Page 8

‘What were you doing out there alone?’ I ask.

‘I run,’ she replies. ‘Competitively, but also for leisure.’

Slowly, she stands, stretching. My eyes crawl over her, drinking her in inch by inch. She’s tall, and athletic. For a girl who seems similar in age to me – perhaps younger – she is well developed: curvy, muscular, with a chest that makes her shirt stretch tightly across it, down to a thin waist and long, tanned legs.

‘You go to school here?’ I ask, dragging my eyes away from her bare thighs and back to her sun-kissed cheeks.

‘Emanuel.’

‘Ah.’ I nod. Of course. The big private school up on the hill. No wonder I’ve never met her.

‘And you?’

‘Richmond.’

She nods. ‘You like it?’

‘Hate it.’

‘That’s a bummer. I love school.’

I nestle further into the pillows, watching as she wanders around the room.

‘What part of town are you in?’ I ask.

‘Near the village.’

In other words, she’s rich.

‘Nice.’

‘What about you?’ She turns, giving me her full attention once more.

‘Bex Forest is a little far from the village,’ I say instead, not wanting to admit that I live in the worst part of town.

‘I run far.’

‘That’s dangerous,’ I say, my eyes dipping over those gorgeous features. ‘Especially for a girl that looks like you.’

‘Do you always hand out compliments like this?’ she teases.

‘Never,’ I answer honestly. ‘In fact, I hate most people.’

‘Why?’

‘They suck.’

Her soft laugh rings out, and I can’t help but smile in response.

‘Not everyone does.’

‘No,’ I reply, my eyes connecting fiercely with hers. ‘Not everyone.’

Bryn spends the rest of the afternoon with me. Sliding onto the bed, she fills the small gap beside me, sharing my pillow. We watch half of a season of some vampire show that she is obsessed with. I find it hard to peel my eyes from her long enough to pay attention.

The sun sinks slowly into the horizon. Our hands don’t ever part.

The next time I open my eyes, it’s morning, and the space beside me is empty. I sit up, wincing, and stare around the room, suddenly hollow without her warm presence. Shit. I fell asleep, and now she’s gone. I wonder for a moment if I made the entire thing up. Loneliness can do that kind of thing to a person.