Free Kiss Me, Kill Me by Allison Brennan Page A

thought he might have even cleaned up when she got sick.
    Why was he helping her? Who was he?
    She tried taking a step, but the pain was too great and she wondered if there were still rocks and glass embedded in the cuts. Another flash of Dennis cleaning her feet and pulling out a long, jagged piece of glass had her wondering why he hadn’t taken her to the hospital.
    Kirsten vowed never to take drugs again. She didn’t like these dark holes in her memory.
    She crawled back to the bedroom and pulled herself onto the bed. Her skin was clammy, and she started to feel feverish again. She wanted to sleep. She rested for a minute, then spotted the shopping bag from Abercrombie & Fitch. She stared at the outrageously expensive clothing inside—all her size. Had she told him, or had he guessed?
    The entire chore of bathing and dressing exhausted her and she didn’t want to go to the kitchen. She didn’t want Dennis to see her crawl, but then again, maybe he already had. All she wanted was to sleep.
    Dennis knocked on the bedroom door.
    “Come in,” she said, her voice raw and scratchy.
    Dennis looked sweet, if that was possible for a guy. He was only a few inches taller than Kirsten, but broad-shouldered, as though he worked out. Cute, in a little-kid way, which seemed odd with his build. He looked at her with pale blue eyes through wire-rim glasses.
    “I made some soup.”
    Dennis didn’t scare her, but maybe she should be scared. “Why didn’t you take me to the hospital?” she asked.
    He frowned at her and looked worried. “You told me not to.”
    “I don’t remember that.”
    “Are you still sick?”
    “I don’t remember a lot of things. Just bits and pieces. Why didn’t I want to go to the hospital?”
    “You said someone was going to kill you and you needed a place to hide.”
    Kirsten definitely didn’t remember saying that, though she certainly remembered being terrified that someone was chasing her.
    “And you brought me here?”
    “My brother is in Europe.”
    She frowned. Something was wrong. “You said your brother was at the party. Didn’t you?” Maybe she was remembering another conversation.
    “I have two brothers. Charlie is in Europe, and he always tells me I can stay here whenever I want. I take a class at Columbia.” He spoke proudly, and it was his tone that told Kirsten that Dennis was a little slow. Not severely retarded, but not quite normal.
    “My brother knows the dean and they said I can audit one class a semester. I’m doing really good.”
    She didn’t know why, but that made her feel better. “Okay. So this is between you and me, right?”
    Dennis nodded. “Do you want some soup?”
    “Yes, but I can’t walk.” She frowned at her feet. “It hurts too much.”
    “I can bring the soup in here.”
    “Why are you helping me?”
    His baffled expression indicated that he didn’t understand her question.
    “I mean, I must have looked awful the other night. Like I was crazy or something.”
    “You were scared. Charlie always says we have to help our neighbors.”
    “I think I’d like Charlie.”
    Dennis smiled, his eyes lighting up. “I love Charlie. He’s nice to me.”
    “What about your other brother?”
    Dennis shrugged. “He’s moody. Charlie says he’s selfish and won’t grow up. But he always takes me to see baseball games. I love baseball.”
    “I love baseball, too.”
    Dennis grinned. “And then after the game, if he doesn’t have a girlfriend, I get to stay in his apartment and we watch movies, but not scary movies because I don’t like them. Last time, we watched Star Wars , my favorite.”
    He really was sweet. Kirsten felt awful for dragging this kid into her problems. “Thank you for the clothes.”
    “I looked at the tag in your dress for your size when—” He blushed several shades of red and averted his gaze. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “It was torn and you weren’t talking. I didn’t touch you, I promise. Just helped you put on