Innocently Evil (A Kitty Bloom Novel) (6 page)

As we both stood close together, huddling
in the comforting warmth of each other, I noticed that I was still holding Sam’s hand. My fingers, interlocked securely through his, seemed to have no intention of letting go, and neither did his. We both stood silent and shivering as we stared at each other just consuming the moment. Then, Sam put his hand on my cheek and brushed the damp hair from my face. A spark of electricity seemed to heat my cool skin at his touch and my already racing heartbeat pounded harder. Involuntarily, I stepped forward, closer to him. I couldn’t seem to look away from his eyes. The rich violet of them was unreal and kept pulling me in further. Sam took a step closer to me until his face was next to mine and I was looking deeper into the captivating swirls of violet dancing in his irises. Suddenly and softly, his lips brushed mine and my eyes closed.

“Kitty,” asked a familiar voice.

I jumped away from Sam, still holding his hand, as the solid, red door next to us swung open and my mum stepped outside. Sam was still staring at me, looking almost voracious by what just happened, as my mum walked over to us. She immediately noticed my hand holding Sam’s, and instinctively I let go. Instantly, Sam seemed himself again. He shook his head slightly and brushed the wet hair out of his face.

“Where have you two b
een,” asked Mum, looking less stern at me than at Sam. “It’s almost eleven.”

Sam and I looked at each other, rational answers escaping our thoughts. There wasn’t really a right way or a short way to explain our whereabouts. I also wasn’t sure that I wan
ted Mum to know how much I already knew about our family history. I looked away from Sam’s worried, soul searching eyes and back at my mum. All I could do was shrug.

“Well, then,” she
said, her hands now on her hips, “I think it’s time the two of you said goodnight. Don’t you, Kitty?” 

Feeling restricted by the pressure of her gaze and pretty certain that I didn’t have any other choice, I turned back to Sam.
“Goodnight,” I said, more gravely than I’d meant to.

Sam’s expre
ssion must have matched mine. The thought of leaving him, of never knowing when I’d see him again seemed to hurt my heart. I didn’t want to be separated from him, but there was no other option at that moment. The concerned look on Sam’s face made my chest ache and my throat tighten. I wouldn’t be able to leave him this way. Somehow, I managed to force myself to make a tight-lipped smile and I deeply hoped that that would be enough to show him I’d be okay.

After a long, calculated pause he answered.
“Goodnight, Kitty,” he said. “And happy birthday.”

After that, I couldn’t help but
smile sincerely at him. With a final silent sigh and one last longing look at Sam, I walked past Mum towards the open door and slipped inside.

Within
my strange new house, I quickly made my way upstairs and found an open window. Peering into the darkness, all I could distinguish in the alleyway below were two shadows stretching out from beneath the large, overhanging awning. I could hear my mum and Sam talking, but their voices were quiet and muffled by the slowing rain. I strained my ears to hear, just as their voices stopped. One shadow disappeared and I heard the front door slam. As Mum stomped her way upstairs, I watched Sam’s shadow turn with him and join with the surrounding darkness.

Before M
um made it to the top of the stairs, I was in front of her. “Where’s my bedroom,” I asked quietly.

She looked at me, appearing a little surprised and pointed to a door down the short hallway. Without a word, I took a step to follow her directions, but before
I could get very far she gently grabbed my arm. “Are you okay,” she asked, a look of utter concern wrinkling her forehead.

I forced another smile and lied.
“Just tired,” I said.

She nodded hesitantly and let go of my arm. “Okay, I guess we’ll
just talk in the morning then,” she said softly.

I turned away from her and started to walk down the hall.

“The first door on the left is the bathroom,” she said, calling out after me. “And there are spare blankets in the cupboard on the right. If you need anything—”

I stopped and looked over my shoulder at her. I wouldn’t need anything, not right now, not tonight.
Except maybe Sam. “Goodnight, Mum,” I said, and then opened my bedroom door. I stepped inside and closed the door without another look down the hall at Mum. There was too much on my mind right now to deal with her as well. I still had so many questions I wanted answered, so much I wanted to ask her, but now was not the time. I had to process what I’d already found out and that was going to be a hard enough task in itself.

Feeling a little anxious in the dark room,
I switched on the light. The room was small, but still larger than the room I’d had in London. There was a long, single bed that stretched almost the entire length of the far wall. It seemed to be set up to give me a perfect view of the huge window, which nearly spanned the width of the right wall. Beneath the window was a cushioned window seat and to the right of that sat a jet black desk. Along the left wall, surrounded by boxes and bags, were a honey collared closet and a matching chest of drawers. For a smallish room, this new bedroom seemed to hold a lot.

The
re was one odd thing though. Apart from the closet and chest of drawers, all the furniture in the room seemed to be matching in color. Matching in my favorite colors. The bed had an elegant, black bed head at each end and its covers were black, crimson and violet. The chair by the desk was black with a crimson cushion and so was the window seat, which also had separate violet cushions. Even the carpet was black. I was relieved that the walls had only been painted a light lavender, otherwise the room would have been dark even with the light on.

I had to admit I was impressed. I couldn’t believe my mum had gone to so much trouble to set up my room. She’d never done this anywhere before. It was almost
as though this was actually going to be
my
room, not just another place to stay. I pulled off my wet leather jacket and draped it over the desk chair then made my way over to the bed. I spun slowly to take in the room in its entirety and still found myself amazed. I just couldn’t believe that my mum had done so much just for me. I’d have to remember to thank her in the morning.

With an almost
tranquil sigh, I walked over to the half open window and knelt on the window seat. I looked out into the darkness and could still hear the light pitter-patter of rain. For as long as I could remember, hearing rain while I lay in the dark trying to sleep had always comforted me. But now, as I stared further into the blackness of the alleyway’s shadows, the hair on the back of my neck stood up and goose bumps ran down my arms. Instead of finding peace in the simplistic realm of night like I used to, tonight all I seemed to find were shapes of dark, gruesome creatures starring back at me willing me to come out and join them. Of course, they weren’t really there. I was pretty sure that my crazy imagination was in overdrive, because my mind had been through a bit too much tonight. Then, however, I’d see another creature appearing from the dark with glowing, yellow eyes or crimson blood dripping off its fangs. After a couple more minutes, I closed the window and locked it. I’d freaked myself out and been terrified enough by others for one night.

I took off my shoes
, my jeans and my singlet top, and then used my top like a towel to dry some of my damp hair. It wasn’t a success. After digging through one of the numerous bags littered around the floor and finding nothing but books and CDs, I eventually found a large black t-shirt. It was an old one of Mum’s, one of her work shirts, totally covered with colorful paint stains, but it was good enough for me to sleep in tonight. I pulled it over my head and then, once fully covered, I stripped off my wet underwear and bra and tossed them in a pile with my other wet clothes.

I ha
d managed to turn off the light and crawl into bed before I noticed that I was still wearing the necklace Max had given me. I’d forgotten about it since Sam had told me what it was and what Max was using it for. I’d meant to take it off. With my eyes closed and in total darkness, I spun the chain around my neck until I could feel the tiny clasp. With a flick of my thumb, I unhooked it and then shoved the whole necklace under my pillow. It felt good to finally have it off. I rubbed my neck and then settled myself for sleep.

It didn’t take long for me to be swept up in dreamlike thoughts of Sam. Thoughts of what might have ha
ppened if Mum hadn’t interrupted, of what I wanted to happen. My mind pondered all the possibilities until a deep sleep dragged me under and I started to dream.

I found myself on the window seat in my new room, looking out at the dark alley below. Murky shadows moved through the alleyway like black clouds
, some fast, while others were slow. In the thickest shadows, grisly faces started to form. They howled and snarled up at me, only this time I wasn’t scared. Darkness, night, this was my home, living in a life of shadows. I felt comfortable here. I belonged here.

“You took it off,” said a deep voice from behind me.

The voice echoed in my head as I turned around. Max sat on my bed, he was wearing only white boxer shorts and a black t-shirt and his hair was tussled as if he’d been raised from sleep. In his hands he was holding the necklace. His gift to me. I’d taken it off, but I couldn’t seem to remember why. His eyes searched my face, looking for an answer. He looked hurt and confused, and it was my fault.

“I’m sorry,” I said, as I left
the window seat and went to him. I stopped in front of him and stretched a hand out towards his open palms and the necklace inside them. As I reached my hand longingly over to him I realized that I was still wearing Mum’s old, paint-stained t-shirt and nothing else. But, for some reason, it didn’t seem to matter.

Max looked up into my eyes and a smile passed his lips. He tossed the necklace back under my pillow and took my hand. In one quick movement he pulled me into the bed beside him and rolled me over until m
y back was against the wall. I was quiet as he did so, never once complaining or hesitating in his arms. His predatory touch never seemed wrong to me. Max held me close, his arms were wrapped around me and our feet were intertwined. I raised one leg and draped it over his hip, feeling my heartbeat quicken as our bodies flattened further against each other. I wanted him close to me, his arms around me, and his body on mine. I needed him.

His
warm amber eyes were still focused on mine as his right hand moved hesitantly from its safe place on my back. It travelled down along the curves of my body until it reached my thigh, and there it lingered. “Do you promise to wear it,” Max asked me in a whisper, his lips almost touching mine.

Without hesitation, I moved my face closer
and rubbed the side of my face lovingly against his. Content with the extent of my loving caress, I moved back until our noses were touching and my eyes were looking deep into his. “I promise,” I said.

As soon as my answer had left my lips
, Max had me pinned hard between the line of his body and the wall. His lips aggressively met mine and I felt like I was on fire. I could taste blood as he kissed me, but it didn’t stop me and instead, I wanted more, craving for more of him. I pulled him closer as I felt his hand slide up along the bare skin under my shirt. My skin tingled and burnt with his touch, yet I needed his hands on me, all over me. I was burning up, growing hotter by the moment, and there wasn’t enough air. I was suffocating. I pulled back from him and opened my eyes. A creature with glowing amber eyes and bloody fangs stared back at me. But, it was still Max.

A loud, shrieking howl pierced the thrumming silence of the dream and pulled me
back to consciousness. I threw the covers down and sat up. I was alone and now more confused than ever. Standing up, I walked uneasily over to the window. I wasn’t sure what was driving me exactly. Curiosity possibly, or the chance to breathe fresh air, either way I opened the window. I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself. Things seemed wrong in my head. I couldn’t seem to feel properly when I thought of Sam. My memories of him were distant. He seemed like a stranger.

But, Max, on the other hand, was perfectly clear. I remembered what had happened on the train, but in a strangely different light. I had been drawn to him, I wanted him. I especially remembered him in my dream, in my bed. I glanced back the empty bed and my fingers unconsciously went to a sp
ot below my collarbone. Looking down, I saw that I was holding the edge of the pendant. It was now securely back around my neck. I didn’t want to take it off, even though a part of me remembered why I should. I just couldn’t seem to make myself care or believe enough in what Sam had told me. So what if it was a sign of ownership? The necklace was a gift from Max and it belonged around my neck. I’d promised to wear it.

Another howl screamed up
at me from the alley beneath me and I didn’t flinch. I looked down to see a giant, wolf-like creature staring up at me with bright yellow eyes. It bared its fangs in a silent snarl and appeared to glare as it watched me. I smiled back down at it. The poor thing’s fearsome face only amused me.

I leaned further out the window and whispered
to it in a bubbly voice. “Who’s a good puppy, then?”