Blackout (Darkness Trilogy) by Madeleine Henry Page B

might break him in half.
    “And Tinder?” I ask.
    “Hm?”
    “Get the hell out now,” I say. “I want to shower alone.”
    He laughs, giddy again, and shuts the door. I undress a second time and roll my neck in a circle to stretch. I’m exhausted. In the shower, I have to fumble around with the silver knobs before water comes out, but when it starts, it feels amazing. Every inch of my body moans in pleasure. I hang my head and rub my wet neck with both hands. Just let it wash over me, soft and warm. The water swirling around the drain beneath me looks brown. I watch my legs turn paler without dirt.
    My mind drifts back to Star, and I wonder if some Shadow made her get naked, too. The thought turns my hands into fists. Even I’ve never really seen Star without clothes on. The only time that I did was an accident. A horrible one. The whole scene replays in my mind as I soap my arms. We were hiking at night through Great Falls, a waterfall beyond Dark DC. I didn’t mean for anything to happen. We were just fishing by the rapids. There’s a rock trail there across the water: twenty ebony stones spaced unevenly between riverbanks.
    That night, I’d tied her knife to a long stick, and we were using it to spear fish from the shore. Then we heard noises behind us. Star snapped the stick instantly, ready to fight. In the distance, a gang of ten thugs was headed straight for us. They wore red windbreakers with black X s painted on the front and back. As they walked, they hit each other on the butt and yelped in high-pitched voices. Next to Shadows, they’d look like amateurs, but to us they looked dangerous: hot-headed, young, and—worst of all—with guns.
    Star and I had to leave. The only way out was across the rapids, and we’d never gone that way before. But we had to try. I went first. I jumped onto the first rock, teetering over churning water. Then I jumped onto the second, and Star jumped behind me onto the first. That’s when it started to pour. The rocks in front of me became instantly slick. I turned back to where we had come from and saw the gang laughing at us right on the other side.
    “We don’t want to hurt anyone,” the largest one said, waving his pistol too casually. I saw Star slip her knife into the back of her pants. She knew what was coming before I did. “Just throw us everything you have, and we’ll leave you alone.”
    “Everything!” someone seconded him.
    Star unbuttoned her shirt. The men catcalled as she ripped off the blouse and balled it into her hand. That’s when I saw her naked back: small and curved slightly at the waist. Delicate and beautiful. She threw her blouse to them, but they wanted more, so she kept taking off her clothes. I hated to see her so shamed. I started to take off my own clothes to distract the gang, but they didn’t look once at me. Soon, we were both naked. Star had put her knife carefully behind her on the rock so that they could not see it. With the last of our clothes balled together, Star lobbed them toward the thugs.
    “Thank you for the show!” one of them called. Then the brutes dropped our clothes on the ground and left. Didn’t even search our pockets.
    Star and I sat there until the cold rain stopped. We didn’t want to risk scrambling back through rapids on slippery rocks. At first, she didn’t want to face me, but then slowly we pivoted toward each other. I made sure to look her in the eyes. Her hair was soaking wet, and the dark strands stuck limply to her red cheeks. She was blushing. When her teeth started to chatter, she rubbed her own arms to keep warm, and I wanted to hold her so badly I almost swam toward her. I promised myself that the next time I saw her like that, she would feel free. Not trapped or embarrassed—just free. With me.
    Elektra knocks on the glass, and I startle back to reality. I finish shaving what few whiskers I have on my chin and rinse my hair. The bathroom air is thick with white steam by now. It’s almost