Song of the Fireflies by J. A. Redmerski Page A

I lost my damn car keys.”
    “No shit?” Elias said.
    “Maybe someone turned them in inside,” I said, looking back at the club briefly.
    “Already checked. I had a guy out here about ten minutes ago with a wire hanger, but we couldn’t get it unlocked. Looks like I’ll be calling either a locksmith or a cab.”
    Elias looked over at me. I knew what he was thinking, because I was thinking the same thing.
    “Well, we could give you a ride back to your place,” Elias offered.
    I smiled at them both, glad to see that things with this whole beach house idea were starting to go my way.
    “Help me up,” Cristina whined, reaching out her hand.
    I went over and helped her up instead, regretting it a little once I realized how heavy she actually was as she leaned against my shoulder.
    “Nah, man, thanks but I don’t want to put you out,” Anthony said.
    “We don’t mind,” Elias countered. “We’re staying in a motel nearby and we’re not in too much of a hurry to go back there.”
    “Well, you two can crash at my place tonight if you want,” Anthony offered.
    Elias thought about it for a moment and glanced over at me again, wondering how I felt about all of this.
    “Sounds like a plan,” I said and gripped Cristina around her waist.
    I wished Anthony would take over. I didn’t sign up for this. Or maybe I did, in a way…
    “Then I guess it’s settled,” Anthony said as if he were making an announcement, both arms raised out at his sides. “Where’s your car?”
    “End of this row,” Elias said.
    Anthony finally noticed the struggle on my face and relieved me of drunken-Cristina duty. They followed us to Elias’s car, parked at the very end of the lot.
    “I just thought of something,” Elias said after opening his door and pressing the master lock on the inside. “We’re only paid up in our room until tomorrow. Somehow I doubt we’ll be awake before checkout.”
    “Just swing by and get your stuff then,” Anthony suggested. “As long as you don’t need a U-Haul to move it, you can keep it at my place.”
    Elias laughed. “That won’t be necessary,” he said. “It’ll all fit in my trunk.”
    We left the club parking lot and rode back to the motel first, which was on the way to Anthony’s beach house. Since our new guests were going to be riding in the backseat, we stuffed our bags with everything we owned in the trunk. I made it a point to stash my purse back there, too, just in case either of them were the type to help themselves to my belongings.
    Cristina was seconds away from passing out next to Anthony. He guided Elias back onto the main highway and we rode for quite a while, longer than I had expected since Anthony had mentioned before that the beach house wasn’t far from the club. And he didn’t talk as much after about ten minutes. The highway became darker and less traveled as it got later.
    I started getting nervous, though I wasn’t sure why.
    Gut feelings are a bitch.

Chapter Twelve
Elias
    Anthony leaned forward between my and Bray’s seats. He reached out and touched the bracelets on Bray’s left wrist. I didn’t like that much.
    “Did you make those?” he asked. He peered in closer and tried to finger the bracelets individually, but she snapped her hand away.
    “Ummm, no I bought them,” she answered.
    I could sense the nervousness in her voice. He had made her uncomfortable. Not. Fucking. Cool.
    With my hands still on the wheel, I turned my head slightly to look over at him. I thought I was going to have to tell him to back off, but he saw the look in my eyes and fell back against the seat before I could say anything.
    “Hey, sorry,” he said, smiling. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”
    Whatever. By now, I wasn’t feelin’ it anymore, hanging out at his place. It wasn’t just that he touched her bracelets, it was something else, a vibe, the way Anthony seemed to go from helpful, smiling party guy to creepy backseat hitchhiker in such a short