Gargoyle: A Reawakening (Briarcliff Series, #2) (4 page)

“
We can always go back to
town you know.”

“
Ah…no we can’t. I told my
mom I was going to be with Evie all weekend.”

“
So we’ll go to Evie’s. You
got an extra key, don’t you?”

“
I do, but what about
Evie?”

“
What about her? She’ll
probably thank you for leaving her alone with Colton,
longer.”

“
I don’t know.” She bit her
lip nervously. “Maybe we shouldn’t have left her.”

“
Why?
He
is
what she
wanted for her birthday…
right
?” Kingston asked and then
leaned forward and started trailing kisses down her
neck.

“
Well maybe, maybe not,”
she said. “I don’t know.” She blew out a nervous breath.

“
Wait,” he said leaning
away. “She asked you to hook her up with Colton, didn’t
she?”

“
Not exactly,” she hedged,
shifting towards him.

“
Why did you say it like
that?”

“
Well, it was kind of a
surprise,” she said evasively, starting to regret leaving her
friend alone. Evie wasn’t like Moriah. She was shy and
impressionable. Even though she always talked about Colton, she
wasn’t sure he was the best pick for her “first.” She really should
have told her what she had planned and let her decide for
herself.

“
Evie is
a big girl you know. She can say no,” he reassured her while
trailing his fingers over her back. “Besides Colton may be an ass,
but he isn’t
that
big of an ass.”

“
You think so?” she asked
worriedly.

“
Yeah babe, she can take
care of herself.”

“
You’re right, I’m sure
she’s fine,” she said, even though she wasn’t so sure.

“
Besides, she has her car.
She can leave if she wants.”

“
Well not exactly. I told
her to let Barnaby take it so she could be alone with
Colton.”

“
Shit.”

“
Right, I know,” she said
anxiously, biting her lip, again.

He exhaled. “Babe, I’m sure she’s fine. We
can drive back up and check on her if that will make you feel
better,” he reasoned.

“
What if they’re, like, in
the middle of something? I don’t want to ruin it for her by showing
up.”

Kingston placed his hands on either side of
her face, looking her in the eye. “I’ll tell you what, let’s get
out of here. We can go to town, get you another shirt, and pick her
food up, too. We’ll be back in no time.”

Moriah pulled back to see
Kingston’s face. He was right. Colton was Kingston’s cousin so he
should know….
right?
Evie was probably just fine. She let out a relieved sigh.
“Okay, let’s go back to town, but we need to make it fast,” she
said, climbing back over into the passenger seat.

Kingston smiled, making his dimples deepen
in his cheeks. “Yeah, I’ll be fast,” he said laughingly and started
his car. The engine roared to life. He pulled out of the little
alcove and sped off down the winding mountain towards town.

WAITING

SATURDAY * 3:23 AM

The wind blew harshly, frenetically twisting
limbs of the few trees resilient enough to remain standing on the
ridge. Clouds moved swiftly across the full moon, cloaking them
both in and out of darkness at disjointed intervals.

Simon climbed up on an outcropping of rock
and laid back, pulling his shirt up to expose his muscled chest to
the illumination. He let out a sigh of contentment, stretching
lazily, pillowing his head on his arms, and closed his eyes.

“
What are you
doing?”

Simon slanted open one eye and looked over
at Alistair. “Catching some beams.”

“
Beams?”

“
Yeah, moon beams. It makes
my skin tingle. I feel the energy from it, don’t you?”

“
Yeah, but I am not lying
out under it like a damn bathing beauty.”

“
Well you
should.”

“
Why?”

“
Because it feels
incredible,” Simon said, leaning back and closing his eyes once
more.

“
That’s not how it works,
you know.”

Simon sighed. “Yes, I know.”

“
Then why are you doing
it?”

“
I am enjoying the
moment.”

“
What is there to enjoy?”
Alistair asked in irritation, pushing his shoulder length hair back
from his face.

“
Oh I don’t know, maybe the
simple fact that my ass isn’t crouched on top of a mortared column
guarding a gate any longer.”

“
You and I both know we
weren’t guarding the gate,” Alistair deadpanned.

“
Weren’t we?” Simon sat up,
pushing his own hair from his face, looking pointedly at
Alistair.

“
I don’t even know anymore.
“ It’s been so long,” Alistair replied, sounding
defeated.

“
That’s true,” Simon said
absently, rubbing his thighs, his palms starting to warm from the
friction. “How long do you think it’s been this time?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know…” The cool air
stung his face and arms, making his muscles bunch reflexively
across his chest as he stuck his hands into his front pockets.
“Where did you get these?” he asked, looking down at the jeans he
wore.

“
What?” Simon
asked.

“
The clothes we are
wearing?”

“
Oh, I took them from the
car when you disappeared into the woods.”

“
Where were the
humans?”

“
Obviously not in the car,
else I wouldn’t have gotten the clothing,” Simon answered snidely.
“What were you doing, anyway? I could have used some
help.”

“
Remembering,” Alistair,
said simply, turning away and walking back over to the ledge,
looking down at the clearing in the trees. The lights had come on
in the house. He had thought they all left, but apparently, some
remained. He looked up to the sky, tracking the moon. It was moving
pretty fast, which meant they would be gathering soon. He let out
another deflated sigh: he wasn’t ready yet.

Simon shook his head in understanding, not
saying anything more. Alistair was different; he remembered what
some of his life had been like before all this. Simon wasn’t as
fortunate… or perhaps it was a blessing he did not remember what he
was before. Sure, he could recall snippets from other times they
had been awake, but only fleeting visions that blurred, like
scenery would, if you were moving too fast. At first, he envied
Alistair, but not any longer. He was glad he remained oblivious to
everything from his past. He wasn’t sure he would be able to bear
it if he did remember.

CONFUSION

SATURDAY * 10:43 AM

“
Evie…”

The sound of someone calling her name
whispered its way into her subconscious, waking her slowly.

“
EVIE
!”

“
What can I get you?" she
yelled, jolting awake. She instantly screamed…pushing whatever was
in front of her—hard.

“
Shit!
” Moriah jumped backwards. The
McDonald’s bag dropped to her feet along with the soda she had been
holding, the liquid drenching her clothes in the
process.

Bright morning sun glared down through the
windows into the foyer. Evie squinted up at Moriah. Soda dripped
down the front of her shirt, making it see-through; she looked like
she was ready to kill her. Kingston was there too, but he didn’t
look mad, instead he looked like he was biting back a laugh. A red
flush crept over her face. “Sorry,” she mumbled, pushing her hair
out of the way.

Kingston touched Moriah’s
arm and said something to her before he walked outside. Evie
couldn’t hear what he saying but it was just as well.

Moriah turned towards her,
twisting her shirt, forcing liquid onto the floor, instantly
reminding Evie of another dark liquid. “How did I get back inside?”
she asked suddenly remembering
him.

Moriah gave her a strange look and dropped
her shirt back in place. “Evie, what are you talking about? Where
else would you be?”

“
Oh no no
no no
…w
here did
he go
?”

Moriah sighed. “Colton?”

“
No! Not Colton,” she was
nearly yelling now.

“
Who then?” asked Moriah,
clearly baffled. “What are you talking about?”

Evie shook her head. “No
one, okay.” She didn’t want to try to explain
right now.

“
Ohmigod
, what did you do to your
face?” Moriah said, stepping forward.

Reaching up, Evie felt her
face. “I fell, okay,” she lied, dodging the real answer.

“
How’d you do
that?”

“
Like you need to ask,” she
added sarcastically, trying to cover the slight tremor of fear that
crept into her voice.

Moriah, giggled. “Right…sorry…I kind of
forgot about that.”

Yeah right, sure you
did
. It wasn’t as if her falling down
wasn’t a common occurrence. She was a textbook klutz most of the
time anyway.

Her giggles subsided, finally. “Does it
hurt?”

“
Duh,” she deadpanned.
“What do you think?”

Moriah frowned. “You know, you don’t have to
be a bitch. I’m just worried about you, okay.”

Evie wanted to say,
apparently not too worried—
since you left me at a haunted mansion all night and just had
a laughing fit for the past five minutes because I fell, but
didn’t. “Yeah, I’m fine, just tired and …” She didn’t bother
finishing the sentence …
miserable
, would have been the word
she used.

“
So what happened with
Colton?” Moriah asked suddenly.

“
Nothing,” Evie said,
giving her a sideways glare.

Her brows drew together. “Seriously?” she
asked, clearly not believing her bald face lie.

“
Seriously,” repeated
Evie.

“
Nah…” Moriah shook her
head back and forth. “I don’t’ believe you. No way,” she said,
giving Evie “you are such a liar” look.

“
Yes way,” she continued to
lie.

Moriah gave her a pointed
look, her face deadly serious. “
Promise?
” she asked.

That
word was the problem. They made a pact with one another. If
they ever used the word
Promise
, they would have to spill,
no matter what. She exhaled. “Fine. We kissed.” She made a face.
“Happy.”

“
I knew it! I knew it!”
Moriah jumped up and down gleefully. “You have to tell me
everything.”

Evie rolled her eyes. The
last person she wanted to talk about right now was Colton “Wad”
Hayward. Hooking up with him had been one of those
“
live and learn
”
moments. She had certainly learned the hard way.
“
Poke me”
…
gross
. When she saw him
again, she was going to give him a poke, right in his pervo blue
eyes.