The Key to Fear - Kristin Cast Page 0,51
the nose and pushed the skateboard back onto the sidewalk. “The river’s a few feet higher than normal. Want to go to the pier and check it out?”
“As long as I don’t have to get there on that thing.” Elodie smiled.
Aiden caught up to the board and gave it another push. “Are you saying that wasn’t the funnest thing you’ve ever done?” he asked, his eyebrow arched.
Elodie joined him, kicking the skateboard as they neared it. “It comes in second, right behind running face first into a glass door.”
“You know, I’ve heard crashing into a door is a wild ride.” Aiden angled the board toward the pier and gave it a final tap before he strolled onto the dock. Wooden slats creaked and groaned as he headed toward the edge and stared out at the water.
Like Aiden had done, Elodie stepped on the end of the skateboard and lifted it by its nose before joining him on the pier. “Did you always want to work in the morgue?” She sat down with the board stretched across her lap. Her legs dangled over the edge of the pier as she absentmindedly traced the board’s fancy lettering. “I mean, unless you don’t want to talk about work.” She shook her head and moved the skateboard behind her. Of course he didn’t want to talk about work. People didn’t leave work to then keep talking about work. Rhett never wanted to hear about her day and, most days, she didn’t want to tell him about it anyway. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have asked.”
Aiden sat down next to her and tapped the toe of his boot against the river’s rippling surface. “You apologize a lot.”
“Sorry.” Elodie pressed her teeth against her bottom lip. Could she be any more predictable?
“Have you thought about saving them?” He dipped the toe of his boot into the river and flicked up a splash of gray water.
Her brow creased at the question. “Save my apologies? For what?”
“They’re heavy, apologies. At least they should be. And meaningful.”
Elodie shrugged. “They’re just words.”
“But words have power.” He lifted his foot. Water rolled off of his boot and rained back into the river. “That’s something Echo tells me all the time.”
Elodie smoothed the ends of her hair between her fingers. “Who’s Echo?”
Aiden plunged his foot into the river. Water sprayed around his boot. Elodie jerked backward and yipped when the cold splash found her.
He clapped his hand over his mouth. “Shit! I did not think it would reach that far!” he exclaimed, the words muffled between his fingers.
Laughter shook Elodie’s core and she collapsed back against the wooden slats. The clouds had cleared and left behind a pale blue sunlit sky.
“Seriously, that was a total accident.” He joined her on his back. “I completely miscalculated.”
Elodie shielded her eyes and stared into the endless blue. “Don’t even think about saying you’re sorry,” she said through a final bout of giggles. Her cheeks ached as she lay there, still smiling, river water soaking her pants. It was nice, just being there with Aiden. There were no expectations or harsh judgments. There was only freedom, room to be whoever she wanted to be, room to find out who exactly that was. “Sometimes,” she began, “I feel like this planet is the entirety of outer space. Like, the beginning of Zone Seven is the edge of our atmosphere, and it’s just black nothingness until the next city or country. I mean, no one can survive in or beyond Zone Seven, so from our Zone Seven to the next city’s Zone Seven is …” Elodie tossed her hands in the air. “Emptiness.”
Aiden sucked in a breath like he wanted to speak but remained silent.
She shivered, suddenly aware how cold her wet pants were.
Aiden finally broke the silence. “Who told you no one can survive in or beyond Zone Seven?”
Elodie shrugged. “School, I guess. But no one actually had to tell me. It’s a fact.” She rolled onto her elbow. Her breath stuck in her throat as she looked down at him. He’d laid down so close to her. She cleared her throat and attempted to wiggle away. A jagged slat caught her raincoat and held her in place.
He rolled toward her and propped himself up on his elbow, mirroring Elodie’s posture.
She stiffened and again attempted to move away. Her sleeve made a distinctive ripping noise and she stopped. How was Aiden okay with being so close to her? Maybe he wanted to be close to her. She swallowed. Her