On My Way - Eve Langlais Page 0,48

properties. Staring in my direction. Not saying anything. When he tilted his head, I would have sworn I saw a flash, as if his gaze reflected light. I blinked, and he was gone.

Had I imagined him? Why would Jace be spying on my house?

I hugged myself and moved into the cottage, shutting the door tight. Locking it.

“Meow?”

I glanced down at my cat, who weaved in and out of my legs. I scooped him into my arms. “Hey, handsome.” I rubbed my face in his fur until he squirmed. I set him down and watched as he leaped onto the entrance table, his graceful jump knocking my purse down.

It spilled onto the floor, wallet, keys, box… I scooped everything back into it but the latter. I carried the carved treasure up to my room and placed it on my nightstand. I brushed my teeth, lotioned, and put on my pajamas before snuggling under my covers.

But I couldn’t sleep.

My mind whirled. So much to think of. The vandal. My business. Darryl. I touched my lips. They tingled.

Other parts of me as well. Rather than let my fingers do the walking, I reached for the puzzle and began turning it in my hands again, the room lit in the soft glow of the paint that filled the symbols on my ceiling. I rolled the puzzle box in my hands, over and over.

Spun it. Caressed it. Saw the symbols etched into it catching the light and beginning to glow. The seams glowed brightest of all.

And still it whirled, faster and faster, until my hands no longer even touched it. The cube hung suspended in the air, tendrils of light shooting from my ceiling and holding it aloft as it continued its dervish-like spin.

A hum filled the air, vibrating lightly at first but gaining in intensity. My hair shivered. My skin prickled. My lips parted, and I gasped as the cube opened, unfolding like the petals of a flower until I could see the treasure nestled within.

I reached for it, my fingers within grasping distance when—

“Oomph.” I grunted as a heavy weight hit my chest. My eyes opened to see my cat staring at me.

“Meowr,” he complained.

I was about to chide him when I realized the light in my room wasn’t from my glow in the dark art but daylight. It was morning, and Grisou was hungry.

But what about the box?

A glance at my nightstand showed it sitting there, intact. How disappointing.

The day didn’t get any better. My cream had somehow curdled overnight, meaning my coffee sucked. I tripped on the rug going out the door and only barely managed to not injure myself. My car started, but it was a close thing. It chugged and coughed before finally settling into a rumble.

The bad luck continued as I discovered my pottery bowls, after a night of cooling, had fallen apart. My website crashed because of a virus, and the paint on my sign, while it remained intact, had gained a new message.

Slut.

14

This time I didn’t bother contacting the police. I took some pictures with my phone and then hauled out the ladder that I’d yet to return. I scrubbed at the still damp letters. Tears pricked my eyes, and my throat felt tight.

I wanted to maintain a positive outlook, but the more the paint smeared a bloody trail that seemed to signify the mess in my life, the more I shook. Why me? Why did bad things keep happening to me?

I’d not broken any mirrors or tortured any kittens. I might not be the best person in the world, but I wasn’t awful. I was trying to be good. To make a real effort.

Yet, I kept getting knocked down. Over and over.

Why.

Me.

This time I couldn’t stop the pity party. I leaned my face on my arm and let a few tears soak my sleeve as the frustration bubbled over.

Wouldn’t you know, at my blubbering snot-nosed best was when I’d hear a drawled, “I think you need breakfast.”

Wiping my face as best I could on my sleeve, I sniffled as I glanced down at Jace of all people. “I’m not hungry.” A lie. My current mood could have used a bag of salty chips with a side of chocolate.

“Then come and have a coffee.”

“I can’t. I have to fix this.” The words emerged a tad more bitter than I liked. Why couldn’t something go right for once? I’d had such a good evening. Would it have killed the world to let me bask in it for