Skin Hunger by Eli Lang

Author:Eli Lang [Lang, Eli]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Published: 2017-10-03T04:00:00+00:00

When I got home, I stepped out of my car in the driveway and stood in the dark, staring up at the lit windows in the living room. My parents were still up—it wasn’t that late yet. I thought about going in the front door like I probably should, but my mind skittered away from that thought. It’d be fine. I was sure it would be. I just didn’t want to. I went around to the back instead, and through the basement door Zevi had left open for me.

I hadn’t been down there since I’d arrived, but I remembered that it had been carpeted and furnished at one point, to be almost like another den. It still was—it was dark and dusty, like no one at all had been down in a while, but with a couple of lamps turned on, the place had a homey, cozy feel. Close, like it was a secret club or something. Zevi must have felt the same thing, because he grinned at me when I came down, and waved, and said hello in a soft voice, as if he wanted to maintain the quiet. I felt like we were sneaking around down here, even though we didn’t need to sneak at all, and it seemed like he did too.

The biggest surprise was my drum set. It wasn’t set up—neither of my parents would know how to do that—but it was stacked carefully in a corner, all the hardware in a case beside it, the cymbals in another. I couldn’t play it now, even if I did set it up, but I went over and ran my fingers over the finish. It was old, the first kit I’d ever had, but it was still a good one. It made me feel funny, in the pit of my stomach, when my hands touched that familiar wood and metal. Like I was happy and uncomfortable at the same time.

I was wondering whether this would be a good time to set it up, so that the next time I came down here I could maybe work on the songs Tuck had sent me, when my phone buzzed in my pocket. I answered it on the second ring.

“Hey, I’m here,” Cara said. She sounded a little breathless, like she was nervous. “Do you want me to ring the doorbell?”

I shook my head, despite the fact that she couldn’t see me. Across the room, Zevi was smirking, and I wondered what he was seeing on my face.

“No,” I said into the phone, giving Zevi a glare. “I’ll come get you. We’re in the basement.”

I thought about how creepy that sounded, but I’d already hung up. Maybe I should call her back and tell her we weren’t actually ax murderers. Zevi was almost doubled over laughing, and I contemplated tackling him, but Cara was waiting for me. I didn’t want her to get impatient and come to me instead, only to find me and Zevi rolling around on the floor like puppies.

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