Page 33 of A Touch Of Death

"I'll get another cart. Fuck knows where those idiots have gone," Spencer says, snickering under his breath. He walks off, leaving Ezra and I alone in the aisle while we wait.

Now that we're alone without Spencer as a buffer, there's a tension between us that wasn't there before. I look around again as if we haven't been searching the shelves this entire time. The atmosphere is uncomfortable, and I do my best to avoid looking in Ezra's direction. I shuffle on my feet, crossing and uncrossing my arms, hoping Spencer will be back with the shopping cart asap.

Ezra clears his throat and clears it again. I hear him shuffle on his feet, his shoes scuffing on the floor. "I'm sorry."

My eyes widen on the pillowcases in front of me. They flicker from the pillows to Ezra from the corner of my eye. When I see he's not looking at me, but staring at his own item on the shelf like it holds the answers to the universe, I turn my head. I hesitantly ask, "Uh, what are you sorry for?"

I hear him sigh, and he turns to face me fully. "I haven't been overly friendly as of late, so I'm sorry. It's my problem. I'm working through some things, and I've been projecting my bad attitude. You've done nothing wrong, and I don't want you to think that you have, so I'm sorry."

Wait, how did he know I thought I'd done something to warrant his cold attitude? I close my eyes briefly. Zayn. Of course. I open my eyes and turn my head away to look at the shelf like it's my turn to stare at it as though it's the most fascinating thing my eyes have ever seen. I shrug my shoulders and bob my head awkwardly. "Sure, it's fine."

We settle back into silence again, but the atmosphere feels a lot less awkward and strained. It's like I’ve been surrounded by eggshells any time Ezra was around, but now they've all disappeared. My shoulders relax and I release a relieved breath, growing comfortable again.

"We should probably get you a TV for...your room," he says, breaking the silence once more. He pauses before mentioning my new room, his voice sounding a little strained when he says it, but he carries on before I can question it. "So you can watch all of the movies you want, you know?"

"Uh, sure. Makes sense, I guess." I uncross my arms again when I realise I've crossed them without thinking.

"Maybe... maybe we can go somewhere so we can get you some DVDs. I'll get you the information to my Netflix once we're home, and we'll get you a TV with a built-in DVD player and all the necessities you'll need," Ezra rambles, his movements becoming more animated the more he talks.

A small smile pulls at my lips, and when Ezra turns, he catches it. The smallest smile tugs at his mouth in return, and it causes mine to grow even more. He rolls his eyes and shakes his head, but the small smile remains.

"Alright, drop everything in the cart and let's go find Nix and Zayn," Spencer says, walking towards us with his newly-acquired cart. We do as we're told, and I notice Ezra's slipped a few things in the cart that we didn't agree on, but I keep my mouth shut, deciding it's not worth the debate that will follow.

The three of us wind through the aisles, searching for the shifter and vampire who abandoned us as soon as we stepped foot into the store. Where the hell did they go? And why did they rush off so fast?

Just as we turn to head down another aisle, a shopping cart crashes into ours.

"Found them!" Nix yells, looking back to us with a huge grin and a cart filled to the brim with... what is that? It's just a bunch of slim boxes in different sizes. There are various plastic bags in the cart too, but I can't see inside them from where I stand.

"Where the hell have you two been?" Spencer questions, moving the cart away from theirs.

Zayn walks around Nix and says, "We were gathering things Novia would need. We might have bought some things that weren't on the list, but that's no matter."

Spencer rolls his eyes but says, "Well, I'm taking this to check out. You guys take whatever you got to the car."

"I'm going to take Novia somewhere to pick out some movies and a new television for her room," Ezra points out, coming to walk beside me close enough that the sleeve of his shirt brushes my skin.

Zayn nods and says, "Of course. I'd like to get a few books I've been searching for, and Nix is thinking of nothing but food at this point, so we'll call you when we're done at the bookshop and then meet up for dinner."

The thought of food has my stomach gnawing at me, but I ignore it in favour of spending time with the incubus who seems to be warming up to me again. I mean, what's to say he won't decide to give me the cold shoulder later? I know he's already said it's not something I've done to garner the reception I've had from him, but I guess I simply don't want to become the reason. Plus, I genuinely want to spend time with him. When he isn’t blatantly ignoring me and with what little I've seen from him has me intrigued to know everything about Ezra.

We all go our separate ways. Spencer and Nix head to the truck to deposit their purchases while Zayn makes his way to a bookstore. Ezra and I make our way to a store that sells every electronic device you could possibly ever need. I let Ezra pick out what he deems worthy of my room and immediately regret it when I see he's picked an obnoxiously large TV along with other knick-knacks that I don't bother questioning. He's wearing an excited smile like he's having the time of his life. It's the first smile I've seen that takes over his face completely, softening the sharp edges and lighting his chocolate coloured eyes. That smile has something stirring inside of me, but I tamper it down to savour such a stunning smile. So, like a dummy with hearts in her eyes, I don't say anything. I let him go about his shopping spree with an enamoured smile on my face as I watch him. Anyway, what kind of person would it make me if I ruined something that was quite clearly making him happy?

Instead of having to carry all he bought, Ezra decides on having it all delivered later in the day, so he makes his payment, and we make our way out of the store, smiles on both our faces for two completely different reasons.

We reach the sidewalk, Ezra talking about whatever the difference between a Blu-ray and a regular DVD is while I listen intently as though he's giving away state secrets.

Without even thinking, I step off the curb and onto the road to cross to the side I know Zayn walked down before separating. I feel a hand slip into mine and tug me backwards just in time for the blare of a horn to sound out and a car to whizz past me with a very angry driver flailing her arm in the air.

With wide eyes and a rapidly beating heart, I turn my head to see Ezra standing close behind me, his hand in mine. I realise his arm has wrapped itself around my ribs, just under my breasts, and my back is practically suctioned to his front.

"You're supposed to look both ways before crossing the street," he says quickly next to my ear. There's a slight tremor in his voice, but he masks it swiftly. "Good thing I have excellent reflexes."

"Uh, yeah. Good thing. Sorry about that." I look away and shake my head, only for my entire body to freeze. It's like my body turns to stone in a matter of seconds when my eyes fall onto the asshole that chased me on my first day of freedom.

Davis isn't looking in our direction, but I'd recognise that scar anywhere. I know it's him, just like I know my own name. He's dressed in black cargo pants with a black t-shirt to match. He looks as menacing as I've always seen him to be, as I damn well know he is.

My entire body begins to vibrate, and my teeth clamp together to stop them from chattering. My eyes are wide, and I don't know when I last blinked, but I'm terrified that if I close my eyes, he'll disappear from my sight.

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