off of me, but I had no choice. Eric didn't bother to pin me, so my arms were free. That was such a foreign thought. Nice, kind, sweet Eric forgot to pin me. But that wasn't him anymore. He wasn't the boy with the ironed jeans and the white sneakers. He wasn't the soft spoken, gentle guy who laughed at me in biology. He was this. Before the memories ended, my fist collided with the side of Eric's face. He staggered backwards and fell to his knees and broke the kiss. Stunned, he sat for a moment looking up at me. The expression on his face wasn't right. The way he looked at me made a cold chill run down my spine, as I stood there panting with my arms outstretched, ready to run.
Eric didn't move. His expression didn't shift. The irises of his eyes remained lost in lust, pooled blood-red without a single speck of gold, but the expression was haunted and hollow - like he'd seen a ghost. Part of me hesitated. Something happened. Something that wasn't supposed to happen, but I had no idea what. Whatever it was, it stopped Eric in his tracks, but I couldn't hang around to see what happened. Hardly a second passed from the end of the kiss, but I'd waited too long already. Spinning on my heel, I took off, and risked effonating to the only place I knew I'd be safe - somewhere that had someone to heal my wounds.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
"You're taking too many chances with that boy." Al doted over me. I was back in my old room at the church. I moved in there with Al after my mother died last year. No one bothered looking for me here because I was never here. Add to that, it would be totally insane to try and hide amongst the Martis. But I was. It kept the Valefar away, so I only had to watch out for Martis. While others may have said I was crazy for going there, Martis were the lesser of two evils. I could handle them and Al could help me. I was sure she would.
I laid and stifled a yelp as Al poured left over coal-sludge over my wounds. I was glad she saved it. After Collin had made the last batch, she had him put the remaining contents into a Tupperware pitcher in the fridge. Collin had to take his brimstone with him, but he agreed with Al that there should be another person who could heal me, so he dusted the top of the mixture with brimstone dust. Al had a poisoned concoction sitting in the fridge at the church. On the side of the pitcher she scrawled NUN JUICE in big black letters. She poured it over me, careful not to spill any on herself. The brimstone in the mixture could have killed her, but she poured like she was handling Kool-Aid.
She continued scolding me for being stupid as my skin sizzled and painfully regrew. She waved a finger in my face, "He ain't Eric no more. He's something else, and if you can't accept that, I can't help you." I nodded, knowing she meant well. When Al found me, I had no skin on my forearms and throat...and I was half naked. The thought made my stomach twist. It didn't look good for Eric, but it wasn't like I was trying to protect him or something. That would be insane.
A goofy smile slid across my face as soon as the hissing subsided. My eyes were fixed on the pitcher and the black letters. "Nun juice?" I laughed.
She tilted the empty container and shrugged. With half a smirk she said, "Makes sure no one else touches it. Not that they would. This stuff smells putrid." I laughed lightly.
Al's smirk faded as she said, "Collin's been looking for you. I told him you'd come and that you were resting." My stomach twisted when she said his name.
"You talked to Collin?" I sat up frantic that she'd told him what happened and who I was with. I grabbed her wrist, not meaning to pull on her, but feeling utterly panicked, "Did you tell him Eric took me? Did you say I was with Eric?" My eyes were wide as I sucked in a gulp of air, ready to bounce out of bed to undo the damage. Oh my God! What was I going to say to Collin? How could I hide it now?
But