An Acquired Taste by Skyla Gray

Author:Skyla Gray [Gray, Skyla]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Independent
Published: 2024-10-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

The next evening, I wake feeling refreshed. Ellen shows up without a syringe or an explanation for why Sebastian no longer wants my blood.

I have to get out of my room before I go insane. I get ready for the day and slip down to the parlor, hoping to catch someone around for tea.

But I’m too early. Tea isn’t set out yet. The only one here is Barnabas.

At least he still likes me. His tail starts thumping the moment he spots me, and his ears perk up. It makes me wonder if Sebastian has been avoiding Barny, too. Does he feel as neglected as I do? The thought makes me feel so sad that I grab his leash from its spot near the front door before I realize what I’m doing. When he sees it, Barnabas wiggles around with such excitement that I can’t possibly change my mind. It’ll be good for me, too, I decide. Languishing in my bed isn’t helping.

“Okay,” I say, clipping the leash on to his collar. “Just a quick walk, buddy.”

The weather is overcast, bitterly cold, and miserably damp, with fog settling over the estate and rendering the grounds gloomier than usual. Still, Barnabas is eager to forge ahead, and so I allow myself to be pulled along. But if I thought some time outside would be good for me, I’m proven wrong. Soon my shoes are caked in mud, my socks are soggy, and my hair is frizzing. The cold wind bites through my coat, and the clouds are darkening overhead, promising worse weather to come.

“Alright, Barny, I’ve had about enough of this,” I say, trying to turn around. But he digs his feet in, straining forward. My shoes slip in the mud. I curse as my feet slide out from under me; my ankle twists as I try to catch myself, and I tumble to the ground, the leash slipping from my hand. Barnabas bounds off into the fog.

“Barny!” I scramble to my feet. It takes a couple of tries; the mud keeps bringing me down, and my left ankle hurts like hell when I put my weight on it. Still, I lurch forward, searching the fog for a spotted menace with a wagging tail. There’s no sign or sound of him.

“Shit.” I teeter, unsure of what to do. Maybe I should go back to the house for help; surely Tobias and Trent know the grounds better and would have an easier time finding Barnabas. The grounds are gated, so he can’t get into too much trouble… but then I think of the gates opening and a car driving through the fog, unable to see Barny until it’s too late, and my stomach drops like a stone. I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened. I can’t take that risk.

Caked in cold mud, with pain throbbing in my ankle, I limp forward into the fog. I don’t know where I’m going, and soon I’ve lost any sense of where I am.

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