Free The Light of the World by Tara Brown Page B

scared of him. The magic in my tummy becomes anger. His face
looks more pronounced. His eyes are striking. They can see through
me. They can see every thought I've ever had. I'm sure of it.
    "What?" I snap at him.
    He shakes his head and sighs, "Rayne, we need to
go now."
    I look down at the man in front of me on the
grass. He's pale and his eyes are closed.
    Wyatt looks around and grabs my hand. His skin
burns mine, like a shock has jolted between us. I scream out but he
drags me across the greens. We run until we reach his car. My skin
is smoking where he touches me. He drops my hand. I hold it up and
cry.
    "What have you done to me?"
    He opens the door and shoves me inside.
    He gets in and starts the car. He drives the way
I imagined he would. He's fast and out of control but in a way that
seems like he's in control. I would bet his skills are unmatched,
by even racecar drivers.
    "What are you?"
    "Sit as far away from me as you can. Don’t get
too close. I'm making you sick. Press against the window."
    I lean against the cold window and put my hand
on it. The burn is feeling better but it still hurts.
    "What are you?"
    He looks at me as we race along the winding
road, "The better question is, what are you Rayne? What has she
told you?"
    I shake my head, "I don’t know what you
mean."
    He sneers, "Your mother. She keeps it at bay
with a macrobiotic diet and intense yoga but she can't keep it at
bay all the time. She must do nightclubs for the mini sucks. Let me
guess she never has sex? Never dates?"
    I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want him to
tell me things about her. "You know nothing about her or me."
    He looks at me and his eyes burn a hole in me,
"I know you. I know all about you." For the first time I'm able to
fear him properly. My lust for him has intensified but I can feel
the fake pull he's giving off. He's making me attracted to him.
He's making me want him. I'm not crazy. It's not real love.
    After a while I ask, "Where are we going?"
    "Home."
    "Where's home?"
    "Your house."
    I scowl, "You can't meet Willow. She's going to
hate you."
    He grins his cocky smile, it makes my skin
crawl, "Your kind always hate me."
    "My kind? You're a dick. Why did you need to see
my mom Wyatt? You heard how hot she was, didn’t you? Look, she's
not like that."
    He rolls his eyes, "I don’t need to force myself
on cougars Rayne. Jesus. Thanks though. You're always so full of
nice things and compliments."
    "Why do you want to go to my house?"
    "We need to find out what you are and why you
make me, uncomfortable."
    I laugh bitterly and cry a little bit, "I make
you uncomfortable. You're burning me and made me hurt that man.
Trust me, you make me far more uncomfortable."
    He glances at me as he takes a sharp corner, "I
doubt that."
    "Why did you beat me? Do you like hitting
girls?"
    His eyes look dead and his lips fight the
emotions he refuses for me to see. "I needed to see. Violence makes
the change pronounce itself. When I hit you the rage filled you and
you couldn’t hide it from me."
    "What do you think I'm hiding from you? I never
changed. I'm the same. You're the one that's gotten crazier and
crazier."
    He clenches his jaw and says nothing. Maybe
nothing is better at this point. He's fucking nuts. I'm not sure
what that makes me. I need a plan.
    I lean back against the window and watch the
road. He's driving me home. He's going to kill me or Willow or both
of us. He's unstable and my cell phone is at school still. I can
see it on my bedside table. I feel the panic starting to increase
with every mile we get closer to home. I'm getting antsy.
    I'm not hungry the same way I was before. I
think about the man. I don’t know what to think. It doesn’t make
sense in my rational brain.
    "What did I do to him? The man." Tears stream
down my cheeks. Everything feels messy. I look down at the dried
blood on my fingers and feel dirty.
    He sighs. I think he's annoyed with my question.
He runs his hands through his dark hair, "You