Don't Look Behind You (Don't Look Series Book 1) by Emily Kazmierski (summer reads .txt) 📗

He chuckles as he drives past the iron gate that leads to the farm where he works and turns down a dirt path at the edge of the property. I bounce around on the seat as he drives beyond the house and buildings toward one of the fields. Esau parks between two patches of pumpkins and hops out, coming around to open my door.

“Where are these manners in drama club?”

“I think you like baiting me,” he says, eyebrow arched.

“Yep.” I slide out of the cab, pulling my jacket tighter around my neck. It’s chilly out. Somewhere nearby, an owl cries.

Esau leads me around to the tailgate. There are two rolled up sleeping bags and two pillows up against the cab.

“Uh…”

“Two people. Two separate sleeping bags. Two separate pillows. Get your mind out of the gutter, Megan.”

My lips part at the way he says it. It burns all the way down my throat. “So it’s a totally innocent overnight camping trip.”

“I have heard of such a thing.”

“With teenagers? Aren’t we all supposed to be raging sacks of hormones with no self-control?”

“I can control myself. You, though. I have my doubts. Is my virtue safe tonight?” He leans an elbow against the tailgate, eyeing me under lowered lashes.

“Shut. Up.”

“There’s supposed to be a meteor shower tonight. I was gonna come out here alone, but when I got your text…” He hoists himself up into the truck bed before giving me a hand in.

We situate ourselves in our sleeping bags, and I have to admit that despite the dropping temperature, I’m pretty cozy. There’s a foam pad between my bag and the metal truck bed, and the pillow smells like laundry detergent. Without all of the light pollution, the sky is awash with stars. I can even see the Milky Way. Unlike the old house, I don’t feel forced to tiptoe and whisper. There are no eggshells littering the truck bed. I sigh as the weight on me lifts. I could fall asleep out here.

Esau lies beside me with his hands behind his head. He’s taken out his bun, leaving his hair to spill over the pillow. He must sense me looking at him, because he shifts just enough to meet my eyes. “What?”

I can’t believe I’m out in a field in the middle of the night with you.

You make me forget.

You’re beautiful.

Unlike the terrible things I’ve seen.

Want to argue some more?

Make out some more?

I finally settle on, “You look comfortable.”

“I am. You?”

“Uh huh.” We fall into a hush, me half hoping he’ll breach the gap he left between his sleeping bag and mine, but knowing that, like outside the old house, he’ll wait for me to up the ante on this evening. If I hadn’t interfered, he would have backed off after that first, gentle kiss. If I wanted to, I could roll over right now and forget everything that’s stressing me out in Esau’s capable mouth. I’m about to do just that when he whispers, “Look.”

His arm is outstretched, pointing toward a streak of light in the sky.

My breath hitches as flashes of glowing light paint white across the navy canvas before fading among the stars. We fall silent as we watch the sparkling galactic show. It probably only lasts for a few minutes, but it feels like hours when I’m so focused on the beauty unfolding before us I’m able to overlook the constant urge to freak out.

Yesterday, there was a possible sighting of the Mayday Killer less than a fifty miles from Hacienda. He could be here already, hiding. Waiting for his moment. Counting down the time until he can finish the job he started all those months ago. Aunt Karen was so wound up she was pacing around the living room, whispering into her phone. She threatened to pull me out of school and keep me locked in the house at all times. I had to beg her not to, especially after she found out about CuteAshleeXOXO and that location-tagged post on social media. Aunt Karen had yelled so loud I thought the ceiling was going to collapse. Afterward, she’d grounded me from everything but school.

With all of the patrols the sheriff’s deputies are doing, I should be safe. Especially with Aunt Karen being constantly on high alert. I appreciate how strong my guardian’s protective drive is, but I can’t function in that house. Under that level of stress. Under the lingering questions about Justin’s loyalty. I can’t breathe. It’s the reason I texted Esau tonight, hoping he’d be up for another drive.

A breeze ripples over me, making me shiver and sink deeper into the sleeping bag.

“You cold?” Esau asks, his attention on my face. When I nod, he opens his arm.

I scoot my sleeping bag next to his and snuggle down beside him. Wrapping one arm around me, he lays back and stares up at the sky.

I play up how cold I am just a little, throwing in an extra shiver. Letting out an amused huff, Esau nudges me onto my side and scoots closer behind me, shielding my entire back from the wintery air. “Better?” he whispers in my ear.

I’m glad he can’t see me because I’m grinning. “Better.”

“Good.” He tucks his chin over my shoulder and goes quiet.

Here and there I see a shooting star, but the meteor shower seems to have stopped.

Esau’s breathing evens out, his chest rising and falling in an easy rhythm against my back. He’s asleep.

“Thanks for tonight,” I whisper, feeling free enough to talk since the boy who’s nuzzling my neck in his sleep won’t hear it. “I had to get out of that house. Ever since… I’ve been so scared. Every day it’s like waiting for the other shoe to drop. For someone to jump out of nowhere and scare the daylights out of me. It’s hard. Living like that.”

“Mmm.” It’s almost a sigh. He must be stirring. He’s probably exhausted from school, theater, and his job at the farm. I get the feeling