Chapter 43
Evie felt light-headed as she walked down the corridor towards Flic’s front door, her feet dragging. Her whole body was hurting as if she’d been run over by a bulldozer. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever be back to fighting fitness and definitely not by later today.
Cyrus had dropped her at Flic’s and gone on to meet the others at Victor’s, apparently sensing her need to be alone, or possibly – more likely – because he didn’t want to be anywhere near her ever again.
She wished she could take it all back, rewind time. Never kiss him. What had she been thinking? She’d been awake most of the night replaying it over and over in her head. Though this morning Cyrus had seemed back to his normal nonchalant, sardonically smiling self. Maybe she had just been another notch for him after all. Maybe the hurt look in his eyes the night before wasn’t from a bruised heart but from a bruised ego. But, she paused, replaying it yet again. The way he’d kissed her, the tenderness she’d felt in his touch and the intensity in the way he looked at her, suggested otherwise.
Which made things even worse.
She’d been betrayed before – by Tom – so she knew how it felt to be on the receiving end. But Cyrus’s ego had probably never suffered any kind of knocks before. It was titanium plated.
She knocked lightly on Flic’s door, resting her forehead against her fist.
Flic must have felt her coming because the door opened almost immediately. She looked hurriedly over her shoulder as if surprised to see Evie standing there.
‘What is it?’ Evie asked, checking around to see who else Flic might have been expecting.
‘Nothing, nothing,’ Flic said quickly. ‘I just … you didn’t see anybody just now, did you?’
Evie stared at her, puzzled, ‘Like who? The mailman?’
Flic shook her head, ushering her inside. ‘Come in, come on in.’
She followed Evie into the living room. ‘Where did you go last night? You left the hospital.’
Evie swallowed and crossed to the sofa. Let the lies begin.
‘Um, Cyrus took me somewhere. The police were around and …’
‘Yeah, they were asking lots of questions of us too,’ Flic broke in. She seemed agitated, jumpier than normal, though her eyes were shining. Maybe it was just the residual effects of the fight last night.
‘The police were all over that hospital,’ she carried on. ‘The ER could barely keep up. You weren’t the only neck wound that they brought in. Burns too. It’s hard to believe. I mean, there are Mixen and Scorpio walking around in broad daylight. The Times is starting to sound like the National Enquirer.’ She threw a copy at Evie across the coffee table.
Evie scanned the front page, words jumping out at her:
Full-scale panic
Massacre
MONSTERS!
Killing
Green skin creatures
She could barely focus enough to read the article through. Flic jabbed her finger at a smaller block of text at the bottom of the page. Evie read a few lines then looked up, her gut tightening, nausea welling up her throat.
‘RJ? Are they talking about RJ?’ she spluttered. ‘Was it him? Did he die?’
She remembered the scream she’d heard from the street, the noise that had distracted her from whatever Selena had seen on the other side of the wall.
She saw from Flic’s expression that she was right.
‘I thought Cyrus would have told you,’ Flic said.
Evie swore, throwing the paper across the table and standing up, a sob fighting its way up her throat. ‘I told Victor. Goddamn him. I told him they weren’t ready.’
He was dead. He was just a kid. He should never even have been there.
Flic studied her for a second and then walked out of the room. Evie followed her into the kitchen.
Neither of them spoke as Flic made coffee. Evie leant against the counter, watching her, unable to shake the memory of RJ standing on the sidewalk with a look of utter terror on his face. What a way to die.
‘So, you and Cyrus?’ Flic suddenly asked, making Evie startle.
‘Cyrus what?’ Evie asked, her mouth suddenly drier than a desert.
Flic raised her eyebrows suggestively. ‘You and he …?’
‘No! No, what are you talking about?’ Evie burst out. How had Flic known?
Flic’s laser-gaze swept Evie from top to toe. ‘Well, you’re wearing his sweater, and not a whole lot else. It’s kind of a giveaway.’
Evie took a deep breath. ‘It’s not what you think.’
‘So you didn’t kiss him. then?’ Flic asked.
Evie swallowed. She should have tried to get some new clothes before coming here. ‘I … er, yeah, OK, I kissed him. I mean, we kissed.’ She could feel the tears building, the panic fluttering in her chest. She realised it was because standing here in front of Flic felt like standing in front of Lucas, having to justify her betrayal.
‘Do you like him?’ Flic asked.
‘No!’ Evie burst out. ‘I mean, yes, I like him, he’s different now. But that’s not why I kissed him.’
Flic smiled sadly. ‘You know, Evie, it’s OK. You don’t need to feel guilty.’ She turned around and started pouring hot water into mugs.
‘You want to know the truth?’ Evie asked after a beat. ‘I was thinking about Lucas the whole time. That’s why I kissed him. Because I miss Lucas. Because I wanted to feel safe again and protected, and for a moment I got carried away. I wanted it to be him. So, of course I feel guilty. I feel guilty for betraying Lucas.’ She pressed her fists into her thighs. ‘And I feel guilty for hurting Cyrus. It was stupid and I shouldn’t have done it.’
She shook her head and stared at the ground, her voice dropping to a whisper. ‘I can’t give Cyrus what he wants – whatever that is. I’m never going to feel the way I feel about Lucas ever again.’ She took a deep, racking breath, which left her body in a shudder. ‘I just wanted to feel something other than this constant ache that I feel all the goddamn time.’
She looked up expecting to see Flic glaring daggers at her, but instead she found she was grinning at her slyly.
‘I’ll get you some clothes,’ was all she said. Forgetting all about the coffee, she yanked Evie into the hallway. ‘Come on. We need to get to Victor’s.’