Free Chasing Shadows by S.H. Kolee Page A

leaning against the wall and crossing his stretched legs, watching me. Even though we had gotten a lot closer, I wasn't very experienced when it came to men and his unwavering gaze unnerved me.
    "Um, I'm going to take a shower first. I feel gross from the past few days."
    "Sure. I'll wait for you here." Simon smiled widely, leaning forward so his t-shirt stretched against his broad chest. "Unless you want company?"
    "No, no, it's okay." I could feel myself getting red, and I admonished myself. I needed to concentrate on not getting everyone killed, including myself, not on Simon's irresistible body.
    Simon leaned back, looking amused, and I hurriedly grabbed a change of clothes and went into the bathroom. The shower felt amazing as I washed away the grit of the past few days. As great as it felt, I thought about Simon waiting for me in my bedroom, so I didn't linger.
    I was brushing my wet hair when there was a knock on the door.
    "Come in," I called out, tensing at the possibility that it was Simon, although I wasn't sure if I was tensing out of anticipation or fear. I didn't know whether I was disappointed or not when Sarah popped in, closing the door behind her.
    "We haven't gotten a chance to talk alone," Sarah said, looking serious. "I just want you to know how happy I am that you're back. And I want you to know that I believe you. As crazy as everything sounds, I know you're not crazy. It scares me to death, but we're in this together. Always."
    My heart surged, and my eyes welled up with tears. I hugged Sarah fiercely, thanking the heavens for the millionth time in my life for having a friend like Sarah.
    "I'm so sorry I worried you," I said when I pulled back, my voice thick. "I thought I was doing the right thing by protecting you. By not telling you what was happening."
    "I understand. God knows what I would have done if you had told me. I probably would have run around like a chicken with its head cut off, yelling that the sky was falling."
    I smiled grimly. "That's not too far from the truth."
    "So, I guess you and Simon are together now." Leave it to Sarah to bring up my relationship status with the end of the world imminent.
    "I guess. We haven't really talked about it." I bit my lip. "Although he's told me that he loves me. And...I do too."
    "I knew it!" Sarah squealed. "I knew you'd never be able to resist him."
    "Uh, it's a little complicated. Remember vardogers overtaking bodies? It's a little hard to overlook the fact that Simon currently has an evil shadow inside him. My first priority is figuring out how to get rid of his vardoger. Yours too. I'll worry about whether he's my boyfriend later."
    "If you say so," Sarah said in a singsong voice and I couldn't help but laugh. I stopped when Sarah sobered. "But seriously, as much as I like Simon and want you two to be together, do you think it's safe to be alone with him? I mean...what if his vardoger takes control of his body again?"
    I shook my head. I had to believe Simon was strong enough to fight off his vardoger's control. After everything we'd been through, I wasn't going to start being scared of him now. "He can control it. And even if he can't, I'm the only one that can help him. I need to be around if that happens."
    Sarah sighed heavily but seemed to accept my answer. She took a deep breath before continuing.
    "Grant and I just had a talk. He told me about him and Cara, about what happened between them to make him so wary of starting a new relationship without telling her."
    I waited silently for Sarah to continue, hoping that whatever Grant told her hadn't hurt her. Grant's on-again, off-again with his ex-girlfriend Cara had confused Sarah, especially when he had told her he couldn't pursue a relationship with Sarah until he told Cara about it.
    "Cara got pregnant their senior year of high school. Grant proposed because it was the right thing to do, even though he had been planning on breaking up with her before he found out."
    I gasped at the