Pulled (22 page)

“
Hold still,” I say. “You’ve still got some blood on you.”

I start rubbing at the mark, trying my best not to touch him, afraid of what I might do if I did.
Focus on the blood
, I chant to myself,
focus on the blood
. But no matter how hard I rub, the spot won’t come off.
“
I think it might be dried on,” I say.

“
Where is it?” he asks twisting over his shoulder to see.

“
Right here,” I say rubbing again, but then stop cold, really seeing the shape of the spot for the first time.

Etash laughs. “Naya, you’re trying to rub off my tattoo.”

I hear his words but they are far away, because I’m unable to move my eyes off his back. His tattoo? It’s small, maybe about a half of an inch. It's darker than the rest of his olive skin. The tattoo is of a lick of fire. I have to sit down.

“
Naya?”

Without thinking, I start unbuttoning my pants.

“
Whoa, Naya, just because you saw me without a shirt, doesn’t mean…”

“
Look at me,” I snap.

Etash

She sounds frantic, so I look, but all I can see is her underwear.

“
Um, those are very nice panties,” I admit, v
ery nice
. Navy blue with a touch of lace along the edge.

She sighs, “No. Here.” She points to a spot just above her tail bone.

“
Is this another mark that Seth…” but I can’t finish the sentence. It’s another mark all right, but this one is not one Seth gave her. This one she gave herself. It's a tattoo of her own: and it’s identical to the one on my shoulder. Two perfectly identical licks of fire etched into our skin.

“
How ...” I mutter. “I had my tattoo custom made as a sort of joke for Grams. How can you have the exact same one?” My voice was now slow and deliberate, accusatory. There was just no way this could all be coincidence anymore.

“
I got it just after I lost my parents. When he asked what I wanted, I sketched this,” Naya says, equally as scared. “I never understood why I drew it...until now.”

My head starts to throb, too much information is trying to be absorbed and I can’t process it.

“
What is it? What’s wrong?” Naya asks.

“
Nothing. I’m fine. I think I just need to lie down for a minute,” I say, surprised by how hollow and absent my voice sounds.

Naya

The sound of Etash closing the door to his room floors me. I shouldn't have showed him my tattoo. I've freaked him out. And now he knows what a complete head case I am too. At least Seth had understood me for what I am. Maybe he's the only one who ever will. Hurt and now painfully alone, I curl up on the couch and cry myself to sleep.

Chapter 14

Etash

I hated shutting her out like that, but my head was killing me, and I couldn't think straight. I was hoping that if I could just get some sleep, I would be fine.

But sleep was not to be found easily. Instead, nightmares consume me; pulling all of the pieces of my recent past together in a mesh of pure and utter confusion. Seth's constant presence during the night torments me. He's always there, just out of reach, wielding his belt, hitting her, over and over again.

I try to get to her, but my feet seem glued to the floor. Seth starts laughing at me, then he picks Naya up and throws her at me like she was a piece of trash.

Her body crashes against mine in the dream, and it's such a relief to feel her against me. Her arms wrapping around me feel so real. My fingers trace the sides of her face, and she smiles at me. My hands start to move slowly down her body, over her shoulders and down her arms. The tips of my fingers touch the rounded edge of her breasts, before continuing to the small of her waist, where they land firmly against her hips.

This dream just got light years better. It’s only when I hear her sigh, like
really
make a real noise in my ear, do I realize this is
not
a dream. I open my eyes and find her on top of me, her mouth covering mine.

“
Naya!” I bolt upright, pushing myself away from her and grabbing the sheet to try and cover my obvious arousal.

“
Sorry. You were having a nightmare,” she whispers.

“
No. I was kissing you,” I say, panting a bit.

She blushes. “That’s not what I meant. What were you dreaming about?”

I hesitate. I’m not sure I can tell her, at least not about the ending of the dream. “You,” I finally say.

“
Me? What about me?”

I sigh. “About Seth hurting you again.” She looks down at the bed.

“
You kissed me,” I begin, “while I was having a nightmare?”

“
Um…yeah.” She says, covering her face with her hands, clearly embarrassed. “I didn’t know what else to do. You wouldn’t wake up. I was shaking you and yelling your name but you just kept screaming. I wasn’t thinking, I guess.”

Her answer is so honest that I can’t help but laugh.

“
Naya, don’t you know you’re not supposed to wake up someone who’s having a nightmare?”

“
Why not?”

“
Because, silly, then the nightmare comes...true,” my voice becomes thick as I realize what I’ve said.

“
Who sold you that stupid superstition?”

I swallow hard. “My grandma.”

Thankfully, she hasn't picked up on my worry, so I change the subject. “You should go back to sleep,” I tell her, glancing at the clock. “It’s only like 4:00
in the morning.”

“
You go ahead. I’ll be fine.” She starts to slide off the bed, and I can tell she’s feeling rejected somehow. My hand slips into hers even before her feet have a chance to hit the floor.

“
Then stay,” I ask, “for me. I’m afraid I’ll start dreaming again if you leave, and-”
I don’t think I can take that again.

She smiles. “I’ll stay.”

Settling herself safely on top of the sheets, she leans against the pillows while I sink back under the covers. I turn to face her, and wince as the bandage pulls against my scar. I can feel whatever scabbing had occurred has just been disturbed, but I don’t care. I need to see her. See her not in pain. I reach out and find her hand. Perhaps out of pity, she takes it. Feeling her safe beside me, I’m able to slip back into sleep, not waking again until morning.

I'm beaming when I find her sound asleep beside me, a small smile spread across her angelic face. As quietly as I can, I turn back the covers and place them over her, brushing a stray hair from her eyes. My God, she is beautiful.

Tiptoeing out to the kitchen, I put on the tea kettle.
Now, what to make for breakfast?
I’m just pouring pancake batter into the pan, when I hear her open my door.

Naya

When I awake it is morning. Etash isn't beside me and I can’t help but long for his presence. My head throbs when I stand up, but then I smell the undeniable aroma of heaven.
He got me coffee
. I hurry out of bed, suddenly desperate to see him.

“
Morning, sleepy head,” he says. “I’m making pancakes.” I'm not prepared for what I see.

He's standing at the stove supervising a frying pan in his bare feet, wearing only his faded blue jeans and a smile. They are my favorite button down jeans he wore during the auditions. The top button is hanging dangerously open showing off the tip of navy blue boxers.

“
Amazing,” I gasp.

Mercifully, his face is focused on the frying pan so he doesn’t see the drool that is sure to be running down my chin.

“
The coffee’s done if you want some,” he says, turning to point with the spatula.

“
Coffee. Right. Good. Coffee would be good,” I sputter.

After my first blush-removing sip, I turn to face him and realize he's taken off his bandage.

“
Hey! Where’s your ice pack?”

He shrugs his shoulders and moves a pancake to the plate beside him.

“
I don’t need it anymore. The bleedings stopped.”

I frown.

“
And I made sure to clean it this morning. Satisfied?”

“
Not yet,” I say under my breath. Putting my cup down, I rub my temples trying to push back a throbbing that is starting.

Etash turns the heat off the stove and comes over to me, tipping my chin up.

“
Head hurt?”

“
Yeah, a little,” I admit.

“
Mine too,” he smiles. “There's some aspirin in the medicine cabinet over the sink in the bathroom,” he says before he goes back to the pancakes.

“
Are those chocolate chips in there?” I ask.

“
Yup,” he replies with a wink.

“
Aspirin and chocolate. What more could a girl want?” He chuckles at me as I head for the bathroom.

Once inside I quickly look at myself in the mirror and groan at my monstrous reflection.
Well, you look attractive!
Trying to fix the night’s damage, I run my fingers though my matted hair before giving up in a huff. I settle for a quick splash of cold water and a swig of his mouthwash to ward off my rank morning breath, before opening the cabinet to retrieve the pills.

“
How many pancakes do you want?” Etash’s voice sings from the kitchen.

“
Umm. Two?”

“
I’ll give you four. You won’t be able to stop once you start,” he yells back.

I down the aspirin and walk back to the kitchen, surprised by what I see when I get there.

“
Breakfast is served, fair Juliet.” Etash is standing by his small kitchen table, which he has managed to set while I was in the bathroom. A cup of coffee and orange juice sit at each setting, along with an enormous stack of chocolate chip pancakes in the center of the table.

“
Jam or syrup?” he asks, pulling out a chair for me. And right there, in the doorway of his bathroom, I feel a wave of doom wash over me. The image of him being all domestic like, should have made me smile and feel safe. But it doesn’t. Instead, it makes me realize just how bizarre this whole experience has been. Not two weeks ago, I was a simple college student, and now I am stuck in the middle of something I can't even comprehend. Being with Etash has felt like living in some sort of protective bubble of happiness. And I know in the depths of my soul--that this feeling can’t last forever.

Etash

“
We’re almost there,” I say, turning off the highway. I’m nervous as hell for Naya to meet Grams, but seeing her tattoo has spooked me, and I need Grams to calm me down.

“
This doesn’t look like a nursing home,” she says when we pull into the parking lot.

“
Yeah, this one is pretty cool. Only eight women live here. They each have their own bedroom that actually looks like a bedroom and not a hospital room, there’s a common room with a fireplace and a real kitchen where they all eat together as a family. You know, like at a real dining table.”

“
Wow. That sounds wonderful.”

“
It is.” I get out of the car and walk around to get Naya’s door, offering my hand as I do. She seems reluctant to take it, but after a moment, she does.

“
Come on,” I say, pulling her towards the front door.