Between (14 page)

CHAPTER
13

After meeting Tom, I take my confused self back to work and hope I can avoid Finn. I'm unsure if this is because I'm embarrassed about
yesterday or because I believe Alek. Finn never denied anything and they said some weird things to each other. As each hour passes, the believability of this weird scenario increases. The work shift is a confused haze as I attempt to come up with a solution. The most sensible idea would be to leave the house permanently, but the more I think about the situation, the more sense some of Alek’s explanations make.

As I head
toward the elevator, on my way home, my phone vibrates.

I ignore the text from Finn, heart thumping as I glance around in case he’s lurking amongst the hospital visitors. Then I decide this is stupid; I doubt he's waiting to drag me off and kill me. My phone buzzes again.

The icy touch that shoots to my heart, the fog that comes when I’m near him–these aren’t positive connections to him. It's six pm and the day darkens already. I never used to be concerned about what lurks in the shadows, but now I’m not too sure.

My phone vibrates for a third time.

Now, a
text from Alek. How? I never gave him my number.

I text back.

I stare open
-mouthed at the phone. I moved to this city and took on a new job to get away from people fussing after the accident and telling me what I can and can’t do. Now I have supernatural creatures pursuing me instead?

I’ll get the bus>

Alek
doesn’t respond and I shove my phone back into my bag. He’ll have to find me first. I head for the bus stop, but the recent bad weather conspires against me. Halfway across the car park, the dark clouds open and rain falls. Well, not so much as falls but blows horizontally into my face, the kind of rain an umbrella would be useless for if I were logical enough to carry one. Pulling my jacket to cover my head, I run back into the hospital. I buy a cup of coffee and sit at a table near the window, waiting for the weather to clear.

And
, of course, one of my stalkers appears. Finn. I look away and stand to leave.

"No. Wait." He holds a hand out and I step back before he can touch me. "
I’ll buy you another coffee?"

"No
, thanks." I edge around him.

"Rose. Please let me explain my side!"

A couple of nurses passing watch us curiously and whisper; clearly, it appears we’re having a domestic. I shake my head and walk away. Finn catches up to me before I leave the building; we stand outside the gift shop.

"Please
, let me talk to you. Then I’ll leave you alone, if that’s what you want."

The normally
-confident, smiling Finn has been replaced by a sagging-shouldered, paler-than-usual guy. If Finn is insistent on talking to me, then having the conversation somewhere public makes sense. Whatever Alek says, he’s not about to kill me in a crowded hospital.
How insane do I sound
?

If I don’t talk to Finn now he’ll keep hassling me.
"Okay."

We head back to the hospital cafeteria, the same as the first time we chatted, and sit in a quiet corner amongst the vacant tables. Finn brings me another coffee. Every person who enters the room I glance at, expecting
Alek to appear at any moment.

"Were you okay
yesterday after I left?" he asks.

I twist the cup around in my hands, unsure what to say to him. "I’m fine."

"I hope Alek hasn’t hurt you? I worry about his mental state."

Finn won’t meet my eyes. Does he think I
didn’t hear their conversation? "You said some mad things, too, Finn." No response. "About demons killing people at the hospital and about being here because of me."

Finn sinks back against the chair and rubs a broad palm across his face before studying me. "Do you believe anything you’ve been told recently?"

"When Alek spoke about this the other night, I honestly thought he had mental health issues. Now you’ve said something, too, and I’m not sure anymore. It’s not as if you could be conspiring, since it’s clear you don’t like each other."

"He’s the one with the problem
. I don’t care enough about him to dislike him. I’m only bothered if he threatens you."

"Why would you be bothered about me? I don’t want you to be!" I say harshly.

I can’t fathom Finn’s expression at my words. Although his face is as inscrutable as ever, his eyes betray much more. There’s a strange sadness in them.

"I don’t want to care either," he says quietly.

This makes no sense. "Do you want to kill me?" I ask outright. "What are you?"

A muscle twitches in his jaw as he considers his answer. "A Reaper."

"You forgot your scythe."

"Ha,
ha, Rose. This isn’t funny."

"Oh
, believe me, I don’t find this funny at all. Apparently I’m a half-dead vampire who sucks energy from people."

Finn sighs. "Sorry, I screwed up. I let you live by mistake."

"Okay…How did you do that exactly?"

He rubs his head, frowning. "I gave you your life instead of letting you die. I had to help you
; I couldn't leave you to your fate."

The shock of his words and his proximity set off the buzzing in my head. I shift my chair away
; as the familiar grey clouds my eyes at the memory of the night, I tense.
Go away. Everything.
"So, you need to fix your mistake and you’ve come to kill me?"

"No! Yes…kind of."

"That’s a fairly noncommittal answer, Finn. Maybe choose one?"

"Okay, I’m supposed to
, but I can’t. You’re here and alive, not dying by the roadside, or in a hospital bed like the others I help Over. I believe it’s wrong to kill you now."

I inhale sharply at his admission
; at least he’s conflicted about it. "Alek says you’re killing me every time we're close."

"He’s lying. I can’t do anything without touching you."

My body remembers the dangerous cold of his touch as the cool edges into my veins, and I shudder. The consternation in Finn’s face isn’t that of a man who wants to kill me; he looks lost.

"What happens if you don’t do it?" I ask.

He shrugs. "No idea."

I rub my face with both hands. "
I’m not sure if that makes me feel better or worse."

"It’s not me you’re in danger from."

Oh, here we go.
"Alek?"

"As much as I’d like to say yes, no. Something else is happening in the hospital, and there's danger around. People are dying when they shouldn't
, and I think your housemate is involved somehow."

"I think you’re involved," I blurt.

Genuine shock in his wide eyes, Finn says, "Me? I don’t kill people!"

"The patient
, the day you touched me…"

"
Her time came and I did nothing to hasten her death!"

This sounds dubious.
"So, who’s killing people?" I pause, "You said Lizzie last night. I can’t believe that."

"I’ve seen her with someone I'm suspicious about at the hospital. You want to warn your lover, she’s not what he thinks."

"He’s not my lover," I reply, probably too hastily.

"Yeah? Sure. Well, he’s not safe from her either." Finn studies my face, a small crease on his brow. "You’re in danger
, too, if you stay at that house."

"And I’m in danger from you."

"No, Rose, I said I don’t want to hurt you."

"Don’t want to
, but you have to. That’s not a good combination to me."

Finn shakes his head. "If you need me, you’ve got my number.
I’ll see you around the hospital; I’ll stay away from you and your psycho boyfriend, if that’s what you want. But I’ll still keep an eye on you."

My heart
skips. I’m not sure I want him to stay away; not because I’m attracted to him, but because he’s one of my only friends.

Finn picks up his coffee and stands. "Thanks for listening
, and sorry I just made your crazy world crazier." He gives me a weak smile.

"Great name by the way," I say.

He pauses. "What?"

"Finn. Kind of ironic for a Reaper."

"I don’t understand what you mean."

"Look it up in a French dictionary."

Finn studies me with the weird look of curiosity I’m becoming familiar with. Then he shakes his head, as if shaking away a thought, and walks away.

With perfect timing
, Stalker Boy Number Two comes storming through the door, luckily from the opposite direction to the one Finn went in.

Rain glistens on his open leather jacket
, and his damp T-shirt sticks to his chest. Yes, all those muscles I've wondered about are toned. His untidy hair has curled in the rain, giving him a cute appearance which has attracted the attention of a couple of girls, too. Glancing in the direction Finn walked in, I’m relieved he’s out of sight.

I cross my arms as
Alek approaches. "I see it’s still raining then."

"Are you okay?" he asks quickly.

I pull my sourest face. Then I stand and steady the chair before I knock it over. "I said I don’t need you to watch me. I can cope on my own."

I walk away,
Alek in pursuit. This is my life, not his. Bad enough I have to live with him and his arrogant mood swings, now he’s encroaching into the part of my life away from the house of secrets.

Keeping ahead of
Alek, I weave through the people in the corridor; damp visitors, busy nurses, and I almost trip over a kid whose parents aren’t supervising him. I get to the expansive sliding glass doors at the front of the building and groan; the rain is too heavy to walk in. I don’t want to be around Alek, but I’m not desperate enough to risk getting sick from a soaking.

Alek
touches my arm. "I brought my car, come on."

"Go away."

"I suppose you’ve spoken to Finn today."

Attempting not to get distracted by the
proximity to Alek, I fix my stony stare on him. "Yes. He had some interesting things to say."

"
Mmm. Let me guess, he said he’s not going to kill you."

I snort at him. "I was going to tell you
what he said, but maybe I won’t."

"That’s childish."

"So’s calling someone Casper."

Alek
quirks an eyebrow. "Let me take you home."

"It’s not my home! I hate it there
; if you really want to help me, find me somewhere else to live."

"I can’t. I can’t leave the house
," he says pursing his lips.

"I said me, not us. How the hell can you think I want you to come with me?"

"Are you listening to me? You’re in danger!"

"If you can’t leave the house, how come you’re standing
here now?"

He
moves his face close to mine. "Because I want you."

"Oh
, my God!" I swear to hide my embarrassment at his words and walk out of the doors. Hopefully, the rain will cool me down.

Alek
laughs and runs after me. He grabs my arm and spins me around. "I meant your energy, Rose, but more if you’re interested?"

Arrogant, bloody…
But then I was the one throwing myself at him the other night. Alek slides his hand down my arm, taking my hand is his damp palm. I jolt at the sensation, the flow of the energy he talks about spreading everywhere.
Everywher
e…

Alek
closes his eyes and tips his head to the rain. "That’s me giving some to you." He opens one eye and looks at me. "Normally, I just take from people."

"Well
, you won’t take from me, unless I let you," I retort, aware of the ridiculousness of my comment.

"I’m well aware of that
, and I don’t want to hurt you," he replies. "Finn, on the other hand…"

"Why do you really want to help me then?"
I interrupt.

"Because you make me curious
. As I said, I’ve never met another Between before. Plus, I hate Reapers."

"Why?"

"Probably the same reason you do." He clamps his mouth shut. "Let me drive you home."

The gathering dusk joins the clouds. I’m already damp from my last excursion across the car park and I’m getting soaked again now. Talk of demons seems closer in the darkness. I don’t want to hang around at the bus stop.