Free Forsaken by Keary Taylor Page B

me. Alex was right. He’d
given everything to protect me. And even if Cole could get me, Alex
was more than capable of protecting me.
    I felt myself relax and
Alex wrapped his arms around my shoulders and cradled me into his
chest. Maybe I didn’t have to be afraid of Cole anymore but I still
couldn’t get the question of why out of my head.
    Alex’s phone started ringing. As he
pulled it out and checked the caller ID, a smile crossed his face.
“Hey, it’s Rod!”
    I smiled at Alex as he answered the
phone with an excited “What’s up!” and went back inside to give him
some privacy.
    Rod was Alex’s best friend and could
have been his twin if not for the extreme difference in their skin
color. I had met Rod once but had not exactly gotten to know him
well since I had been having massive swings between normality and
being within moments of death.
    I went to the fridge and pulled out a
bottle of water. I downed the entire thing in one breath, the same
way I used to down caffeinated beverages when I went without sleep
for days on end. It was the first thing I had drunk since Austin
had poured a massive amount of hot chocolate down my throat the day
I nearly passed out.
    “ Hey.”
    I spun around as I heard the door open
and Emily walked in. She dropped her purse on the floor and flopped
down on the couch.
    “ Hey,” I said as I put the
cap back on the bottle and threw it into the recycle bin. I then
noticed the look of unrest on Emily’s face and could almost cut
through the unhappiness that was rolling off of her. “Is something
wrong?”
    Emily’s eyes dropped and she started
picking at a hangnail. “I heard back from the University today. I
didn’t get the teaching job. They said they found someone ‘better
qualified’ for the job.” She made quotation marks in the air with
her fingers.
    “ Oh Emily, I’m so sorry,”
I said as I crossed to the living room.
    Just then Alex came back inside, a
wide grin plastered on his face. “That was Rod. He said he’s moving
up here for the rest of the summer. He’s found an apartment and
needs some help moving in. I’m going to help him unload the truck.
Sounds like it’s in the same area as your place, Emily.”
    “ Who’s Rod?” Emily asked,
irritation in her voice.
    Alex gave Emily a slightly surprised
look when he heard her tone. It lasted only a moment though before
that brilliant smile was back. “My best friend from California.
I’ll invite him over for dinner tonight.”
    “ You sure you want to do
that?” I asked him. “Are you going to be able to fake eating an
entire meal?”
    Alex shrugged his shoulders slightly,
his smile and mood undeterred. “I’ll figure it out. I want you to
meet him Emily. And I want you to get to know him a little better,
Jessica. As long as you don’t mind him coming over that
is.”
    I gave a little chuckle at this. “It’s
your house. And of course I don’t mind.”
    If it was possible, Alex’s smile
widened as he closed the gap between us and laid his hands on
either side of my waist. “It’s as much your house as much as it is
mine,” he said quietly. His eyes burned with such intensity I
couldn’t form any coherent thoughts. He gently pressed a kiss to my
lips, leaving my own burning and tingling in an intoxicating way.
My head was spinning when he took half a step away, still keeping
his hands on my waist.
    “ I’ll be back tonight.
You’re invited too, Emily. I’m not sure exactly how long this will
take but I’ll plan on being back by at least seven so I can get
dinner made. I love you,” he said as he pressed a quick peck to my
forehead and headed out the door.
    “ I love you too,” I
breathed. It was ridiculous how my entire body ached when he let go
of me and walked out the door. Things may have been tense between
us but I still knew the way I could light up whenever we were
together.
    I instantly regretted the smile that
was plastered on my face when I looked back at Emily. The