Page 58 of Darkness of Mine

I’d come out of Jude’s room the first morning after my fight with River to find her in pretty much the same position, my old tracker anklet locked around her ankle. She told me Eli had given it to her and said she could go wherever she wanted in the house but if she tried to leave, it would trigger an alert.

I scan her, trying to figure out which version of Allie I’m dealing with today.

She blinks at me over the top of her spoon then puts it back in the bowl, a faintly amused smile grazing her lips. “I’m fine,” she says. “No stabby, murder-y feelings today.” Her head tilts to the side. “Haven’t actually had them for a while.”

I sigh. “Well, that makes one of us.” I head over to the island and grab the OJ from the refrigerator. I’m being overly cautious around Allie, all too aware that I left Jude in bed with a gunshot wound she inflicted. Not to mention that the last time I saw her she carved into my chest.

My scars ache, the skin across my chest pinching as I reach into the cupboard for a glass. If I’m honest though, she’s not the same as she was back then.

I believe her when she says she didn’t mean to shoot Jude. The Allie that’s been staying here for the past three days is more like the teenager I left behind when I faked my death. She’s confused, vulnerable, and far younger in mind than she looks.

“Do you think she used to call us both Angelica?”

I rest my forehead against the cupboard door. She’s also become obsessed with our mother.

I finish pouring my juice and turn to face her. She’s twisted on the couch so she can see me. This has become a recurring feature for us. Her asking questions about our mother and me not having any answers.

“I don’t know.”

“Well, what did she call you when you saw her?”

I shrug a shoulder and take a sip, the orange juice sharp against my tongue. “She didn’t call me anything.”

“But she asked about me?” Allie asks for the hundredth time.

“Yeah, she asked about you.”

She studies the colored hoops floating in her bowl. “Do you think she wants to see us?”

These are the questions I should have. The child-like curiosity, the need to know our mother. How exactly my sister is having a more normal reaction than me to learning the woman who gave birth to us is alive, I have no idea.

“I don’t know,” I say but the question plays on my mind as I finish my juice and Allie switches on the TV. “I’m going out for a bit today. Are you going to be okay here?”

She nods, already absorbed in her program. “I’m good.”

For a moment I wish that Allie actually was my younger sister. That this was the only side of her that existed. I could introduce her to Layla and Rebekah and the three of them wouldcause mayhem together. I want that for Allie. I want her to be able to live a normal life.

My eyes drop to my old anklet, and I shake the musing off. It’s just a fantasy. Too much damage has already been caused.

Maybe Jude is right. I do need to get out of the house. If for no other reason than to remind myself thatIcan. That I amnota prisoner here.

I find Eli already in the driveway, dressed in full leathers as he leans against my bike. His hands rest on top of the helmet in his lap.

My tongue darts out over my bottom lip. Eli in his cowboy hat is dangerous enough but Eli in leathers might just drag me straight to hell.

He smirks at me, reading the arousal on my face and looking far too at home on the sleek black form of my prized possession.

“You’ve been riding my bike?”

“You were gone. I adopted her.”

“Him. His name is Joey.”

Eli’s shoulder lifts, his gaze staying set on mine. “Joey can be a girl’s name.”

I raise a brow. “If you think I’m letting you drive…”

Eli laughs. He pushes off the bike and places the helmet in my hands. “He’s all yours.” His lips drop to my ear, our bodies only separated by the helmet. “For now.”