Page 17 (1/2)
As I stepped inside the foyer, he retrieves a flashlight out of his back pocket and bea his hand in front of his face "Like feet"
I plug e, but I’n that no one’s been here in a while"
He nods "Welcome to my home," he mutters under his breath as he starts for the spiral staircase in front of us
We clio into a room with black and purple walls, dark blue carpet, and a massive canopy bed decorated with vines and curtains
"Whose room is this?" I take in the posters on the wall, the decorations, the clutter, signs that someone actually had a life in here and it ht around to room "It’s Aislin’s"
I’m so confused "But it’s so… so… awesome And not frilly and pink"
He opens the closet door "You have to understand so about Aislin She’s not who she appears to be on the outside She has a darker side to her" He sets the flashlight down on the floor, airabs a box from the top shelf "Most witches do have a darker side…but irl she is on the outside so people wouldn’t see her as a threat" He peers inside the box and then puts it away "He controlled her a lot"
He starts ru around in the closet while I wander around the room I see a photo on top of the dresser of Aislin and Laylen, sitting on a porch swing, s that doesn’t exist at the moment and my heart knots in my chest
"What are you looking for?" I go back into the closet and move up behind Alex
He yanks a box decorated with black and purple glitter off the top closet shelf and lifts the lid "For this" Inside the box, are bags of herbs, a collection of candles and crystals, beads, necklaces, and other strange items that have to be Wicca stuff
"Aislin’s spell stuff?" I pick up a necklace with a rose pendant
"Yeah, I figured we could pick it up while ere here," he says
I put the necklace back in the box "It’s a good idea We have been using her ic a lot"
He nods, then we leave Aislin’s roo the hallway into an office area with shelves for walls that are crae desk in the corner, and antique furniture
"Please tell me you knohere the Foreseer book is," I say in a hopeful expression
He shakes his head, crushingour way from bottom to top, until we’re up to our elbows in books Alex has the flashlight between us, so there was just enough light that we could see the title of the cover
"I love books," I admit when the silence between us starts toinside a book
"How?"
"Because you loved theer" He quickly clears his throat as if he’s said soer?" I ask, adding the book in my hand to the stack beside me
His eyes travel from the book to me "You drove me crazy sometimes" There’s a sparkle in his eyes
I rollthe book on top of a stack and then collecting another one "You were always such a daredevil and it droveyou out of trouble"
"Then why did you?" I crisscross s
"Because I wanted to" He looks down at the book as he reads the spine then the front
"What about you?" I ask "What were you like?"
It takes hier to respond "An asshole"
"I’ive hirin
"I don’t know, Geh childhood, full of shitty s to me, but I don’t want to talk about it with you, because itto you about stuff like that when you suffered the most" His head tips down as he avoids eye contact with me
"We all suffered," I say "One way or another and I don’t think you’re an asole for saying that--shit happened and we shouldn’t have to keep it a secret anyht now"
I shrug "I was just saying how it is"
He inhales and then exhales, his gaze fastened withthe book aside and scooting across the floor toward hi oes over to the bookshelf
"Did I do so vulnerable at thehis head "Why would you think that?"
"I don’t know" I struggle for words I don’t want to say "You’ve just… you’ve just see stupid, I engulfaround, then moments later his boots appear in my line of vision "That’s not what it is," he says "I’ to protect you"