Chapter 22
THIS IS FINE. (IT’S SO NOT)
Faith’s wipers squeaked across the windshield in a rhythmic slide.
They were crooked and missed a spot with every pass.
I’d normally be annoyed by that, but right now it was hard to care.
Rain slithered down the glass in watery snakes, blurring the lights on the road in front of me, and a clap of thunder drowned out the swish of my tires over the puddle-ridden asphalt.
Holy. Shit.
Sky was an alien.
I readjusted my grip on the steering wheel and forced myself to breathe, despite my panic-cramped chest. I needed to keep breathing. I needed to keep driving. I needed to wake up from this insane dream.
But it wasn’t a dream. I was awake. I could tell by the way my head pounded dully.
The urge to smash the gas pedal to the metal and keep going forever was nearly overpowering. Screw it. I could go into hiding. Maybe that whole bunker thing wasn’t such a terrible idea after all.
Thank God Sandy had cut someone tonight. The idea of working the rest of the shift like nothing was wrong while Sky—alien freaking Sky—slung drinks like everything was fine and dandy made me want to throw up.
I hadn’t missed the fact he’d been throwing me quick, cautious looks before I’d taken off. He’d tried talking to me when I was clocking out. I’d practically run away screaming, all the way to my car.
Kelly had said something, too, and I didn’t remember if I’d even looked her way. I was too busy chewing over tonight’s massive revelation.
The one where Sky was an alien.
Sky was a mother-freaking alien.
“Holy shit,” I choked out, strangling the wheel with both hands. The stoplight cast red across my rain-slicked window. The engine’s rumble and the wipers’ squeaks were muffled by the rush of blood in my ears.
A part of me still desperately wanted to believe this was all a dream and I would wake up soon and never eat whatever I’d had for dinner again.
So far, I’d handled all this alien crap with surprising ease. I’d looked at it like a problem. A research project. Something separate from myself I could analyze and investigate and pick apart and, hell, maybe even solve. Like one, big cosmic-sized puzzle.
Even with the burn mark on my hand. I glanced at it, exhaling shakily. At least it was done with its whole glow stick routine. It’d returned to normal.
Sky…his involvement made it somehow even more personal. Made it real.
And you know, maybe it hurt a little.
This was Sky. He’d been a part of my life for months. I’d ridden in his car. I’d salivated over his dimple. I’d fantasized about his biceps.
I’d felt the press of his hard body against mine on the dance floor. I’d wondered what his lips tasted like.
I’d been hurt and pissed when I’d thought he was manipulating me to get answers. But that was before he’d gone all shiny and silver on me. Now I didn’t know what to feel.
His eyes had looked like they’d won first place in a Hollywood special effects competition. He’d sparkled. And not like the vampire guy from that one book. He’d had silver skin.
Shit. Did he have a robot form too? Bile rose, and I swallowed hard, forcing it back down. My head spun, and my knuckles whitened around the steering wheel.
I’d known he was hiding something, but...this? I’d never seen it coming. I couldn’t get the image of his alien form out of my head. One minute, he’d been Sky. The next, he’d been something else.
With a jolt, I realized I’d been sitting at a green light.
Sucking in a sharp breath, I gunned it. Faith’s tires spun out on the wet asphalt before catching, and I sped off toward home.
For the hundredth time since I’d peeled out of Oasis’s parking lot, I checked the rearview mirror.
Headlights beamed at me from a distance. I tensed, panic bubbling up.
What if he’d followed me? What if, now that I’d found out, he was going to come for me and...
Would they kill to protect their secret?
The image of the security guards I’d found swam back.
They obviously had no problem hurting and maiming.
I had the bruises to prove it, even if those guards supposedly remembered nothing.
If the rumors were to be believed, there’d been a flash of light, the explosion, and then they’d woken up in the hallway with no memory of anything else.
Like…maybe like I was supposed to have done.
Only I hadn’t.
If Sky’s reaction was any indication, he’d expected me to forget. Which was insane. How could I forget anything about any of this?
Wait…oh shit. Speaking of forgetting.
Sky already knew where I lived.
He’d dropped me off. Oh God. He didn’t need to follow me. He could easily find me again. Sweat slicked my palms, and I split my attention between the road and the lights behind me.
Maybe I should skip going home. Maybe I should run. I could just keep driving. Keep going and going…
The headlights in my mirror turned off onto the highway, fading away. I sagged into the seat. False alarm.
Sky wasn’t following me.
It’s not like he’d tried to stop me at Oasis, either.
He’d just stood there by the dumpsters—after his silver skin had rippled and faded back to normal—while I panicked and beat a hasty exit back into the restaurant.
I’d caught a glimpse of him right before the back door had shut behind me.
I’d seen his eyes, wide and dark, following me, a jumble of emotions playing over his handsome, too-familiar face.
He’d been pale, albeit human-colored, his body rigid.
He hadn’t said a word. If anything, he looked more frightened of me than I was of him.
Almost.
I shivered and turned onto Cherry Street.
A moment later, I wrenched Faith into park in front of the house and gathered my stuff, shoving open the squeaky driver’s door.
I splashed through a puddle, soles slapping concrete as I raced over the curb.
My fingers shook as I fished out my keys.
Nothing moved around me. The heavy rain was a gray, watery curtain, obscuring the world, chilling my already numb face.
I unlocked the door, rushed inside, and slammed it again, turning both the deadbolt and handle lock for good measure. Only then did I pause to breathe, leaning back against the panel, just like I had the night Sky had dropped me off.
Only this time, I wasn’t daydreaming about him.
This wasn’t a fantasy.
It was a nightmare.
I needed to tell someone. I needed to bring somebody into this with me, or I was going to lose my mind.
Rainwater slid down my nose, and I swiped the back of my hand under it, sniffling. Okay. I could do this. I was home. I was safe.
For now.
I climbed the stairs, fumbling for my phone. It took a few tries to unlock it with my wet thumb, but I pulled up Amelia’s number as I reached the top.
I toed off my soaked shoes and shot off a quick message.
Need to talk. Can you come over?
I hit send.
Only then did I pause and bite my cheek.
Maybe that hadn’t been the best course of action.
Too late now, but still…there were things to consider.
As the shock started to ebb, my pragmatic side kicked back in, and I pressed my lips into a line, staring at the screen.
I needed to breathe. Just breathe. And think.
Everything was happening so fast.
I squeezed my eyes shut.
It was too late to unsend the text. It was out there.
Groaning, I dropped the phone on the kitchen counter and went to my bedroom, where I tugged off my apron and wrestled out of my damp uniform dress.
I tossed the wet clothes in a heap on the floor and, not bothering with a clean bra, pulled on a tank top and yoga pants before heading back to the front room.
Shivering from the deadly combo of chilly air and way too much adrenaline with nowhere to go, I snatched up my discarded cardigan from the other day, slinging it on and clutching it close.
A quick glance at my phone showed no reply from Amelia.
I muttered a curse and rubbed my aching temples.
At this point, I was one catastrophe away from never leaving this apartment again.
Maybe it was best she didn’t answer. Maybe telling her was a bad idea anyway. It wasn’t safe. None of this was. The bruises on my arms and the marks on my palm proved that.
As did, you know, the angry robot I’d tangled with a couple days ago.
No, Amelia needed to stay far, far away from all this. If something happened to her, if someone I loved got hurt because of me…well, I’d never forgive myself.
I stared at the silent phone lying on the counter, catching my bottom lip between my teeth. Maybe it still for the best I keep this to myself. For now.
Just yours truly versus an army of killer robots who could also turn into tall, dark, and handsome liars. Who could also slip into shiny silver skin.
No problem.
“He’s an alien” I whispered, lacing my fingers behind my neck and dropping my head back. Saying it aloud didn’t help anything. Didn’t help it sink in.
I didn’t know what to do. Where did I go from here? So far, I’d handled this situation with a certain degree of detachment, but that plan had just exploded.
I’d wanted answers. And I’d gotten them. Sort of. Some, at least. The issue was, these answers raised even more questions.
Like what the actual crap was Sky?
Aliens had been in my life longer than the last week. He’d been hiding in plain sight for months. And now I’d painted a target on myself—
A knock sounded on the door.
The rapping sliced through the quiet and stopped my heart. I gasped, spinning toward the stairwell and nearly tripping over the coffee table in the process. I threw out my arms, barely catching myself before sprawling on the laminate floor.
Somebody was at my door.
Muffled rain hammered the windows. My pulse stuttered, and my strangled breathing seemed extra loud in the sudden, pregnant silence.
Then I remembered the text. Right. I’d texted Amelia.