What Still Burns by Elle Grawl

Author:Elle Grawl [Grawl, Elle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 2023-08-14T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

The warmth of the sun on my face wakes me. When I open my eyes, Kael is lying beside me on the bed, his arm around my waist. His eyelids are shut but flutter softly underneath his tangle of brown waves. He must be dreaming. I’m glad we relocated to Kael’s room, under the fleece blankets. Even with the radiator running in the other room, it’s still chilly.

I stare up at the popcorn ceiling. It reminds me of my old room at Beth’s house in Sola before we moved.

Rapid knocking on the other side of the small house makes me jump. Kael sits up immediately, blinking and raking a hand through his hair. He looks at me and smiles. “Good morning.”

I sit up beside him, pulling the blanket up to my bare neck to keep from shivering. “Good morning, but someone’s at your door.”

The smile fades as another sharp whack sounds at the door. “Kael?” A light but urgent voice drifts through the house.

Kael springs from the bed. “Shit! It’s my mom.” He grabs his jeans and a T-shirt from the floor and tugs them on. “Stay here, I’ll get rid of her.” He nearly trips out of the bedroom in his hurry.

I survey the room, trying to remember where I left my clothes. Ah, they’re probably sitting in the dryer still.

“Yes?” Kael’s hoarse voice says after the sound of the front door squeaking open.

“Oh, there you are!” Mrs. McPheron exclaims.

“What’s going on?” Kael can’t hide the irritation in his tone.

“Well, I was getting ready to go to church, and I saw Lexi’s car out front.”

I hadn’t even thought about the eyebrows that would raise at my car being parked in Kael’s driveway all night. It’s no one’s damn business, but it’ll still get town tongues wagging.

“Oh yeah, she came over for coffee,” Kael says without missing a beat. It makes me wonder if he’s had other girls over before and used the same excuse when his mom grills him about their cars.

“Well, she’s up and about pretty early.”

I carefully get off the bed, trying to avoid any creaking of the springs.

“Where is she?”

I fish around the floor for my borrowed clothes before I think better of it. Coming out of the back of the house in Kael’s shirt and shorts is obviously going to give up the game. I wind a blanket over my body and go to the bedroom door. The way that the hall curves completely shields me from view of the front. I look across the hall. The only thing between me and the dryer in the utility room is a few feet.

“She’s in the bathroom, Mom.”

I tiptoe to the dryer, pulling my clothes on and checking to make sure everything is on in the right direction.

“Well, can I come in?” The clack of heels tells me she’s already managed to forge a path past Kael in the entryway.

“Why?”

“I want to say hi and—”

“Good morning!” I manage to turn down the hallway as nonchalantly as possible.

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