Sweet Like Revenge

49 - Bleeding Hearts

Night turned to day.

Blinding, impenetrable light.

My hands were balled into fists, my knuckles aching from the tension. I felt as though a jug of water was sloshing around in my head, drowning out my senses so that all I could hear was a sharp, demanding ringing.

I blinked through the white dots obstructing my vision. Lifted my head slowly. But when the light left, there was only more darkness.

A flash of warm, mellow lighting pierced through the foggy black. The sound of the door jolted me, awakening me from my trance. I took a deep breath, replaying the last few minutes over in my cloudy mind.

A growing strobe of light. Me, reaching for the wheel. The car, speeding towards us before Sienna slammed the accelerator.

But we were okay.

My brain was fuzzy, my vision and neck were still grappling with the effects of whiplash. But I wasn't hurt.

The light flickered off again. I peered to the side, realizing that I was alone in my car. The night outside was completely still, nothing for miles but vacant fields. The wind was starting to pick up, clouds rolling overhead, threatening a storm worse than the one thundering through my chest. It wasn't until I dared to step out of my car that I detected the presence of something else—muffled, shallow breathing mixed with an occasional whimper.

Sienna was crouched down by the side of the road, cradling her knees to her chest. Her face was buried beneath her raven curls, but I could tell by the rise and fall of her back that she was crying.

I hovered in place with one hand resting on the bonnet of my car. My legs were anchored to the asphalt like two blocks of ice. A shiver danced on my spine, just as one had when I'd overheard Sienna talking to Juliette and the other girls at the dance.

Because Elle wasn't built for comfort. It wasn't a part of her makeup, not unless it benefited her in some way.

So it must have been something else that unfastened my legs from the ground, tempting me towards the broken girl on the road.

Her breathing had all but steadied by the time I approached her. She was as still as the night, an eerie calm radiating from her and infiltrating my nerves as I crouched down beside her. She lifted her head at my arrival, and I could see her tear-streaked face more clearly as she stared out at the mountains in the distance. Her vibrant blue eyes had glazed over as though she wasn't truly there, as though she couldn't see me at all.

I didn't know what to do. Except wait.

Discomfort scattered the time—hers, mine. I wasn't sure how long we'd been sitting like that before she started to laugh.

She bowed her head over her knees, resting her chin on her arms, chuckling to herself at a joke inside her head.

"You must think I'm nuts." She emerged from the shield her hair had created around her face, rolling her soaked eyes to the night sky and back. "The girl who can't read, who's in love with someone who can never love her, who breaks down at the sound of a horn."

I felt my lips lift into an obligatory smile, but there was no laughter in my eyes. "Do you want to tell me what that was about?"

She swallowed. Hard. Her eyes were still creased so delicately, her mouth upturned into a melancholy smile. "No."

I reached out slowly, untangling the hair that hung limply over her face. "Are you sure?"

I wasn't in spy mode. I wasn't digging for information. Rather, my heart ached for her. It ached at the sight of the expression twisting her usually serene face. Finally, I could see through her mask. Beyond the assuredness, beyond the marble exterior, Sienna needed to speak.