Hollowed by Kelley York Read Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kelley York
rolls to his feet gracefully. He catches my gaze. One second. Maybe two.
Then he ' s gone, taking off into the park. I worry Oliver will follow , but he gets up, casts a sullen glare after Noah, then looks to me.
" Who the hell was that? "
I shake my head because I don ' t have an answer. My boyfriend , except he ' s not anymore. Trying to shoot your girlfriend is a pretty solid way of saying It ' s over.
My Noah. Goofy and fun and sweet. Thirty minutes ago, I never would have imagined him capable of shooting anyone, much less me. There aren ' t words to describe the hundred different ways my heart is breaking.
But I can ' t tell Oliver that. I can ' t, because if I do, I ' m going to burst into tears and I ' ve done more than enough of that lately. Instead I shake my head mutely. He lets out an agitated sigh , but doesn ' t push the subject .
We head back the way we came. At the creek, Blondie ' s body is gone. I search up and downstream for any sign of her, but I see the exact spot she was laying. Right next to where she had me pinned. Empty.
" No way. He shot her through the head. Where is she?! "
" Her friend probably dragged her off, " Oliver mutters. " If the bullet didn ' t destroy anything too vital in her brain, she will heal from it. "
Shot point-blank at the skull, and she can recover? This is too surreal. If I cross paths with Blondie again, she ' s going to be majorly pissed. And this time, I won ' t have Noah to save me. If saving me was even his intention. Why not let the bitch finish what she started if he wanted me dead?
I force the thought aside when Oliver looks at me again. I won ' t cry. I won ' t cry , I won ' t cry.
" Did either of them say anything to you? "
Nothing that concerns him. Ruby is my business, and I ' m not so sure I want anyone knowing. I look away, eyes trained on the ground. " No. "
" They must have said some thing. " He frowns. " Why else would they come after you? Vampires tend to leave one another alone so long as they are not causing problems. For that matter, you had to have known the guy. "
I shrug. Oliver sighs and thankfully gives up.
" Fine. Whatever. You still need to eat. I ' ll stay with you this time. "
Food is the last thing I want to think about. But the sooner we get back to the hotel, the sooner I can start searching for the truth about what happened to my sister. The sooner I can scream and cry out every thought of Noah from my mind.
12 . Tuesday – 11:01pm
Whenever Noah brought me flowers, it didn ' t matter if they were from a florist or a store or from someone ' s yard. In fact, the yard ones were my favorites because inevitably Noah had a story about surviving getting caught . Those were special flowers, because they were a reminder of everything Noah was. Determined, thoughtful, unafraid of old ladies chasing him out of their yards.
Lavender was his favorite to bring me, even if it was hard to find. Sometimes he picked the wrong ones, little purple flowers that looked similar but were something else. I never had the heart to tell him he was wrong because it was the thought that counted.
The first time he left town after we met, he tucked one single, tiny purple bud into my hair as I said, "Don ' t forget me, cowboy. Even if you don ' t come back."
Noah gave me a lazy smile. "Y ou ' d be pretty hard to forget about."
Now I wonder if he's wishing he could. Forget all about me, pretend I never existed. Especially if he knew I just had my first meal as a vampire , compliments of a late-night jogger in the park.
I'm not sure if being forgotten would hurt more or less than him coming after me. As I'm standing outside the hotel, staring down at a cluster of long-stemmed lavender mingling with other winter-weary flowers, all I can see are Noah's cold eyes and his gun trained so carefully on me. If Oliver hadn ' t gotten in the way, that bullet would not have missed its mark.
Speaking of—Oliver ha s to be injured. I tried asking
Then he ' s gone, taking off into the park. I worry Oliver will follow , but he gets up, casts a sullen glare after Noah, then looks to me.
" Who the hell was that? "
I shake my head because I don ' t have an answer. My boyfriend , except he ' s not anymore. Trying to shoot your girlfriend is a pretty solid way of saying It ' s over.
My Noah. Goofy and fun and sweet. Thirty minutes ago, I never would have imagined him capable of shooting anyone, much less me. There aren ' t words to describe the hundred different ways my heart is breaking.
But I can ' t tell Oliver that. I can ' t, because if I do, I ' m going to burst into tears and I ' ve done more than enough of that lately. Instead I shake my head mutely. He lets out an agitated sigh , but doesn ' t push the subject .
We head back the way we came. At the creek, Blondie ' s body is gone. I search up and downstream for any sign of her, but I see the exact spot she was laying. Right next to where she had me pinned. Empty.
" No way. He shot her through the head. Where is she?! "
" Her friend probably dragged her off, " Oliver mutters. " If the bullet didn ' t destroy anything too vital in her brain, she will heal from it. "
Shot point-blank at the skull, and she can recover? This is too surreal. If I cross paths with Blondie again, she ' s going to be majorly pissed. And this time, I won ' t have Noah to save me. If saving me was even his intention. Why not let the bitch finish what she started if he wanted me dead?
I force the thought aside when Oliver looks at me again. I won ' t cry. I won ' t cry , I won ' t cry.
" Did either of them say anything to you? "
Nothing that concerns him. Ruby is my business, and I ' m not so sure I want anyone knowing. I look away, eyes trained on the ground. " No. "
" They must have said some thing. " He frowns. " Why else would they come after you? Vampires tend to leave one another alone so long as they are not causing problems. For that matter, you had to have known the guy. "
I shrug. Oliver sighs and thankfully gives up.
" Fine. Whatever. You still need to eat. I ' ll stay with you this time. "
Food is the last thing I want to think about. But the sooner we get back to the hotel, the sooner I can start searching for the truth about what happened to my sister. The sooner I can scream and cry out every thought of Noah from my mind.
12 . Tuesday – 11:01pm
Whenever Noah brought me flowers, it didn ' t matter if they were from a florist or a store or from someone ' s yard. In fact, the yard ones were my favorites because inevitably Noah had a story about surviving getting caught . Those were special flowers, because they were a reminder of everything Noah was. Determined, thoughtful, unafraid of old ladies chasing him out of their yards.
Lavender was his favorite to bring me, even if it was hard to find. Sometimes he picked the wrong ones, little purple flowers that looked similar but were something else. I never had the heart to tell him he was wrong because it was the thought that counted.
The first time he left town after we met, he tucked one single, tiny purple bud into my hair as I said, "Don ' t forget me, cowboy. Even if you don ' t come back."
Noah gave me a lazy smile. "Y ou ' d be pretty hard to forget about."
Now I wonder if he's wishing he could. Forget all about me, pretend I never existed. Especially if he knew I just had my first meal as a vampire , compliments of a late-night jogger in the park.
I'm not sure if being forgotten would hurt more or less than him coming after me. As I'm standing outside the hotel, staring down at a cluster of long-stemmed lavender mingling with other winter-weary flowers, all I can see are Noah's cold eyes and his gun trained so carefully on me. If Oliver hadn ' t gotten in the way, that bullet would not have missed its mark.
Speaking of—Oliver ha s to be injured. I tried asking
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