Page 43 of Beautiful Exile

But what was it missing?

I studied it for another beat. It needed the realness. The authenticity. The part of me I was afraid to show anyone.

My gaze flicked to my palette, and I studied the paint options. None of them were right. Snatching up some ultramarine blue, I dabbed it onto my palette, mixing it with the perylene red. A deep purple erupted as the result.

I picked up a brush and didn’t allow myself to hesitate. I went straight for the center of the canvas, the middle of that tunnel of brambles. There, I painted a heart. Not cutesy but realistic. One with all four chambers.

Switching out my brushes, I went back for the perylene red and gave the heart a dripping look. Bleeding. Because there was a cost for blooming in the darkness, and you had to be willing to pay it.

I took a step back and tilted my head. Studying the painting made me uncomfortable, like my skin no longer fit my body. Uncomfortable was good. It meant a new level of work.

Brutus let out two sharp barks. I reached for my phone, ignored the countless notifications, and switched off the music. A knock sounded at the door.

“It’s me,” Linc called.

A shiver ofsomethingskated over my skin. Anticipation? Excitement? The combination was foreign. Nothing I’d ever experienced before.

I crossed to the door in a handful of strides. “What’s the password?”

A soft chuckle sounded through the wood. “Cheeseburger.”

My lips twisted into an amused grin as I opened the door. “Cheeseburger?”

Linc held up a bag with a familiar teal and red logo with a retro vibe that readThe Pop. “It’s almost ten, and I’m pretty sure you haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

“I had an energy bar,” I argued, but my stomach growled as if to call me a liar.

“So, should I take this cheeseburger with caramelized onions, cheese fries, and a strawberry shake back to the house with me then?” Linc challenged.

My jaw went slack. “How did you know my order?”

“I asked Cope before I called them.”

My spine stiffened. “Please, tell me you didn’t share what happened today.”

Linc’s brows pulled together. “I didn’t, but you should.”

I ushered him inside, shaking my head. “You don’t know my family. If they think something is going on, they’ll all move in. I’ll never have a second alone.”

“And that would be a bad thing?” Linc asked, making his way tothe leather couch on the far wall and setting the bag and drink holder on the beat-up, paint-splattered coffee table.

I picked up the brushes I’d been using and carried them to the sink. “It’s not that I don’t like having them around. I do. I just—I need my alone time.”

Linc studied me as I cleaned my brushes. “You’re not much for groups, are you?”

One corner of my mouth kicked up. “What gave that away?”

He chuckled. “I get that. But you do have to consider how they’ll feel when they find out what happened and learn you didn’t tell them.”

I winced as I lay the brushes flat to dry. “Maybe they’ll never know. I’ve thought about it a lot, and this note doesn’t read like a professional killer. They wouldn’t want a trail.”

“You might be right there. But someone wanted to scare you at the very least.”

Sliding my hands under the water, I washed them thoroughly. “We don’t know that it was specific to me. Could’ve been a very unfunny prank, and they didn’t care who got the note.”

Linc watched me as I crossed the space to the couch, his gaze like a heat-seeking missile. “Possible. I hope like hell that’s the case. But we take care in the meantime.”

We.

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