Page 264 of The Curse Trilogy

Chapter 3

One Hale of a Party Trick

“How is she?” I ask softly to Grayson.

“She threw up, I held her hair, and now she’s passed out. I’m not so sure fresh air was a good idea,” he grumbles.

I hold my mouth to suppress my laughter, and then I shrug.

“It’s just what people always say. I’m usually the one drunk, so this is new to me. This will really will help though,” I murmur gently while handing him a pack of blood.

He pours it into her mouth, and she starts coughing instantly while her shameful eyes awaken and dart away from the two of us.

“Leave me alone,” she mutters in a near muted tone to Grayson, and then she rips free from his clutches as she staggers over to the side of the small rise of the roof.

His eyes bear their pain too obviously, and I put my hand on his shoulder encouragingly before I slowly start making my way to the girl I quite possibly broke. Fuck my luck.

“Will you go grab me a drink?” I ask him softly while turning around, and he nods before dashing away to hide his escaping tears.

“Angelica, he hasn’t done anything wrong,” I sigh out. “It’s me you’re mad at. Don’t take it out on him.”

“I’m not mad at you, Araya. How could I be? It would just make me look all the more spoiled and bratty,” she snarks, her eyes staying glued on the ground below.

“You are spoiled and right now you’re very bratty, but that doesn’t mean Grayson deserves to be punished for my having hurt your feelings,” I condescendingly counter.

“According to you, you found him first. You saved him from the blood rape charges, so that means he has to be devoutly loyal to you for the rest of his life. Otherwise, he’s a piece of crap just like me,” she dully releases, and I can feel the cold, numb, pain seeping out.

I purse my lips as a little more guilt rattles around inside my once chilled heart, and I lean against the edge of the wall.

“I said a lot of things to an eighteen-year-old girl I shouldn’t have. I forget how very unlike us you are. We all say things we don’t mean, and we’ve grown accustomed to each other’s tantrums. You had a father, and you are more mature for that reason, while also a little more sensitive. You channel your anger better, and we just go out on tirades. It’s what we do. Brazen is sensitive like that. It took him a while to be able to overlook my words.”

“So since you’re a forgotten it’s okay to say whatever you want no matter how painful it is to the person on the receiving end? Nice. Real nice. It seems as though I’m the only one not making excuses,” she grumbles.

“Not making excuses? You’ve done nothing but make excuses as to why you won’t stay with Grayson. It’s as though you don’t give a damn about him at all,” I snap.

“If you care about him so much, then you be with him. He’d probably prefer you anyways as opposed to some girl who hasn’t ever even had a boyfriend. At least you know what the hell to do,” she snarls.

A breath of realization comes to me, and I lean against the wall while stifling a grin.

“I see. So this really doesn’t have anything at all to do with what I said. This is about your inexperience, and… what… you think he’s an expert?” I snicker out.

“The reason you met him was because he was being arrested after blood screwing another girl,” she growls, and her nose turns up in disgust.

I hold back my laughter for her inability to curse. I’ve never heard a hybrid speak about feeling sexually inadequate. It’s essentially an oxymoron.

“First of all, that showed his lack of experience. If a full blood begs you to take blood from an artery, they’re no good. You should run, never concede. Secondly, experience doesn’t mean a damn thing. Half the fun of having sex is learning to have sex. Besides, the two of you blood fucked the day in the valley,” I say with too much amusement in my tone.

“Exactly. It was a blood screw. My first time was a blood screw. It was great - it was better than great actually - but it wasn’t me. It was the blood exchange controlling me. I don’t know how he’ll like me once he realizes just how little I know.”

This is just surreal. They’ve only fucked once? Wow.

“You’ve got a rare opportunity. You’ve found your counter so young in life, and it’s very special to him he’s the only one you’ve ever been with. It’s even more special he’s the one who gets to teach you. Sex is just sex with anyone but the right person. It’s so much more when it’s with someone you love, and who loves you back.”

I stare over the wall as Hale walks through the young, parentless hybrids, and they all clamber over each other to get his attention. He laughs and pats them on the head as he disappears inside the compound. I sigh louder than I mean to, and she takes notice of it.

“You’ve preached to me about my counter half this whole time, but what about yours? Hale loves you, and I don’t think there’s a lot he wouldn’t do to be with you. The problem is, Brazen feels the same way. What advice are you going to give yourself?”

I grumble under my breath at the smart, yet still agitating young one.