Chapter 25 Selene
“It hurt, but what had I been expecting?”
Selene
New York was just as I remembered it, yet every time I walked into Matt’s house, it felt different.
“You were crazy to come here with a fever,” Logan said, handing me a mug of hot cocoa, and I sneezed again. The big house was completely silent since Anna was the only other person there besides the two of us.
“Like a little cold was going to stop me.” In reality, I was running a fever, one so high that my white sweater did nothing to prevent the chills that moved down my arms and back. But nothing would have stopped me from flying out to New York and, potentially, seeing Neil again.
Logan had called me a few weeks before and explained what happened when he, Chloe, and John went to find my human disaster out in Chicago. He was there, sure enough, and living with Megan.
It hurt, but what had I been expecting? That he’d be sitting in a corner, wallowing in his misery? Maybe he had been at one point, but then Megan had been there to pick him back up. She was with him, in the place I should have been, doing what I should have been doing.
I was angry both with Neil and with myself because I should have done more on the day of his graduation. I should have kept him from walking out that door and going off on his own.
“It should have stopped you. You’re obviously unwell.
” Logan laid a hand on my forehead and cocked an eyebrow.
“In my opinion, your temperature’s way too high.
” He took me gently by the arm and guided me down to sit on the couch.
I left my luggage where I’d dropped it next to the door.
“There will be other holidays, you know,” he chided me.
But we both knew it wasn’t the prospect of celebrating an early Christmas with Matt’s family that had brought me out from Detroit.
It was the tentative, begrudging promise Logan had extracted from his brother that Neil would at least try to see his siblings over the holidays.
If there was even a chance Neil would be there, I had to go.
My wavy, disheveled hair fell into my eyes, and Logan lifted a hand to arrange it over my shoulder. As he did so, I studied his weary face and frowned.
“Okay, what’s wrong?” I could tell that something was bothering him beyond just my fever.
“Nothing…” he sighed. He balanced his elbows on his knees. His gaze was absent, a preoccupied expression that exposed his obvious worry.
“Logan,” I said more firmly. He looked at me, upset as he chewed his lip before finally giving in.
“We got another riddle this morning,” he admitted, all in one breath, and my eyes went wide with horror.
We’d all stopped thinking about Player after Neil’s graduation and the revelations about John.
I suppose we were all foolish enough to imagine that he’d stopped thinking about us as well, and his sudden reemergence was alarming.
Looking anxious, Logan stood up to pull a note out of his jeans pocket.
“Here…” He handed it to me, and I took it hesitantly as he sat back down beside me. “He sent this along with a bouquet of black roses that I’ve already thrown away.” His jaw clenched as he passed a hand over his face. I opened the folded piece of paper and ran my eyes along the printed lines:
Photo
Mosaic
The missing piece
Game over
Player 2511
I stared at him, dumbfounded, and let the paper drop to the floor as though it were a superheated piece of metal. I rubbed my temples, and I could no longer tell if my awful headache was from the fever or simple exhaustion with everything that was happening.
“Have you talked to your brother about this? He needs to know, Logan.” I lifted my head to look at the boy who was now on his feet in front of me, nervously pacing the living room.
“After the way he booted us out of his office, I doubt he cares that much about what happens to us,” he snapped with uncharacteristic abrasiveness. He was still angry and disappointed about Neil’s behavior, and I couldn’t blame him.
“Try him. I can’t believe he’d truly be indifferent to this,” I continued, trying to ignore the headache that was steadily worsening and the weakness in my muscles.
“I’ve already texted him,” Logan admitted. “He said we’ll talk about it when he gets here.”
So he was coming. I hadn’t been sure before, and the knowledge made me uneasy. I had no idea how I was going to react when I saw him again. What, if anything, would he say to me? Did he still have any feelings for me?
I had no idea how his life had changed in the last six months. I didn’t know if there was someone else in his heart now or if that person was Megan.
I tried to stifle the thought of her; I didn’t want to believe things would have progressed that far between them.
Would he really be capable of having sex with the woman who’d gone through a nightmare with him?
I’d always felt jealous over Neil and all the women he had eating out of his hand, but I considered Megan much more of a threat. He allowed himself to let go with me in a way he never did with his casual lovers. He made love with me the way he’d never done with anyone else before.
But what did he do with her?
I clung to the memories that I’d been living off for the past few months. I clung to hope and to the sheer instinct that made me believe that he valued me more than he’d ever been willing to show.
“I’m going to go get cleaned up, then,” I said, getting up from the couch. I climbed the stairs slowly and moved into the bathroom. I scrutinized myself in the mirror. I had lost some weight, and the fever only made me look even more bedraggled.
My eyes were only half-open and glassy, my cheeks were red, and my lips were chapped and puffy. My hair was a long, wavy tangle.
I had lost all desire to take care of myself.
“You look awful,” I muttered to myself before turning on the faucet and cupping my hands below it. I rinsed my face with the cold water. Chills passed through every part of me, and I swayed on legs weakened by muscle aches.
I should have just gotten into bed and rested, but I wanted to wait for Neil. I wanted to see him, no matter how uncomfortable I was. I sighed and pushed open the bathroom door only to startle when I found Anna standing there.
“Selene, are you okay?” She frowned at my drawn face. I smiled and gave her an insincere nod.
“Sure am. Do you think you could find some fever medication when you get a chance? I think my temperature might be going up.” I didn’t just think it; I was positive.
I was basically on fire, but my obstinate brain made me keep fighting it.
Anna cocked her head to one side suspiciously, undoubtedly aware that I was lying through my teeth.
Fortunately, she didn’t push the issue, so I just walked around her and slowly made my way back down the stairs, my vision both blurring and tunneling.
“Oh hey, you’re already here!” I heard Logan’s voice from deep in the living room, and like I was equipped with invisible sensors attuned to his presence, I scented Neil before I even saw him.
I slowed down even more. I wasn’t sure if I could remain steady on my feet with him right there in front of me. Close to me.
How long had it been since I’d last seen him? An eternity.
“Yeah, I bumped up my flight,” he answered, and I shivered. His voice was as masculine and penetrating as ever, and it still seemed to wrap itself around me, as though his body were already covering mine.
I clenched my fingers around the stair railing to keep from swooning as I stood motionless on the bottom step of the staircase.
And there he was, also unmoving. My stomach was in knots. I shivered down to my bones when I saw him.
Finally.
That was when Neil lifted his head up and spotted me. His unknowable gaze drew me in and broke me down completely, making me forget even my own name.
I held my breath—it felt like all my air had been pulled into that virile body just a few feet away from me.
His wild hair was a little bit longer than the last time I’d seen him.
His shoulders under his black leather jacket looked a bit wider, and his legs, displayed beautifully in a pair of sweatpants, looked thicker and more toned. Clearly he’d been working out again.
I wanted to cry, but I resisted the urge so I wouldn’t look like the hopelessly enamored girl that I was.
“We wanted to get here as soon as possible.” And then there was another voice that broke the spell, shattering the connection between us. A feminine voice. Familiar. It was Megan, whose dark head emerged from behind Neil’s back. What was she doing here? With him?
A cloud immediately moved over me, and I exhaled sharply.
“Oh, hey, Megan. I wasn’t expecting you to come.” Logan looked as bewildered as I felt. I had already been picturing how I’d take the opportunity to get Neil one-on-one, to talk to him and clear the air. But Megan’s presence complicated that.
“Yeah, she’s with me. I told her about everything,” he answered firmly. He’d quit looking at me and was moving into the living room along with the sexy brunette who had instantly obliterated my self-esteem.
“Show me the letter,” Neil said, getting straight to the point. Clearly he wasn’t interested in anything but Player.
I gathered my courage and forced myself down the last few steps to meet them. Megan’s emerald green eyes immediately turned to me, and I couldn’t help but think about how gorgeous she was, how well she suited him.
“Hi, Selene.” She gave me a tight smile, looking uncomfortable. She tucked her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket and chewed her lower lip nervously.
“Hi…Megan,” I answered in a shaky voice. Then, like a doofus, I sniffled, sneezed, and had a brief coughing fit, which, naturally, drew everyone’s eyes to me. Even Neil’s.