“Of course he knows! What you did...”
Alek interrupts me with a hard kiss, digging his hands into my backside as he drags me toward him. I part my lips in shock and his tongue explores my mouth, caressing mine. The white light I see in my mind’s eye holds me in place despite my desire to push him away. As the blinding energy wipes my thoughts, I catch up to what he’s doing and wrench my head away. He grips me tighter, attempting to get his mouth back on mine.
“Alek, stop...”
“Don’t talk,” he says gruffly, “I don’t want to talk about it.”
The engulfing energy crosses into my body as we kiss again, pulling me from the surroundings as Alek intends. The voices and people around retreat into the distance, my sole focus on Alek once more. I slide a hand beneath his T-shirt and play my fingers across his back. The heat of his lips and the way his tongue explores mine sends shockwaves through my body and soul. He pulls away and grips my head tightly as his lost eyes search mine.
“Are you still leaving?” he asks hoarsely.
“I don’t know.”
“If I told you I loved you, would you stay?”
I step back. “What? No, not if it isn’t true. Why are you saying that?”
“I know I’m a crazy, moody bastard, but I want you to stay in my life. Don’t leave.” He rakes a hand through his hair, fixing me with the intense look that slips through his defences sometimes. “And I think I am in love with you. I don’t know, I never got close enough to anyone to feel whatever this is, but it scares me and it fucking hurts.”
His words are a greater shock than any he’s given me through physical contact, like a lightning bolt to the head. How can he? I run a finger along his lips and he shudders. “You’re so confusing, Alek.”
A yell interrupts our conversation, loud voices arguing. I pull away from Alek, yanked back to reality. Two guys push at each other, arguing and swearing loudly. I don’t catch what the argument is about. The taller of the two has close-cropped hair and is broadly built, wearing a blue and yellow striped rugby shirt. The other guy has the same shirt on but he’s shorter and stockier, brown hair falling into his eyes. Alek leans against the wall next to me as we watch a gathering crowd. I wait for someone to step in, but they don’t.
The shorter guy uppercuts the other, who crashes backwards and hits his head on the pavers. A girl shrieks, and everything goes into slow motion. The guy on the floor doesn’t move and the same girl kneels next to him, screaming for help and stroking his head.
“Do something!” I say and push Alek.
“Like what? He’s dying and if we go close, we’ll finish him off,” he says in a noncommittal way.
“What? He only fell over.”
“Can’t you feel the energy leaking?”
I shake my head. “No, I can’t!”
The ruckus attracts more onlookers and a man pushes through the doorway. He kneels down by the guy on the floor. “Has anyone called an ambulance?”
I study him; he’s familiar. Youngish, blonde hair, too skinny. I have an image of him from the hospital and there was a group of nurses I recognised here tonight. Chloe isn’t here, so they’re Tom’s friends, I guess.
“What’s his name?” he asks the stupefied guy responsible for the punch.
“John. Shit, I didn’t mean to hurt him. Is he okay?”
“You punched him! Of course you hurt him!” shrieks the girl.
The kneeling man calmly checks the unconscious man’s pulse. “John? Are you okay?”
Alek jolts. “Fuck! Where’s your Reaper friend?”
“What?”
He grabs my arm. “Look at what he’s doing!”
The man has switched to attempting resuscitation. “He’s helping him!”
“No. Shit. Where’s the ghostbuster?”
Alek pushes through the gathering crowd and into the house, leaving me shaking and watching on in horror. I close my eyes, attempting to feel what Alek told me. I don’t sense anything.
“Is the ambulance on its way?” calls the man. “Someone check.”
“Is he going to be okay?” sobs the girl, pulling her dark hair from her face.
“Go inside, find his coat. We’ll keep him warm until the ambulance appears.”
She nods dutifully and picks herself up from the floor. When the girl disappears into the kitchen, I’m alone in the garden with the man and the injured teen, the murmuring crowd looking on.
“Step out of the shadows, Rose,” he says softly. “Help.”
“Help with what?” I glance at the people nearby but none of them are close enough to hear.
“You can save him.”
“No, I can’t, how?”
The man sits back on his heels. “You can save people. He doesn’t have to die.”
“I’m not a nurse; I just work at the hospital.”
The kitchen door closes, the people in the doorway gone. I blink. Why would they all suddenly leave the scene of an accident they’re all intrigued by?