The Hidden (The Hidden Trilogy) (29 page)

I found Matt sitting on my couch, engrossed in a game, just as Mel said. 

“So how are things with Emily?” he asked as I sat down. He didn’t take his eyes of the television as he spoke.

“Things are–”

“
What?
” His eyes grew wide as his onscreen avatar dropped dead, courtesy of a bullet to the head. Matt jerked forward. “That’s fucking bullshit!”

His nostrils flared as his gaze turned deadly. It looked like he was about to crush the controller with his hands. Pressing his mouth into a hard line, he exhaled slowly, trading the controller for the TV remote as he switched over to the satellite.

I tried not to laugh and instead said, “Things with Em are going well.”

“I figured as much. I haven’t really seen you lately,” he mumbled.

“Aww,” I cooed. “Is this your way of saying you’ve missed me?”

Matt’s face pinkened, but he laughed it off and punched my shoulder. “Something like that, fag.”

I laughed. “Yeah, I’ve missed you, too.”

He flipped through the channels as we sat there in silence. Matt was not exactly what you would call “emotional,” so admitting he’d missed me was kind of a big deal. Even if it was cloaked in sarcasm and tacked on to an insult.

He cleared his throat. “So, have you two done the nasty yet?”

Not unless you count a one-time game of 
“
just the tip.
”

“Aaaaand you’re back to your usual, charming self,” I muttered.

He laughed. “Deflection. Nice. So that’s a ‘no’… Why not?”

I shrugged. “That’s not really any of your business, now is it?”

“All right,” he said, indifferent. “But I’m going to hear all about it from Mel, so you might as well tell me yourself.”

I eyed him skeptically. “What do you mean?”

“Girls talk. And right now is prime time for girl talk, ’cause it’s the first time
we’re
not there to hear ’em.” He grinned at me. He knew I knew he was right. Damn it.

I exhaled and said, “No. We haven’t.” I sank back into the couch. “Em’s a virgin.”

He winced. “Tough break.”

I shrugged. “Meh.” It was and it wasn’t. I was glad there’d been no one before me, but it also meant I couldn’t just take her hard and fast–not that I’d really had any experience taking
anyone
hard and fast. Emily would have to be eased into sex, and I wasn’t quite sure I’d have the self-control necessary to “ease” her into anything once I was actually inside of her.

Matt shifted, suddenly becoming very interested in the TV remote. “Are you?”

“Am I what?”

He picked imaginary lint off his jeans. “A…virgin.”

I wanted to brush it off and laugh, but the truth was, it was humiliating he’d even had to ask. And it wasn’t exactly a far leap. I’d had sex
less
than half a dozen times in my nearly three-hundred years. I might as well be a virgin.

I looked down, noticing I had “lint” on my pants as well, and said, “No.”

He nodded, then cleared his throat and handed me the remote. “Here–I can’t find anything.”

Mel’s face lit up when we stepped into the shop. She’d gushed about this little boutique on the short drive here, and as she perused the racks, eyes bright and smile big, she really looked like she was in her element. I’d never seen her so...happy.

Mel held a dress against her svelte figure, seeing how it looked in the mirror. She gathered her hair and sat it atop her head, a few blond tendrils escaping her grasp and framing her face. She turned, examining herself from various angles, and I realized she probably wasn’t the best person to go shopping with. 

Mel was gorgeous. Simply being
around her
was a blow to my self-esteem. And it wasn’t that I didn’t think I was pretty, because I knew I was. It’s just that pretty can’t compare to gorgeous.

I sighed and started thumbing through the racks when my eye caught something. It was strapless and dark blue, made of taffeta, and fell to my knees. The color seemed to change from navy to almost black, depending on the light. 

It reminded me of Thomas’s eyes.

“He’ll love it.”

I jumped at Mel’s voice behind me, placing a hand over my racing heart. “You scared me.” Geez, did Thomas’s family descend from a long line of ninjas? They were all so damn stealthy.

Mel smiled. “You’ll get used to it.”

Okaaay...

I hung the dress over my arm and continued looking through the racks, aware of Mel’s keen eyes on me the whole time. Laughing to hide my growing unease, I said, “Do I have a booger on my face or something?”

“Sorry, I just– I want you to know that I’m really glad you’re with Thomas. You make him happy again.”

Again?
Was he happy before, with someone else?

“How long has it been since he was...happy?” I tried to make it sound casual, as if I didn’t care one way or the other, but I’m sure my higher than usual voice gave it away.

She gave me a sad smile. “It’s been a long time.”

I bit my lip and nodded. Exactly how long was a long time, though? “Mel... How many girlfriends has Thomas had?”

She looked thoughtful as she said, “You know, I think you’re the first girl he’s ever been seriously interested in.”

I nodded, trying to swallow the lump in my throat. I felt stupid for even asking, because it was widely known that guys didn’t have to be serious with a girl in order to have sex with them.

And Mel was saying as much, just in a nicer way.

Chapter Forty-Eight

Friday, October 30
th

The snippet of paper floated through the air and landed on Thomas’s coffee table. I brought the scissors together again, slicing through the thin, glossy, magazine paper. Another piece cut off and drifted down to the plush beige carpet.

My collage for art class was due on Monday, and so far, it sucked. Granted I’d only been working on it for the last twenty minutes, but still. It lacked focus. Just like me.

The couch groaned as Thomas sat down. I tensed, my cutting becoming rough and blunt. There’d been a lot of tension between us since Mel told me all about his numerous conquests.

Okay, she didn’t actually say that. But she didn’t have to say it for me to know it was true.

I’d been kind of bitchy with Thomas, and I’m sure he noticed–it was kind of hard not to–but he hadn’t directly come out and said anything about it, which made me feel even worse. I just hated the idea that someone–or in his case some
people
–had already kissed his lips, had already touched his body, and had done worse…

And no matter what Mel said, it didn’t make me feel better knowing I was the first girl he was ever serious with. 

Thomas scooted next to me, wrapping his arms around my waist. “You okay?”

“I’m
fine
.” I paused cutting to push his arms away. “How many times are you going to ask me that?”

I felt him back off and move away. “Until you tell me the truth.”

My annoyance gradually increased, because one, I was so clearly fine, and two, my boyfriend was apparently a whore.

I stopped mid-cut and swirled around to face him, about to tell him to just shut the hell up already. But Thomas was not on the other side of the couch like I’d thought. Instead, he was right next to me, his face shocked as he stared at the thin red line across his forearm. I glanced down to my scissors, seeing the sharp metal covered with blood.

“
Oh my god
.” They fell from my fingers, almost in slow-motion. Tears blurred my vision, but not before I saw the red line thicken as blood welled and dripped down his arm. 

My brain kicked in and I cupped my hand under my arm, trying to catch the blood before it spilled. “I need something to stop the blood flow,” I said, making sure to keep my voice level so Em wouldn’t freak. “There’s some old towels in the linen closet upstairs.”

She nodded and disappeared around the corner, her feet heavy on the wood stairs. I heard the closet door slide open and the gasp that quickly followed.

Taking off after her, I rounded the hallway corner and flew up the stairs in record time. “What’s wrong–”

I froze when I saw her standing in front of the open linen closet, looking down at her old teddy bear in her hands. She stroked its fur before meeting my gaze, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. “Where’d you get this?”

Oh, shit.

Buttons looked exactly the same. I stroked his matted brown fur and ran my thumb over one of his black button eyes. God, I’d
loved
this bear. I thought I’d never see him again.

My vision grew blurry. I blinked, causing tears to roll over onto my cheeks. I clutched him to my chest, pressing my face into the top of his head as I breathed in. He even smelled the same. A deluge of childhood memories came rushing back, and I clutched him harder. “Where’d you get this?”

“I, uh… Well, the thing is…”

Thomas’s incoherent babbling forced me to look at him, and I saw the blood dripping down his arm and fingers, eventually landing on the carpet in little red dots. He didn’t seem to notice.

“Shit, I’m sorry.” I set Buttons down and grabbed a hand towel. Thomas held out his arm so I could wrap it up, and a sweet aroma wafted up to me. It smelled sickeningly sweet, like cotton candy. I hadn’t smelled it a second ago… 

I shook my head to clear it. “I’m
really
sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“I know.”

I tucked the end of the towel under the side to secure it. “Do you need stitches?”

Thomas shook his head. “I’ll be fine.”

I handed him another towel to clean up the blood on his arm and hands. “You sure? It looked pretty deep.” I bit my lip, feeling horrible.

That’s gonna be one nasty scar, and it’s all my fault.

He laughed lightly. “Trust me, I’ll be fine.” He cleaned himself off and tossed the towel into the adjacent laundry room. Running his fingers through his hair, he puffed out his cheeks as he exhaled. “Look, there’s something I have to tell you. You might want to sit down.”

Unease crept over me. “Okay…” I followed him into his bedroom and sat next to him on his bed. “Should I be worried? ’Cause you’re kind of scaring me.”