Blue Sacrifice (Blue Davison) (12 page)

“Let’s test out your theory,” I said, wrapping him
in my arms before adding, “I’m glad you don’t want an out.”

Smiling, Flynn kissed me and just kept kissing me
until the exhaustion kicked in an hour later. The next time I awoke, the sun
was warming the cold room and Flynn was watching me sleep.

“Is it possible you could be part mermaid?” he
asked and I thought my sleepy brain misheard him.

“Huh?”

“With your red hair spread out like that, you look
like a mermaid.”

“Well good morning to you.”

“I saw a mermaid once,” he said, cuddling against
me. “She had red hair like yours and she was beautiful like you. I chased her
for days, but she always hid. Like you, she enjoyed teasing me.”

“How long were you watching me sleep?”

“Why?”

“It’s kind of creepy.”

“How do you figure? Would you not have watched me
if you woke first? I don’t know if you noticed, but I happen to resemble an
angel when I’m sleeping.”

Laughing, I pulled him closer and sucked at his
throat. “I had not noticed that, but I’ll keep an eye out next time we’re sharing
a bed.”

A moaning Flynn tilted his head back to give me
extra access to his sensitive throat. Finally he focused enough to ask, “Was that
rumor correct about my system keeping away the bad dreams?”

“Oh yes, thank you,” I said then moaned as his
fingers teased a particularly sensitive spot on my body. “Thanks for that too.”

His naughty grin spreading, Flynn stopped teasing
and we didn’t get up for another hour.

Later while showering in his futuristic bathroom,
I kept feeling like the rocket would take off any minute and I’d end up stuck on
a weird planet. That’s what I told Flynn when he joined me.

“Mermaids and spaceships,” he murmured against my
cheek. “We are in quite the imaginative moods, are we not?”

“Yummy mornings put me in the best moods.”

“Me too. Best mood in a very long time, my Blue.”

“Glad to hear it, my Flynn.”

Soon we were dressed and in his car, heading for
the donut shop where we shared our first mini-meal together. When Flynn
insisted we eat lots of sugar so we’d have energy for all of the fun later, who
was I to disagree?

Except it wasn’t the fun I had envisioned. Turned
out his fancy modern house had a heated indoor pool and swimming sans suits was
on the menu. Unlike the suave character I knew these last few days and the sexy
marathoner from the night before, Flynn became unbelievably silly in the water.

Twenty minutes into our sexy swim, we were shooting
each other with water guns the former renters left behind. At first I used my
mermaid skills to out swim him, but the guy really knew how to work a water
pistol.

By the time I surrendered after he overwhelmed me
with squirts, we were laughing like little kids. I realized I hadn’t thought
about Lily Falls or sacrifices or my mom who hovered nearby, aching to ruin the
fun. As Flynn took me into his arms and kissed me, in between fits of laughter,
I felt happier than I had in a long time. Maybe since my mother’s death. At the
very least since my birthday dinner with Tyson.

Just before Flynn drove me home, I noticed a few
framed pictures in an office. In one, an attractive man and woman stood in
front of a waterfall during a honeymoon or romantic getaway. In the other two,
Flynn stood with one of his parents. The picture with his dad made me think
they might be hiking. The one with his mother looked like they were also
hiking. Apparently the O’Sheas were the outdoorsy types.

“Isn’t my mom beautiful?” Flynn asked, coming up
behind me while I studied the photo.

“You look a little like her, but more like your
dad.”

“I wonder if you have any of your unknown father
in you?”

“Unlikely. I look just like my mom. Red hair, pale
skin, freckles, blue eyes. It’s classic Davison.”

“Do you have any idea how much I love this hair?”
he said, nuzzling my red locks with his lips as if to prove the point.

“Where were these pictures taken?”

“Dad and I were in Ireland. Mom and I were in Portugal. The picture with them was at the Powerscourt Waterfall during the summer they met
and married. Very romantic, though I think our gunfight put their waterfall to
shame.”

Turning to Flynn, I hugged him to me. “Thank you
for not wanting an out. That still stands, right?”

“Yes, my Blue. The last twenty four hours haven’t
changed my very set mind when it comes to my sad redheaded girl.”

“You say my a lot. I’m not sure how I feel about
that.”

“Let me help you decide,” he said, kissing me
hungrily. Finally pulling away, he licked his lips. “It’s obvious you support my
desire to chase you forever.”

“Oh, I do? Well in that case, it’s a solid plan.”

“I will keep chasing,” he said, his gaze serious
now.

“Good.”

Flynn smiled and took my hand. Walking to the
garage, he sighed loudly and full of drama.

“I wish this weekend would last forever like my
love will.”

“We should do it next weekend.”

“Should or will?” he asked, opening the door for
me.

Without looking him in the eye as I slid into his
car, I said, “Will.”

Flynn must have noticed something because he
grunted then shut the door. I thought he was angry, but he kept messing with my
leg the whole ride home. After a kiss that led us to the backseat, I finally
stumbled out of the car and tried to act casual.

“Don’t waste your time faking otherwise,” Flynn
teased while running his hands through his mussed hair. “The whole street knows
you’re smitten with me. It’s written all over your face.”

Sticking out my tongue at him, I took my bag and
headed to the porch where Flynn gave me another too tempting kiss. This time we
restrained our urges and I eventually made it inside the house.

As happy as I was spending most of Sunday with
Flynn, that evening was tense from all of the demons’ games. Just before dawn,
I was startled awake by my mother’s wails. Crying out in fear as she tore me
from my sleep, I watched her pained expression shift into a smile.

“What a pretty day to die, Blue.”

While I didn’t plan to jump, I still rode my bike
out to the bridge. I guess I needed to see it. Or I was hoping for a clear sign
which told me what my next step should be. Officer Bramley turned out to be a
sign, yet not the one I was expecting.

Drinking coffee and listening to the news on his
radio, the officer sat in his car at the entrance to the bridge. Near the spot
where I had planned to jump, I noticed a large pile of flowers and stuffed
animals, plus what looked like burned candles.

Instead of riding by and hoping to find
information at school, I figured I’d ask Bramley myself. I felt like the bridge
belonged to me and it was the only way I wanted to die, so what happened there
was my concern.

“Hello, Blue,” the officer said, giving me a big
grin. “Headed to school?”

“Yep. What’s going on here?”

“Didn’t you hear?”

“Too busy partying the last few days.”

Grinning, Bramley looked nostalgic for a minute as
he remembered his high school years. Finally he returned to my earlier question.

“Had a suicide over the weekend.”

“Who?”

“Some college kid who came into the Falls to visit
his girlfriend. Apparently she dumped him and he decided he couldn’t live
without her. Jumped on early Saturday morning.”

“Is that why you’re here?”

“Oh, no. After the kid jumped, a bunch of college
kids came here to pay their respects. Then they got drunk or just stupid and
started fighting each other. One kid was stabbed. In another fight, someone
broke a beer bottle over a girl’s head. Just crazy college kid crap, but there
was more trouble on Sunday afternoon when new idiots showed up. Chief wanted
the department to keep an eye on the bridge until things settled down.”

“That’s crazy,” I said, unsure what this new
development meant.

“Yeah, but college kids are crazy.”

Again Bramley looked nostalgic. This time I used
his indifference as a chance to leave. Riding the rest of the way to school, I
thought about my bridge being under surveillance and how jumping wouldn’t be
easy with cops around. Was this a sign like Flynn?

Arriving at school, I locked my bike in the bike
stall then heard yelling as two kids pounded each other over a parking spot
they both wanted. I hurried inside, unwilling to get dragged into what looked
like a spreading fight.

Walking towards my first class, I stopped by my
locker. Down the hallway, a girl screamed about something then a few other
girls just pounced on her, tearing at her hair and clothes. Teachers came
running while many of the students chanted, “Fight!”

Feeling less certain about the earlier sign, I
backed into someone and turned to find Abby who was watching the scuffle.

“Are you okay, Blue?”

“Yes, are you?” I asked, alarmed by her black eye.
“What the hell happened?”

Abby looked around then gestured for me to follow
her into her classroom which was empty now because of the fight. This was the
class Lacey would be in soon, but for now Abby and I had it to ourselves.

“It looks worse than it feels,” Abby said.

“Who hit you?”

Leaning against her desk, Abby rubbed at the
swollen eye. “My boyfriend Jacob.”

“The bastard. Did you call the cops?”

“Oh, yeah, and he’s still in jail. They’ll
probably let him out soon because the jail is overflowing after all those college
kids caused so much trouble over this weekend.”

Moving to stand next to Abby, I kissed her cheek
and put an arm around her shoulders. “Are you really okay?”

Tears sprung up and Abby let out an agonized sigh.
“He’s always had a temper, but he’s never been violent. Just maybe too critical
and his mom said he’s possessive and controlling, but it’s never been anything
abusive. Then we got into a fight about what movie to see on Saturday night and
it turned into us listing our every grievance from the last two years together.
When I said I needed space and wanted to leave, he grabbed me. I tried to yank
my arm free and he just freaked out. I’d never seen him like that.”

Abby pulled my arm from around her and took my
hand. “The town is falling apart. You see that, don’t you?”

Something about her tone made me uncomfortable. “I’ve
had signs saying maybe I should wait.”

“Are you sure?”

Frowning at her persistence, I shrugged. “Yeah, I
guess. It’s difficult to be completely sure.”

“Well we all see what we want to see. Your mom saw
stuff, but she did what she had to. I saw what I wanted with Jacob and turns
out he was a violent ass. We see what’s convenient. I could make excuses for
Jacob, but I’m forcing myself to see the truth now.”

“Except you’re saying it’s not his fault. You’re
saying it’s mine because I haven’t died yet.”

“No, but it’s why you exist.”

“I can’t believe you’re saying that.”

“I hoped you’d have more time, but there’s a
reason I didn’t take you in when your mom died. I knew this day would come and
I didn’t want to…”

When Abby didn’t finish, I finished for her. “You
didn’t want to care when I died.”

“Of course I care. Dammit, Blue. I’m not saying
anything you haven’t thought yourself. You know what’s happening in Lily Falls. You also know it’ll get worse and you know it’s your job to stop it. I didn’t
want to lose Rhia, but I knew it was her job to save people.”

Backing away, I planned to leave, but Abby grabbed
my arm and twisted me around.

“How long will you wait?” she asked and I saw
something in her eyes that I’d never seen before. “How many people will you let
die and suffer before you do it? Because I know you’ll do it, just like Rhia
did. She tried to get out of it too. She saw her signs and cried about how she
had a daughter who needed her. She wanted to live too, so she waited and twenty
people died in Assad’s massacre. Those people would be alive if Rhia hadn’t
been selfish. Now you’re being selfish.”

“That’s easy for you to say because you get to
live,” I said, yanking free from her grip. “You get to keep living your life
and ignoring how your boyfriend is a piece of shit. You get to do whatever the
hell you want, but I’m sixteen and I just have to die.”

“It’s the reason you exist,” she said, raising her
voice. “For whatever reason, it has to be a Davison and you’re the only one who
can do it. Rory chickened out and Penny hides at the hospital. It has to be you
and you know that. Stop being selfish and end the madness building in Lily Falls.”

“Screw you, bitch!” Lacey yelled, charging into
the room. “Don’t you ever talk to her again or you’ll be lucky to walk away
with just one black eye. Do you understand?”