Read Afire: Entire Blinded Series Online
Authors: Sarah Masters
Afire: Entire Blinded Series
loveyoudivine
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Copyright ©2011 by Sarah Masters
First published in 2011, 2011
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loveyoudivine Alterotica 2011
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COMPLETE DIGITAL EDITION
BLINDED
Ryan has news for Lee that can't be told over the phone or by email, and he dreads the outcome...
GLIMMER
Lee and Ryan, eighteen-year-old men, admit the love they have shared since childhood is more than just friendship.
BURNING
After years spent apart, Ryan and Lee get together again. Is their love still burning?
INFERNO
Lee and Ryan make their way back to the town where they grew up, but upon their return to Lee's cabin, something isn't right...
WILDFIRE
Ryan takes Lee away to recuperate, but once again, someone from their past catches up with them.
SHIMMER
While on holiday trying to come to terms with the terrible things that have befallen them, Lee and Ryan learn a valuable lesson.
Clouds covered a yellow moon's belly, and stars of the same hue were out in force. Ryan had been walking for a couple of hours since an old woman dropped him before her turnoff. It sucked she wasn't going all the way to Biddingford, but then again, who did apart from those living there? Well, he supposed relatives of the villagers visited, but no one in their right mind would
choose
to go to such an out-of-the-way place, surely?
And I'm not in my right bloody mind, and neither was Lee when he moved here, so there you go
.
I must be nuts to have agreed to this.
With about a mile left to walk, his legs ached something fierce. Upon arrival at the village, he still had to climb a steep hill to reach Lee's cabin. The pad of one foot throbbed from his socks rubbing against his ruined inner sole.
If I stop to take it out, I might not start walking again
. Ryan shoved his hands into his pockets, cursing himself for not thinking to wear gloves in this weather. His beanie hat kept his head warm, though. Good job, really; he reckoned his shaved head would have frozen if he hadn't worn one.
The village lights shone far into the distance, and he pushed on, each step making those creamy twinkles grow bigger. He
had
to be crazy doing this. None of Lee's other friends had offered to take the wad of cash to him, and Ryan felt obliged. Scrub that—he'd
wanted
to. Lee's old dear had died yesterday, and although Lee stopped contact with her years ago, it was only right the woman's money was delivered to her son as she'd requested. Whether Lee would want it was another matter. The old dear had left instructions with her neighbour to take the money before the authorities arrived.
Ryan rounded his shoulders, resettling his backpack, the straps digging in so badly he wondered if they'd broken the skin from chafing. His thoughts strayed to the reception he might receive. If he knew Lee, the guy would tell him to fuck right off with the money and not come back. Still, he had to try, and if he was honest, it would be good to see his old friend again. How long had it been now? Four years? Christ, four years living on the top of a hill with no one for company.
Unless he's found someone to share his life with
.
That thought sobered Ryan, and he frowned. His offer to take the money had been with an ulterior motive: to see Lee again, see if something could come of it—them. He gave a light chuckle, remembering their fumbled exploration of one another when they were, what, eighteen? They'd hung around with each another for years as kids, and the one time they cut loose and gave in to their feelings, Lee's mother had caught them. Hence the rift. Shit, she hadn't been pleased, standing there in the doorway, hands on hips and her mouth wide open. Her flushed cheeks screamed of her embarrassment and anger, and she'd started ranting, finger pointing and accusations flying. She'd wanted grandchildren, hadn't she, and her only son being ‘like that’ hadn't sat well at all. And Ryan, the little bastard, was to blame, getting her son all confused. Ryan had made a hasty exit after scrabbling into his clothes, meeting Lee later that night under the streetlight at the end of Ryan's road.
"I've left,” Lee said, hands in pockets, his head down. “Gonna go and live in the middle of nowhere so no one can bother me. I can't stay here. Not with her telling everyone what a disappointment I am. And she will, despite being appalled. She'll do anything for a bit of attention. Always has."
Ryan's stomach had plummeted, and he grasped Lee's arm. “Come and stay at my place. I don't give a fuck what people say. We can, you know, be together...if you want."
Lee lifted his blond-haired head, those deep brown eyes of his filled to the brim, and sighed. “If I tell you something, will you promise not to laugh?"
Ryan nodded, hoping his friend would tell him...tell him he thought a lot of him. Felt the same as he did. “Yup. Tell me whatever you like."
"I feel like...uh, like I've got to find myself, know what I mean?"
He did know. Shit, Ryan had done all his soul-searching a couple of years back, telling himself he shouldn't feel the way he did about his best pal, but Lee? He'd only just admitted to himself and Ryan how he felt, how he
was
, and still had a long way to go in coming to terms with it. And what with his old dear's reaction, the poor bastard must have been as confused as hell.
Ryan nodded. “I know what you mean. You go. Do it, but you'll stay in contact, yeah? Let me know where you wind up?"
Stooping, Lee picked up his large holdall, one they'd used when camping the previous summer. “I will. And hey, maybe you'll come and see me one day."
"I will. When you're ready."
And here Ryan was, four years later, going to visit Lee without knowing if he
was
ready.
Or whether he has someone else.
He shook off the persistent thought, one that had bugged him since Lee left, and winced as his calves protested at the slight incline of the road. He moved off the asphalt and onto the grass verge, thankful the softer ground proved easier on his feet. He stared ahead at brighter, larger lights and picked up his pace. Wouldn't be long now and he'd be with his buddy again. Shit, they had so much to catch up on. Okay, they spoke over the phone and instant messenger, but it wasn't the same, was it? Not like sitting side by side, a beer in hand, with facial expressions and body language to drink in. Christ, he'd missed Lee's body language. The way he used his hands to explain things, all waves and arm jerks, fascinated Ryan, and his eyebrows—how he got only one to shoot up, Ryan didn't know.
Excited now, he pushed himself to walk faster. The first house on the outskirts stood up ahead, and he almost ran to it, pleased the lights blazed, indicating someone was still up and awake. He needed directions to the hill—Lee's explanation on how to get there had confused the hell out of him years ago when he'd told Ryan all about Biddingford.
Nervous, he approached the small cottage, walking up the garden path. He'd heard village folk didn't take kindly to strangers, and Lee had said it had taken them a while to get used to him. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door, silently berating himself for allowing something so simple to affect him. The light flicked on behind the two glass panels, and a black figure moved toward the door. A chain rattled, and the door swung wide, revealing a stooped old lady wrapped in a pink fleece dressing gown. She squinted up at him, one rheumy eye releasing a tear, the wrinkles around her lips telling Ryan she'd either smoked for most of her life or perpetually went around with pursed lips.
"What d'you want?” she said, voice terse, the curlers in her hair bobbing. “Ain't seen you before."
"Um, sorry to bother you, but could you give me directions to the cabin on the hill?"
"Ah!” She raised a gnarled hand, finger pointing toward him. “One of
them
, are you? Tsk.” She stepped back and began closing the door.
"Please, wait. If you could just tell me—"
"Piss off!"
The door closed, the chain tinkled back into place, and the light went off. Huffing out a breath, Ryan blinked, trying to take in what had just happened. Shit, he knew people like her existed, but to encounter one so damn rude—besides Lee's mother—was a first for him. He walked back down the garden path and headed toward the next house on the opposite side of the road a few meters away.
Let's hope I get a better reception at this place
.
Jesus.
Once there, he knocked on the door, readying himself for more of what he'd just received. This time, after the light went on, the door opened with the chain still in place. A face peeped out of the gap—a black-haired woman of about forty, eyes wide, brows raised.
"Yes?” She gripped the door, knuckles pronounced.
"Uh, sorry to trouble you, but I wondered if you'd mind telling me how to get to the cabin on the hill. My, uh, friend lives there."
"Lee? That who you want?"
Ryan smiled. “Yes. Yes please."
"Hang on.” She closed the door and walked away, her shape vanishing at the end of the hallway. It appeared again a moment later, and once again she opened the door, chain secure. “Here.” The woman shoved a piece of paper at him.
He took it, looking down at what she'd written—a series of lefts, rights, and straight aheads. Glancing back up, he said, “Thanks."
The door closed, and Ryan walked back to the road and followed the directions. Clusters of houses came into view now, and roads branched off the main one, more homes evident by the yellow glows shining through the windows. At the end of the road, he took a left and walked a twig-strewn path that led upward. Trees bordered it, their leafy canopies joining high above his head to obscure the moon. A night critter scuttled in the undergrowth, shitting the life out of him, and he strode faster, unused to the countryside and what lived in it. Feeling claustrophobic in the tunnel-like foliage, Ryan let out a sigh of relief at seeing the trees thinned out, giving way to the hill and the open pathway that led to the top.
He stared up. Only one light shone in the cabin—possibly a living room or kitchen—and he imagined Lee inside, watching TV or reading one of those Sci-Fi books he loved so much. The trek almost finished him off, but he reached the top, exultant that he'd managed it only a little out of breath. Speeding up, he approached the cabin, feeling foolish that his knees had decided to mess him about and go rubbery.
