Page 2 of Tell Me Softly
I nodded, anxious as he slid his legs inside and hopped down.
“Don’t take too long,” Taylor said, his blue eyes shining with fear.
It was my turn. I squeezed my legs through the window, thinking there was no way I’d have done this if it weren’t for Thiago. He had grown up that summer, unlike Taylor and me. Now a head taller than us, he had no trouble helping me in.
When Thiago let me go and we were alone in there together, I felt something strange, a deep connection that you only feel when you’re doing something dangerous. We smiled as we looked around at the shelves full of chocolates, candies, and cakes.
“Come on, Kam,” he said, helping me down. We grabbedblindly, stuffing our backpacks. For any child, this place was heaven: so much sweet stuff, and all of it at our fingertips. When we had everything we could take, we heard a noise.
I turned to Thiago, who looked frightened but also excited.
“He’s awake,” he said.
Another noise.
We zipped our backpacks, thinking it was too late to grab even one more piece of taffy, and rushed over to the window. Thiago threw the backpacks out to Taylor as quickly as he could.
“Run, Tay!” he said, his voice a strained whisper. “We’ll catch up.” Taylor nodded and took off, slinging both backpacks over his shoulders. I needed Thiago to lift me to the window from the table—it was too high for me to climb alone—and I said, “Help me!” wondering why he had a smile on his face.
“I want something in exchange first,” that demon said.
“Fine, you can have my chocolate, but we need to go now!” I was terrified Mr. Robin would catch us.
“I don’t want your chocolate. I want a kiss,” he said. I was shocked.
“Gross! I’d rather die!” I said instinctively.
He turned around and grabbed the window frame.
“Fine, you can stay here,” he said, getting ready to jump.
“Wait!” I said, grabbing his T-shirt and pulling on it so he wouldn’t leave me behind. I don’t know why, but how I felt about kissing him suddenly changed. I was less grossed out than I was curious.
“Well?” he asked.
A thousand ungraspable thoughts were flooding my mind, and I felt dizzy as I pulled him toward me.
Before I knew it, his lips were touching mine. It was weird and warm and gross, yet I never forgot that moment or the joy in his eyes as he pulled away, smiled, and pushed me out of that dungeonfull of candy and cakes. We ran like crazy, holding hands, until we reached Taylor. I still remember how excited we were, how happy, as we looked at our treasure.
That night was my first kiss…and our last adventure together.
Chapter One
Kami
Eight years later…
As soon as I opened my eyes the morning of August 23, I could feel a strange sensation in my stomach. It made me think that maybe, just maybe, things would be different this fall. I wasn’t excited about starting my last year of school, but I was looking forward to having my routine back. Spending the last month of summer with my parents and my little brother had pushed my patience to the breaking point. Why did Mom and Dad insist on going to the beach for so long if they couldn’t even stand each other?
I was sure my mother hadn’t wanted it. It had been my father’s idea, 100 percent. Roger Hamilton wouldn’t stop believing our family was normal even if it had completely fallen apart.
But I wasn’t about to burst his bubble. Not again, anyway.
That made me look back at my wrist without realizing it. I’ve done it a few times a day for years, to stare at that scar on my skin—a perfect triangle just a little darker than the rest of my skin, which was slightly tan from the sun. I could still remember how much it had hurt when it happened, and even as the years passed, I could feel the pain in my chest whenever I thought about it. Apain that wasn’t just physical. How did everything change just like that? How could we go from being little innocent children to being consumed by a thing that marked our lives forever?
I knew the answer, but I erased it from my mind to avoid getting depressed again over what happened so long ago.
I got out of bed and stumbled into my bathroom. Everything was impeccable. Everything was in its place. I needed that sense of order there. It drove me crazy when I came home and nothing was where I had left it—it made me want to scream and shout and sayTo hell with everything. And I was usually quiet and calm, submissive and perfect. Or at least, that’s the me I showed the rest of the world. If only they knew the truth…
