Bitter Demons

10. Aerden

I did my best to shake off the anger I felt after listening to Brooke's rant. Lark was right about Brooke being different these days. She was jealous and snippy and on a complete power trip. Did joining with a demon turn her into that? The question only brought a million more questions to mind. Like, was it the demon who was bringing out the worst in her? I didn't want to believe that. Jackson was a demon of some sort and he wasn't evil. It couldn't be the demon making her like this. It had to be something else the Order was doing to her.

I grabbed my bag and headed out to meet Jackson. As soon as I saw him leaning against his bike in the parking lot, my entire body felt lighter. My face broke out in a huge smile. He looked up at me, as if feeling my presence.

I watched him as I crossed the distance between the gym and the parking lot. He was wearing worn blue jeans and black cowboy boots. His dark hair was spiked slightly on top. His leather jacket hung open a little and underneath he wore a dark gray t-shirt that clung to him in just the right way.

My pulse raced. How could someone so perfect be interested in spending time with a girl like me? The corner of his mouth curled into a smile, and my knees went weak.

He stood as I approached. There was a book in his hand and he kept his finger inside to hold his page. "Look who decided not to ditch me today?" he teased.

"Haha, very funny," I said. "Last night wasn't my fault. Believe me I would have much rather been with you."

He raised one eyebrow, studying me more closely. "You went to see the council?"

"How did you know?" I asked. Then, I shook my head. "Wait, not here. We'll talk about it later. What's the surprise?"

"If I told you, then it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?"

I laughed. Well, more like giggled. He kind of brought out the girly side of me. "I guess not."

The back of the bike was packed with stuff. There was a blanket strapped on the back, but I couldn't tell what was underneath. A basket of some sort?

He handed me a helmet and our fingers touched. I started to pull the helmet away, but he held onto it, running his index finger along the outside edge of my pinky. I looked up and our eyes met. Everything else fell away from my vision. There could have been a thousand people in that parking lot, and I wouldn't have seen a single soul except Jackson. The look in his green eyes made my breath catch in my throat and my hands go all clammy.

I yanked the helmet away and put it on, thinking that if I let him stare into my eyes like that much longer I might just melt onto the blacktop. "I can't go far," I said. "New rules."

"Since when are you the type of girl who follows the rules?"

I rolled my eyes. "Since last night, I guess."

"Tell me."

"Home by seven. They said they'll be watching my tattoo to make sure I stay near school and Shadowford Home, but if you get the urge to keep riding to, say, California, I won't complain."

Jackson laughed and threw his leg over the seat. "Get on," he said. "I won't take you too far."

I climbed onto the back of the bike and put my arms around his waist. He drove toward Shadowford, but instead of turning down the driveway, he kept going. I hadn't been this far out of town since Mrs. Meeks, my social worker, first brought me to Peachville a few months ago.

"Where are we going?" I shouted.

Jackson just shook his head. I relaxed into him. The cool wind made my eyes water and my cheeks burn, but it felt nice to be on the road. We passed a small farm with cows grazing in the pasture. The sun was shining and it was warm for a day this late in the fall. A thick forest of pine trees on our left opened up into a beautiful pecan orchard.