Cursed Hearts (A Crossroads Novel) (14 page)

Rome
closed the door, keeping a guarded stance.

“…I’m
going to fuck her so hard she’s going to feel it for a week. Then you can have
my sloppy seconds,” Christian whispered.

Rome
grabbed him by the collar, slamming him against the back window. He didn’t even
notice Ariahna scrambling out through the driver’s side door. “She’s mine,” he
snarled. “If you touch her again I will break every single bone in your body.”

“Whoa,”
Christian breathed. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Aria
pulled Rome back, glaring at him as he let go of Christian.

“I’m
not…
yours
,” she said angrily.

“Believe
it or not, I’m not the bad guy.”

“That’s funny, coming from the person who keeps threatening
my life,” Christian remarked. He took Ariahna’s hand
, leading
them towards the
building and feeling the heat of Rome’s glare burning at
his back the entire way.

It
wasn’t until the door to his car slammed shut that Rome
snapped
out of it. He actually jumped at the sound, turning to
look at Kaleb. He looked annoyed. “Great. Everyone’s mad at me for just trying
to do the right
fucking
thing. This is such bullshit. If you’re so pissed
about having to give them
your blood, then why did you do it in the
first place? You certainly didn’t owe me any favors.” Kaleb smirked as he passed,
raking a hand across his chest.

“No,”
he said, “but now you do.”

Chapter 12

The morning air smelt heavily of rain. Dark, thunderous clouds
hung low in the sky, threatening to open up and pour down on the world below.
The first drop hit Rome’s skin
and he picked up his pace as he sped around the track. He’d lost count of how
many miles he’d ran, and he didn’t care. After last night, after being face to
face with his own mortality, all he wanted was to feel alive. He was focusing
on nothing but the sound of his own footfall, the controlled beating of his
heart.

Huge
raindrops crashed against the covered bleachers and bounced off the track,
washing away everything in their path. It felt symbolic, cleansing. He wondered
for a moment if it would wash away the blood staining the cement across town. The
chill of the water against his skin was soothing his heated muscles. Everything
weighing on his mind was slipping away, leaving him sobered. The soft cotton of
his shirt was now see-through, and much like his shorts, it was clinging wetly
to his skin. Yet Rome couldn’t help but enjoy how freeing this moment felt, how
wild and invigorating.

And
in an instant, that feeling was gone.

A
high-pitched cry had permeated the air, making the drops of rain clanging
against the metal suddenly sound like rapid gunfire. He fell to his hands and
knees, breathing heavily as water crashed against him.

He
hated this feeling.

“Hey,
you!” Eliza shrieked.

Rome
looked out across the field, squinting through the water
dripping down around his eyes. He barely spotted
the outline of a girl lying
on the far side of the track through the
misty morning fog. He pushed off of the ground, dashing through the soft grass.

“Can
you walk?” he asked, kneeling down beside her.

“No,
I’m just lying on the ground for my health,” Eliza said snappily.
She took a breath and tried again in a
less aggressive tone. “No, I can’t walk. I think I sprained my ankle. Can you
help me, please? I really don’t want to have to crawl back to the building.” She
laughed, trying to shield her eyes from the rain.

“I could go get someone?” he said. “I’m not
entirely sure if moving you is the best idea.”

“You’d seriously leave me out here to wait for
help? No way. Come on, you look strong. I’m sure you could carry me. Please,”
she said sweetly. “Besides, you’re kind of cute. Attractive people should
definitely look out for each other. It’s just common courtesy.” She smirked up
at him at her own joke. This wasn’t how she’d intended to introduce herself,
but she’d come back from worse with a guy.

“Yeah, I can carry you,” Rome said, trying not to
smile.

Eliza heard him laugh and she beamed back at him.
Laughter was
always a good sign. Get someone
laughing, and they were less likely to desert
you, she thought. Stroke a
guy’s ego and he’d pretty much give you anything you wanted.

“Wrap your arms around my neck,” he said,
slipping his hands underneath her legs and around her back. He lifted her
effortlessly, but with all the water they were sticking unpleasantly to each
other.

Eliza held on tightly and he started walking them
back. This guy was built, she thought. She looked down at his arms and chest
admiringly, frowning when she noticed a few scars visible through his white
shirt.

That was kind of hot, actually.

“Are you single?” Eliza asked abruptly.

“What?” Rome said. He was certain he hadn’t heard
her right.

“I just want to know now, so I don’t waste my
energy trying to woo you.” She winked at him playfully.

“Woo me? I think that’s what you’d call social
suicide.”

Her clothes may have been disheveled, and her
hair may have been soaked, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know exactly
what kind of girl she was. She was practically wearing a glowing neon sign that
read: Pretty and popular – and completely out of your league.

“Not at all. People practically worship me around
here. It’s kind of sad, really. If you were seen with me, you’d become
instantly cool by association. That’s just how it works,” she smiled. “I don’t
make the rules, I just enjoy the benefits.”

They slipped in through the back of the cafeteria,
Rome’s sneakers squeaking against the tile. It echoed in the otherwise empty
room. He didn’t know what to say to her in response, let alone how to act. He
wasn’t used to this kind of attention, and the way she was looking at him—it
was all kind of hard to ignore.

He was flustered, and Eliza was enjoying every
minute of it. She smoothed a hand over the blush creeping up his neck. “I
wouldn’t have thought you’d be so shy, just looking at you. It’s really adorable.”

“…You wouldn’t know a lot of things by just
looking at me.”

“Ooh, mysterious. I like it,” she laughed.

Rome’s expression hardened and she poked him in
the cheek.

“Stop that. No pouting. You’re too pretty to look
that sad.”

Rome smirked. “I think you mean handsome.”

Eliza knew that somewhere underneath that strong,
silent
exterior was
a sense of humor.
She’d just have to break through a few barriers to get to it. But she had to
admit, it was nice to talk to a guy who wasn’t so self-assured and full of
himself. She was used to guys like Dallas. Rome was a breath of fresh air by
comparison, and he didn’t miss a beat.

“Alright then, Handsome, do you have a name? I’ll
admit I don’t know it,” she lied. “Mine’s Eliza.”

“Rome.”

“Well, Rome, if you agreed to go on a date with
me, I could get people to stop saying stuff about you. What do you say, deal?”

“Um—what? Why don’t we just get you to the nurse;
you might have hit your head, too.” There was simply no way this girl was
actually asking him out.

“What do you mean, I hit my head? Are you calling
me dumb or something? I just twisted my ankle. What part of me flirting with
you don’t you get? I think you’re the one who hit your head. Either that or
you’re really oblivious. I can work with that though,” she shrugged.

“I’m not calling you dumb. I just meant—never
mind.”

“I can guide you through how
this works, if you want. I flirt with you,
you flirt back, I ask you out and you agree
excitedly. It’s really not that hard. Now, you try.”

Rome looked down at her skeptically.

“Okay, here, repeat after me,” she said. “You’re
cute, I’m cute, why don’t we go somewhere and be cute together?” Eliza raised
an eyebrow at him, grinning all the while.

He smiled, stepping into the elevator. “First of
all, I would never use the word cute that many times in the same sentence. And
I might actually say yes, if I didn’t think you were messing with me.”

“Why would I mess with you?
I don’t joke about flirting.” Eliza looked at him curiously. “Wait, are you
being serious? Dang boy, you need to go and get some confidence to go with that
body,” she said, touching his wet
chest
. She blushed at her own words, drying them off before
pulling her hand away.

Rome tensed at the sudden use of magic.

He wasn’t sure he was ever going to get used to
that.

 “I don’t know how someone can have a smile like
that and be so humble,” Eliza complimented. “Are you for real?” She went quiet,
smiling at his uncomfortable silence. “Well, my offer still stands, Gorgeous.”

Rome walked backwards into the swinging doors to
the infirmary. The old nurse gave him a curious look as he stood there holding Eliza
in his arms. “…She has a sprained ankle.”

“Oh,” she said. “Alright, take her to room three.”

Rome nodded, carrying her through
the hall and into the room.
He set her down gently on the bed, turning to
leave before Eliza could protest.
Unfortunately,
the nurse, with her frail frame and short stature, was managing
to block
the entire doorway.

“Take a seat,” she instructed.

“Why?”

“Because I asked you to.”

Rome sighed, taking a seat in the corner. His
eyes caught on her nametag as she examined Eliza’s ankle.
Ruth
. It
sounded like the
perfect name
for a
kind old woman in her sixties.

“How are your injuries, Mr. Navarro?”

“What injuries?”

She pointed out his knees with the movement of
her eyes.

“I just slipped on the track. It’ll be fine,” he
said, brushing away a few loose pieces of rubber. “Honestly, I didn’t even feel
it.”

“Oh, well, it should be fine to let it fester then.”

Rome gave her a sour expression.

“You also have a nice scratch on your cheek, dear,
and if I’m not mistaken, those are vampire bites.”

Rome slapped a hand over his
neck. He’d completely forgotten
those were there. “Right,” he said nervously. “…I’m
just gonna go.”

“Sit,” she said, pushing him back into his seat.

Apparently magic didn’t dissipate with age.

“I’ll be right back and we’ll fix you both up in
a jiffy.”

The nurse left and the room filled with an
awkward silence.

“It sounds like you should be fine, at least,”
Rome muttered.

Eliza smiled at him.

“I don’t know; it might still be sore. Besides, I
was starting to get used to being carried around like a princess. Maybe you’ll
just have to take me to all my classes like that,” she laughed.

“I’m sure the nurse will give you a set of
crutches,” he grinned.

“Crutches?”

They stared at each other in confusion.

“You’re new to all of this, aren’t you?” she
said.

“New as in, I just found out like yesterday? …Yeah.”

Eliza hooked her finger in the air, getting him
to lean in close. “There’s this party being thrown at the beach on Saturday. You
should come. It’s the only time we can actually let loose and use our magic,
since they
insist
on segregating the
school instead of converting it. It’s going to be a lot of fun, I promise.
There will be a bonfire, alcohol, and of course I’ll be there. That’s pretty
much everything you need,” she said.

Rome frowned at his shoes.

“What’s that face about?”

“…Alcohol isn’t really my thing.”

Eliza didn’t know a boy their age that wasn’t up
for a
little hard liquor
and partying.
“Why is that?” she asked.

“Look, I just don’t think anyone would appreciate
me being there. And I don’t like crowds. I’ve always been more comfortable by
myself.”

“Maybe you just need to make some friends. You
might be surprised how someone’s attitude towards you can change when you smile
and laugh and have a drink with them. And life isn’t about being comfortable.
It’s about putting yourself out there and having fun, even if you make a fool
of yourself every once in a while. You learn to be comfortable outside of your
limits, to laugh at yourself. It’s healthy. You should try it.”

Rome took a deep breath. “Maybe—”

Ruth walked back into the room, handing them both
a glass of green liquid. It looked gross, and it smelt even worse.

“Drink it,” she instructed.

“Drink it? This looks like fucking sewer water.”

“Excuse me?” she said, creasing her already
wrinkled forehead.

“Oh, right. It looks like
freaking
sewer
water,” Rome corrected.

Eliza was trying not to bust up laughing.

“I’m not drinking this.”

“Are you really going to sass an old woman?” Ruth
said.

“Just do it,” Eliza smiled, downing the beverage.

Rome grimaced at the murky substance as he
brought the glass to his lips, forcing it down. “God, what the hell was that?”

“Apparently your first healing tonic,” the nurse replied.
She quickly handed him a small mirror.

Rome watched the cut on his face and the small
puncture marks on his neck disappear like they’d never even been there. By the
time he looked
down at his knees they were
completely healed, and Eliza was standing on
her own two feet again.