Page 92 of ILY
I give Salem a quick good-night, then head in, going straight to the bedroom to make sure Leaf hasn’t started wandering.He’s half-naked and flopped over my pillow, but he looks up when I step into the room.
“Hi.”
I grin at him. “Hi. You think you can still sleep?”
He shrugs, then signs, ‘Try, maybe.’ He pats the mattress next to him, and I fall against him, pulling him into my chest.
“Let go,” I say into his ear, and he sighs, soft snores coming from his mouth moments later. But I don’t sleep, just feel him slumber.
And then, for the rest of the night, I think about the sealed cellar door, the pictures from the box, and what it all means.
CHAPTER TWENTY
LEAF
“I am never,ever trusting Robbie with gummies again. Those were potent. Yesterday is a blur,” I say as I take the tea Thorne has offered me and chug it down. “Another.”
Thorne lets out a small laugh, and I roll my eyeballs. It hurts though, really fucking badly, to move them. When I glanced in the mirror this morning, I realized how terrible I looked with lopsided hair, bloodshot eyes, a crease down my cheek and neck.
I look like a piece of garbage.
Not that Thorne thinks so.
The way his eyes eat me up makes me puff up slightly. As much as a man can puff when he’s hungover as hell.
Thorne hands me another cup of tea just as the doorbell rings. I can’t be fucked to answer it, so I just sit in the chair overlooking the backyard while Thorne gets it, and I wait for a report on who or what is annoying me at this hour.
If he says it’s Michael, I may cry.
He just comes in with two plastic pots filled with plants I don’t recognize.
“What is that?”
Thorne’s lips twitch. “My buddy just dropped them off. The plants you requested to end Michael.”
I gasp and stand up so quickly the tea falls on the ground, but I can wipe it up later. “What kind are they?”
“Hemlock and nightshade.” He glances down at them. “He told me which was which, but I don’t think it matters.”
I take them from him and set them on a cluttered shelf before pulling him in for a crushing hug. “Thank you, and tell your shady friend thank you as well. This is the nicest thing someone has done for me in ages.”
Thorne cocks his head and raises an eyebrow. “I think I’ve been very nice to you. Tucked you into bed last night and everything.”
I snort and then watch as he grabs a tea towel and starts to mop up the mess I made.
“I’ll make you another tea. Go sit outside and think about where to plant the poison. The fresh air always helps a hangover.”
I do as he says, moving onto the porch and taking a seat in the rocking chair, propping my feet up and letting my eyes close. It’s overcast today and a little chilly, but it’s not so bad. I love the autumn. The changing of the leaves, the rain, the sweaters I get to wear.
“Here you go,” Thorn says, taking a seat next to me and pulling my legs onto his lap. He rubs my feet, and I let out a small whimper.
“Thank you. For the plants, the foot rub, and generally being a wonderful boyfriend.”
His ears go a little pink, and he ducks his head. “Anything for you.”
The way he’s looking at me jogs my mind, and I gasp, sitting up so quickly that I almost spill the tea all over my chest. “Did you say you loved me?”
Thorne lets out a booming laugh. “Fuck, Leaf. You have a way, don’t you?”
