Page 73 of No Capes

“Mine’s tight for guests,” Fox replies. “With all them trophies.” He adjusts my pillows, his fingers catching in my hair, and looks at me through those long lashes. His thumb accidentally brushes my ear, hovering for a heartbeat.

When did Fox become so thoughtful?

I yawn, and he sees that as his cue. “Night, Maddy. You’re not a morning person, so sleep in and skip the worst part of the day.”

“It’s Madeline,” I say, reflexively. Yes, I’ll be sleeping in. He will too, since Fox isn’t a morning person either.

“I know.” He flicks off the light, allowing the darkness to wash the night away. The last thing I see are the shadows spinning in the hall as he pulls the door behind him.

~

I wake up before it’s morning from wind blowing in the window.Darn it nature, quit waking me up.I nearly get out of bed to fix the situation when I remember the window hadbarelybeen open before.

“Come on out, Dark Static.”

“No more D.S., huh, Roberts?” His indistinct murmur comes from the curtain’s shadows. No boundaries, this guy.

“Nicknames are for friends only.” I climb on top of the sheets and wish I had a sweatshirt to pull over my clothes. Not because I’m cold. I want an extra layer between my heart and D.S.’s lack of tact.

“Noted.” Dark Static steps away from the window but doesn’t move closer. He’s back in his black Supersuit, with his white electricity lying dormant. Wisps of black float over his gloves and boots as he keeps to the shadows, as if he’s a part of them.

“Is it worth me trying to apologize?” he asks.

I loop my arms around my knees. “You tell me.”

“Madeline, I said I wasn’t sure if us being together is a good idearight now. I didn’t mean ever.”

“Is that supposed to be an apology?”

When he doesn’t speak, I’m overwhelmed by the desire to argue and too tired to turn it off. I curl into a tight ball. “You’re Capital City’s Bad Boy. You’re dangerous, you’re unpredictable, you’re…” I stop to think of more things I could accuse him of. “Why didn’t you come when the police shot at me?”

D.S. sighs, as if it’s strenuous for him to show any vulnerability. “I’m supposed to be the villain, remember?”

“You’re doing a stellar job of it.”

D.S. slides down the wall, resting his hands on his knees when he hits the floor. “Listen, Bridges has been trying to hurt you. Clearly, he’s been unsuccessful.”

“You don’t say.”

“Easy, tiger. Bridges has adopted a new strategy. He realized he has a secret weapon. He sent me.”

“He sent you…?” I start, then realize what he means. Phil sent Dark Static tokill me. I scoot farther back on the bed.

“Told you,” he says. “I’m supposed to be the bad guy.”

A breeze spirals in our silence, then it’s my turn to whisper. “How did you find me here?”

“That’s the question you ask? Not if I’m going to kill you?”

Right. He won’t answer, and by now I’m used to that.

“If you were going to, you would have already,” I say. “You tried to break off everything between us instead.” I should have known. Arielle did the same thing. “You could have just told me.” My capacity for being lied to, especially when they’re patronizing lies, is beyond full.

D.S. nods slowly. “I’m sorry for how I acted in Arielle’s bathroom. I should have discussed it with you earlier. I’m sorry, Madeline. I really like you and I blew it. I won’t kill you, for the record. In case you haven’t figured that out yet.”

“I’d love to see you try.”

“After what you did to your dad’s old house, I’d say it’d be a fair fight.” He points to his mask. “Lasers, remember?”