Anew

51

Scarlet roamed around Gabriel’s room for a few hours, trying to keep herself occupied. Her heart was still thrumming away relentlessly inside her, but she’d almost gotten used to its nonstop jumping.

Almost.

After her shower, she put on some of Gabriel’s clean clothes, but they were too big and felt…wrong.

So, she put on her pajama pants and T-shirt from the night before instead.

Gabriel had a few books on his dresser that she flipped through, but they were all about gourmet food and sporting events and the stock market.

Bor-ing.

His schoolbooks were on a desk in the corner and Scarlet briefly entertained the idea of studying, but quickly dismissed it.

She wasn’t that bored.

She did, however, grab a notebook and a pen from his schoolbook pile and start doodling.

She sketched the symbol burned in her brain over and over until she’d filled up two pages with its design. It was weird she remembered the design so clearly, yet Gabriel—who’d known her for five hundred years—hadn’t recognized it.

Scarlet thought for a moment.

Or…had he?

He’d been interested in it at the beginning of the year, before he’d told her their history, so maybe he knew what it was and hadn’t told her yet.

When Gabriel got home, she was going to ask him again about the symbol’s meaning.

Scarlet stopped doodling and started making a list of things she needed from her house.

Clothes.

Shoes.

Makeup….

Why do I need makeup? Who am I trying to impress, Tristan?

Not in this lifetime.

She scratched out makeup and replaced it with new phone.

Scarlet shook her head as she thought about how casually Tristan had thrown away her phone—her lifeline.

She set the notebook down and left Gabriel’s room.

Tristan owed her a new phone. Today.

Her bare feet padded down the stairs and wandered around the living room and kitchen in search of Tristan.

When the kitchen and living room proved empty, Scarlet made her way down the hallway. She passed the flight of stairs leading to the basement and immediately rejected any idea of venturing down into Tristan’s turf. She could wait him out upstairs all day if she had to. She wasn’t going into the Archer dungeon.

In front of her, the office door was cracked open. Scarlet peeked through.

Tristan sat at the large desk, his eyes scanning a computer screen.

She tapped on the door, chastised herself for being so meek—especially considering she’d known Tristan for centuries—and let herself in like she belonged there.

She wasn’t going to act like a scared mouse around him.

“You owe me a new phone,” Scarlet said, demanding Tristan’s attention. “Today.”

He glanced at her before looking back to the computer. “Not gonna happen.”

Scarlet plopped down on a chair across from the desk and leaned forward. “Listen, I understand that you couldn’t care less about me, but I’m stuck here and I’d like a way to communicate with the outside world.”

Tristan closed his laptop screen and met her gaze. “The ‘outside world’ is trying to hurt you. So, forgive me, if I’m not jumping to accommodate your request for a new phone.”

Scarlet squared her jaw and stood up. “You will get me a new phone. And also, I need to run home and get clothes. I didn’t exactly get to pack a suitcase last night.”

Tristan looked her over.

He was probably just making a note of what clothes she did have, but it felt more personal than that.

His eyes ran down her pajamed body. Slowly. Intimately.

Scarlet’s heart kicked up a notch as desire shot through her.

She wanted to slap him.

Or herself.

She wasn’t sure.

“Nope,” Tristan said, looking away from her and opening his computer back up. “No field trips to the outside world.”

Scarlet pressed her palms flat on the desk above Tristan. She was angry. And he wasn’t her boss. “You can’t just keep me here like some prisoner.”

“Then leave.”

She narrowed her eyes, but said nothing.

“If you want to go running around the backwoods of Georgia while some crazy person is hunting you down, by all means, go.” His green eyes flashed. “I’ll tell Gabriel you said goodbye.”

Scarlet pursed her lips.

She was barefoot, without any money or a cell phone, and wearing thin cotton pajamas in the cold autumn of Georgia.

Leaving the cabin by foot wasn’t an option.

Was he bluffing?

She leaned in to examine his challenging eyes more closely.

The smell of leather and soap met her nostrils, shooting warmth and need through her veins.

What is wrong with me?

Her eyes burned as she tried to keep her gaze steady.

Tristan leaned across the desk, his face mere inches from hers. With a menacing voice he said, “You need to leave.”

Scarlet held his gaze a moment longer, before swallowing and pulling back.

She was trapped and there was nothing she could do about it.

“Agh.” She huffed and stormed out of the office.

Even as she walked away, furious and frustrated, there was still a hint of longing in her stomach. Something inside her wanted to run back to Tristan and…hug him.

Or more.

Scarlet shook her head and climbed back up to Gabriel’s room, where she spent the rest of the day flipping through boring books.

And, yes, studying.