Page 85 of The Lost Kings
I checked the Zillow rating, and unfortunately the land alone placed it at almost a million dollars, so there was no chance of that happening any time soon, unless I started making my own money outside of my parents and the various plans Scotty had for my future.
That same sour feeling from before returned as I cleared the lastsmall hill between the manor and farmhouse. I hadn’t thought about what I’d said to the twins that night on their birthday in so long, sometimes it felt like a dream. One where they broke my heart, and I tucked all the pieces away inside of a book then secured it with a golden heart locket never to be opened again.
The barn caught my attention first as I descended the small patch of weeds and cleared the first fence. The farmhouse was second, rotting boards and dilapidated windows and all. It was old and gross, but with some renovations, it would one day be gorgeous. Tugging on my thick work gloves, I carefully made my way up the rickety porch and inside the house.
The pile of wood that I had waiting for me in the middle of the primary room was gone. That would have taken hours to clear. I glanced around the rest of the space, confused at how it was already done when a silhouette from the far room caught my eye.
“Shit,” I gasped as Gio came into view. “You scared me.”
Gio gave me a smirk that was familiar and yet so different. He had changed, and I couldn’t quite pinpoint in which ways, but I felt like he was someone else entirely, parading around wearing my best friend’s face.
“Knew I’d find you here.”
I returned to the lack of walls in front of me. I needed to start replacing the gaps. “Did you clear out all the rotting wood?”
He smiled and ducked back into the room, bringing a red wheelbarrow. “Had to get back to helping you with the farmhouse.”
The memory of his birthday surfaced, how he made me feel like dreaming about this farmhouse and us living inside of it was silly. That it would never happen.
I began yanking out boards and tossing them behind me. “Why are you here?”
Gio let out a small laugh. “Because I’m helping you.”
I stopped and faced him, tearing off my gloves. “Why are you here, Giovanni? You left me for a year and a half and only returned because Scotty demanded that you did. Why. Are. You. Here?”
His fingers loosened around the board he pulled loose, and he let it fall to the ground, sending up a flare of golden dust.
“You going to ask why we were gone for so long?” His eyes searched mine and I had to adjust to what it felt like to have them on me again. It felt like it had been an eternity, and yet, it was as if no time had passed at all.
I shook my head and started pulling boards into my arms again. “You must have had your reasons.”
He hummed while he watched me move around the room. “We did.”
I didn’t reply to him, but my movements became jerky and rushed as I yanked up boards, which resulted in a nail puncturing my finger.
“Ouch. Shit,” I hissed while dropping the boards.
Gio stepped closer, pulling my hand into his. “Let me see.”
“No. It’s fine. You should go.” I punched out each word between clenched teeth.
My hand was tugged into his, and he saw the blood pooling at the tip. I watched with rapt attention as he slowly brought my finger to his mouth and instead of sucking on the tip, he smeared it over his bottom lip. My eyes met his hooded ones as his tongue darted out and licked up the redness left behind.
I didn’t move, and barely breathed, as I watched him lean forward and claim my finger with his mouth, fully enveloping it with a heavy suck and then gentle lap at the end. I didn’t realize he was holding my wrist, or that he’d pulled me so close our faces nearly touched.
It wasn’t until I felt his breath touch my mouth as he whispered, “My back.”
“What?” I asked, staring at his mouth.
“There’s a mark for every single day I was away from you. I had someone there that made it look like one big constellation. It represents you, and our sky that we were always supposed to share.”
My breath caught in my chest as a violent heat rushed through me, warning me not to get too close. He’d break me again.
I stepped away from him, and he released me.
“I need to get back.” I cleared my throat, desperate to have the burning in my eyes not turn into tears.
“We didn’t have a choice that night, Elvis,” Gio called at my back.
