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.But when his answer was slow coming much too slow my hearthammered. Derek!He trashed the wet paper towel. No, I don t have a death wish, okay? You d better not. I don t, Chloe, he said softly. I mean it.I don t.Our eyes locked and the panic buzzing in my head turned to something else, my heart stillhammering, my throat going dry&.I looked away and mumbled,  Good.He backed up. We gotta go.I nodded and slid off the counter.Thirty-sixI GAVE DEREK MY jacket and he wore it without argument it covered the bloodspatter on his sweatshirt.As we left the bathroom, the people in the coffee shop finallynoticed us, but only to call out that the bathroom was for paying customers only.The coffee shop had a post-winter clearance on promotional thermoses, emblazoned withtheir name, so Derek got one filled with hot chocolate, plus two paper cups.Add a half-dozen donuts and we had dinner to go.We couldn t just waltz back to the bus station, though.Liam would still be hunting for us,maybe joined by Ramon.If they d been following us earlier, they might know we d goneto the bus stop and would wait for us there.So we stayed downwind or behind buildings, then waited a half block away until we sawthe bus coming.There was no sign of the werewolves.I m sure it helped that it was just abus stop, not a terminal if they d followed our trail to the flower shop, they probablyhadn t figured out that we d been there to buy bus tickets.Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com)Yet it was only after we were on and the bus pulled away that I finally relaxed.I was onmy second cup of chocolate when my eyelids started to droop. You should get some sleep, Derek said.I stifled a yawn. It won t be that long, will it? An hour and a half? Close to double that.We re on the milk run. What? The route that hits all the little towns, he said.He took my empty cup.I shifted, trying to get comfortable.He balled up my discardedsweatshirt and put it against his shoulder. Go on, he said. I don t bite. And from what I hear, that s a good thing.He gave a rumbling chuckle. Yeah, it is.I leaned against his shoulder. In a few hours, you ll be in a bed, he said. Bet that s a good thing, huh?Had anything so simple ever sounded so amazing? But as I thought of it, my smile fadedand I lifted my head. What if ? Andrew isn t there? Or he didn t take them in? Then we ll find Simon and we ll splurgeon a cheap motel.We are getting a bed tonight.Guaranteed. And a bathroom.He chuckled again. Yeah, and a bathroom. Thank God. I laid my head on the sweatshirt pillow again. What are you lookingforward to? Food.I laughed. I bet.Hot food.That s what I want. And a shower.I really want a shower. Well, you ll have to fight me for it.If that guy could smell my hair color, I didn t do avery good job of rinsing it out.Which may explain why it feels so gross. About that.The color.I didn t mean  I know.You just picked something that would make me look different.And it did. Yeah, but it looks fake.Even those guys could tell.Wash it out, and we ll get some ofthat red stuff you like.I closed my eyes.As I drifted off, Derek started humming, so softly I could barely hear it.I lifted my head. Sorry, he said. I ve got this stupid tune stuck in my head.No idea what it is.I sang a few bars of  Daydream Believer. Uh, yeah, he said. How d& ? My fault.My mom used to sing it to me when I couldn t sleep, so I was singing it lastnight.It s the Monkees the world s first boy band. I glanced up at him. And I ve justlost any scrap of cool I ever possessed, haven t I? At least you re not the one still singing it.I smiled, rested my head against his shoulder, and fell asleep to his soft off-tune humming.We got off at one of those small  milk run stops.When Simon said Andrew lived outsideNew York City, I figured he meant in the Hudson Valley or Long Island, but the busCreate PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com)dropped us in a town whose name I didn t recognize.Derek said it was about thirty milesfrom the city and about a mile from Andrew s place.Maybe it was because we knew the house was close, but that mile seemed to pass inminutes.We talked and joked and goofed around.A week ago, if someone had told meDerek could joke or goof around, I wouldn t have believed it.But he was at ease now,stoked even, with our destination so near. It s just up there, he said.We were on a narrow road lined with trees.It wasn t really farm country.More like arural community, with houses set way back from the road, hidden behind fences and wallsand evergreens.As I squinted, Derek pointed. See the old-fashioned gas lamps at the end of that drive? They re on, too, which is agood sign.We turned into the driveway as winding and treed as the road, and seemingly just aslong.Eventually we rounded a corner and the house came into sight.It was a cute littlecottage, like something you d see in an old English town, with stone walls and ivy andgardens that I m sure would be beautiful in a month or two.Right now the most beautifulpart was the light blazing from a front window. They re here, I said. Someone s here, Derek corrected.When I hurried forward, he caught my arm.I looked back to see him scanning the house,his nostrils flaring.He tilted his head and frowned. What do you hear? I asked. Nothing. He turned to survey the dark woods surrounding the house. It s too quiet. Simon and Tori are probably asleep, I said, but I lowered my voice and glanced about,his anxiety contagious.When we reached the cobblestoned walk, Derek dropped into a crouch.He lowered hishead a foot from the ground.I wanted to tell him to come on, just knock on the door andwe d know whether they were here, stop being so paranoid.But I d learned that what Iwould have once considered paranoia was, in this new life, sensible caution.After a moment, he nodded and some of the tension went out of the set of his shoulders ashe pushed to his feet. Simon s here? I asked. And Tori.He took one last slow look around, almost reluctantly, like he wanted to race to the frontdoor as much as I did.Then we continued along the walk, the stones squeaking beneathour wet sneakers.Derek was so busy looking out at the forest that I was the one who had to grab his armthis time.I pulled him short and directed his attention to our path.The front door was ajar.Derek swore.Then he took a deep breath, as if fighting off the first twitches of panic.Hemotioned for me to get behind him, then seemed to think better of it and waved for me tostand beside the door, against the wall.When I was out of the way, he prodded the door open an inch.Then another.A third tapand he caught a smell, nostrils flaring.His eyebrows gathered in confusion.After a moment, I smelled it, too.A strong bitter smell, familiar&  Coffee. I mouthed.HeCreate PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com)nodded.That s what it was burned coffee.He eased the door open wider.I pressed my back against the wall, resisting the urge tosneak a peek.I watched him instead as his gaze scanned the room beyond, his expressiontelling me nothing immediately caught his attention [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]