The Stars Never Rise

I shuddered at just the thought of wandering through the American wasteland, easy prey for degenerates, demons, and human predators alike.

“Then Finn and I noticed that the degenerates in the area seemed to be…flocking. They were all going the same direction. We figured that had to mean there was a new exorcist about to transition, so we went looking for him.”

I rinsed my face and lathered everything else while she talked, grateful for the seemingly endless hot water. Even when the water heater worked at my house, the supply never lasted very long.

“We found Reese in Diligencia. He hadn’t been triggered yet, and his parents were normal. Comparatively.” By which I assumed she meant that they weren’t breeders.

“So, he left his parents?”

“His dad didn’t make it. His mom sent him with us to protect him. He came with us to protect her.”

Because those wanted by the Church were dangerous to the people who loved them. I’d already figured that much out.

I turned off the faucet, and before I could ask for the towel, she draped it over the curtain rod.

“So, you and Reese are…”

“We’re together,” she said as I dried myself behind the curtain, and I was surprised by the difference in her tone from one sentence to the next. I could hear how much she cared about Reese, and how happy she was with him even though she’d lost her brother and was living on the run from the Church.

“I figured that out for myself. I was gonna say you two are…bold.” Actually, I was thinking “shameless,” but I was afraid she might take that as an insult. “Aren’t you afraid of…” But I couldn’t finish that thought. They were already wanted for sins worse than carnal contact, so what did she and Reese have to lose by loving each other? What did any of them have to lose?

“Never mind.” I wrung water from my hair with the towel. “I’m just not used to seeing…”

“Public display?” She laughed. “It’s not really public when we’re on our own, but I know it’s a shock after school and the Church and everything. It felt weird for me too, at first, but we spend so much time together as a group, hiding from everyone else, that we kind of live in our own little world. With our own norms.”

I peeked around the curtain again. “So, what’s your norm?”

Grayson smiled softly. “There’s not a lot to laugh about, running from the Church and hiding out in ghost towns. Our norm is whatever feels right. Whatever makes us happy.”

I wrapped myself in the green towel, then pushed back the shower curtain, and this time when I looked at Grayson, she didn’t look like a stranger. She looked…familiar. I saw some of the same things in her brown eyes that I’d often seen in Mellie’s: Intelligence. Personal strength. Determination. And a strong, stubborn core of optimism—just enough to keep her from ever admitting defeat.

Grayson was what Melanie could have been under slightly less horrible circumstances. If our mother hadn’t neglected her “investments.” If Finn and his friends had found us sooner. If I had kept a better eye on her “tutoring sessions” with Adam.

I tightened the towel beneath my arms and stepped out of the tub, and that was when I saw what else Grayson held. Jeans. And a blue tee. They looked clean.

“I was going to lend you some underwear too, but Reese said you might think that was weird.”

“Thanks.” I accepted the jeans and pulled them on beneath my towel. They felt uncomfortable without underwear, but uncomfortable was better than naked. “Reese is back?”

“Yeah. Finn left. He was upset.”

Crap. He’d saved my life—twice—and I’d questioned his humanity. He deserved better than that; it wasn’t his fault I was having trouble dealing with his…state. “Where does someone with no body go when he leaves?”

Grayson shrugged. “Anywhere he wants.” She handed me the T-shirt. “Sorry there’s no bra. Mine won’t fit you.” She eyed the modest cleavage the edge of my towel was tucked into, then glanced down at her own nearly flat chest. “Devi’s might, but I wouldn’t ask her for anything right now.”

“Because she and Maddock are making crude noises from behind closed doors?” I couldn’t pretend that didn’t creep me out, considering that half an hour earlier I’d thought Maddock was Finn, and an hour before that I’d been kissing him.

She smiled again—a cute little grin of private amusement—and tucked stray curls behind her ear while I pulled the tee over my head. “No, actually…Devi’s mad.”

“Mad crazy, or mad angry?” I pulled the shirt down, then tugged the towel out from under it and hung it over the curtain rod to dry. “Because I’d believe either of those.”