ARCANE

017

Chapter 17

Lee slams the door shut and barrels through her house. She ignores her mother in the kitchen and her brother at the computer. There is no time for small talk, especially not about the police. Anger courses through her, but she does nothing.

If the computer were free, she knows what she would do. Lee would look up the number for the anonymous tip line and call them and tip off the police to somebody. Anybody. She doesn't know which of them she would pick, or what she would say, but her body feels hot and her hands are shaking.

She kicks her bedroom door shut, and the echo rings through the house. Downstairs, her Mom yells something but the sound is muffled by the closed door. Which is for the best, because Lee can't handle an explosion in their house, with its already shaky foundation.

Her hands crave. She doesn't know what that means, but she knows they itch for something. If her guitar wasn't as precious, she would take it and play until her fingertips bled and the guitar strings broke, and until her brother came up with a black tea to calm her. Lee knows that she can't depend on her brother for everything, let alone to fix this need for retribution within her.

A text comes into her phone. With shaking hands, she looks at it.

You need to learn to keep your cool. We should discuss this tomorrow.

Percy puts her phone back in her pocket. She doesn't expect a reply, but it is the least she can do. Erik is wild animal and Lee likes to poke and prod, so really, they both need to behave better. It doesn't cross Percy's mind that she should've said something. Maybe that's because she is with Hope.

"Why are you walking me home?" Hope looks down at Percy. It hadn't occurred to her until now, when the two were standing this close, that Percy was a foot shorter than her. Hope wonders if they both have the same power and intensity, but Percy's is just compacted. At least, Hope hopes that she is as strong-willed as the fiery girl beside her.

"I wanted out of there and so did you," Percy tells her, not meeting Hope's eyes. It's easier if she stares forward. Feelings are complicated, and they are more complicated with women then men, and with the angry than the soft. See, Percy could just screw Erik (or Lee, if she were into that) without batting a second eye.

Hope is different. She is quiet and her skin is too soft to screw. You can only make love to someone like that, and the thought makes Percy's stomach churn.

The taller of the two shakes her head back and forth. "You couldn't have known that. I wasn't even thinking that."

Percy doesn't say that Hope should've wanted to leave, mostly because she'll sound like some crazy pig. "A princess who doesn't mind the common folk? Unheard of."

The nickname should insult Hope, but she blushes. It was never a fantasy of hers to be a princess, but the idea that someone considers her regal and beautiful is amazing, especially when that person is a woman, and especially when that person is Percy.

"You haven't answered my question," Hope begins. She waits for Percy to fill the silence, and when Percy doesn't, Hope grins. It's almost as if every beat between them was prewritten. It's like a novel and it would only be more perfect if Percy liked girls. For now, Hope is happy just to crush and enjoyed these moments. "You live in the same apartment as Eden, by Barnaby. I'm a six-mile detour total."

Percy is thankful that Hope stops walking, since she feels like her breath has been taken away. This strange girl in front of her is full of a thousand surprises. The halo above Hope, cast down from the black streetlamp above them, still doesn't illuminate the girl's face.