Blood Bound (Permanently ON-HOLD)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX; Where Was I for Four Days

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Indifference is the strongest force in the universe. It makes everything it touches meaningless. Love and hate don't stand a chance against it.

Joan D. Vinge

Juliette

We sit in Heath's car around the corner from my house. My hands shake, he shifts uncomfortably.

"So... Uh, I'll see you in school tomorrow?"

I turn to look at his awkward expression, small grin, wide eyes.

"If I'm ever allowed out of the house again, maybe."

He chuckles, I don't.

My father might actually kill me. I'm not even kidding, he owns a firearm and he's Southern.

I could die.

I don't make any attempt to leave. Maybe because I'm nervous to see my family for the first time in four days, or maybe it's because I know that if Heath and I end this – this period of truce, of talking and trying to understand just how we're soul mates – we'll go back to hating each other and our Side-Effects will kick our asses. I have enough problems with homework and Blood events and having a crazy best friend and a billion brothers, I can't add Heath back onto that list after he's just been taken off it.

"Listen, Soren," He doesn't say my name, he hasn't yet. I'm not sure if he even can. It both comforts and stings me that "all I'll ever be is Soren" to him. "I know this sounds weird or whatever and I'm not hitting on you or anything but, like, are we a couple now or...?"

I look at him like he's crazy. He probably is. "Did you just ask me out?"

"No," Now it's his turn to look at me like I'm crazy. "Think about what I just said and try to find the sentence where I went "hey, wanna go get some food and/or see a movie", did I say that? No."

"Well, excuse me. Usually when a guy asks me if we're dating it's after a certain number of dates. I thought you were trying to ask me out." I say, affronted.

He rolls his eyes. Here we go again with the attitude. "Don't flatter yourself. I'm Heath Hayes. I don't ask girls out."

Now it's my turn to roll my eyes. "Oh, I forgot for a second that I was in the presence of the royal Prince Heath. Sorry, your Highness, for forgetting that you're allergic to relationships."

I place my hand on the door, feeling stupid for even trying not to hate this moronic, loathsome, awful boy for more than a few seconds, but a thought stops me.

I stare at my hand, voice quiet. "If I say no. If I say we aren't a couple or whatever, will..." It's hard to get out. "Will you sleep with someone else again? With Isabel?"

That's the million dollar question, isn't it?

I'm essentially a stranger to him.

Is this teenage boy with hormones that he can sate and act upon, going to starve his sex life so he doesn't hurt me?

"No."

He sounds so sure that I look up at him.

He swallows, hard. His fingers are drumming lightly on the steering wheel and he stares straight ahead of him, face soft and pensive. "I know I'm not a good person, but I won't do that again to you. You can trust me on that."

"Trust you?"

Never.

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