she giggles and pushes me aside. âHey, Lili! Come on up!â she hollers out the window.
The demon sidles over to the window and looks me up and down. âYouâre nervous.â
âNo, Iâm not,â I say, suddenly sure that, stomach or not, Iâm going to puke.
He scowls at me. âYouâre glowing. Either youâre nervous or you swallowed a compact fluorescent. Either way, you need to turn it off.â
I realize heâs right. My self-awareness isnât what it should be. I tone it down and try to keep a brain cell trained on the glow factor.
I stand by the door, waiting for Liliâs knock, determined not to leave here today without officially meeting her.
So, of course, when the knock on the door comes, I totally freak and fade out.
Frannie bursts out laughing. âSo much for the debut.â
Luc pulls the door open with a smirk, and Lili steps through with a six-pack of beer.
âHey, Frannie,â she says through the stringy brown hair dangling in her face.
âWhatâs the occasion?â Frannie asks, pointing at the beer.
She pulls a beer out of the holder and hands it to Frannie. âGot a job at the KwikMart. Just started today. Payâs not great, but it should be enough for rent and food, which is all I need.â A devilish smile turns up the corners of her mouth. âI actually swiped a six-pack of beer.â Her smile shifting to a frown, she adds, âWhich is highly illegal, considering Iâm only eighteen, so Iâll probably get fired and then arrested.â
She drops the six-pack on the table as if itâs suddenly poison. âShould have thought this whole celebration thing through a little better, I guess.â She purses her lips thoughtfully as she pulls a beer out and hands it to Luc before opening one for herself. âI donât hear any sirens, so hopefully Iâm in the clear. Iâll need to erase the security camera tapes when I get to work tomorrow.â
Frannie laughs and I canât stop the smile. This is a side of Lili I wouldnât have expected.
âSounds like a plan,â Luc says.
Lili throws herself into one of Lucâs kitchen chairs, tips her head back, and takes a long swig of beer. âAhhâ¦refreshing,â she says.
Iâm not surprised she needs to be refreshed. Sheâs wearing the same loose warm-up pants and baggy gray sweatshirt she was when she moved in last weekend, even though itâs got to be almost ninety degrees outside.
Frannie lowers herself into the other kitchen chair. âSo, howâre you liking Haden?â
âItâs okay, I guess. And itâs not too far from the subway, so I wonât have to drive into Boston for school.â
âThe T,â Frannie says.
âWhat?â
Frannie picks at the label of her beer. âThe subway. Itâs called the T here.â
âOh.â
âAre you going to keep working after school starts?â Luc asks.
âI have to. I need the money.â
âMmm. Thatâs rough,â he says.
She shifts uncomfortably in her chair. âYeah. And Iâm on scholarship, so I have to take a full course load.â
Concern creases Frannieâs brow. âIsnât there anyone who can help you out?â
âNo. I donât have any family,â Lili says. A shadow passes over her face.
âNone?â Frannie says, surprised.
Lili just shakes her head, and her eyes darken and lower to the floor. Frannie drops her gaze as well.
I canât stand the pain in Liliâs eyes. Someone has really hurt her. I ease over to where she slumps in the kitchen chair, face half-hidden behind her hair, and kneel in front of her. I want to touch her so badly. I canât even explain the feeling, except it pulls at something in my coreâlike some deep aching need. I catch myself before the hand I didnât know Iâd raised actually touches her face, and force
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