Evanescent - By Addison Moore Page 0,62

heart, my head, even when I sleep you’re there waiting for me. All chaste dreams of course.” He raises his hand like a Boy Scout and holds back a smile. “Mostly.” He gives a quick wink. “Laken, I know you’re not through with Wes, that the old Wesley still means everything to you. But when you dig down deep and don’t find him there anymore, I want you to know I’ll be waiting for you. Maybe we can try things out. See if it works.” He interlaces our fingers. “Because if I’m right, this”—he touches my hand to his lips—“this is meant to be.”

Deep down inside I know he’s right. There is definitely some connection here that spans time and place, life and death, and links me right back to Cooper. Destiny meant him to be more than a friend. This is real, and this is right.

“I think you’re really special, Coop.” An unexpected surge of tears stings my eyes, and I blink them away. “In fact, I know you’re special. Something is happening here. I feel things for you—amazing things.”

Wes flashes before me like an unwanted hologram. Not even in the recesses of my mind had I thought I wouldn’t get old Wes back. It weighs me down with a grief so palpable I can hardly stand to breathe.

Coop scoots in until I’m resting against his chest again. His familiar woodsy scent pulsates over me in waves, and he comforts me with his body warm against mine.

“Do you think we can we sleep like this tonight?” It comes out childlike, and I feel like a horrible person for even asking. I’m pretty sure Grayson was anything but childlike while lying in bed with Coop. Grayson Evans is everything I’m not.

“You don’t sound childlike, Laken.” He kisses my finger. “You sound pure—sweet. And, you’re right, that’s everything Grayson’s not.” He presses out a slow spreading grin, and the dimple above his eye ignites. “I don’t want Grayson. I never did. I only want you, Laken, and I’m sorry I came on so strong. I’ll try harder to control myself.”

“I wanted to kiss you.” I bleed the words out, and my body exhales as if I had been holding up a boulder all night. “I just don’t want to be that girl, Coop. The one who runs around kissing two boys, telling them both the same things. I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror, and, by the way, I’m already having a tough time.” I give his hand a squeeze. “If Wes found out about us… if he knew I’ve been spending the night, drawing the blood from your body—enjoying every touch, every glance you’ve ever given me”—I brush my fingers over his heart-stopping features—“everything would come crashing to an end. Our only hope would be the Tobias sisters, and, as it stands, the clock is ticking on their offer.” I bow my head in defeat. Time is cascading away like sand through our fingers, and of all the things to worry about it’s my relationship with Cooper that crowds the forefront of my mind. Where will we end up when all is said and done? My heart aches to know this.

The sound of a car skidding off the property startles us. Coop hops over me and peers out the window. His chest expands as the car melts back into the night.

“What was that?”

“Not what—who.” Coop leans against his desk with a faraway look in his eye. “We’d better find the Tobias family, Laken. It looks like they might be our only hope.”

A shiver runs through me. Every muscle in my body freezes because I think I know the answer to my next question. “Why are they our only hope?”

“That car that just drove off like a bat out of hell? It was Wes.”

Cooper

The next day drizzles by as uneventful as the weather. Flynn insists he’s getting closer to the Tobias family as he continues his underground “Spectator” sport of personally tracking them down.

“So what exactly are you doing to gain their trust?” I ask as we trek through the murky backwoods just north of campus.

“I’m offering their lives back in exchange for information.” He grunts as he trips over a root as thick as my leg.

“Okay, so you’ve got their attention.” I scan the forest for movement. “What do you think is going to happen when it comes time to cough up a resurrection or two? Pearl is dead in case you forgot. She rotted right back to the