Cursed Hearts (A Crossroads Novel) (19 page)

Chapter 18

The
stairwell was empty. It was early still, and that eerie kind of silence of a
large space unoccupied filled the halls. Christian jogged up to the fourth
floor, taking the steps two at a time. He’d heard Ariahna had ended up in the
infirmary yesterday, and he couldn’t trick himself into thinking he wasn’t
worried about her. He stopped outside of the nurse’s office, staring at the
door in turmoil. Would she even want to see him? He blinked the worry away. He had
to know that she was alright.

The
front desk was abandoned when he crept through the door. The nurse was probably
still in her apartment, getting ready for the day. Just as well, he thought. He
didn’t want to have another argument with her about visiting hours. Christian
slipped down the hallway, knocking quietly on the first closed door he came
across.

“Aria?”
he whispered. “Are you in there?”  He tried a few more doors without luck until
only one room remained. She had to be in there.

Rome
growled as a knock came at the door, waking him up, again.
“Go away,” he said, hugging Ariahna to his chest. They
were spooning, and
it was the most comfortable he’d been in years – even
with a dead arm and a mouth full of hair. The door clicked open and Rome sat
up.

“I
said, go away.”

“What the fuck are you doing in here?” Christian said,
sounding
more
stunned than anything. His voice made Aria stir gently.

Rome
glanced down at her before slipping unwillingly from the sheets. He slapped a
hand over Christian’s chest and shoved him out into the hall, closing the door
behind him. “She doesn’t want to see you.”

He
tossed Rome’s hand away. “What are you, her keeper?”

“I’m
someone who actually cares about her, which is more than I can say for you. You
left her up on the god-damn roof to catch pneumonia.”

“Is
she alright?”

“She’s
fine, no thanks to you.” Christian was so quiet he could hear him thinking. “…I
actually wanted to talk to you,” Rome muttered.

“What
could we possibly have to talk about?”

“The
counselor,” he said. “What’s going on there?”

“Nothing.”

“Is
he forcing himself on you?”

“No,”
Christian said. “Just stay out of my damn business.”

“Look,
I’ll be honest – I don’t like you, at all. But that doesn’t mean I should
ignore what I saw. Which was you, dashing out of his office and him pulling up
his damn pants. I’m not stupid.”

“You’ve
got it wrong.”

“So
then you won’t mind if I talk to the principle about it?”

“Don’t,”
Christian seethed. “I said stay out of my business.”

“I’m
not talking to you about this to upset you. I’m trying to help.”

“I
don’t need your help,” he said. “Butt out.”

“What
does he have on you? What has you so damn scared?”

“Just
back off,” Christian growled, slamming Rome back against the door with one hard
shove. He shouldn’t have been able to do that. “I didn’t come here to play
twenty questions, I came to see Aria. So are you going to get out of the damn
way or not?”

“No
fucking way,” Rome breathed, his voice filled with shock.
Christian’s eyes were burning yellow, shimmering
with anger and the
onset of tears. “…You’re like me.”

“What
the fuck are you talking about, you trailer trash piece of shit? You and I, we
are
nothing
alike.”

Rome
grabbed Christian by the shirt and tugged him into the bathroom, shoving him in
front of the sink. “Look at yourself,” he insisted.

The
moment Christian caught sight of his own reflection
he just about
jumped out of his skin. “Holy fuck,” he whispered,
pulling his eyelids open and examining his irises in the mirror. “I caught
something. She
gave me
some kind of
magical disease!”

“What?
No, you’re a werewolf, you fucking moron.”

“Bullshit,”
he exclaimed, turning to him as the effect faded.

“It
all makes perfect sense,” Rome mumbled. “Think about it. You said you blacked
out, that you couldn’t remember anything. But that guy, the
one who was bleeding all over the pavement, his
skull was practically
crushed in. And the way Kaleb was reacting to you…
If you’re not a werewolf, you’re going to be, and soon.”

Christian
shook his head adamantly no.

“This,
whatever it is,” he said, circling a finger around his face, “is something
contagious. Aria did this crazy ass shit the other night.”

Rome’s
forehead creased in confusion.

“No,
there’s no way. I’d know if she was a werewolf. I’d be able to sense it.” A stunned
look crashed over Christian’s face, and suddenly he was blinking back at him
consideringly.

“Wait,
are you… are you trying to say that
you’re
a werewolf?”

Rome
inhaled sharply, holding the breath in his lungs.

“I’m
not,
not
saying that,” he said noncommittally.

Christian’s
eyes widened in disbelief.

“Oh
my god,” he muttered. “You’re fucking crazy. There’s no way either of us are
werewolves. They were exiled.” A revelation struck him. “We both kissed her,”
he said abruptly. “We have some kind of crazy, magical kissing disease. Like
mono with glowy eyes.”

Rome
groaned quietly, holding his hands in the air and trying to summon any
remaining patience he had left. “I am a werewolf,” he said slowly, “and I have
been for over a year. The things that you’re going through right now, I went
through. Blackouts, trouble sleeping, inexplicable bursts of strength,
heightened hearing, an acute sense of smell,” he said, checking each one off on
his fingers. “Not to mention empathy. Trust me on this one, the first time you
feel someone else’s emotions, you’re going to shit a brick.”

“You’re
serious,” he said. He turned away from him, pressing his lower back into the
sink. “No,” he whispered, shaking his head slowly. “I refuse to believe that.”
The problem was he did believe it. He’d felt all of the
things Rome was describing. These last few days, the things he’d experienced
—he’d
thought he was going out of his mind.

Christian
turned a lost look to Rome. “Did you do this to me?” he said. “Why would you do
this to me? Take it back, I don’t want it.”

“I
didn’t do anything to you. And as far as I know, there’s nothing you can do
about it.”

Christian
threaded his fingers anxiously through his hair. “Fuck. I didn’t need this. Why
the hell is this happening?” He looked up at Rome with a horrified expression
on his face. “Oh god, I’m going to be some big ugly beast. I’m going to get
fleas, and ear mites,” he moaned.

Rome
was startled into laughter. “It doesn’t work like that.”

“Well
how does it work then?”

“I
guess it depends on what you are. I think it’s different if you’re an alpha, or
just a regular wolf.”

“What
are you?”

“Alpha.”

“So
you could like, change right now?” Christian asked, looking at him nervously.
Rome moved and he panicked. “Don’t do it!”

“What?
I’m not. You need to calm down.”

“Are
you kidding me? You just told me I’m a fucking werewolf and you expect me to be
all Gandhi about it? I’m sorry Mother-fucking-Teresa, I’m not a damn saint!”

“Do
you kiss your mother with that mouth?” Rome said.

Christian’s
face went dark. He flew forward, grabbing the collar of Rome’s shirt and
shoving him towards the wall. He blinked, and somehow he was the one eating
plaster. Rome’s palm slapped over the side of his face, grinding his cheek into
the ugly pink paint.

“If
I let you go, are you going to lunge at me again?”

“
No
,”
he lied.

“I
can help you with this if you stop being so damn stubborn.”

“I
don’t want your help,” Christian bit out.

“What
you want and need are clearly two very different things.”

“Let
me go.”

“Oh,
shit. Sorry.”

Christian
turned, spine flush to the wall as he stared blankly into the mirror. “My life
is over. I’m a freak. A
dangerous
freak.”

Rome
slapped him gently across the jaw.

“Hey,”
he said, “you’re not a freak.”

Christian
nodded distantly.

“Answer
this one question for me. Were you bitten?”

“No.”

“Are
you sure?” Rome said.

“I
think I’d remember a rabid dog attacking me.”

“Then
you were born with it,” he grinned.

“What
is this, a Maybelline commercial? How is that good?”

“It
means you inherited it from one of your parents. All you need to do is talk to
them. They’ll be able to answer more questions than I can.”

Christian
clenched his jaw, sliding down to the floor.

“I
don’t have any parents,” he said numbly.

Rome
rubbed a hand over his mouth, glaring at the tile. “Well… you’re not alone in
this, okay?”

Christian
didn’t reply.

Rome
knelt down in front of him, grabbing his face and tilting his head up. “Look at
me,” he said. “I’ve got your back. Just stop going after Ariahna, alright? Do
that for me, and I’ll help you through this.”

“I…
don’t think I can do that.”

“Why
not? You don’t even really like her.”

“Don’t
try to tell me how I feel,” Christian huffed.

“So
you do like her? It’s not just some game?”

“Are
you going to help me or not?”

“…Come
on, stand up,” he said, dragging his limp body up off of the floor. Christian
batted him away. “God, you’re just as stubborn as I am. Look, we can’t choose
the cards we’re dealt. I get it. Life is a raging bitch that will fuck you up
every chance she gets. But you have to pull yourself together. No one is going
to make your life easier if you keep acting like a brat. I’m offering to help
you, all you need to do in return is listen to what I have to say, and trust me
enough to know that I won’t steer you wrong.”

“Why?
Why would you help me?”

“Because
I think I understand you now. And it would go against everything my mother ever
taught me if I left you to fend for yourself.”

“Besides,”
Rome said, “wolves were meant to run in packs.”

Chapter 19

There
was something unnerving in the air – the sensation of being followed. It hadn’t
gone unnoticed by Kaleb. It had been with him ever since that night at the cemetery.
When Rome and he had been traipsing through the
evening air together, the heaviness of eyes and the quiet whisper of
movement
had been present. He’d felt it then, and he felt it now. Rustling and
murmuring
noises that lingered along
the edges of his perception. Quick breezes at his back, like someone had rushed
past. Kaleb didn’t scare easily, but it was enough to raise the hairs on the
back of his neck and leave goosebumps all over his skin. He was being watched,
and he didn’t like it.

The
fourth floor was lousy with teachers, red-eyed and sipping on their morning
coffee. Most seemed too tired to acknowledge him as he passed. Rome was already
stepping out of the nurse’s office before Kaleb could reach the door. He must
have been released, he thought with relief. After Rome had collapsed the other
day, the nurse had all but banned him from the infirmary. Short of injury or
death, she’d said. Admittedly, he’d been contemplating the former just so he
could see Rome.

But
it seemed there had been other visitors in his absence.

That
girl from the other night stepped out of the nurse’s office after Rome, smiling
at him gently. Ariahna, he remembered. Kaleb clenched his jaw as the skin on
his face went tight. They were talking softly and he couldn’t bring himself to
listen in. Rome cradled her face in his hand and kissed her cheek. Her heart
was beating so fast Kaleb could smell her blood from where he stood over by the
Dean’s office.

Disgusting
, he thought.

That girl was cheap plasma – or so he tried to tell
himself. His
stomach
growled fiercely and suddenly cheap
plasma wasn’t sounding so bad. Kaleb hadn’t eaten since he’d arrived at the
school. Not regular food, and certainly not blood. He was too proud to lower
himself to drinking pig’s blood, and moreover, it was as flavorful and
nutritious as ash.

That
girl, though… she actually smelt divine. It was jealousy and spite that had him
denying it. The scent coming off of her was almost as tantalizing as Rome’s. He
wanted to let her loose in the woods and chase her through the trees. Something
in his gut whispered that she’d be a thrilling
hunt. Kaleb shook the thought from his mind as she left Rome’s side
,
crossing the floor and disappearing down the stairwell.

Rome’s
eyes latched onto Kaleb from across the room. He’d written off yesterday’s
visit as curiosity, but he couldn’t ignore the hint of concern reflecting on
his face. That wasn’t the only odd thing, though. Jealousy was an easy emotion
to sense. It bubbled along the skin like a blistering heat. The only thing more
apparent was the hunger wearing away at Kaleb. It wasn’t just the kind that he
provoked, either. This was starvation.

Rome
wandered over to him slowly.

“You
look like you could use a bite to eat,” he grinned, cutting to the chase. “Seriously,
you look malnourished.”

“Screw
you,” Kaleb said irritably.

Rome
chuckled.

“Come
on,” he said, grabbing his arm and pulling him down the stairs. He ducked into
a bathroom on the third floor with Kaleb in tow. “Alright, let’s make this
quick.”

Kaleb
narrowed his eyes at him in confusion.

“Eat,”
he said, unbuttoning his shirt sleeve and rolling it up to his elbow. He held
his arm out to Kaleb who looked at it longingly. “I said I owed you, alright?
Just, no funny business.”

A
predatory look passed over Kaleb’s features, splitting his face in a
frightening smile. He closed in on Rome, ignoring his arm and backing him into
a stall. Rome growled in response, teeth slightly bared.

“You’re
offering to let me feed off of you, willingly?”

The
thought of that seemed to excite him.

Rome
was thinking about rescinding that invitation when Kaleb’s hands fell to his
hips. His back was against the wall, shoulders biting into the metal as he
tried to put some distance between them.

“Kaleb,”
he whispered warningly.

“I’ll
be gentle,” he crooned with a wicked smile. He lowered his mouth to Rome’s
neck, brushing his lips softly over warm skin. His tongue traced a pounding
vein as his body tingled with desire. Rome stood rigid and unmoving as he
teased at his pulse. “Are you scared?” Kaleb whispered. “Your heart is beating
so loud it’s almost deafening.”

Rome
swallowed audibly, clenching his eyes shut and removing himself from this
moment. He was just helping out a friend, he told himself. That’s all this was.
In truth, the anticipation was killing him. Just when he thought his heart was
going to burst, Kaleb slid his fangs smoothly into his
neck. It was a sharp sting followed by a sense of bliss.
Rome’s
hands clenched in the back of Kaleb’s shirt, his breathing turning ragged as
his head and heart started to pound in sequence.

Kaleb
moaned as the rush of Rome’s blood crashed over his tongue. He was slowly coaxing
it out of his veins and into his waiting mouth,
savoring
the moment. It was like lava – scalding-hot, white fire
slipping past his lips and down his throat. Indulging in Rome was more intimate
than anything Kaleb had ever experienced. His blood was
a delicacy
, spicy and strong, and smooth like rich, dark chocolate.
Kaleb could taste the arousal in Rome’s blood, he could feel it rushing under
his skin and pulsing in his veins.

Rome
knew in this moment that he was more than sustenance. What he didn’t understand
was the connection he was forming between them, the bond of sharing his unique
blood. Kaleb’s hand glided up his shirt, fingers dipping into the hard contours
of his body. Rome was too far gone. He couldn’t even stop the gasp that left
his lips or the soft breathy moans that followed it. His head fell back against
the metal, lips parted and trembling.
Every
gentle sucking sensation or brush of Kaleb’s tongue left a swelling
heat
surging through his limbs. Kaleb had him pressed back against the stall with
the weight of his body.

“Ah,
god,” Rome panted, wrapping his fingers around Kaleb’s hips. This wasn’t what
he’d signed up for, and he was trying to tell himself that he didn’t want it. His
eyes slipped shut, and despite his fear, he wasn’t pushing him away. If
anything, the strength in his grip was suggesting that he wanted him to
escalate the situation. Kaleb certainly wasn’t stopping. He was moaning and
grinding against him feverishly while stroking a thumb over his nipple. It was
almost enough to keep Rome in the moment.
Almost
. He ripped Kaleb’s hand
out of his shirt, shoving him back against the other side of the stall. They stared
each other down, breathing like wild dogs getting ready for a fight. “What is
wrong with you?” Rome mumbled. He wasn’t talking to Kaleb, he was talking to
himself. The door to the stall beside them squeaked, and Rome’s eyes grew to
the size of tennis balls. He rushed out just in time to see the bathroom door sweeping
closed.

“Motherfucker,”
he remarked.

Kaleb
sauntered up behind him, curling himself around his body and teasing at the back
of his neck with blunt teeth.

Rome
shivered and pulled away.

“I
thought I made myself clear about that kind of shit,” he said.

“Hmm…
no. You said one thing, and then did another. It’s not my fault if you don’t
know what you really want,” Kaleb smiled.

“Look,”
Rome said, “I respect your life choices, I really do. It’s cool, but
I’m
not like that. So I’d really like it if you’d back off and stop trying to confuse
me.” He turned to look at the puncture wounds in the mirror. Kaleb’s
silence drew his attention, and by the dark look on
his face, he knew he’d
said the wrong thing. “You know what I mean. I’m
straight
, and nothing is going to change
that. I swear, I know I’ve never really had a friend, but I don’t think it’s
supposed to be this difficult.”

Kaleb
shrugged. “Do you want me to close those or not?” he asked, pushing back the
wicked curve playing at his lips.

“Won’t
that like, bind you to me or something?”

“No,”
he said in amusement. Kaleb pricked his finger on a fang. “You’re not going to
drink it,” he explained, pressing the drop of blood to Rome’s neck. The wounds closed
instantly. “As sexy as the thought of you walking around wearing my mark is, I
don’t think we should flaunt it.”

Rome
stared blankly back at him in response. Kaleb was teasing him, and he didn’t
find it funny. He checked to make sure the bite marks were healed and then
hurried out of the bathroom without another word. Kaleb was five steps behind,
drifting after him like a persistent shadow.

He locked eyes with Christian in the hall, and
they watched each other uncertainly as they passed. They didn’t know it, but
they were sharing the same thought:
Was
this for real?

It was a valid question, even if it was one
they already knew the answer to. Rome just couldn’t believe his life had
honestly gotten this complicated, this fast. Christian, on the other hand, was
already starting to warm up to the idea. What scared him was the possibility
that this was all just a big misunderstanding. Being a werewolf didn’t exactly
sound ideal, but finding a piece of himself only to lose it again sounded
worse.

Christian’s phone buzzed in his pocket just as
Adam raced up and grabbed him by the shoulders. He looked happier than a lark.

“Did you get it?” Adam said excitedly.

“Get what?” he asked,
sliding open the lock screen on his phone. A photo of Rome and Kaleb was
staring back at him, practically slapping him in
the face. “Oh my
fucking god,” he smirked. “Did you take this?”

Adam nodded.

“Dude, they were practically fucking in the boys’
bathroom.”

“I can see that,”
Christian mumbled. “…You can’t send this to
anyone else,
alright?” Adam shot him a puzzled look.

“And why the hell not? I thought you’d be
thrilled, dude. Your only competition is a cum-guzzling cock monkey. Besides, I
already sent it to everyone in my phone – which
is
 
everyone.”

Christian grit his teeth.

“Seriously, what is with you? I thought you
hated this guy?”

“I do.” That wasn’t entirely the truth, but it
wasn’t a lie, either. “It’s just complicated. And do you have to say shit like
that?”

“No, you’re making it
complicated. You want to fuck this girl’s
brains out, right?” Christian sighed and shook
his head. “Then you do it by any means necessary. It’s a dog eat dog world; you
don’t get head by playing it safe.”

The irony in Adam’s words left Christian
fumbling with the combination on his locker. “Don’t you mean you don’t get
ahead
by playing it safe?”

“No, I mean
 
head
,”
he laughed. “The instant she sees this pic she’s going to be like putty in your
hands. But I’m warning you now, if you don’t pop that girl’s cherry by the end
of the week, I’m going to get myself a piece of that action and show you how
it’s done.”

“She’s mine,” Christian breathed.
“You so much as fucking touch her
, and you’re dead.” He hid behind the door to
his locker, missing the bewildered look on Adam’s face.

“Jeez, what did you have this morning, a bowl
of scary for breakfast? Calm your shit, I was only joking.”

“So was I,” he lied, flashing him a nervous
smile.

Honestly, he had no clue where that had come
from.

“Whatever,” Adam said. “I’ll see you at lunch?”

Christian nodded.

First period came and went, and Christian was
so excited to see Aria in Alchemy class that he practically jogged there. She
was even sitting alone. He smiled widely and sauntered up the aisle towards
her. He was one step away when Scarlet, of all people, slipped in in front of
him and stole the seat. Christian clenched his jaw, glaring at the back of her
head. He took a deep breath before sitting down directly behind her.