Kiss the Stars (Devon Slaughter Book 1) (18 page)

I WOKE to the
sound of the phone ringing.

I struggled to
open my eyes.

A second ago, I’d
been spinning through space. Creatures of light surrounded me and the most
comforting song came from the beating of their wings. But now, I was trapped
under darkness.

I sat up,
gasping and fumbling for a light. The phone kept ringing.

Something
crashed to the floor. And something moved next to me in the bed. I screamed.

“Ruby!” a hand
grabbed me.

I fell back on
the pillows, my heart pounding. “Oh, God, Devon. You’re still here.” Joy
coursed through my body, like sunshine.

He pulled me
against him and nuzzled my neck. I moaned. Morning sex, I thought. This is what
it’s like…

He unclasped my
bra. I wriggled out of my slip. My underthings were swallowed by the covers.

His hands were
everywhere. We were slow and languid, and fast and greedy.

We took breaks.
Sweat cooled on my skin. I fell asleep and woke with him inside me. I gripped
the sheets. He guided me onto my hands and knees. His strokes were softer and
shorter. An alien sound came from deep in my throat.

We collapsed. My
whole body quivered with pleasure.

At some point, I
heard the phone again. The ringing wouldn’t stop and it got louder and louder
until I thought my mind would explode. I felt for Devon, relieved to find him
next to me. I swung my feet over the side of the bed. The floor was cold.

My bare foot hit
something soft. I bent down and picked up my sweater. I put it on. It was all I
could find to wear, in the dark. I pulled it down over my hips.

I went
downstairs, confused by the darkness outside. I thought it must be morning but
I had no idea what day it was.

You’re
dreaming
.

The porch light
was on, casting a dim light through the kitchen window.

The answering
machine blinked rapidly, as if it would burst with its urgent need to relay
messages. I pressed play. “Wednesday, eight eighteen a.m.” the mechanized voice
said, and then Mr. Stroop was talking. “Ruby? Where are you?” he paused, as if
waiting for me to pick up. “Okay, then. I imagine we’ll hear from you soon.
Hope everything is alright. I’ll send your class to the library.”

There were six
more messages from Stroop. I hit skip every time I heard his voice.

What a
nightmare
.

“Thursday, six
p.m.”

“Hey, Ruby? It’s
Henry. Look, where are you? Everyone’s in an uproar. Give me a call as soon as
you get this, okay? Seriously. I don’t care how late. We’re—
I’m
worried
about you. Maybe I should just come over…”

I sighed and
dragged myself up the stairs, back to Devon and my bed.

THERE WAS
something outside. I sensed it. I was losing track of time again, like those
endless nights on my way up from Central America. I glanced at Ruby in the bed.
Her hair was ratted and her skin gleamed with sweat.

I stepped over
her broken lamp on the floor and went to the window. I lifted the curtain to
scan the dark yard.

A pair of
headlights shone outside the gate. A man stood at the intercom. It must be
broken, I thought, and found myself wondering if he would find his way inside.
I remembered who he was. I could easily see his chiseled profile from my
distant vantage point. Henry Thorne.

I watched as he
poked around, reaching his hand through the gate, fumbling for a way to open
it. I felt superior, thinking how I would have been in and out in seconds flat.

Henry stared at
the house for a while and then reached in his pocket. Out came the cell phone.
Downstairs, Ruby’s phone rang. Her machine picked up. I honed in. “Ruby. If you’re
there, please…please pick up. Ruby? Are you there? Ruby?”

Christ, man
.
Give up
.

“I’ve called all
the hospitals. I’m calling the police now…” the machine clicked off.

Something in his
voice cut through the fog in my head. I rubbed my eyes. I went to the bed and
gazed down at Ruby. She lay there like a wilted flower. She had shadows around
her eyes. Her lips were chapped.

I reached down
and gripped her shoulder. “Ruby, wake up.”

She barely
stirred but I could hear her heart beating. I sat on the edge of the bed and
lifted her into my arms. “Devon,” she murmured in my ear. She laughed softly.
The sound sent a chill down my spine.

You’re a monster,
Devon
.

I carried her
into the bathroom and she giggled again, like she was drunk. “Stand up, now,” I
said. She was wobbly on her feet. I had to balance her. I got us both into the
shower. I soaped her skin and her hair. I couldn’t find any shampoo. She closed
her eyes and her head lolled.

Fear raced
through me.

I turned off the
water and toweled her off. She tried to lie down on the floor. I pulled her up.
These were our final moments together.

I
was
a
hungry ghost.

I dressed and
felt for the pill in my pocket. It was still there.

I grabbed a
nightgown from the floor of her closet. It was black and satiny. I got her into
it. She looked gorgeous with her hair wet, her skin still damp. I found a jar
of lip gloss and applied the shiny balm to her lips. She smiled.

“Can we go back
to bed now?” she said.

“No.” I carried
her downstairs. I made her sit up at the table.

“I’m too tired,”
she said.

I took the
handset from the wall. I was methodical, doing what had to be done. I prayed it
wasn’t too late. I gave her the phone. She held it, looking at me with her big
blue eyes. Without make-up, her lashes were blonde and fragile. Tiny freckles
dusted her skin.

“Listen to me
Ruby. You remember your friend Henry?”

“He’s not my
friend,” she said.

“I need you to
call him. You know his number?”

She shook her
head.

I took the
phone. “Well, I want you to tell Henry that you’ve been very sick and ask him
to come over. Okay?”

She didn’t
answer. Her eyelids drooped. I pressed star-69 and got the number of the last
incoming call. When the line started to ring, I handed the phone back to Ruby.
I heard Henry answer.

“Henry?” she
said.

“Ruby. Thank
God. Where
are
you?”

“I’m at home. I—I’m…a
wreck.”

“Hold on. I’m
turning around. You still there?”

“I’m here,” she
said.

“I’m on my way…”

I filled a glass
with water and brought it to her with the pill. “Here,” I said. “I found an
aspirin.” She took it without question.

I knelt at her
feet and held her hands. I gazed into her eyes. They were the exact color of a
bright blue sky.

“I’ll never
forget you,” I said.

She touched my
cheek. “Oh, Devon. Don’t cry…”

Alice Bell was born
three minutes before midnight on January 19th in northern California. She's a
triple Capricorn, destined to be dark. Long before she could read, she was
irresistibly drawn to books. Somehow, she knew they would give her what she
wanted most in life. She went on to graduate kindergarten with honors and
figured she was done with school. She had the secret code now and could access
magical worlds. What else was there?

Since her parents
wouldn't let her stay home and read, eventually, she graduated from high school
too, but not with honors. After working a series of odd jobs, including theft
counseling, she decided to go back to school to see if she could earn a degree
by reading, which resulted in a BA in English (though not an end to odd jobs).

Currently, she lives in
the Pacific Northwest with her husband and their pets. She loves animals and
nature and considers herself a romantic of the Wuthering Heights variety. Her
greatest aspiration as a writer is to show beauty in dark places.

Thank you for reading
Kiss
the Stars
.
If you enjoyed it, I would be eternally grateful if you
left a review.
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If you would like to be
informed about giveaways and the release of the next Devon Slaughter book, you
can visit my Google Page:
Alice Bell

Or visit my website for
updates:
alicebellwrites.com

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directly:
[email protected]
.
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