A Beauty Dark & Deadly (A Dark & Deadly Series Book 1) by Heather C. Myers Page A

He had learned his lesson.  Not that she would have dared to go in there again.  Not after what happened last time.
     
    After stepping inside the compact room, she made sure to lock the door behind her and proceeded to fill the tub up with hot water.  It took a while before the water was hot enough for her, but once it was and she had stripped off her clothes and pinned her hair up as well as she could with three bobby pins, she eased herself into the water and a sigh escaped from her lips.  Her head instantly rested against the cool porcelain rim, and her eyes fluttered shut on their own accord.  Perhaps she did need a bath, now that she thought about it.
     
    Even from the second story of Jason’s home, Emmy could clearly hear the crickets from outside.  A small square window with a screen over it was placed just above the rectangular mirror.  It was too dark to see out of it, and while there was no breeze, every now and then, she could feel the coldness that permeated the night drift in, mingling with the steam rising from the water, and causing Emmy to feel conflicting temperatures.
     
    She should call her grandfather.  It had been two days since she last spoke to him, but it felt like an eternity.  She missed his voice.
     
    Her thoughts continued to rehash everything that had happened to her so far, from the judging stares she received at the store and Mrs. Franzsky’s advice.  She had no idea how to treat Jason, no idea what to be around him, and as such, she was an awkward ball of confusion, tugging at her hair and pulling at her hoodie, her eyes cast downwards or to the side, just as long as she wasn’t looking at him.
     
    He was probably used to it.
     
    Everybody probably treated him that way.
     
    Guilt seeped into her stomach and she had to open her eyes, as though to acknowledge it.  Emmy couldn’t make Jason happy.  She couldn’t pretend to not be affected by his potential murderer status because she was a horrible liar, and Emmy had a feeling his eyes were sharp enough to recognize any attempt at it.  Still, he was a person and a jury found him not guilty.  She would continue to keep on her toes but she couldn’t keep avoiding him, looking past him, seeing through him as though he was transparent, as though he wasn’t even there.  She didn’t want to call him a friend, but she could be warm to him.  She could be nice to him.
     
    When the water started to cool, she stepped out of the tub, making sure to not drip any water onto the wood floors.  She wrapped a towel around her frame before she remembered she hadn’t brought any clean clothes for her to change into.  She glanced at her clothes, but her newly clean body physically shrunk back at the idea.  Chewing on her bottom lip, Emmy’s thoughts raced.  She might be able to reach her room where she could throw on pajamas and be down before Jason wondered where she was.
     
    Emmy crept to the door after making sure her feet were dry so she wouldn’t slip and after unlocking it, opened it only to see Jason standing just outside, his fingers curled into his palm, poised to knock.  His eyes took her in, everything from the drops of water on her shoulders, the strands of hair molded to her face while the majority of it became frizzy due to the steam, the fact that she was practically naked in front of him.  His mouth had dropped open, obviously in utter surprise, and it took only a beat before Emmy realized what was happening, stepped back into the bathroom, and slammed the door shut.
     
    “I, um.”  She could practically hear him push his glasses up the bridge of his nose.  “Sorry.  Uh, I was worried about you.  It’s been a while.  The food was getting cold.”
     
    As soon as she heard his footsteps walking away from her, Emmy started laughing.  She slapped her palm over her lip, but it did nothing to shield her ears from the sound.  Her face turned red and her muscles pinched at her facial action; she hadn’t