didn’t want to say it because I felt like someone was putting my heart in a vise grip and I didn’t know why. Was I jealous? Did I want her? Or did I just want my best friend back? There were too many lines blurring for me here. Finally I grabbed control of the emotions ripping me apart inside and exhaled.
“Not him,” I whispered. “Just…not him.”
Emma pressed her lips together, wrapping her arms around her chest, and started to back away from me.
“Em, wait…”
“No, you don’t get to say sorry,” she said. “And if you’re more interested in being pissed at me than finding a way out of all of this, then be my guest. I’m done.”
She grabbed her bag from the floor and dug out a Tupperware container. Her fingers shook as she shoved it into my hands and backed away.
“You look like you haven’t been eating,” she whispered. “Just…you need to eat something.”
I stood still as stone, watching her disappear through the swinging metal cafeteria doors. I probably could have stopped her if I wanted. It wouldn’t have taken much with Emma. She was too good. Too forgiving and kind and…well, she was all of the things that I wasn’t. I glanced down at the container in my hands filled with some kind of homemade granola bars. The note attached to the top said, “Don’t worry, there’s chocolate in them, too!” I stared at Em’s trademark smiley face that she’d been leaving on her notes to me since the sixth grade, and my heart thudded almost painfully in my chest. I…was an asshole.
Damn it! Why did I have to run my mouth like that and make her cry?
I shoved the container in my bag, hiked it up over my shoulder, and shut my eyes against the fluorescent school lights. Against the regret swirling around in my head. When I opened them again, I spun around and slammed my fist into the set of blue lockers that lined the wall. I expected pain to explode in my hand, but…it didn’t. I didn’t feel anything. Blood began to trickle down my split knuckles and I turned my hand over to inspect it. What the hell? Finally, I gave up trying to figure it out. I wiped the blood on my jeans and headed for the only place I could think of to find some kind of answers.
I hadn’t been in a library since like ninth grade when I got detention for drawing big-boobed cartoon women in the backs of the entire R.L. Stine Goosebumps collection.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
Chapter 4
Anaya
“I know you’re there.” Finn tied the laces on his tennis shoes, and a half grin carved a dimple into his cheek. “No use in hiding.”
He stood up as I stepped into sight, allowing him to see me. I hesitated a moment, not really knowing what to think of this new Finn. Gone were the plain jeans and gray T-shirt I’d seen him wear for at least the last ten years. Now he wore a pair of black running shorts and a sleeveless blue shirt. He looked ridiculously human. Placing my hands on my hips, I surveyed the sparse living room that Finn now called home. There weren’t any pictures hanging from the walls like I’d seen in most humans’ homes, just a picture of Emma on his nightstand. Then again, Finn hadn’t really been around long enough yet to capture any memories in frames. What he did have was life, pure and fragile, coursing through his veins, fueling his heart. It was evident in the golden glow of his skin and his flushed cheeks. The vibrant light in his eyes that I’d never seen in over seventy years of knowing him. I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. “How did you know? Aren’t you supposed to be human now?”
Finn chuckled and raked a hand through his hair. It was lighter now, a little longer. He linked his fingers and stretched his arms behind his back. “Guess I got to keep a few tricks. I must be lucky.”
“That or I’m losing my touch,” I grumbled, following him as he made his way out the front door and into the early morning sunlight. Dew coated the grass and the
“Not him,” I whispered. “Just…not him.”
Emma pressed her lips together, wrapping her arms around her chest, and started to back away from me.
“Em, wait…”
“No, you don’t get to say sorry,” she said. “And if you’re more interested in being pissed at me than finding a way out of all of this, then be my guest. I’m done.”
She grabbed her bag from the floor and dug out a Tupperware container. Her fingers shook as she shoved it into my hands and backed away.
“You look like you haven’t been eating,” she whispered. “Just…you need to eat something.”
I stood still as stone, watching her disappear through the swinging metal cafeteria doors. I probably could have stopped her if I wanted. It wouldn’t have taken much with Emma. She was too good. Too forgiving and kind and…well, she was all of the things that I wasn’t. I glanced down at the container in my hands filled with some kind of homemade granola bars. The note attached to the top said, “Don’t worry, there’s chocolate in them, too!” I stared at Em’s trademark smiley face that she’d been leaving on her notes to me since the sixth grade, and my heart thudded almost painfully in my chest. I…was an asshole.
Damn it! Why did I have to run my mouth like that and make her cry?
I shoved the container in my bag, hiked it up over my shoulder, and shut my eyes against the fluorescent school lights. Against the regret swirling around in my head. When I opened them again, I spun around and slammed my fist into the set of blue lockers that lined the wall. I expected pain to explode in my hand, but…it didn’t. I didn’t feel anything. Blood began to trickle down my split knuckles and I turned my hand over to inspect it. What the hell? Finally, I gave up trying to figure it out. I wiped the blood on my jeans and headed for the only place I could think of to find some kind of answers.
I hadn’t been in a library since like ninth grade when I got detention for drawing big-boobed cartoon women in the backs of the entire R.L. Stine Goosebumps collection.
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
Chapter 4
Anaya
“I know you’re there.” Finn tied the laces on his tennis shoes, and a half grin carved a dimple into his cheek. “No use in hiding.”
He stood up as I stepped into sight, allowing him to see me. I hesitated a moment, not really knowing what to think of this new Finn. Gone were the plain jeans and gray T-shirt I’d seen him wear for at least the last ten years. Now he wore a pair of black running shorts and a sleeveless blue shirt. He looked ridiculously human. Placing my hands on my hips, I surveyed the sparse living room that Finn now called home. There weren’t any pictures hanging from the walls like I’d seen in most humans’ homes, just a picture of Emma on his nightstand. Then again, Finn hadn’t really been around long enough yet to capture any memories in frames. What he did have was life, pure and fragile, coursing through his veins, fueling his heart. It was evident in the golden glow of his skin and his flushed cheeks. The vibrant light in his eyes that I’d never seen in over seventy years of knowing him. I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous. “How did you know? Aren’t you supposed to be human now?”
Finn chuckled and raked a hand through his hair. It was lighter now, a little longer. He linked his fingers and stretched his arms behind his back. “Guess I got to keep a few tricks. I must be lucky.”
“That or I’m losing my touch,” I grumbled, following him as he made his way out the front door and into the early morning sunlight. Dew coated the grass and the
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