Page 91 of Make Me Pretty
The windows roll back up along with a burst of heat from the vents. I shiver against the change, curling over and nearly choking on my seatbelt. I graze my throat, tender and sore, pulsating with its own heartbeat in the shape of Peris’s hand.
I follow the beat with tingling fingers as my head thunks against the cool, damp glass, grazing over gooseflesh and hissing at the presence of blooming bruises. Peris cranks the music up until it vibrates inside my mind like all the rest.
And it’s nice. Feeling something even when nothing wants to be felt.
Something nice.
I stare through the window up at the night sky, and I smile, cheek compressed against the glass. There’s not a cloud in sight—only endless black stained with starlight.
It’s one of the very few things I love about Ardent—it being one of the smaller towns around the capital. More rural with less light pollution.
I never knew how pretty the stars looked before I was forced here. Just how sharp they twinkle. Little balls of hot gas that so many people wish upon.
But not me—never me.
Wishes are useless. It’s all about survival by any means necessary.
Only… maybe it doesn’t have to be.
Since moving in with Elise, I haven’t had to—I cut the thought off with a shuttering shake of my head. I’m heavy with the buzz swarming my brain. Every limb is tingling, hanging like dead weight from my skeleton, and the vibration of the bass makes my eyes roll back.
I haven’t had to sell my body.I finally finish the one thought I’ve never allowed myself to. I’ve never said it out loud or in my head. Couldn’t, even with the truth so obvious. So pertinent.
But I don’t have to anymore.
Elise has been my safety, and Peris… well.
Peris is my scream. The only part that makes sense among the stagnant chaos.
“Where are we going, Peri?” I ask after a long time, my tongue heavy against the roof of my mouth. I smack my lips, cotton mouth nearly choking me.
He sighs as he reaches over the console and covers my aching fingers still clutching the lighter. “Nowhere, pup.”
CHAPTER 26
PERIS
My feet are leadenwhen we finally step over the threshold. Frigid air swoops in behind me, making me shiver as I turn the knob and silently latch the door.
Abel’s body is folded in half as he bends to untie his shoes, pulling haphazardly at the laces and toeing them off. They thunk against the wall with a short kick, and then, he’s rising up again, hands pressed to his lower back with a quiet groan.
My own shoes find their place beside his, and we both walk into the living room in mutual silence, languid with exhaustion and confused revelations.
We haven’t spoken much since I clutched his fingers.Couldn’t, really.
“Whatcha wanna watch?” Abel asks as he plops down on the sofa with a huff. I follow the outline of his body, over his tangled, wispy hairs. Creased uniform and streaky makeup.
A heat that was once unfamiliar blooms inside my chest, the kind of weight that grounds me to the moment. I press my palm against it, hating its ache as I round the side of the couch and take a seat beside him.
There’s really no point in pretending I don’t want to be right there next to him.
Not right now, anyway.
“You and I both know you’re already searching forSpongeBob,” I say on a low drawl, eyes already closed as I lean back in the corner of the sectional.
My body sinks into the worn cushions, the dredges of sleep fluttering around the edges of my consciousness.
“Hey, I take offense to that,” he snarks, making my lips twitch.
