Page 55 of Endless Anger
Lucy swallows. “I…I don’t…” She trails off, a tremor caught in her words. Her fingers flex at her sides, and she just keeps staring at the water, her blue eyes wide as the full moon above.
Shock. She’s in shock.
Of fucking course, she would be. Watching a classmate be brutally murdered isn’t a daily occurrence, and despite her rough exterior, Lucy’s heart bleeds hard. She’s the kind of person who absorbs everyone else’s pain, and I’ve always envied her for it.
The only thing I’ve ever been capable of absorbing is other peoples’ anger. I store fury in my heart like I’m afraid I’ll forget how painful it is if I don’t.
Like father, like son.
Taking a step forward, I reach for Lucy’s wrist; my hand dominates it. Always has. She looks down just in time for me to tug her away from the edge, her legs struggling to keep pace with my easy stride.
“What are… We need to call someone, don’t we? This needs to be reported…”
“Later,” I tell her, keeping my voice firm so I don’t cave to whatever she desires.
“Wait!” She digs her heels into the dirt, halting me with every ounce of strength in her body.
I clench my jaw, slowly turning around.
She’s breathing heavily, an unmoored glint rippling her irises. Her chest rises and falls in short, rapid bursts, and her eyebrows draw inward, frustration coloring her features.
“You’re covered in blood,” she whispers, dropping her gaze to my shoes.
“Not exactly headlining news.”
“And you showed up here out ofnowhere,” she continues.
I can almost see the cogs rotating in her mind as she tries to piece together a puzzle she doesn’t understand. Her eyes lift, seeking mine, and she shuffles backward one step. Then two.
“How did you know I was here?”
“I followed you.”
Another step away from me. My chest aches with the distance, even though it has no right to.
“That is…beyond creepy.” She glances at Foxe without turning her head, but he’s leaning against a tree, not even facing us. “Still, how did you know I washere, at this party? Why areyouhere? You don’t go to Avernia, and you don’t live in Fury Hill. Last I knew, you wanted nothing to do with this school or town or m?—”
“Can I explain some other time? I really don’t think we should be hanging out when there are murderers running around in the fucking forest.”
“Good Lord,” Foxe mutters. “As if this place wasn’t creepy enough.”
I surge forward, reaching for Lucy’s wrist once more, and she jumps back out of my reach. My teeth grind together, irritation sewing into the enamel.
“No, no.” She shakes her head vigorously, her hair flying in front of her face. “I’m not going with you.”
“Lucy.”
“No. I—I don’t know what you were doing out here. You could’ve been—you could have done something like the others. I’m…I need to go find Aurora, and then we can go to the police.”
She moves to sidestep me, her entire body shaking, and I take the opportunity to catch her from behind. Wrapping one arm around her neck, I palm the back of her head and gently tilt it forward.
Her hands come up, scratching at my skin as I increase the pressure to the sides of her throat. She bucks wildly, but I’m bigger, and she’s never fought anyone off in her entire life.
Why would she need to when she always had someone else around who was willing to step in—even when she didn’t ask him to?
“Stop!” she manages to choke out, but I don’t release her, and within seconds, she goes totally limp in my arms.
Foxe comes over, whistling low. “Goddamn. You Andersons really know how to make an entrance.”
