Everlong (12 page)

The Jeep lurched as Clayton accelerated, leaving behind what had happened. All the hustle and bustle of town melted to serene, peaceful forest. Foliage became denser, darker. Nothing but sky and air remained this far outside the city limits.

Out here, I could breathe.

Clayton braked at the junction of a small fork in the road. “Is there a trail you prefer?”

I pointed towards a sign labeled “The Emasen Bluff Pass”.

Taking the gently sloped path winding around the mountain’s base, we circled into a clearing leveled with gravel and marked as an RV camping site. He parked and I opened my own door, stepping out before he could reach me.

With knees straight, I bent down to touch my toes and hung there, pulling my leg muscles taut before beginning a few rudimentary stretches and working the kinks from my back. When I straightened, Clayton leaned against the Jeep, arms crossed, watching me with interest. My backpack dangled from his fingers.

I closed the space between us. He held out the pack and helped me shrug into it. I looked towards the mouth of the trail. “Are you coming?”

His hand sought mine and meshed our fingers together in silent apology. I couldn’t hold on to my anger while his thumb rubbed gentle circles over my skin. I resisted the urge to smile as we passed a wooden trail marker spray painted with the words “Happy Hiking”.

Two steps up the path a blur of red fur whizzed past my ear. Tiny, needlelike claws dug into my skin as whatever it was skidded to a halt across my shoulders.

I screamed and threw my pack to the ground, running farther up the trail while swatting my neck and back and shoulders. The tiny animal scurried over my body unhindered by gravity, making my skin crawl everywhere it touched. “Clayton, help me!” Continuing to jump and shake, stomp and squirm, I tried to rid myself of the rodent.

“What kind of game is this?”

I stopped screaming and forced myself to look down where a red squirrel hung from my pants leg. “Figment?”

“Yes?”

I stumbled backwards until I bumped into a sapling tree. “You just scared ten years off my life.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you could do that.”

“What?” I forced myself to hold still while she climbed to a higher, more secure location. “No, not literally, I just mean that you scared me very badly.”

“Are you all right?” Clayton asked.

“Yes, just surprised is all.” I glanced at the furball sitting on my shoulder. “I think I liked it better when she was a fox.”

The russet squirrel hiked up my side, gripping my hair with one of her furry hands as she leaned out and wiggled squirrelly fingers at him. I felt oddly flattered by the gesture she emulated.

Shock didn’t begin to cover how I’d felt after being assaulted by a flying squirrel, but Clayton didn’t look surprised. In fact, he looked relieved. “Thank you for coming.”

Figment chattered happily.
“You are most welcome.”
She sailed from her perch, gliding over to Clayton and landing spread-eagle across his abdomen before scurrying up to nestle against his neck. He scratched her tiny head, something I had never thought to do, and she purred as she had for Emma.

This was exactly why I didn’t need a pet. I didn’t know how to work one properly.

“Well,” I said, straightening my clothes. “Now that the gang’s all here, we best get started. I’d like to reach the top before it gets much later.”

Clayton hooked a finger through the belt loop of my jeans. “Lead the way.”

Figment leapt from his shoulder and scurried back up into the trees. I watched her zigzag from limb to limb until my eyes crossed. “Man, she has some serious energy.”

He gave my pants a tug. “Light is radiant energy.”

I snorted. “Smart ass, that’s not what I meant and you know it.”

We continued to ascend until the twinge in my knee became more of a sharp pang. My steps lagged and he, of course, noticed.

“Is your leg bothering you?”

I tried to brush off his concern. “It’s nothing. I guess my knee got mangled worse than I thought. I should have been over this by now.”

He grabbed the pack from my shoulder and dropped it to the ground. “Let’s take a break.” He looked up at the bright blue sky. “We still have plenty of daylight left to spend up here, so there’s no reason to push so hard.”

“Fine.” I huffed as I lowered myself to the ground. Clayton took a seat beside me and angled so that he faced the trailhead while I faced the trail itself. He draped my sore leg across his lap and made small circular frictions around the side of the knee joint, starting from the front of the patella and working around.

My head dropped back. “That feels unbelievably good.”

I felt his laughter beneath my leg. “I like making you feel good.”

I smiled, eyes closing. “So I’ve noticed.”

His massage took an upward turn, his hands journeying until his fingertips almost brushed the juncture of my thighs.

My cheeks burned while I tried to act indifferent to his touch. I mean, accidents do happen. I relaxed under his gentle pressure while he worked out the worst of the pain. Then it happened again. His thumb stroked along the thick denim seam running between my legs.

I lifted my head slowly, squeezing my legs together as I sat more upright. Clayton centered his attention where I’d trapped his large hand.

“Tell me to stop,” he whispered.

I forced myself to relax as the now-familiar flush of desire rose in me. “What if I don’t want you to?” His concern made me question his control, but I wasn’t afraid. I was captivated, drawn into the depth of his gaze.

Then a rain of pinecones pelted his back and my arms. I brushed away the dirt and thorny barbs.

“Look what I’ve found!”
Figment scrabbled across the worn path, tossing and head butting the dried-out husks of pinecones, mostly picked apart by real squirrels seeking the seed inside the prickly shell.

“That’s great.” Disappointment at being interrupted settled around me. I tried not to focus on the dull ache between my legs. We were being watched, so I tried to convince myself that rolling my hips into his hand was a bad idea.

A final glance at Figment’s inquisitive assessment of what parts went where gave me the strength I needed to pull away. “Just wonderful.”

Clayton stood and tugged me to my feet, helping me into my backpack.

He glanced up, his face impassive as Figment scampered up to his shoulder. “You can go ahead. We’ll let you enjoy your solitude.” Clayton continued to rub her ears. “Just don’t go too far.”

“Yeah, okay.” I resumed my hike, leaving as the pair whispered to one another, shutting me out of their conversation. Shoulders back, I pressed on alone. If they didn’t want to play with me, then I didn’t want to play with them. Maturity, thy name is Madelyn.

Pushing up the trail harder than I should have, I almost missed the turn guiding me up the final incline to where the landscape dropped away before me. Trees and rocks jutted up off to my left and right, but ahead lay nothing. My legs ached from the effort of climbing to Emasen’s cliff edge, but the view made the burn worthwhile.

Exhausted, I shrugged out of my backpack, letting it slide down my arms to land with a soft thud on the compacted earth. Sweat stung my eyes. Perspiration beaded on my skin, struggling to squeeze through the coating of waterproof sunscreen Emma had made me apply before allowing me to leave the house.

I walked to the edge of the precipice and stood with the toes of my sneakers hanging over the sheer rock face of the cliff. My shoulders tensed, air whooshed into my lungs as I rolled to the balls of my feet, preparing for the impossibility of flight.

“Step back from the ledge,” Clayton’s soft voice coaxed from behind me.

“Clayton,” I groaned. “I wasn’t really going to jump.” I pointed towards my back. “No wings, remember?” As if either of us could forget.

I twisted abruptly, discounting the lingering tenderness in my knee, and lost my footing. Arms flailing, I tried to regain my balance and failed, toppling backwards from the ledge.

“Clayton!” I shouted his name as my body whistled through the air, plummeting towards the earth. Frantic heartbeats thundered in my ears, drowning out the sound of my screams.

As I fell, my earliest memories flickered through my mind. I pushed aside the barrage of images and settled on my favorite. That of a black-skinned boy with glittering onyx eyes. And wings. Tiny, ruby-red wings that had fluttered with his excitement and made my child’s heart long for the half of my heritage I lacked.

“Madelyn!” Clayton bellowed, leaping from the edge and following me into the sky.

I had only a fraction of a second to wonder if he would make it before his strong arms plucked me from my downward spiral.

His enormous scarlet wings opened wide, stretching out so far in either direction I couldn’t see the blackened tips and tiny, hook-like hands that topped them.

Clayton’s blunt chin dug into the top of my head. The muscular arms holding me close tightened until my breath wheezed from my lungs.

“Were you trying to get yourself killed?” he snapped. “What if I hadn’t been there? What if you’d been alone?” His skin trembled beneath my fingers.

“It was an accident.” I struggled in his hold, trying to free my arms from where he pinned them to my sides. “If you hadn’t startled me, I wouldn’t have fallen in the first place.”

“You can’t be so careless.” He held me dangling in the air before him, shaking me senseless, before tucking me back against his chest. His voice cracked. “What would I have done without you?” His thumb worked across a bony protrusion behind my shoulder blade, marking my absence of wings.

“It’s okay, really.” I rested my cheek against his chest since my hands weren’t free. “A fall from that height would have hurt.” I carefully avoided making a comment on my personal experiences. “But I would have healed eventually.”

“I don’t want to hear this.” His head tossed from side to side. “I don’t want to know how you know that.”

If I’d thought he couldn’t hold me tighter, I’d been wrong. I would wear bruises for a while, but for now, I allowed him to have what he needed, letting him squeeze until joints popped and pain blossomed. It was such a small hurt when compared to the anguish carried in his voice.

Using my chin to part the fabric of his shirt, I rested my face flush against his skin. His body shuddered beneath my cheek. His desperate groan filled my ear with his heated breath as he glided the last few feet and touched down.

Still gripping my upper arms, Clayton lowered me to the ground, sliding me down his body so slowly time felt suspended. With earth beneath my feet, I leaned into him, trying to calm his ragged nerves. Something hard pressed against my stomach, making me shift to get comfortable and him growl low in his throat. Oh.
Oh.

“Madelyn…” His voice grew husky.

I pulled back, meeting his gaze. “You really are worked up over this.” I twisted in a circle before him. “I’m fine. See?”

“Madelyn…”

“Don’t beat yourself up over it.” I touched his arm, the muscle beneath my hand pulled taut as a bowstring.

“Run,” he grated out over his lips.

I spun around, searching for another demon or a wild animal, unable to imagine anything Clayton couldn’t protect me against. We were alone in the ravine. No one or thing had followed us here. “Why? What’s wrong?”

Our eyes locked. I gasped and backed away slowly. Clayton’s pupils flashed silver, huge, luminous, and spellbinding. His wings twitched with his effort to still them, but vibrant reds saturated his skin as his arousal heightened and called forth my body’s own response.

“Go.” He clutched his head, breaths ragged. “Run!”

I turned, but from the corner of my eye I saw him fall to the ground. Instead of leaving, I took a half step forward.

“Get away from me!” He slashed the air inches from my face with razor-tipped claws. “I can’t control myself. It’s too much. Your scent…” His wings stretched and then cloaked his body as he hid himself from me. “Find Figment, she knows the way.”

This time he didn’t have to ask twice. I spun on my heel and ran. Rocks turned my ankles and bramble tugged on my pants legs as I covered the familiar ground. I don’t know how he expected me to find Figment. I hadn’t seen her since she’d ditched me for Clayton earlier, and there was no time to look for her now. I had to run.

To my right a narrow trail hugged the mountainside, leading up and away from the basin and the tormented demon rocking on his heels beneath the shelter of his wings. I took a step towards the upward path.

“Not that way. He’ll see you.”

I jerked my head around in time to see Figment glide from her tree-side hideout onto my shoulder, which quivered with the need to shake her loose. Her small chest heaved from exertion. She must have raced us to reach the bottom. “Up is the only way out. The ravine is a dead end on both sides.”

“There’s a crevice at the base of the mountain. Follow it through to the other side. He can’t reach you from the air if you stay inside the mountain.”

Using her tiny paw, she pushed my cheek to the left and I saw it. The locals called it a fat-man squeeze, but I hadn’t realized it ran the length of the mountain. A fissure in the rock face made an uncovered chute where an aerial scout could see me, but the depth of the trail carved into the rock would guard from an overhead attack.

A tortured cry rose behind me, reverberating through the rocky basin. This could not be happening. Not again. But here I was, legs burning as I ran for the shelter of the crevice and slipped inside. Jagged rocks scraped my hips and hands as I felt my way through the opening and entered the chute. Graffiti covered the walls where the local teens had claimed the space as their own.

Bracing along the smoother rocks, I used them to keep my balance as I hustled through a larger space, just wide enough for two people to fit side by side. I heard the crunch of cardboard flatten beneath my heel and looked down. A box stuck to my shoe and when I finally managed to scuff it off, I was rewarded by the Trojan logo smiling up at me.