A Neon Darkness by Lauren Shippen

Author:Lauren Shippen [Shippen, Lauren]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

* * *

“Why didn’t you ask him about Blaze?” Neon demands after we’ve recounted the entire Tall Man experience to her and Marley.

“He didn’t exactly seem like the chatty type, Nee,” Indah says.

“But it sounds like he knows where Blaze is,” Neon protests.

“Or at least, he knew,” Marley clarifies.

We’re sitting in Indah’s apartment, huddled in her small living room a few hours after her shift ended at Lubitsch. Marley and I are sunk into the couch—the standard position we’ve fallen into in our weeks of searching for the Tall Man—and Neon is slouched in an armchair, but Indah isn’t perched on the armrest like usual. Instead, she’s pacing up and down in front of the couch, running her hands through her hair, and breathing deeply.

“Look,” I say, “it wasn’t exactly a casual chat. We thought he was gonna kill us—”

“What?” Neon’s eyes go wide. “He threatened you?”

“Yes,” Indah snaps.

“Well, not exactly,” I clarify. “But he had a real creepy vibe.” I don’t tell them about the gun—having not mentioned it to Indah, who didn’t seem to notice—or the fact that he grabbed Indah’s arm. I don’t know why I stay silent, knowing that we all might be in real danger, but the fact that I’m not sure I could have stopped the Tall Man from doing anything makes me feel like a failure. I’m not ready to admit that.

“No offense, Rob, but you have a real creepy vibe sometimes,” Marley sighs next to me.

“Gee, thanks,” I snap.

“I’m just saying—”

“Him having a creepy vibe is not an excuse for just letting him go without finding out who the hell he is or what he’s up to,” Neon finishes.

“Exactly,” Marley agrees.

Indah has stopped pacing and our eyes meet. I can tell she’s trying not to burst open when—

“You two don’t always have to be some sort of two-headed monster!” she shouts, starting to walk in circles again. “We get it, you’ve known each other for years, you share a brain—and everything else,” she adds scathingly, “but that doesn’t mean you have to gang up on us! You weren’t there, you don’t realize how frightening he was—how unnatural—and you always think you know everything just because you’re special but you don’t.”

Indah exhales sharply and stops walking, facing all of us sitting as the color drains from her face.

“I…,” she starts, but she doesn’t seem to have any idea of where to go next. I cast a furtive glance at Marley and Neon and see them both slack-jawed and wide-eyed at Indah’s outburst. I’m a little slack-jawed myself until—

“Robert,” Indah breathes, like a curse, “this was you, wasn’t it?”

“What?”

“I would never have said that stuff—”

“Except you just did,” I hit back.

“Because you wanted to say it and were too scared—”

“Don’t put words in my mouth!”

“You’re the one putting words in my mouth, making me say things—”

“I just wanted you to stand up for yourself for once!” I shout, surprised at the volume and intensity of my own voice. “Just because you’re stupidly in love

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