| |
Maisie
––––––––
“What do you think Vale’s doing with all the collected souls?” Maisie asked.
Neven handed her the last two crackers. He’d been generous enough to let her have more than half the box since he did eat all the cheese.
He considered her question a second longer, staring deeply into the darkness of the empty cracker box. Maisie waited patiently so as not to disturb his train of thought.
“I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I mean, I may possibly have a clue.”
She perked up and pulled the blanket tighter against her body. “You do? Why didn’t you say something before?”
“I didn’t think it was important?”
“It’s definitely important now, Neven!” Maisie practically jumped into his lap, which caused him to fall back on the armrest, dropping the empty box.
“Aug—I mean Vale—mentioned something about power. He said the Glass Vault was the source of it all.”
“It’s a start.”
“Now if only—” Neven didn’t get to finish his sentence as the vibration of a violent tremor shook the couch.
No, not the couch, the entire house!
The walls, the windows, everything quaked. Neven grabbed her arm at the same time she leapt to the floor like a flying squirrel, arms opened and all. He dove next to her as the wood beneath them rattled, her teeth clacking together from the movement.
“What are you doing?” he whisper-shouted.
She put one finger to her lips and another to his, giving him the quiet signal. His lips were soft against her digit, but she didn’t have time to think about that as she pulled it away. The briefest of pauses occurred between each tremor, which made Maisie wonder if it was footsteps and not an earthquake. Maisie pointed toward the window at the front of the room, ignoring Neven’s dirty look, and army crawled to it.
Neven sighed and joined her, peering over the top of her head as she peeled the curtain back a fraction of an inch. Her eye widened when it fell on a massive troll stomping along the wide street, creating craters in her wake. This troll was just as filthy as the last one Maisie had seen days ago. The immortal’s flesh sagged, her large breasts flapping against her belly, and matted hair clung to her back. Maisie scooted away from the window and leaned against the wall. Neven followed suit, his arm shaking as he wrapped it around her shoulders.
“What was the point of that?” Neven hissed in a low voice.
“I had to see what it was.”
“What would you have done if the troll was coming in here?”
“We would’ve run out the backdoor.” She shrugged—it was that simple.
Neven rolled his eyes and drew her closer.
As if on cue, a loud crash tore through the air at the end of the street. The ground rumbled once more, lasting for only a few seconds before everything turned silent. Neven’s chest heaved, his breaths coming out rapidly through his nostrils. Maisie wrapped her arm around his waist and held his free hand to quiet his nerves. The crashing hadn’t been too close, so her nerves weren’t as loud.
The antsy part of her wanted to run outside and see what had happened. She attempted to calm that part of herself by stroking Neven’s hand with her thumb, drawing soothing circles to help his fright at the same time.
After about fifteen minutes, Neven’s breaths came out even and she couldn’t control herself any longer. Maisie unfolded herself from him and jumped to her feet before racing for the front door. She drew it open and hopped down the steps past the gnomes.
“Oh, come on, Maisie!” Neven called.
At the end of the driveway, past the curb and mailbox, she peered out at the end of the street. Dust billowed upward from a pile of rubble. The troll seemed to be long gone.
“What?” Neven rasped when he caught up with her. Then he spotted the destruction, his lips parted before giving her a hard look. “Don’t even say it.”
Maisie couldn’t help it—her lips curved into a wide grin. “So, we should’ve chosen a house at the end of the street, right? Not one in the middle?” She laughed, gesturing to the crushed one-story home at the end of the road. To see a house in shambles like that was still a devastating sight, but no worse than anything she’d seen thus far. Thankfully, no one was likely there to get crushed, but turning to glass wasn’t a much better option.
Neven tried to hide his smile. “I was talking about us staying at the other house at the other end of the street.”
“Sure, Neven.”
The sun was quickly fading, the sky turning hues of red and orange. The moon, the stars, and the night would be peeking out soon, so they headed back inside in case troll number two decided to venture back.
“We should probably hit the sack.” Neven yawned.
“You can take one of the beds.” She nodded in the direction of the bedrooms.
“Where are you going to sleep?”
Maisie held out her arms, then fell gracefully onto the cushions of the couch and closed her eye. “Right here.”
“Why not a bed?”
“I would, but I don’t know the people who slept in it, or how clean the sheets are. It’s too weird.” Plus, some people slept naked in their sheets, and who knew what sort of bodily fluids leaked from them there. Just because she was immortal didn’t mean she stopped thinking about things like that.
“But you’re going to let me take a bed?” he countered.
“Yes.” She opened her eye, her expression sheepish.
“Gee, thanks,” he said, folding his arms and inching closer to her. “Move over and make room.”
“What?” Her heart slammed against her sternum, but not from fright as he stood above her, waiting for her to make room—something else.
“Look, we stay together.” Neven pulled at the edges of his hair. “If that thing comes back and we have to bolt, I want us to be ready to go.”
“All right.” That made sense, yet it didn’t stop her heart from singing to her.
Neven took the other side of the couch and lay down, his body too long to fit on it comfortably. As he adjusted his head, her heart sang louder, thumping and thumping. And when his arms opened up for her, the blasted organ screamed.
“What?” she asked, her voice high-pitched.
“Seriously, Mais?” Neven sat up and drew her down with him. “You’re not going to sleep with my feet in your face, and I’m definitely not sleeping with yours in mine.”
After nervous laughter and awkward shifting, they settled into a comfortable enough position. Neven wrapped his arm around her waist, and her back pressed against his firm chest. She could feel every single one of his deep breaths, every single one of his heartbeats.
It was actually kind of perfect. Perfect? No, I can’t be liking the snuggling session with Perrie’s ex!
Maisie was about to break out of his arms and go for a bed, regardless of a stranger’s potential semen, blood, or sweat. But then Neven held her tighter, and she didn’t know what to do. He was warm and comfortable, and she fit perfectly in the pocket of his arm and chest.
Stop it! Maisie needed her notebook to distract herself, but it was across the room, and by the sounds of his laborious breaths, he’d already fallen asleep.
But the tiredness she’d been feeling had already left as her mind raced about all the wrong things concerning Neven. He was Perrie’s. He’d always been Perrie’s, ever since the day they’d met.
They would rescue Perrie, and her cousin and Neven could live happily ever after. That was the way it was supposed to be. That was the way it always should’ve been.
A memory sprang forward from the rug she’d shoved it under. Despite her best attempts at sweeping it away, it found its way back out in her dreams when she’d finally fallen asleep.
“Perrie, are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Maisie asked.
“I don’t know. I may die tonight, and you’d have to figure out a way to revive my corpse.” Perrie tried to smile, her skin pale, while she clutched her stomach, still on the verge of throwing up.
“Eh, you’ll live.” Neven shrugged but still looked concerned as he waved her a goodbye.
After Maisie closed the door, she turned to face Neven. It was always the three of them, Neven and Perrie, or Maisie and Perrie. But she would give it a little variety this time and make it Maisie and Neven. “You coming to watch the movie?”
“I can walk home.” He glanced out toward the door.
“You want to leave?” Maisie asked, confused.
“No. No. Only if you don’t want me to come.” He smiled, a flush creeping up his neck.
“Nah, I don’t want you to leave. You’re going to be my movie partner in crime.” Too bad Perrie was going to miss out on such a Phantom-tastic day.
Maisie ran into her room as soon as they made it over the threshold and grabbed two masks—one was hers and the other Perrie’s. She tossed a mask to Neven when she padded back into the living room. He rolled it over in his hands, giving it a peculiar look over.
“Put it on,” Maisie said, but he continued to stare at it. “Here. Let me help you.” She took the mask from Neven’s hands, and he hunched down a little so she could easily bring the elastic cord over his face. Her fingers brushed his skin, and she found it to be one of the softest she’d ever felt. “Perfect. You look exactly like the Phantom.”
His eye on the masked side shifted from side to side. He didn’t speak a word, just continuously blinked at her, seeming unimpressed.
“Let me put mine on.” Maisie tugged the elastic cord over her head, slid the white mask onto her face, and smiled. “There.”
Neven grinned and shook his head.
Now that they were in character, it was the perfect time for her to start the movie.
During the film, Neven’s arm brushed hers, but she didn’t think too much of it besides it feeling nice. Their bodies were pressed close together, but Maisie always relaxed like this with Perrie too.
Throughout the remainder of the movie, Neven fidgeted and tapped his knee constantly, making it jerk. Maisie wanted to ask him if he was trying to perform the knee-check-thing a doctor did, but she let him continue his leg dance.
As soon as the Phantom drew to a close, she glanced at Neven to see what he thought about it. Only, he already faced her, watching her nervously. He then leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, soft and warm. She’d never felt anything like it before. A crinkling came from their masks when their noses rubbed together. He was like the perfect Phantom.
As she realized what was happening, she froze, then pulled back and released a small scream.
Leaping from the couch, she booked it to her room, shut the door, and locked it behind her. Hands shaking, she backed away, like Neven might possibly break it down.
The mask was stiff against her face and it reminded her of the kiss, so she took it off, burying it underneath her bed.
Did I want him to kiss me? Maisie wasn’t sure, but if he did it again, she would want him to. She would want to feel those soft lips on hers one more time. Her heart quickened at the thought, the anticipation. This time she wouldn’t run off screaming like a sacrificial animal.
After Maisie calmed the singing birds in her stomach, she casually unlocked and opened the door, walking out of the room as if nothing happened. Neven still sat on the couch, his spine stiff, but the mask was no longer on his face.
“So, about the movie...” He then started to talk about the film for a long time. There was no mention of the kiss, and her chest was struck with disappointment. It was as though her Phantom had left her. But she wasn’t brave enough to bring it up.
Maisie’s eye flew open, and she was now fully awake. The memory-turned-dream played over and over in her head.
She’d been only fourteen, and she’d never had a crush on anyone before. Even after that day, neither one ever brought up the kiss, not for the rest of ninth grade or the following year. It was as if it had never happened. Not even Perrie knew about it.
Maisie couldn’t tell Perrie how she’d felt about him—he’d been her cousin’s best friend.
Then the summer Neven’s dad passed away, Maisie had been in Turkey visiting her family. Perrie had been there for him when Maisie wasn’t. Perrie was the one who’d made him better, not Maisie, and then they fell in love. Maisie had selfishly wished it had been her who’d been there for him, because maybe he would’ve fallen in love with her instead. But then she’d seen Perrie and Neven together. She’d known then that it was right, they were right, so that was when Maisie brushed everything under the rug.
Maisie closed her eye with Neven’s arm still tightly wrapped around her, pretending for a moment that she’d told him back then how she’d felt, before everything. She was about to drift back to sleep, when an ear-piercing scream roared through the street from outside. Neven and Maisie jerked up at the same time, and she could see the fear in his face.
Another wail tore through the dawn, accompanied by thunderous crackling. Lunging for the door, Maisie ran out into the morning light and discovered the source of the noise.
It was Perrie.
