“Don’t tell me people actually swim here.” I nodded toward the posted warning.
“It used to be a popular swimming spot back in the sixties. But after a bunch of kids drowned, going too deep, they started having local police patrol the area to keep people away. There’s a steep drop off only ten feet out into the water. It goes down probably thirty feet. They don’t even allow people to fish here.”
Elian tugged on my hand, snatching my attention. “Come on,” he said softly, as though not wanting to disturb the quiet that had descended between us.
I followed him towards the house. He walked up onto the porch and opened the door. We stepped inside, and I was surprised by how clean and tidy it was. It was filled with new looking furniture. There was even a television sitting on a small table in the corner.
“You live here,” I surmised, closing the door behind me. The air smelled faintly of lemon, as though Elian had employed all manner of cleaning products before bringing me here.
Elian took my purse and dropped it on a small velvet covered chair just inside the entryway.
“I do. It’s mine. I bought it six months ago. You’re the first person I’ve ever brought here.”
I wasn’t shocked by his admission. I had expected it. He was sharing with me something personal. Something secret. As though by compulsion. Around me, I knew that Elian was learning he couldn’t help himself.
This fed something dark and dangerous inside me.
Because Elian Beyer made me crave things.
Other things.
Normal things.
Things that were bad for my soul.
Elian wasn’t the first.
But he was the most special.
And that could be very, very terrifying for a woman like me.
“I like it,” I told him. And I did. I walked until I was standing in front of the window that overlooked the massive limestone quarry. The solitude was enticing.
“I’m glad,” Elian replied.
We stood quietly for a time, neither expecting anything, wanting nothing.
We just were.
“I bought your guitar today,” I said rather suddenly, my voice too loud. It was jarring in my ears.
“I figured that was you,” Elian said, handing me a bottle of beer. I hadn’t asked for one and I didn’t particularly want it. I didn’t drink. I liked having a clear head. Because too often it was muddled by other things.
“You did?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Why did you buy it?” Elian posed his own question, ignoring mine.
I shrugged, taking a drink of beer and instantly regretting it. I put the bottle down on the windowsill.
When I didn’t answer him, I thought he would move on. This time he didn’t. His unpredictability was shaking me.
“Why did you buy it, Layna? I need to know.” Elian was emphatic. Frantic almost. His hair fell into his eyes and all I could see of his dancing green eyes were slits of color lost in the dark.
“Why does it matter?” I countered. Elian clenched his hands, the muscles in his neck protruding and pronounced. I knew that these were his riddles. I knew the price he would have to pay to relinquish them.
But I wanted to devour his secrets. All of them. Until I was bloated and full on the things he wanted no one else to discover.
“That piece was…special.” His words leaked out of him. Dribbling into a puddle on the floor.
“It’s special to me too,” I said.
Elian’s jaw relaxed and his fingers uncurled, no longer angry firsts.
“I’ll take care of your star, Elian. It’s safe with me,” I assured him. Safe. Safe. Safe.
Elian turned away from me and picked up his beer, drinking the last drops.
“It’ll be dark soon. Let’s go light a fire,” he said, his voice thick and coarse. I assumed he was embarrassed by his outburst. A typical male response to emotion. I was sadly disappointed to see him displaying it.
Then he advanced across the room and reached out as though to grab ahold of my face. I was shocked. I went immobile. I hadn’t expected it. Elian was unreadable and the flutter in my chest was a mixture of excitement and apprehension.