Chapter 35
I wish I wasn’t splitting up with Whitley.
Xander and I plan to drive to Fairmont, West Virginia, today after work to find Dara and figure out once and for all if there really is another cursed heart.
Whitley, on the other hand, isn’t coming. She’s spending the rest of the day doing more interviews for her research study, then coyote hunting at dusk. She isn’t interested in hearing what Dara has to say. When I drop her off at home, she makes me promise I’ll be back to help with the hunt.
I get where she’s coming from with her theory. She doesn’t trust Xander, not because he’s done anything wrong, but because she can’t witness how he takes care of me, hear his jokes, or see that he’s just hoping for a second chance. He’s a ghost to her, and we’re taught to fear them.
But I don’t think she totally understands the intricacies of our curse. I checked that video of Dara online. It’s true there’s another man in the footage, but they’re never in the same scene together.
It was edited—spliced—like he wasn’t really there.
I forge ahead acting like Xander doesn’t want to hurt me, he simply wants my help, just like I want his. I need to find Dara as quickly as possible, to prove to Whitley that I’m on the right track, that Xander isn’t lying to me, and that I’m not lying to myself.
The heat is relentless today, thick like a wool blanket thrown over the town. My truck’s black leather seats are practically sizzling. I crank the air conditioning and hold my fingers over the vent to dry the sticky film of sweat on my skin.
Xander sits in the passenger seat with his backpack at his ankles. He unloads two cans of lime sparkling water, slick with condensation, and places them into the cupholders. Then he flashes me the rest of his bag’s contents—an entire stash of candy.
“Road trip ready!” he announces.
“It’s barely an hour away,” I say with a light laugh.
“We’re crossing state lines. That absolutely qualifies as a road trip.”
I shrug. “Fair point.”
“Look what I brought you.” He digs through his backpack and pulls out a sandwich bag full of fun-sized Hershey Bars, KitKats, Snickers, M the juices exploding from the red candy coat his mouth with an extra layer of sweetness.
Those lips have taunted me all summer. Now they’re right there, waiting for me to try them like a freshly picked summer peach.
I adjust my shorts. “Is this a serious one or a joke?”
He shrugs. “It’s however you think of it.”
The hum of the highway vibrates beneath us. My knees begin to bounce.
“I’d never kiss Murray again.”
“So . . .”
“So, then . . . you.”
A slow, satisfied smile spreads across his face. He zeroes in on my lips and ignites a fire beneath my cheeks.
“Do you want to go again?” he asks, leaning across the center console.
I scratch my head. “Would you . . .”
I want to ask, Would you rather kiss me now or later? But our unknown future dams the words from leaving my mouth. What if he is tricking me like Whitley said? What if we kiss and the curse becomes permanent? I can’t risk that.
The uncertainty turns my words around.
“Actually, let’s just listen to music,” I say flatly.
Xander exhales and deflates into his seat. “Sure,” he says, his voice softer. “I can play you my favorite music from 2015.”
I nod. “I’d like that.”
He takes my phone and queues a playlist. “Do you like ‘Wildest Dreams’ by Taylor Swift?”
His words fade as I remember what he said earlier about his heart. And I wonder—if he always listens to what his heart tells him to do, why isn’t he kissing me right now?