Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73880 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73880 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
"No, what?"
"I don't want you wearing anything but that T-shirt." I turn around and look at him, a little bemused.
"What changed, Timeo? Is it because I'm older?"
"That's part of it, yeah. But it's way more than that." He rolls off the bed and walks away. And once more I get the feeling that he's hiding something. "Don't you trust me?" I try fruitlessly to make it sound like I'm not asking like a child.
He pivots to look at me and jingles his keys in his hand. “There's no one in the world I trust more than you."
"Then why don't you tell me everything?" I plant my hands on my hips. "I didn't escape the clutches of the fellowship and you didn't escape the clutches of your enemies just for you to give me some lame-ass response about it."
"I told you when I rescued you that I was going to hunt the monsters. Do you remember that?"
I nod slowly.
He talks as if it's past tense, something already done and behind him. But something tells me that's not quite true. "I didn't want to introduce monsters of my own."
“No one can blame you for wanting to keep me safe.”
"That's what I told myself. Looking back, I know that I didn't want to deal with my brothers either, so I put all my energy into hunting the monsters."
Of course Sergio knew that because they were the very people that hurt Eden. He gave Timeo his blessing and every possible tool he needed.
If anything, I love them both more because of it.
"I get that." I don't want to rock the boat between us; I feel like I just got him back. "Let's go make something to eat."
We search the kitchen. Eden prides herself on using fresh ingredients, so the supplies of food are actually pretty limited. There are no fresh fruits, no fresh protein, and definitely no dairy in the fridge that I can find. But I do locate some imported, dried pasta, sun-dried tomatoes, some shelf-stable cream, a wedge of parmesan the size of my head, and a large bottle of olive oil so big I could swim in it. “These’ll do.”
"Damn right they will do," Timeo says. "I’d have been cool with saltines and some peanut butter."
I smile at him. "I seem to remember you like that. With a dollop of Nona's homemade jam on top." A childhood staple, probably, but it was one of our favorites.
“You know it.”
"Oh!” I squeal when I come across another goldmine. I hold up a jar.
"Marshmallow fluff?"
"Eden must’ve been planning a dessert. She makes some kick-ass fudge with this stuff.”
"Oh, yeah? What are you gonna do with it?”
"Dessert too, of course." In this second search through the kitchen I also find a loaf of bread and peanut butter, so I slather a piece with the peanut butter and spoon a dollop of marshmallow fluff on top. I light the broiler.
“What’s with you and marshmallows.”
I shrug. “They’re cute and fluffy and delicious.”
Seconds after I put my open-faced sandwich under the broiler, I bring it out for him.
I find myself holding my breath before he takes his first bite. It's so simple, a meal together, alone in the club.
“Okay, this is really fucking good,” he says, taking another huge bite. “If we—”
He’s reaching for the jar of fluff when the entire place goes dark.
"Dammit," he hisses. "I was afraid of that."
I open the back door of the kitchen and look out the little windows in the hallway, confirming that every streetlight is out. "You think they’ll get the power back on soon?"
"We’ll see. No cell service, and no electricity either, which means no heat."
"Great. If we were at The Castle, we could at least build a fire."
"We can build a fire here, but we have to be very careful."
"Good thing it's almost bedtime. I think we need to maybe find some supplies? How long do you think the power will be out?"
I can't check on my phone to see where it's at or why. “We do have a lot of resources here.”
"We should act like it's going to be out for a long time, and probably pretend that we are prepared."
"So tell me," I say, my tone hopeful. “Since we’ll have to find supplies. Do you think… that maybe it means we get to explore the club?”
It's hard for me to see him in the dark, but I swear I can hear the smile in his voice. "Yeah, baby. That’s an excellent idea.”
Before we leave the kitchen, we rifle through the cabinets for supplies. It's not completely pitch-dark, because a little moonlight pierces through one of the small windows, illuminating a tiny triangle in the kitchen.
We find matches and meager food supplies, but no flashlight.
"I can use the flashlight on my phone, but it’ll drain the battery, and we have no idea how long we'll be in here. I'm not comfortable doing that."