The Zodiacs

67. End The Unendable

The bucket of carrots was at his feet, the vegetable still between his fingers, and the horse before him just like she'd been days before. Everything was just as it had been, but why did the single missing aspect of it all have the most effect on the scene.

A strong breath of air blew over Zane's wrist when Shakla snorted loudly, pulling his attention to the carrot that was no longer between his fingers. She'd eaten it, but the boy was too distracted with his own thoughts to notice his fingers falling against each other. Even the horse noticed the unusual heaviness that came with Zane's recent visits.

"Oh," he looked up at his empty hand, pulling it back to rub his palm over his soft pants. "That's enough carrots for today," Zane mumbled, leaning down to grab the handle of the heavy bucket.

Shakla watched him, her eyes following the silent boy as he walked toward the back of the stables to return the vegetables to their place without another word. This was the first time he'd seemed so down in a far longer time.

Zane walked past the masses of hay that had yet to be moved to the loft. He would've done it, but he didn't care to. Not now, anyway.

Just as the boy leaned forward to drop the carrots into their large container, a soft hand slid over his back, gently setting on his right shoulder as the girl walked around him. But Zane didn't need to look up to know who it was. He'd been touched by her so many times, he knew her by the strong scent of perfume she carried.

"I missed you," Isis pouted as she stepped beside the boy, turning to press her back into the tall wooden containers so she could get a better look of his serious expression. Zane's cold eyes didn't flicker when they lifted to meet hers, one of his arms lifting to lower the top of the vegetable storage.

Isis looked around as if she was looking for something she knew couldn't be found. Zane's gaze simultaneously dropped to the way she pressed her arms into either side of her chest, pronouncing her curves even more. "Alone today? Where's your girlfriend?" She turned back to him with a raised eyebrow, a smirk beginning to tug at the corner of her lips. "That's what you call her anyway, isn't it?"

The boy didn't move, holding her gaze as Isis slid her hands against the edge of the wood and slowly stepped in front of him, appreciating the lack of space that pressed her breasts into his chest. It only encouraged her when Zane didn't put space between them; he wasn't a cheater... which meant that Asarte was out of the equation now.

Out of their equation.

She leaned back, planting her hands onto the storage behind her to hold herself up. The movement was meant to draw Zane's eyes to the dip of her neckline and tightness of her clothes. How convenient was it that she'd decided to wear a skirt today. "I knew you'd get tired of her," she pouted before the expression melted into a proud smirk as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "You always get tired of them, don't you, baby? In the end, it's me. I'm the one you always come back to-."

But Zane kept her from going on as he shot forward, slamming his lips into hers with a new ferocity. He just needed to forget about the girl that had disappeared on him, all he needed to do was get Asarte out of his mind.

Zane growled with the thought of the girl, stepping forward to slam Isis into the wooden containers behind her. His hands wrapped around her exposed thighs, lifting the girl onto the wood as she pulled her skirt up, already welcoming the boy she'd impatiently waited for.

They were toxic.

She was toxic for him, and Zane knew it.

But he was damaged, and she was whole.

The boy pulled his pants down quickly, desperate to stop thinking about everything that wouldn't leave him alone for all the days before. His mind was drained after worrying, contemplating, and debating everything about Asarte's disappearance; he was exhausted and, for one, he just needed to not be.