Page 153 of Terror Tuesday

“I was supposed to keep you awake all night. But I fell asleep.”

The throb returns to my head as I remember coming back to the mansion after everything. Our hideout. We avoided beingseen and called up our house doctor to forgo any outside medical assistance. Instead, our alibis held up. “I’m fine…I think. Still awake and alive.”

I trail a finger over the burn marks left on her back from the shock plates.

The welts have faded to thin lines. When the air shifts too cold, she twitches like she’s bracing for more pain. We’d put salve on them. But maybe an orgasm was better than painkillers. Or maybe it was just a necessary distraction. We needed each other to feel safe again.

“I’m fine, too,” she says, resting her chin on my sternum.

We gaze at one another for a long while, holding a full conversation with our eyes. One that says we won’t part from each other ever again, checking in to make sure the other heals a little. Even if we’re performing like things are okay. We know it’ll take time to recover.

“You had a nightmare last night,” I murmur. “You screamed once. Just once. I held you tighter.”

Her lashes lower. “I think it was Reggie’s office…but this time, I wasn’t the one on the desk.” She swallows. “Mr. Earl was. And I was standing behind him, giving the orders. I had wings, but not butterfly ones. Military-grade sort of black Kevlar arcs. I remember stomping on slugs and slitting throats with blades that grew from my fingertips.”

She grows silent as we let the moment hang in the air. There’re no words I can say that will take away what happened. What we both experienced. The worst moment of my fucking life. And likely hers too. But we were together.

“You were with me,” she whispers.

Knowing she was reading my mind, I half-laugh. “Yeah. Right there.” I catch my breath, feeling her heartbeat align with mine. “I’m making you coffee.”

She doesn’t argue, only slips to the side and pulls the sheet up to her chest. “It’s my favorite thing you do.”

“Because I’m shirtless when I do it?”

“Exactly.”

“But it’s cold as fuck in here.”

“Too bad, peasant. Do it anyway.”

I smirk as she leans up on an elbow to get a better view. Making a show of grinding the beans slowly, my biceps flex while she fucks me with her eyes. She’s so beautiful like this, all sex hair and flushed skin. There’s no way I could go again so soon, but I consider it.

“What are we doing today? Do we just pretend everything is normal?” She bites her lower lip, and I know what she’s afraid of. Turning on the news. Hearing that the police are on their way. Only thing is, at least campus cops answer to her father more than the president. Not to mention, all Von Dovish guards are on high alert, making extra trips around the perimeter of the walls surrounding us.

“We’ll walk over to my parents’ house and check in. Then, I’ll turn in our final project for Navarro and schedule our fake final grades.”

She takes a deep breath. “My grandfather’s holiday party is next weekend…the lastOmegameeting of the semester and my family dinner on Sunday…”

I hand her a steaming mug, and she sips it before her big eyes glance up at me.

“Will they still happen? Do I still go?” she asks.

Unsure, I shrug. “We’ll see what statement campus comes up with this morning.”

A sheen of snow covers the ground, glistening in the gray morning sky. Fog covers the lower valleys between our mansion and my parents’ a few acres away. “Drink your coffee and bundle up in warm clothes. Let’s head out.”

Before I can pick up my cup of joe, she grabs my hand. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so afraid. “Will they like me?”

I can’t help but laugh. “My parents?”

“Yes.”

“Olivia… Uh… Yeah. And it wouldn’t matter anyway if they didn’t. They let me make my own decisions.” My mouth twists as I contain a chuckle. “I’ve been much more worriedyouwon’t likethem.”

Her brow furrows. “Why?”

I scratch the back of my head and pour more sugar into my mug. “I guess if you think I’m weird, you’ll be walking into a freak show.” At least Dad can fake being a regular guy for hours at a time. Usually.