Myopia (Young Adult Zombie Paranormal Romance) (Wisteria Series) (40 page)

“You’re supposed to be in bed, Wisteria.” Garfield walked in on crutches, his foot still in a splint.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” She wiped away any evidence that she’d been crying.

“Well, actually, David let me in when he snuck out to see Amanda,” he admitted dejectedly. “I can’t believe she’s still with that guy.”

“How’s your leg?” She ignored the comment about her brother.

“You’re asking about me? Wisteria, what the hell happened to you? You look like a ghost.”

Moving to the mirror, she was startled by her reflection. Her skin was almost gray and her eyes were gaunt looking.

“You should rest. You’re no good to him if you’re about to keel over too. Why don’t I sit with him for a bit and you get some sleep? If anything happens, I’ll let you know.”

*****

Wisteria woke up in the early hours of the morning, before the sun had risen. She’d heard something coming from the room where Bach was. It had been almost a week since they’d left Jarthan. She was still amazed they’d made it out alive.

Creeping through the house, she found Bach standing at the kitchen window, looking out.

Halting by the door, she bit at her lip, unsure of what to do or say. So much had happened and she wasn’t sure what he was thinking. He’d lost his whole Family because of her.

“Are you okay?” he asked, not turning.

“Me? You were the one they stabbed.”

Turning around, he smiled wearily. “Didan almost killed you too. That should have knocked you out for days.”

“Yeah.” She was still hurting, but it was getting better.

“You are shaking.” He walked over and ran his hands down her arms.

“Yeah, we’ve both been through hell. How are you?” She pointed to his stomach where Didan had stabbed him.

“Stronger, but recovering from a danor’s wound will take a very long time.”

“You should rest. We can talk later.”

“Wisteria, I am sorry that I let the empirics in here and brought Alba. You were right about her.”

She hugged him gently, so as not to aggravate his wounds. “We’ve got a lot to talk about and work through, because this is just mad.”

“We have time. I am not well enough to travel anywhere and I have nowhere else to go,” he said dejectedly. “I have no Family anymore.”

“Bach…”

“But I do not want to go anywhere. You think Coles will still let me stay?”

“Having someone who can control the biters is never a bad thing.”

Her stepfather wasn’t thrilled to learn about the empirics, but with her mother’s pregnancy Coles wanted someone on the island who could control the biters the scientists were researching under Mulberry Orchard.

“I am not strong enough to do that now. It could take years for me to get all my strength back.”

“Oh.”

“I am really quite useless now.” He sighed heavily.

Reaching on her tiptoes, she managed to kiss his neck. “I’m just glad you’re here.”

“But I should have brought Jason back too. At least to find out if he was telling the truth about my mother.”

“Maybe he escaped from the empirics?” Wisteria asked. “Somehow?”

“I do not think so. The only reason we got out is because my father allowed us.”

“I know.” Her head dropped and she felt his hand running down her back. “I still can’t believe he did that.”

“What? Let Didan try to kill me or let us go?”

“Both.”

“Because he is Sen Aleix,” Bach replied. “Wisteria, he let us go, so he will abide by that.”

“Are you sure?”

He hesitated as if he wasn’t sure. “I hope so.”

*****

Bach looked up. Wisteria was leaning over the side of the high wall that surrounded Smythe, watching him work. She waved.

He was part of a group tasked with filling the holes in the wall. Someone had volunteered him to help with this. He suspected it was Wisteria in some weird attempt for him to get along with her stepfather, who was personally overseeing this. He found the task pointless since the prion net was still working, but he had come to accept he’d never fully understand humans.

“She’s not going anywhere, so just focus,” Major Coles barked.

“What?” Bach turned back to the hole he was shoveling. “I was focusing.”

“On the concrete, not on the girl,” Coles yelled. “You are just as useless as Garfield.”

Bach squinted at the older man, but instead of tossing him into the sea behind them, he complied. While he was no longer fighting for his life, he had lost most of his strength, speed, and agility. He was barely stronger than the other humans here. “Fine.” He knew rebellion would defeat the point of trying to get along with Coles. So, to keep the peace, he worked in the freezing cold, filling holes.

After he was done, Wisteria met up with him as he was about to head back to Thomas Clarkson’s.

“You need to work harder. The others might think you’re lazy,” she scolded him, placing her hands on her hips.

“Why do you not do it?” He put on his polyester winter coat. “Since you think it is so easy.”

“I am a tracker. I need to save my skills for the outside.” She smirked. “Besides, if I did your work for you, you wouldn’t learn. This is a life lesson for you.”

“Interesting, I never thought of that.” He reached out and touched her hand, sending a light charge through her arm and up her spine.

“You shocked me!”

“My hand slipped.” Laughing, he pulsed her lightly again. “Sorry.”

“Oh, Bach.” Playfully, she hit his chest.

“Ahh,” he cried, clutching his chest. “Ow, ow, ow.”

“Sorry.” She backed away. “It still hurts a bit, doesn’t it? Wait—you’re playing?” She laughed and smacked him with her green scarf.

Hearing her laugh seemed like an old memory. They’d both been so tense in the last few weeks he’d almost forgotten what her laugh sounded like. He wanted to ask her to sing to him again, but that just felt stupid.

“You can’t keep using your injury to mess with me.” She feigned annoyance.

“Actually, you’ve never let me mess with you,” he teased.

“Bach.” She bit at her lip.

He could feel her body temperature rise. If she had lighter skin, he would’ve been able to see her blush. “I would never hurt you.” Pulling her close, he leaned toward her
. “You are my life.”

“That is a strange thing to say.” Carefully, she stretched herself upward, placing her hands on each side of his face.

“What should I say?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered, searching his eyes.

There was something about the way she stared at him that made him just want her. Without thinking or waiting for an answer, he slowly massaged her plump lips with his. Kissing her, he could taste tears. He didn’t know if they were his or hers, but he didn’t care. He ran his hands down along her back as he lifted her close.

Her fingers dug into his biceps as she pushed herself forward, deeper in his arms and his kiss. She turned their tender kiss into a savage feast of desire.

In that moment, they were in their own realm, not on Earth, Jarthan, or the Family Home. They were somewhere else and they were happy.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bisi Leyton was born in East London in 1978. She grew up in London, Nigeria and the States, listening to the stories of life and love from aunts, cousins and big sisters.

She lives in London, but has worked around Europe including France, Germany, Ireland, Belgium and the Czech Republic. She has a fondness for reading graphic novels, and cracked.com.

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THE WISTERIA SERIES

Bisi is currently working on the third book in the Wisteria Series. For information visit the Wisteria Facebook page
http://www.facebook.com/Wisteriabooks