Page 6
Story: This Violent Light
TELL ME WHAT YOU WANT
GRACE
I ’ve always loved high heels. There’s something empowering about them, and not just for the added height. Every time I wear them, I feel like I’m shouting to the world: that’s right, I can do it better than you, and I’ll do it wearing these six-inch platforms!
Despite today’s red-bottom heels, I don’t feel at all empowered.
I just finished my second interview of the day, and I am confident I won’t get either job.
The first—a position at the local paper—was a long shot, and I crashed and burned accordingly.
The second one though—a cashier position at a nearby grocery store—should have been easy.
I figured they’d offer me a job on the spot.
Instead, I fumbled my way through an interview with a guy years younger than I am. The whole time, he kept raising an unimpressed eyebrow. At the end, he said something along the lines of, “we’ll let you know either way.”
Either way?
Yeah, I definitely won’t be getting the job.
My heel catches on the sidewalk, and I stumble.
I curse under my breath, then glance over each shoulder to make sure no one saw me.
Shifting my bags in my arms, I continue walking toward the apartment.
To make up for the awkwardness of Friday night, I promised to take Tessa wherever she wanted for dinner.
Naturally, she didn’t want to go anywhere.
She wanted takeout Chinese food, hand-delivered by yours truly.
So I’ve got two hefty bags of teriyaki chicken, fried rice, broccoli and beef, and a large container of egg drop soup.
It smells delicious, but I’m pretty sure at least one of the containers is leaking, dripping as I make my way across town.
My phone buzzes in my purse, and I have to shuffle the bags again to answer it, putting Tessa on speaker.
“We are so even,” I tell her before she can say anything. “I am currently walking the least-maintained sidewalk I’ve ever seen, and this food weighs about a million pounds.”
“Did you get the egg rolls?” she asks.
“Yes,” I say. “I got the egg rolls and the soup and the rice and the noodles and whatever the hell else was on your list. It’s your fault if I can’t afford rent this month, by the way.”
There’s a momentary quiet.
“The interviews didn’t go well, I take it?” She’s mocking me. I might not be able to see her, but I’m quickly accepting that my new roommate is sarcastic, blunt, and a little bit mean.
I shouldn’t like her, but of course I do. I like everyone, and I’m pretty sure that’ll get me killed someday.
“You can pick the movie,” she says when I don’t reply. “Even if it’s one of those stupid romantic comedies.”
“Rom-coms are not stupid,” I say. “They’re a staple of modern entertainment, and if you don’t see that, maybe you’re stupid. ”
Tessa laughs. In the background, I can tell she’s turned on the TV. It sounds like she’s watching yet another horror flick. What she sees in those, I’ll never understand.
“All right, well I’ll be back in less than five,” I say. “So turn off your Frankenstein movie and pull up Legally Blonde . It’s time for you?—”
I cut off.
I have the inexplicable sensation that I'm being watched. I tighten my hold on the takeout bags before doing a slow rotation, taking in the streets around me. Winters in Aberlena are bleak and dreary, so it’s not unusual for it to be dark at five fifteen in the evening.
It is unusual for me to feel unsettled by that. Aberlena is a small town, and though I haven’t checked, I bet it’s got one of the lowest crime rates in Washington.
I study the shadows of the nearby subdivision. There’s no one here, and certainly no one who’s watching me. I’m completely alone.
“Hello? Grace?” Tessa asks. “Did you hang up on me? Because if you did, that’s a real bitch?—”
“I’m still here,” I say. My voice shakes, and it’s honestly embarrassing. If Tessa knew I was out here freaking out over nothing , she’d roast me. And yet, I still find myself saying, “I thought I heard something. Stay on the phone with me until I get back. Okay?”
“Heard something?” Tessa repeats, her voice drawling. “You’re literally outside, Grace. You’re probably hearing all sorts of new sounds. Cars and birds…maybe even people.”
I tune her out and start walking again, keeping the bags close at my sides.
The apartment building is visible. Less than three minutes, and I’ll be home.
Tessa will make fun of me for being scared by the outside world.
She’ll tell me I got something about her order wrong.
We’ll watch Legally Blonde, and everything will be fine.
My heart thumps harder, faster. The hairs on my arms and neck prickle, until I stop walking again. No one there.
Of course no one’s there. I’m just freaking crazy.
“If I have to stay on the phone, you at least have to entertain me,” Tessa goes on. “Otherwise?—”
I don’t hear the rest of what she’s saying. One moment, I’m clutching my phone and these stupid bags of takeout, and the next, I’m empty handed.
The Chinese food splatters across the sidewalk, and my phone is simply gone . I stare at my hands in shock, blinking rapidly from my trembling fingers to the broken boxes at my feet.
I lift my gaze.
Sebastian stands five feet from me, his handsome face tilted in a mix of frustration and amusement. He holds my phone in his hand, and with a taunting grin, he hangs up on Tessa.
“What—”
That’s as far as I get. The word hangs in the air and silence swells around me. Sebastian, the random hot guy—the asshole —from Barco’s has my phone. He has my phone, and he just threw all my takeout food across the sidewalk.
“That was expensive,” I snap. It’s an instinctual response, but my confidence is fleeting. I take a small step backward, stomach dropping when Sebastian echoes the movement, only stepping closer. “Were you following me?”
He doesn’t immediately reply. He puts my phone in his pocket and again steps toward me, dodging the spilled Chinese food. His eyes are narrowed, calculating. He looks like an animal, like a starved predator who has stumbled upon vulnerable prey .
I swallow, and his gaze flickers to my throat, as if he’s heard it.
“What do you want?” I ask. I take slow steps backward, eyes flickering at my surroundings. We’re alone right now, but this isn’t an isolated area. Anyone could walk by, so he wouldn’t risk attacking me.
Right? Right. Absolutely.
I’m still searching for help, for an escape, for anything, when I step off the curb. I wasn’t paying close enough attention, and my entire body lurches. The heel of my shoe snaps and I flail for the ground.
Only I don’t hit it.
There’s a dizzying blur of movement. It’s too much for me to process. Sebastian. Wind. Flashing colors. A jolting drop in my stomach.
I don’t realize I’ve closed my eyes until I stop moving.
I blink, cracking one eye open before the other.
My heart pinches as I take in my surroundings, which have inexplicably changed.
Only moments ago, I was a few minutes from my apartment.
And now, without taking a single step, I am blocks away.
I can see the Chinese restaurant from here, its neon sign flickering against the dark sky.
I’m almost back to the grocery store where I interviewed.
I shift my attention to Sebastian. He isn’t touching me.
He stands the same distance as he was by my apartment, but it’s clear he did this.
He magically transported us, and now, he’s staring at me with the same amused expression from before.
He thinks this is funny, I realize. He’s just done an impossible magic trick, and he’s waiting for me to ask him how he did it.
I should ask. Because, really , how did he do that?
Instead, I straighten my top and skirt. It takes all my concentration to keep level footing, seeing as my left shoe is now missing its heel. I cross my arms and glare at him. As casually as I can manage, I evaluate our new location.
The restaurant and its surrounding buildings are too far for anyone to see us. There’s an empty park behind him, complete with a slide and a jungle gym. On the opposite side, there’s a sprawling subdivision, blocked by a solid wooden fence.
My best chance is the Chinese restaurant, I decide.
If I can manage to get out of these shoes—they’re latched around my ankles, unfortunately—I might have a chance.
I’ll take off as soon as he lets his guard down, and I’ll just pray his magic trick was a one-time thing.
If it was, I might have a chance of outrunning him.
If that fails (which feels very possible, to be honest), I’ll scream as loud as my lungs allow. Then I’ll scream even harder.
“Tell me what you want,” I say. It sounds demanding, confident, but Sebastian only smiles at me. Despite his attractive face, the smile doesn’t look quite right. It’s too predatory, as if he’s not truly human.
He steps closer, and I force myself not to move. Instead, I take off my broken heel. Once it’s discarded on the sidewalk, I start on the next. The whole time, I keep my shoulders relaxed, my face impatient.
This is fine , I’m trying to convey. Say what you want, and then I’ll be on my merry way. I’m not going to run. We’re not going to have any sort of altercation.
“Your father,” he says. “What’s his name?”
I freeze, fingers paused on the latch of my right heel. When I look up at him, Sebastian is two feet away, staring at me with a strange expression on his face. It’s the first time he hasn’t looked predatory or mocking. There is only open, gaping curiosity .
“I don’t have a father,” I say. I can only hope he doesn’t notice the way my words shake, the way my heart pounds loud enough I can almost hear it.
There’s no way anyone in Aberlena should know I’m here looking for my father. It’s got to be a trap, some sort of manipulation…
“Say his name,” Sebastian demands.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6 (Reading here)
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46