Page 40 of Shadows of Nightshade
If anyone had the right to be angry, it was me.
“You lied to me!” I spat out the poisonous words.
“What are you talking about?” Finn’s eyebrow twitched. “Where have you been? And why has your phone been off? I’ve been worried sick.”
I was seething. None of those things were any of his business.
“Why would you lie?” Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew it was a bad idea to rile him. Especially when he was so close to snapping, but I ignored it. “You were my friend.” I pushed hard against his chest, needing him to leave. I didn’t want to see his stupid face ever again.
“I hateyou!” I told him, meaning it with every ounce of my being.
Finn’s temper flared to life. His eyes were wild as he pushed forward and grabbed my arm, pushing me until my back was against the wall. I didn’t even have time to blink before he grabbed my wrists.
“Stop hitting me!” he demanded. “And stop yelling! Just answer my questions.”
I didn’t hit him; I pushed him. Besides, he’d done the same thing. The fact that he had gotten physical didn’t penetratethrough my despair. I only wanted to understand—why would he have done those things?
I just wanted him to leave.
“Why would you do that?” I asked. My heart broke all over again. Seeing him face-to-face made everything more real.
“What are you talking about? What did I do?” he asked. While one hand was still holding my wrists, he touched my face with his other. His gaze flickered to a bruise on my chin that I now barely remembered getting.
“What is this?” he asked. “Who did you see?”
It wasn’t like he actually cared. “It’s not your business!” I told him.
My refusal to answer only seemed to cause him more stress. Worry flickered through the anger as he asked, “Are you still taking your medication?”
My heart lurched, and my fury vanished. My medication was a sore subject, and it’d taken only a reference to it to break through my raucous thoughts.
“I already told you,” I answered, twisting my arm. But I couldn’t get free. But my actions only seemed to intensify his resolve.
His grip turned painful. Why was his skin so hot? It grew around me, the heat making it feel like flames were licking at my hair. He didn’t even seem to notice; there was anger deep in his eyes.
Maybe, though, I was imagining it. It was hard to focus—my ears still rang from being pushed to the wall. I was, however, able to make out his next words.
“What’s wrong?.” Finn hadn’t noticed that I’d given up. “Where did you go?”
His voice had a power that shot a chill through me. I rarely heard him sound like this. He was terrifying.
“L-let go!” I tried to hide my panic. “I’m fine!”
“Bianca.” He still couldn’t hear me. But I didn’t understand, why was he freaking out? “Stop saying you’re fine. Just tell me who—”
I was freed the same instant Finn’s sentence dropped, and I stumbled before Julian was there. He wrapped his arms around my waist and held me steadily against him while he moved me behind him.
Julian’s eyes were soft in the brief instant our gazes met, but his demeanor toward Finn was not.
The thin welcome table was scattered across the floor, and Finn staggered to his feet amongst the ruins. However, the broken table was the least of my concerns, even though I knew that I’d have to replace it. I was still in shock as I peeked from the safe shelter that Julian provided.
The bespectacled blond jerkily readjusted his glasses before he wiped the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth with his clean sleeve. I couldn’t help but to follow the stained red line left behind, and to the place where it’d pooled on his shirt.
Had Julian punched him? I hadn’t even seen…
“Back off.” Julian’s voice held a tremulous ferocity that had me shaking. Or was it because I had been attacked? I wasn’t sure…
“Julian!” Finn glowered at the man in front of me. Yet, there was something in his gaze that I hardly ever witnessed from him—fear.
