Apocalipstick (Hell in a Handbag Book 1) by Lisa Acerbo (the best e book reader txt) 📗

so handsome. And he’d been damn hot before.

Emma shrunk back. “No problem but stop being pigheaded. I love you two. You’re family. I don’t want to see you get hurt or worse.”

“I’ll care for this one. I always do,” Caleb said.

“You’d really follow me to Pittsfield for the drugs?”

“If you’re up for it.”

“Can’t freaking wait.” She stood and pulled him into a hearty hug without an ounce of embarrassment.

“We leave tonight,” Caleb said. “Get packed.”

16

Darkness rested comfortably by the time Caleb and Jenna settled in the vehicle.

Emma peered at her through the open driver’s side window.

“Thank everyone for offering the use of the car.” Jenna’s fingers combed through her ponytail, which reached her waist. “We are off to save Quentin. It’s a mission like none other and one we promise to return from.”

“I have misgivings.” Emma placed a hand on the car window frame. “Obviously, the whole group does, or the vote would have been different. But we can’t stop you. Can we?”

A brief smile reached her lips. “My mind is made up. Sorry. I have my sidekick for safety.”

Caleb tugged on the sleeve of her camouflage jacket. “You’re the sidekick.”

“You want to fight about it?”

“We might have to.”

Emma stepped back. “I see you two have this under control. Come back safe.” She blew them both a kiss before heading back into the inn.

The car purred to life. He navigated the winding driveway in the dark with ease, the only noise coming from the engine and the crunch of the tires on the gravel.

Jenna hugged herself.

This coat better still be a good luck charm. Haven’t needed to wear it much of late, she thought, but it kept me alive when I traveled alone. Let’s hope jacket magic still exists.

Should she start a conversation with Caleb? Where to begin? Caleb ghosted her. How did one communicate with a ghost?

But he was here now. She couldn’t thank him enough. If only it wasn’t so awkward. She wasn’t a great conversationalist to begin with. The more she considered it, the more strained the silence became.

My high school friends always used to joke with boys or talk sports. There were no sports to debate unless zombie killing counted. That left being funny. Not her forte, but witty banter it would be. She had to try something. The void was driving her crazy.

“Hey?” She frowned at her ineptitude.

“Hey, yourself.”

“How are you?” She bumbled along. “We haven’t really had a chance to talk in a while.” This was going brilliantly.

“Losing Eric was harder than I thought it would be. Let me rephrase. Death is never easy, but Eric was like a brother to me. Losing him after the death of all the other people in my life, hit hard.”

“I understand, but everyone was there for you. I would have helped any way possible. We were all grieving the loss.”

“I had to mourn in my own way. It was easier to confide to Victor. He understands the depth of New Race emotions, which might sound odd, but once you change, it’s intense.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think of it this way. The world is all primary colors. Vivid and intense. Love has depth I didn’t understand when human, but it makes the emotions dangerous. You become connected to a person’s life in ways you couldn’t when they are human. I’m not sure if it’s the heightened senses or something else, but pain of loss hurts a hundred times more than it did before the change.”

“Called maturity.”

“Could be, but with the world the way it is now, it would be a lot easier to turn my emotions off. I wanted to die alongside Eric.”

“Maybe what you say about your emotions is true, but I was in pain too. We all were.”

“I’m sorry.”

“We used to be friends. Or something akin to it.”

She couldn’t believe she was about to hold a confessional. What happened to light, witty banter. That went out the door quick. This conversation was anything but.

“Only friends?”

She ignored the question. “I missed you. I could have helped too. I wanted to be there for you.”

“I had to deal with it my own way.”

“I should have made more of an effort to break down the walls and let you know I was around.”

“It wouldn’t have made a difference. It wasn’t a great time for me, but I don’t plan to repeat my bad behavior. I’m here for you now. I’ll protect you.”

She wasn’t sure if she was happy Caleb wanted to protect her or angry, he believed she needed protection. “Really?”

His smile transcended the dark. “You’re as tough as nails, but you can’t decapitate every Streaker in Pittsfield. Even you need backup once in a while.”

“I guess I’m glad it’s you. There’s no one else I’d want behind me.”

“I could read your comment so many ways. Are you sure you don’t want to rephrase it?”

The tension dissolved between them. A gap-took smile emerged. “There is no one else I’d want to support me. Is that better.”

“I’d definitely need to support you if I was behind you.”

“Stop being such an oversexed jerk.”

“What are you reading into my comments? We’re talking about support against Streaker attacks, right?”

The vehicle chopped through the darkness.

“Whatever.” It was time to change the subject. “Do you ever miss the ease we lived in the past?” she asked. “Sometimes, I wish I could go back to high school and flirt with the guy sitting next to me or I wish I had a college class tomorrow, and I could learn about physics or economics. I’d even take one of those math classes I hated in high school.”

“I miss television. I wish I could be with my sisters, bugging them to get off the couch. Mom would bring us hot chocolate and they’d tune into their girly shows every week, and we’d fight over the remote control. When I remember, I miss them so much. I try to avoid reminiscing about the past.”

“I didn’t know you had sisters. Sorry. I was an only child. I hate what happened