Page 17 of Cuddling Sucks in Coffins
“And then?” I asked, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
“Eddie came by to get her for patrolling and found his house on fire,” Sawyer said, his voice low. “Obviously we hadn’t bitten Crystal, so we didn’t sense anything had happened until no one showed for patrol. We went searching, thinking something was wrong, and then we found Eddie in the middle of the street, half out of his mind with grief. His family was dead.”
The breath stalled in my lungs as if I’d been kicked. Tears welled and tracked down my cheeks. My heart ached for him. His entire family gone, including his slayer sister whom it seemed he would’ve gone to the ends of the earth for. He was just like me in a lot of ways, all alone, except for this oasis filled with a new family.
“How did he become a vampire?” I choked out.
Jacek took my hand on my lap and squeezed, funneling comfort into me. “He begged us to turn him so he could punish himself for eternity for not getting his siblings out of that house long before the fire. His parents found out every time he tried, and it never ended well for him.”
“We refused to turn him,” Sawyer said with a shake of his head. “He’d already suffered enough.”
“So he found someoneelseto turn him.” Jacek sighed. “Once he learned to control his bloodlust, we knew we had to help him control his guilt too. That’s taking quite a bit longer. I know he’s not there yet.”
I dragged in a deep breath, Eddie’s past weighing heavily on my chest. His issues with touching surely stemmed from part of his story I hadn’t heard yet, but with his abusive home life, I could only imagine. This was a lot to take in about someone who’d twined their existence with mine in such a profound way. All three of them had, and I would forever be changed.
Sawyer leaned in and thumbed a tear from my cheek. “We shouldn’t have told you this before your patrol.”
I swiped at my cheeks and nose, hardening myself for the night to come. “It’s fine. I’m used to shifting back and forth between a slayer at night and a broken human by day. I had plenty of practice when my mom died.”
Sawyer took my other hand, dwarfing it with his soothing touch. “I’m sorry, Belle.”
“I’m sorry too.” Jacek gently shoulder-bumped me. “I think you’re exactly what Eddie needs. Your uniqueness, your zero-fucks-given attitude.”
Sawyer nodded. “But also that you’ve suffered. He sees a kinship in you.”
He’d said something similar to me before, that he could see my loss in my eyes. But hadn’t we all suffered? Part of living was watching as pieces of our souls were ripped away. Depressing as fuck, yes, but there it was. But if you could surround yourself with people who understood, who would help fill those missing pieces with something new and wonderful, then that made it so much easier.
Ugh, too many deep thoughts, not enough slaying. My gut was cramping and the bottoms of my feet felt like they were about to race out the front door without me, the telltale signs it was past time to go.
I downed the rest of my coffee and stood. “I’ve got to go kick some ass.”
Jacek stood, too, and pressed his grin to my temple. “That’s my girl.”
He and Sawyer walked me to the front door—a new one since Sawyer’s foot had gone through the old one when he’d kicked it down—where the smell of paint fumes grew stronger. The doorknob-shaped hole in the wall from Paul’s shenanigans last night had been patched and painted.
Sawyer swept me up into an all-consuming hug. “Let us know if you need help tonight.”
I nodded into his solid chest. “I have my Holy Bra on underneath my Kevlar vest. I should be fine.”
“Holy Bra?” he asked.
“A water-filled push-up bra. I replaced the normal water with holy water, creating the first Holy Bra in existence.”
He squeezed me again, a lot less tight this time. “Remarkable.”
“I thought so too.” I pushed away from him gently before he accidentally cracked a rib and punctured my Holy Bra.
Behind Sawyer, Jacek winced as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Okay?” I asked.
“Must be the paint fumes,” he said, his voice tight.
I glanced at Sawyer who frowned down at his clenched fists.
My hackles raised as I looked between the two of them, but my gut cramped harder, urging me out the door. It felt like flames were licking at my feet because I wasn’t moving fast enough toward my duty. Okay, okay, I was going.
Shouldering my duffel, I opened the door to the night and then turned to the two vamps behind me. “Kiss Eddie for me.”
