Page 82 of Stardusted

Even with the burn mark on my hand. I glanced at it, exhaling shakily. At least it was done with its whole glow stick routine. It’d returned to normal.

Sky…his involvement made it somehow even more personal. Made it real.

And you know, maybe it hurt a little.

This was Sky. He’d been a part of my life for months. I’d ridden in his car. I’d salivated over his dimple. I’d fantasized about his biceps.

I’d felt the press of his hard body against mine on the dance floor. I’d wondered what his lips tasted like.

I’d been hurt and pissed when I’d thought he was manipulating me to get answers. But that was before he’d gone all shiny and silver on me. Now I didn’t knowwhatto feel.

His eyes had looked like they’d won first place in a Hollywood special effects competition. He’dsparkled.And not like the vampire guy from that one book. He’d hadsilver skin.

Shit. Did he have a robot form too? Bile rose, and I swallowed hard, forcing it back down. My head spun, and my knuckles whitened around the steering wheel.

I’d known he was hiding something, but...this? I’d never seen it coming. I couldn’t get the image of his alien form out of my head. One minute, he’d been Sky. The next, he’d beensomething else.

With a jolt, I realized I’d been sitting at a green light. Sucking in a sharp breath, I gunned it. Faith’s tires spun out on the wet asphalt before catching, and I sped off toward home. For the hundredth time since I’d peeled out of Oasis’s parking lot, I checked the rearview mirror. Headlights beamed at me from a distance. I tensed, panic bubbling up.

What if he’d followed me? What if, now that I’d found out, he was going to come for me and...

Would they kill to protect their secret?

The image of the security guards I’d found swam back. They obviously had no problem hurting and maiming. I had the bruises to prove it, even if those guards supposedly remembered nothing. If the rumors were to be believed, there’d been a flash of light, the explosion, and then they’d woken up in the hallway with no memory of anything else.

Like…maybe like I was supposed to have done.

Only I hadn’t.

If Sky’s reaction was any indication, he’d expected me to forget. Which was insane. How could I forget anything about any of this?

Wait…oh shit. Speaking of forgetting.

Sky already knew where Ilived.

He’d dropped me off. Oh God. He didn’t need to follow me. He could easily find me again. Sweat slicked my palms, and I split my attention between the road and the lights behind me.

Maybe I should skip going home. Maybe I should run. I could just keep driving. Keep going and going…

The headlights in my mirror turned off onto the highway, fading away. I sagged into the seat. False alarm.

Sky wasn’t following me.

It’s not like he’d tried to stop me at Oasis, either. He’d just stood there by the dumpsters—after his silver skin had rippled and faded back to normal—while I panicked and beat a hasty exit back into the restaurant. I’d caught a glimpse of him right before the back door had shut behind me. I’d seen his eyes, wide and dark, following me, a jumble of emotions playing over his handsome, too-familiar face.

He’d been pale, albeit human-colored, his body rigid.

He hadn’t said a word. If anything, he looked more frightened of me than I was of him.

Almost.

I shivered and turned onto Cherry Street. A moment later, I wrenched Faith into park in front of the house and gathered my stuff, shoving open the squeaky driver’s door. I splashed through a puddle, soles slapping concrete as I raced over the curb. My fingers shook as I fished out my keys. Nothing moved around me. The heavy rain was a gray, watery curtain, obscuring the world, chilling my already numb face.

I unlocked the door, rushed inside, and slammed it again, turning both the deadbolt and handle lock for good measure.Only then did I pause to breathe, leaning back against the panel, just like I had the night Sky had dropped me off.

Only this time, I wasn’t daydreaming about him.

This wasn’t a fantasy.