These are things I carried with me every time I went searching for the road to bring me to you. If I ran out of water in my bottle, I could chew gum," she said gently, watching him examine the map next.
He frowned at the lines and symbols, tracing a road with his thumb. "It's... familiar," he murmured, but uncertainty in his voice told her he didn't fully remember. She felt a pang of fear, wondering how much Everstill had taken from him.
She lifted the phone again, the screen still dark, and Finn's gaze snapped to it. "Be careful with that," he said quietly, tension creeping into his voice.
She frowned, confused by the warning. "It's just a phone."
"It's something from outside," he murmured.
She reached for his hand, threading her fingers through his, needing the contact. He squeezed back. She leaned into him, letting his warmth steady her, even as her mind spun with questions she needed to ask.
"Everything is controlled here." He glanced at the phone, then back to her. "We don't know what will happen because you've brought these things into Everstill." He paused. "What if you're forced to go away because Everstill doesn't want these things here?"
"I'm not leaving you," she whispered, more for him than for herself.
Finn pulled her closer and kissed her forehead. "I'd feel better if I knew what would happen. I need to know how to protect you."
The phone beeped softly, its screen lighting up with a dim glow, and she exhaled in relief. Before she could open her contacts, Finn snatched the phone from her.
"What are you doing?" She reached for the phone.
Finn held it against his chest as if it were dangerous. His dark gaze conflicted, and he slowly shook his head. "This could take you away from me."
The honesty in his tone made her slow down. He wasn't being dramatic. He was terrified.
She blinked. "Finn... it's just a phone."
"I don't know how it works," he admitted. "If you talk to people outside Everstill, the veil will get angry."
She stared at him, trying to make sense of what he meant. The veil wasn't a person. It wasn't alive. Was it?
"What do you mean?" she whispered, stepping closer.
Finn looked away, frustration tightening his features. She hugged her middle. He was always confident and brave. She hated seeing him bothered by something beyond either of their control.
"I don't know." He paused. "I just know this place doesn't like anything from outside."
His uncertainty scared her more than a clear answer would have. If Finn didn't know, then no one did.
She gently took the phone back from him, her fingers brushing his.
He didn't stop her this time, but his eyes followed every movement as if he expected something terrible to happen.
She sighed and turned the screen toward him.
"It doesn't matter. The phone isn't working," she said.
"There's no connection. I should've known, but I hoped. .."
She'd hoped for a lifeline, but Everstill had cut her off completely.
Finn frowned, confusion flickering across his face. "What does that mean?" he asked.
She tossed the phone back into her bag, the thud louder than she'd meant. "It means the phone won't work here. I can't call anyone. It's like the world outside Everstill doesn't exist."
A sudden crack of thunder shook the house, the sound rolling through the walls like a warning. Kallie jumped and grabbed Finn's arm, her fingers digging into his skin. He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her close and steadying her. The storm outside felt too violent, too perfectly timed.
Her heart pounded as she pressed closer to him. "Finn... what if you're right?" she whispered. "What if I'm upsetting the veil?"
The thought twisted her stomach. She'd come here for him, but what if her presence was tearing at the edges of Everstill? What if the veil could sense what was going on between them?
Finn held her tighter, his breath warm against her hair. "You didn't do anything wrong," he murmured, but she could hear the strain in his voice.
He was trying to reassure her, but he was wondering too. The thunder rumbled again, closer this time, and the house trembled beneath her feet.
She closed her eyes and clung to him as the storm outside echoed in her chest. Everstill didn't want her here.
The veil didn't want her here. The other men didn't want her here.
For the first time since she'd arrived, she wondered if coming back for Finn had awakened something that should have stayed asleep.