Act of a Demon: The Dark Bloods - Book II ✓

Chapter 21 - Crossroads

21.

Crossroads

 

Reyna had been standing outside Dante’s closed door for almost two minutes. Verden’s completed renovations meant they each had their own room—for now—and Verden was back in his old quarters. That, however, was the problem.

It had been easy to talk to Dante when Reyna was forced to bunk with him, but now that they were separated, it had turned difficult. She wasn’t sure why but walking the short steps to his room was always a challenging feat. Each step took her closer to Dante, meaning she had to make up an excuse to talk to him because she always found herself in front of his door for no reason because she had started walking to his room because she felt like she had to.

Reyna shook her head, thinking how stupid her logic was, yet here she stood again trying to figure out something to say to him—an excuse for knocking on his door. She could always turn back and forget about it, but Reyna was already there. It had nothing to do with the urge to see him.

She inhaled, held her breath to the count of three, and exhaled.

“Hey Reyna. Been standing there a while.”

She flinched and turned around to see Diorela standing at the entrance of the new staircase. The teen grinned at her.

“How long have you been there?” Reyna asked.

Diorela’s smile widened. “Oh. You know. Just a bit.”

Reyna crossed her arms. “What are you even doing up here?”

“Nooooothing. Just passing by. Let me know how it goes.” The teen giggled and went down the stairs, two at a time.

Reyna rolled her eyes. Diorela was fascinated by the stairs. When Verden declared them safe to venture, she ran up and down a dozen times and went back for a dozen more that same evening.

She’s going to fall down the steps one of these days and then they won’t be her favorite anymore.

Reyna turned back to the beige door in front of her. Crap.

Her knuckles scraped against the wood and she tilted her head closer as if that would cause the noise in the room to enhance in volume. Reyna heard nothing though. She raised her hand again, hesitated, and knocked louder. This time, there was a rustle and creak of a mattress as if someone was getting out from bed. The door opened.

Dante stood dressed in only black pajama pants. He squinted at her, blinded by the hallway light. His bed hair and stubble only enhanced his sleepy look.

“Reyna?” he mumbled and yawned. “What’s wrong?”

“Uh, I, um,” she stuttered and avoided staring at his bare chest; however, she found herself tracing the red lines of his bed sheet imprints on his skin. They looked like the scratch marks she used to leave him when they—

“I didn’t catch that. What?” Dante said and leaned closer to her.

She blushed and looked down. “I just wanted to say hi.”

Oh god. That was so lame!

He chuckled. “You’re always saying hi nowadays.”

She looked up at him. “I’m sorry. I’m also sorry for waking you up. I’ll let you go back to sleep.”

“It’s okay. I needed to wake up anyways. Come in.” He opened the door wider for her to enter.

“Okay.”