Free Starcrossed: Perigee - A paranormal romance trilogy by Tracey Lee Campbell Page B

should escape more often," he said.
    I nodded in agreement. Our little spot in front of the cabin was cozy, intimate. We could see the faint lights of the ranch house far below in the valley through the trees, but it still felt as though we could be the only two people left on earth.
    I took a stick and drew a smiley face in the dirt near my feet. "My dad used to take me camping when I was little. My mom hated camping. She never came along."
    A twig cracked sharply and the coals settled lower. We stared into the dwindling flames, embraced by the sense of peace and contemplation only a flickering fire can bring. I looked at Aric, he was waiting for me to continue. I knew I was nearing territory I had never shared with anyone, but I sensed he wouldn't judge me. Perhaps now was the time we could share whatever it was we'd been holding back from one other.
    "My dad and I used to play a game, around the camp fire. 'Truth, Dare or Promise'- you heard of it?"
    "Of course."
    "I used to ask him silly things - you know, like would you rather be eaten by an alligator or a shark? Stupid really..." I looked at him from under my eyelashes. "Do you want to play it?"
    "Sure."
    "Okay, so, um... you go first. 'Truth', okay? I'll ask the question and you have to answer truthfully."
    "Don't I get to choose truth, dare or promise?"
    "No."
    He grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, you're the boss. Ask away."
    I frowned and embellished the smiley face in the sand with a head full of spiky hair. I didn't want to waste my truth question, so it had to be a good one. I didn't know where to start. Maybe I should just start from the beginning.
    "So... where are you from? I mean... what town? Where exactly?"
    Aric moved to sit on the ground and leaned back on the log.
    "England, originally - you heard of Stonehenge?"
    "The place with the big circle of stones, right?"
    "Yeah. Well, not far from there."
    "You don't sound English - in fact, you don't sound like you've come from anywhere."
    "It's because I've moved around a lot." He waved his hand around as though he were indicating everywhere and nowhere.
    "So where do you call 'home'?"
    He shrugged. "You know what they say... 'wherever I lay my hat'..."
    "So you don't really have a home? What about your family - your parents?"
    He shook his head, and flicked a leaf into the fire. "Died a long time ago. Every now and then I'll come across my brothers and sisters, but..."
    "Do you like living like that?" I didn't mean the question to come out so bluntly. I hoped it didn't seem rude. After my unsettled childhood, home and family were a big deal.
    He shifted in the dirt, and sat up. "Hey, that's heaps of questions you've asked me. Now it's my turn. 'Truth' right?"
    I swallowed hard and pulled my knees up, clasping my hands together in front of them. "Okay, ask me then."
    He looked straight at me. I could feel the force of his gaze like a warm beam of sunlight.
    "So what happened to your family, and why are you living with your uncle?"
    I smiled at him. "That's two questions."
    He grinned back, and waggled a finger at me. "No, it's two parts to the one question."
    I took a deep breath, and looked back at the fire. The image of my mother's face appeared in the coals, she was screaming, as they dragged her away from me. I didn't want to go there, but if we were sharing the truth...
    "My dad died when I was six. I think it affected my mother pretty badly. She became... delusional I guess." I stopped to see his initial reaction, but his face was unreadable.
    He nodded encouragingly. "Go on..."
    "She dragged me along to all sorts of doctors, telling them I had something inside of me that needed to be taken out. She wanted them to do surgery. She said I wasn't safe while I had it... whatever it was. I had x-rays, and they found nothing. None of the doctors would agree to operate on me, so she tried to do it herself. She cut me, here, near my bottom rib. It hurt like hell - I remember screaming and my mother