Chapter 17
Seph
When I woke, it was past midnight. Jess’s door was closed, so I knew she was home. A sandwich and a cupcake sat on the table across from me with a single word scrawled on a note:
EAT.
I snorted. Jess had left me food.
So much for not friends.
Beside me, snoring and twitching with his tongue hanging out, was Ash.
His hair was a wild mane around him, the scar bright against his cheek. His arms were clenched tightly to his chest, like he’d spent the whole night fighting the urge to reach for me.
Something in my chest pinched.
I smiled.
He was so sweet.
A little nuts, but sweet.
I slipped into my room, grabbed a blanket, and draped it over him—careful, so careful—not to touch him.
He just snorted and turned his head.
Not wanting to disturb him, I took my food and stepped outside, following the now-familiar path to my spot by the lake.
I came here every night now. Usually around this time.
Something about the darkness soothed me. I’d been here three days, and only out here did I feel… at peace.
Which was funny, because more often than not, I wasn’t alone.
My shadow was here too, sitting on the bench like usual. That faint thread of cigarette smoke curled in the cold air as he took another drag.
I could barely see his face, though the darkness gave me flashes—true black hair, slightly too long. Eyes that glinted gold in the moonlight. Tall and broad. Bigger than K. Always the same thick coat, jeans, and heavy black boots.
I crossed to the flat rock I’d claimed as mine and sat, watching the moon glitter across the lake like the night sky flipped upside down.
I unwrapped my sandwich and ate. Chicken and salad. Good. Big enough that I already knew I wouldn’t finish the cupcake.
I paused, staring at it for a moment.
I don’t know why I did what I did next. Only that I wanted to.
I stood, walked to the bench, and placed the cupcake gently beside my shadow.
The worst he could do was throw it away.
Then I turned and went back to my rock.
The silence settled between us, soft and perfect. I closed my eyes and breathed in the cold air.
Out here, in the dark, it was almost like being free.
Almost.
A crinkle of paper broke the quiet.
He’d taken it.
I smiled to myself but didn’t look at him.
I lay back on the ground, eyes closed, the cold seeping through my shirt. Crickets chirped. A bat fluttered somewhere overhead. Otherwise, nothing.
My shadow took another drag; I could smell the smoke drifting across the lake.
I sighed and pushed myself up. I checked the time. I’d been here an hour.
“Goodnight,” I whispered, turning to go.
For a moment, silence.
Then a raspy whisper:
“Goodnight.”
I nodded and headed home.