Page 102 of Fangs
The wind blew my skirt and hair around us, but neither of us moved.
“Am I dead?” I finally was able to choke out.
“No.” He let go of my waist to move his hands up to cup my face, thumbs brushing gently across my wet cheekbones.
I studied his face desperately, trying to memorize every single detail. His soft brown hair fell in waves against his face, and his eyes were just as warm and full of sunshine as I remembered. He smiled that slightly crooked smile that I fell in love with, and those broken shards of my heart ached with excruciating pain.
“I can’t do this,” I repeated brokenly. “I can’t.”
“You can,” he whispered.
“No, Trey, you don’t understand.” A sob choked me. “I don’twantto.”
He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to my lips, but I surged upward. He responded eagerly, but I had to break away after a second because I was sobbing too hard. Gods, I was coming apart at the seams.
“Bones—” he started softly.
“Ember,” I interrupted, lifting my head to look at him as tears streamed down my face. I was barely able to get the words out between the sobs, but I was determined to do so. “My name is Ember, ‘Em’ for short.”
“Em,” he repeated, a hint of that sunshine smile crossing his lips.
Hearing him say my name in this place didn’t sound right. It wasn’t the same as hearing it in real life, but I knew that was something I’d never get. My face crumpled again, and he gathered me close, pressing a kiss into my hair. I felt him take a breath as if he were about to say something, but we were both startled when the world shifted beneath our feet. I looked up, and my heart stopped in horror as I saw the outline of him beginning to fade.
“No!” I cried, choking on sobs. “Please, Trey! Please don’t leave me!”
“I love you, Em,” he said, his voice like a whisper of wind.
“I love you, too.” I tried to cling to him, but he was wisps of smoke and shadow. “I love you,” I repeated desperately, but he was gone.
I opened my eyes to see the dim morning light shining through the loft windows. I was lying on my mattress with tears streaming down my face.
What thefuckwas that?
Was that supposed to be comforting? Was I supposed to be fucking grateful to get him back for mere minutes only to have him ripped away again? Was that my broken brain’s attempt at closure?
If so, it failed spectacularly. All it did was make this world—the one where Trey was gone—unbearable once again.
I decided not to bother getting out of bed.
After the morning bell rang, Wolf tried calling my name again. I didn’t answer, and he grew increasingly louder and angrier before going silent. I heard someone haul themselves up over the loft railing a minute later. A hand rested on my shoulder and shook me.
“Freckles?”
I opened my swollen eyes to see Lee leaning over me, his face worried.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine,” I mumbled, rolling onto my side and turning my back to him.
He was quiet for a few seconds before asking, “You want to come to breakfast?”
“No.”
Another pause. “Well, I’m gonna put the ladder down. Can you leave it down so we can bring you some broth?” I didn’t answer, and eventually, he continued, “I mean, Icanclimb up to the loft every time but can’t guarantee you’ll have much broth left by the time I get here.”
I wished he’d go away. I hadn’t felt this weight of grief since the first weeks after Trey died, and I did not have the energy to talk to him.
“Alright, well, we’ll be back, okay?”
