Wicked Ways to Ruin a Boy

03 | Misery and Woe

"I don't like the idea of you going off with a stranger. What did he say his name was?" asked Stella.

"He said his name's Beau."

Beau glanced at Cora when she mentioned him. She smiled and shook her head. But her mom still sounded apprehensive, so she had to grovel. "It's true, Mom. I think it's a sprain but I'm not sure. It hurts a lot." She wanted to add that she'd found the one but didn't know how to without it sounding absurd.

"I'll meet you at St. Catherine's," Stella said at last. "And be careful."

Minutes later, Cora sat in the backseat of a car next to the boy who had no idea the misery she had in store for him.

"Thanks for that back there," he said. I'm not usually so careless." He shook his head, grinning from ear to ear. "You saved my life. I guess I owe you now."

She shifted in her seat, uncomfortable. Saving his life was the complete opposite of what she was meant to do. "You got me a ride so you're off the hook," she said, well aware that whatever was between her and Beau was only just beginning.

She couldn't believe her luck and her unwillingness to accept it.

Leaning closer to the window, she watched buildings go by as the cab moved easily along the smooth, even roads. People often forgot about Thorne Point. Nestled between two of Elorie's better-known cities, Lochlan and Oleander Garden, it wasn't the largest city, but it had a certain charm. From its traditional row houses to its family homes like where she lived, Thorne Point could have been any other city in Elorie.

Most didn't know it was one of few cities that was home to all kinds of creatures, from sorcerers to vampires and ghouls alike. Cora could've sworn she'd met a ghost once. Though the humans had no clue they might've been living next-door to their worst nightmares, the Emersons had adapted well, despite that centuries ago they were tossed into the sea to let drown.

What the humans did believe was that compared to the rest of Elorie, it was much tidier, so clean it had been dubbed, "Elorie's slice of paradise." She wasn't sure about that. The glow of streetlamps illuminated this point, casting light on every speck of trash. But it was quiet most of the time, especially on Hemlock Avenue where she lived in a comfortable house with her family, their neighbors old and retired. Even those with claws and fangs.

Beau didn't say much as they were driven to the hospital, at least not until they were right out front of it. "Thank you, sir." He handed cash to the driver who returned his change. "You want to go in now or do you want to wait for your mom, Cora?" He shoved his wallet into his coat pocket. "I don't mind waiting with you until she arrives."

"Wait costs extra,' said the driver and kept the engine running.

She didn't see the point in waiting. The sooner she saw the doctor, the faster she could get back to important matters, like ruining Beau's life. She swallowed down another lump of guilt, refusing to give into it.

"No, let's go in." She shoved at the door. It didn't budge under her weight.

Beau had to lean over to get it for her. The scent of his cologne hit her square in the nose, heightening her anxiety. From up close, she could make out every odd shape of his freckles—one almost like a heart above his eyebrow. How in the world could she ruin him?

"There you go," he said.

Once they were in the hospital, which smelled of carbolic soap, she filled out the form and they waited to hear her name next to a mom and a kid who had a suspicious wheezing-cough. Most Thorne Pointers wouldn't have bothered going through all the trouble of taking a stranger to the hospital. Maybe he was one of those types of people who couldn't help being chivalrous. In any other situation, she would have found it endearing.