Oblivion

She crept closer. “I didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Thinking about me?”

There wasn’t a moment of hesitation. “Yes.”

Surprise flickered through me. Did she just admit that? Were pigs flying outside? “Well, I was preparing this whole speech about how you need to stop denying that I consume your every waking thought and haunt your dreams. Now I’m not sure what to say.”

Kat leaned against the wall, right in front of me. “You, speechless? That’s one for the record books.”

I lowered my head and whispered, “I didn’t sleep well last night, either.”

She moved closer, her arm brushing mine. I stiffened. “Last night—”

“I wanted to apologize,” I said, and I knew I needed to for what I said about her being a problem. “I’m sorry—”

Someone cleared his throat.

My gaze snapped up. So caught up in Kat, I hadn’t heard him walk through the open door. Douche Bag was here.

“Am I interrupting?” he asked.

“Yes, Bart, you are always interrupting,” I responded.

“Sorry it took me so long to get over here,” he said, ignoring me as Kat faced him.

“Too bad it didn’t take longer.” I stretched idly “And too bad you didn’t get lost or—”

“Eaten by wild boars or killed in a horrific ten-car pileup. I get it.” he interrupted and then walked past us. “You don’t need to be here, Daemon. No one is forcing you.”

I pivoted on my heel, following him. “There’s no other place I’d rather be.”

Kat shuffled into the living room. “So, um, how are we going to do this?”

“What we need to do first is figure out what you can already do,” he said.

She tucked her hair back, obviously not entirely comfortable with both of us staring at her. “Uh, I’m not sure there’s much I can do.”

His lips pursed as I sat on the couch. “Well, you stopped the branch. And the time with the windows. That’s two things.”

“But I didn’t do them on purpose.” Kat glanced at me. “What I mean is, it wasn’t a conscious effort, you know.”

“Oh.” His brows lowered. “Well, that’s disappointing.”

My gaze slid to him. “What a great motivator you are.”

He ignored me. Again. “So these have been random outbursts of power?” When Kat nodded, he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Maybe it will just fade?” she said, sounding hopeful.

“It would’ve already done that by now. See, one of four things happens after a mutation, from what I could learn.” He started moving around the living room, giving Kat a wide berth. “A human can be healed, and then it fades after a few weeks, even months. Or a human can be mutated and it sticks, and they develop the same abilities as a Luxen—or more. Then there are the ones who kind of…self-destruct. But you’re out of that stage.”

“And?”

“Well, and then there are humans who are mutated beyond what would be expected, I guess.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, my fingers tapping along the arm of the couch.

He folded his arms and rocked back. “Like in the freakish-mutant-looks department and in the head, and it’s different for everyone.”

“Am I going to turn into a mutant?” she squeaked.

He laughed. “I don’t think so.”

My finger stilled. “And how do you really know all of this, Flake?”

“Blake,” he corrected. “Like I said, I’ve known others like Katy who have been sucked into the DOD.”

“Uh-huh.” I smirked. This boy had bullshit tattooed on his forehead.

He shook his head. “Anyway, back to the important stuff. We need to see if you can control it. If not…”

Not liking where that statement was heading, I came off the couch and I moved fast, just to remind Douche Bag of what I was. I was in his face in under a second. “Or what, Hank? What if she can’t?”

“Daemon.” Kat sighed. “First off, his name is Blake. B-L-A-K-E. And really, can we do this without any macho-man moments? Because if not, this is going to take forever.”

I spun around, pi

“The best thing to start with is to see if you can move anything on command.” He paused. “And I guess we can go from there.”

“Move what?” Kat asked.

He looked around the room. “How about a book?”

Which book? There were like a million piled up around the room, and obviously Kat was having a hard time settling on one, because Douche Bag had to tell her to focus. She twisted sideways, focusing her attention on the couch. I had no idea if she was staring at the pillows, the book, the remote, or the magazine.

Nothing happened.

And after three hours, the only thing Kat managed to do was make the coffee table tremble, and I might’ve almost fallen asleep.

“I’m hungry. I’m tired. And I’m done,” Kat a

Douche Bag lifted his brows. “Okay. We can pick up tomorrow. No biggie.”

She glared at him.

That made me smile.

Stretching my arms, I yawned. “Wow, Brad, you are such a great trainer. I’m amazed.”

“Shut up,” she said, and then ushered Douche Bag out the front door. I got on my feet and walked into the hallway. They were outside talking. I listened, because I didn’t trust him, and I was nosy.

“What you’re doing by helping me is pretty amazing. I just wanted to say that,” I heard Kat say.

Oh, forget this. I couldn’t listen to this shit. I lifted my hand and extended my middle finger. No one saw me, but it made me feel better.

Walking into the kitchen, I grabbed the mayo, lunch meat, and bread. I was almost finished when Kat walked in. “What are you doing?” she asked.

I waved my knife. “You said you were hungry.”

She inched closer. “You…didn’t have to make me anything, but thank you.”

“I was also hungry.” I plopped mayo on the bread, spreading it out evenly. A few seconds later, I had two ham and cheese sandwiches. I handed one to her. “Eat.”

Kat stared at me, and I smiled before I took a huge bite of mine. I kept my mouth shut while Kat ate. When she was finished, she cleaned up, and then moved to wash her hands. I followed, stopping to stand behind her. I placed my hands on either side of her hips, my fingers curling over the counter.

“So, you had a very interesting conversation with Butler on the porch.”

She shivered. “His name is Blake and were you eavesdropping, Daemon?”

“I was keeping an eye on things.” I tilted my head just an inch, brushing my nose along her neck. I inhaled her peachy scent. “So, his helping you is amazing?”

“He’s putting himself at risk, Daemon. Whether you like him or not, you have to give him props for that.”

“I don’t have to give him anything other than the ass-kicking he deserves.” I rested my chin on her shoulder. “I don’t want you doing this.”

“Daemon—”

“And it has nothing to do with my raging dislike of the boy.” I moved my hands to her hips. “Or the fact that—”

“That you’re jealous?” she said, turning her cheek and bringing her lips daringly close to mine.

“Me? Jealous of him? No. What I was going to say was, ‘or the fact that he has a stupid name.’ Blake? It rhymes with flake. Come on.” I straightened, tugging her back against me. She didn’t pull away. Instead she leaned into me, and I wondered if her eyes were open or closed. “Kitten, I don’t trust him. Everything about him is too convenient.”

She wiggled free and faced me. “I don’t want to talk about Blake.”

I arched a brow. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Last night.”

I stared at her a moment and then backed off. Turning, I walked over to the kitchen table. What was there to say about last night? I needed to apologize for saying she was a problem, but other than that? I wasn’t sure. I rubbed my neck. What a mess.

“Actually,” she continued, “I wanted to finish the conversation we were having before Blake came over.”

“Which is about last night.”

“Yeah,” she said slowly, dragging out the word.