He grabbed my wrist. His hand was frosted and that cold penetrated my skin freezing my blood.
«But I'll remember you. Maybe you are the only one brave enough to come up here, Rebecca Janette Cross.»
His words flooded my head impetuously.
What was that meaning?
It was all so strange and so absurd. Maybe I should had listened to my friends and give up the idea of writing an article about the Winterbournes, but my crazy mind was finding that whole situation amazingly interesting.
The more Sebastian was talking, the more my longing to investigate on them was growing.
I retracted my arm and he released his grip.
«We are not all fools and scared in Hazycreek.»
His laughter echoed in the silence that was surrounding. He squeezed his chin between his thumb and forefinger and smiled mockingly at me.
Oh, damn! He is even charming.
«If you are stuck in, the gate opens from the inside with a mechanical lever», he informed me.
I raised an eyebrow and turned my back on him ready to go back to Josh.
«Goodnight, Sebastian.»
«Goodnight, Rebecca.»
I walked fast, without running. I could still feel his heterochromic eyes watching over me. They were stinging my back insistently. I took some deep breaths and tried to calm down.
Once I arrived at the gate, Josh fidgeted on his spot.
«Where the hell were you?»
I gestured for silence, carefully, I studied the entry mechanism. I operated a large lever that was fixed to the walls and I released the lock. I pulled the bars towards me and got out.
Josh was astonishedly looking at me.
«How did you know?» he asked me while, no longer waiting, we started walking towards the car.
«Sebastian told me.»
My best friend got mad. He started gesticulating and nervously swearing.
«Dear Christ, Reb! You got caught, and you were supposed to be silent and careful», he scolded me as if he was my older brother.
I looked at him sideways.
«And I was! It was him coming from nowhere. But don’t worry. Nothing bad happened. He also told me how to get out, so everything is ok», I contested.
Josh gave up, I was healthy and safe after all and nobody had tried to bite my neck for sucking the blood out of it.
We got in the car and I almost drove flat out. I wanted so badly to be back in my apartment and wash away all the anguish of that crazy night. I drove Josh home and went straight at my place.
When I opened the door, Beck's ran up to me happy wagging. I founded myself laughing while rubbing her head, and thinking that thanks to her I had managed to save the situation with Sebastian.
A meowing distracted me, Loki, my black cat, had jumped on the couch and started purring with his yellow eyes ajar. I got closed and gently caressed him.
«Reb, is it you? I am having a tub», Hanna informed me. She must had just got home; she was on the night shift and always finished really late in those occasions.
I took off my clothes and joined her in the bathroom. I just needed a quick refreshing.
«Hi Hanna. I'm back», I said reaching the sink. She was in the bathtub, covered by a huge amount of scented foam. I opened the water and let it flow for a few seconds.
«How was it? I thought I had found you already at home, I was worried.»
«No worries, I had Josh with me, even if he was just helpful in stirring our spirits», I admitted laughing.
She did the same.
I dived my hands under the jet of water and plenty washed my face. I lifted the sight and stared at myself in the mirror. Those mysterious eyes bounced violently back in my mind.
«I met Sebastian Winterbourne. He caught me inside his property», I told her.
Hanna moved compulsively and let a large quantity of water wetting the ground.
«You are out of your mind. Josh must have had for sure a heart attack», she hysterically replied. I started laughing.
«I think he has actually lost ten years», I answered.
«He is mad about you, Reb», she suddenly changed argument.
«Oh, stop it! We are just friends», I said.
Hanna was convinced that Josh had a crush on me; while I thought it was just a sort of brotherly affection despite his concerns.
«Well, that is your thought but go and explain it to him!».
I didn’t want to think about it, I just needed to sleep.
«I lay in bed. I am a bit exhausted.»
My best friend nodded her head and I reached my room. I let myself fall in bed staring at the ceiling. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe slowly.
I noticed Loki jumping on the mattress and snuggling up my side. He was purring softly, helping me relaxing and, almost without noticing, I fell asleep thinking of those magnetic eyes painted in different shades.
Chapter 3
Rebecca
Next morning me and Josh founded ourselves dumb and involved in a perpetual yawning. Both our faces were marked with two dark and well sharped eye bags.
We slept, more or less, four hours.
We were no longer eighteen and we couldn't afford to stay out until all hours, our body was affected by that.
I rubbed the corners of my eyes before snuggling up my head between the arms. The laptop screen weighed down my sight, I was looking for some relief.
«I need to think about my next move», I mumbled, rotating the head sideways in direction of my best friend.
He turned on the chair he was sitting on, and looked at me with half closed eyes.
«Isn’t there any remote chance that you might change your mind?» He asked me tiredly.
I lifted up and went back watching my laptop screen.
«I would say no.»
«I understand. I won't try to stop you any longer, it would be useless by the way. But I am going to help you only within certain limits. Just to be clear: I am not getting close to that cursed house anymore», he told me resigning to the idea that I had made my mind and my intention was to go all the way.
I tenderly smiled, he was doing all that for me and I could imagine how much it was costing to him.
Josh was very emotional, he lived everything to the ninth degree and feared the Winterbournes more than everything else. Beliefs that had been instilled in his head as a baby, and that was the result.
«Thanks Josh, I really mean it... thank you», I told him getting up from my seat to give him a hug.
I had just bent over him when the editorial's chief, William Sullivan, a masterful man, despotic and gruff in his ways, broke quickly in our office. He coughed noisily before speaking: he was a chain smoker. Probably he was paying the consequences of that unhealthy vice.
Sullivan was not particularly loved in Hazycreek, he was hated by many, mostly his employees.
«Cross!» he called in full voice with his usual irreverent tone.
Me and Josh snapped to attention. I took a deep breath