Page 16 of Killer of the Bells
Vale stepped between me and Gareth, once again blocking my view. “I see nothing worth getting attached to.” He sniffed haughtily and brushed something off his coat sleeve. It was probably some of the cum Baz had mentioned.
“Mean,” I pouted. Valewasmean. Like, super duper mean. He reminded me of a stray cat I’d found as a child. At first, it was all hissing and rage until I gave it some tuna. It was still volatile afterward, but when I came to visit it again, it didn’t hiss as loudly or as frequently.
Maybe I should have offered Vale some tuna.
“So, you can say a few things unprompted,” Apple said, leaving Gareth’s side and joining me on the bench. “How much can you say on your own?”
Wow. Apple was nice. Beautiful, too.
When he took my hand, I shivered, but not from fear. Something about Apple glowed and rubbed against my soul, warming me up and making me feel less dead inside. I clasped Apple’s hand with both of mine and squeezed gently. It was somehow strong and delicate at the same time.
“I say a few things. What things do you want me to say?” I asked dreamily.
Vale scowled at both of us before asking, “Where did you find Lyle?”
How the hell was I supposed to work with that? “I found Lyle,” I said sulkily, refusing to look at Mean Vale and keeping my gaze locked on Beautiful Apple.
“Useful, Vale. Very useful,” Apple mocked. “I thought you were supposed to be creative.”
“I’d be more creative if you weren’t sitting there being twice as irritating as you usually are.”
“Am I?” Apple touched his chest with a dainty hand. “How interesting.”
“Fuck off, Apple.”
“I love you too, Vale,” Apple said affectionately and then returned to giving me his full attention. “Darling, did you meet Lyle online or in person? And if you found him online, did he contact you, or did you contact him?”
“He contacted me online.” Finally, someone understood that the old adage ofless is moredidn’t apply to me.
“Did he email you? Or was it on a website you visited? Did he give you any personal information?”
“He emailed me. No personal information.”
“Echo, love. You need a class on internet safety immediately. You’re lucky you found me.”
“So lucky,” I smiled at him, hoping he’d pump me for more information. I’d be so cooperative with him.
“Can I have your phone for a moment?” Apple asked, holding out his hand. I passed it to him happily, and he held it to my face to unlock it before tossing it over his shoulder without looking.
I heard the soft clap of it landing in someone’s hand, and Gareth said, “Thank you, Apple.”
Whatever Apple needed from my phone was probably important, and I was delighted to be of use to him.
“Thank you, Apple,” I said. I didn’t know why I was thanking him. For existing, maybe. It was so wonderful that Apple existed.
“You aresogood for my ego, Echo,” Apple said, patting me on the cheek. “I’ve gotten used to living with a bunch of assholes who are almost entirely immune to my charms.”
Charm? Yes, Apple was so charming.
I took his hand again and asked, “Can I live under your porch?”
“You’re just the sweetest thing, Echo. Maybe youshouldlive under our porch.”
“I will totally live under your porch,” I said breathily. Every member of their little gang was dressed in expensive clothing, so their house was probably really fancy too. That meant their porch was probably nice and roomy. If I asked Apple to install a heater so I didn’t freeze, I doubted it would be any worse than my apartment.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Vale snarled. He yanked Apple off the bench by his collar just like he had with Baz and dragged him out of sight.
For a moment, I was heartbroken at being parted from Apple. He was so wonderful, so perfect, so kind, so…
