PULSE

Chapter Twelve

[ SEPTEMBER 25 ]

For the first time in weeks, it was only a few minutes past nine when I started to walk home. The sun had gone down, but the day was still fresh in my memory, and enough people passed on the street that I knew that I wasn't out too late. The stars had only just began to come out as I left the shop, where I'd taken Ava at the end of our shopping trip.

I'd hardly made it four blocks from the shop when I passed by an alleyway along one of the narrow business streets at the outskirts of the town center. I was going to continue on my way without an extra glance, but the skittering of a bottle across the pavement caught my attention. It took a few seconds of squinting into the shadows along the back of the alleyway before I was able to see the silhouette of a person, slumped against a brick wall, almost out of sight. Normally, I would have passed by, but with Ava's words from earlier in the day still echoing in my head, I slowly moved toward the faint silhouette.

I believed that I possibly recognized the person by their glowing grin in the moonlight, but I wasn't positive until he spoke.

"Hey, Aidan. Come help me out."

I advanced quickly toward the shadowed figure, kneeling in front of him as my eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness. It only took moments before my vision cleared and I could see the person in front of me properly—and immediately wished that I couldn't. The lips that had formed a crooked smile just seconds before were coated in blood, springing from a gash at the corner of his mouth. Dark trails of red ran down one of his cheeks and onto his chin, starting at a wound in his forehead just below his hairline. The collar of his shirt was stretched out and stiff with blood along one edge.

Something in the pit of my stomach tightened as Lev reached out toward me, gripping my forearm. I knew before I even looked at it that the dampness that I felt between his skin and mine was blood.

I was silent for a few moments too long, because Lev squeezed my arm in his hand to gain my attention again.

"You need a hospital," I said.

"No," he said, laughing silently to himself. "No. Just get me out of here."

I stared at him without speaking, unable to decide on how to move first.

The gruesome grin faded from his face, and he shook me roughly. "Aidan, listen to me. You can't tell Ava or Auntie about this. Or my mom. You can't let anyone know about this."

I scoffed, looking away. "I think they'll figure it out. How long do you think you can keep this a secret?"

"Don't be an ass with me right now, Aidan," Lev snapped. "I wouldn't ask you for a favor if I didn't have to. I don't have a lot of options. Just let me stay at your place for a night. I'll figure things out after that, but I don't need you being an ass about it."

"You don't need me. You need medical attention," I said, pulling my arm out of his grasp.

"I said no!" Lev said, suddenly raising his voice enough to startle me. I sighed deeply, grimacing as he brought his hand back up to his forehead, where the flow of blood was continuing down the side of his face. "Listen, Aidan. I need you to help me out. Just take me to your place. Please."

I stared at him for a moment, and finally—

"Okay," I said.

He breathed out a deep breath, closing his eyes and smiling to himself. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me until we get there," I replied, grabbing one of his arms and pulling it around my shoulders.

I didn't want his thanks. I didn't know how I was going to get him home.