The Marked Girl (22 page)

“Joe! Do you remember me?”

Liv couldn't hear what Joe was saying, only Daisy's side of the conversation.

“What? . . . Oh, pretty good. . . . No, they're out of town right now. . . . Yeah, that's what she said. . . . She's really my sister? . . . I guess, but I think she might have some real mental probs . . .”

Daisy went quiet for a while, listening. Then she held the phone back to Liv. “He wants to talk to you. He sounds kind of mad.”

Liv took her phone back. “Joe, give me a chance to explain—”

“Oh, you better.”

Liv took a few steps away from the group and lowered her voice.

“When I found out she was still in town, I had to see her.
She deserves to know she might be in danger.”

“She's a thirteen-year-old girl, Liv.”

“She's . . . mature for her age. Plus, if I had known the truth at thirteen, maybe I would've been a little more prepared for all this.”

Joe sighed.

“She's all alone here. I mean, she has security, but . . . she's alone.”

There was a pause. “And you're going to stay with her until I get back?” Joe asked.

Liv cast a look to Cedric, knowing he wouldn't be pleased with that idea. “Yes.”

Another pause. “Good. I'm almost to Fresno now. I'll try to talk Peter into coming with me, and we'll hopefully be back in LA first thing in the morning. Just . . . stay there. Stay together.”

“I will.”

After Liv hung up with Joe, she turned around to face the others.

“Looks like we might need to stay here tonight.”

Daisy looked to Cedric and grinned. “Sounds good to me.”

“Your parents won't mind?” Liv asked.

“Don't see how they'd even find out. Most of the family's in Nicaragua. Or maybe Nepal . . . except for my older sisters—they're at boarding school, and the baby's with the nanny in Texas. No one'll know you're here, except for Andre and Tim, and they do what I say.”

Daisy's attitude made Liv uneasy, but at least she was okay with them sticking around. For now. “So we stay.”

Merek, still standing by the refrigerator, bit into a celery stick and shrugged. Cedric, however, looked less thrilled.

“I know it wasn't the original plan,” Liv said to him. “But we can call Kat and let her know to meet us here when she's done. It's just one more night.”

“One night,” Cedric repeated, though his eyes were still blazing. Liv gave him a weak smile.

“One night in a Beverly Hills mansion. I mean, think of what we can do!” Shannon said. There was a long pause as everyone stared at her. She turned to Daisy. “I mean . . . what
can
we do?”

Daisy shrugged. “We can order Thai food.”

“Now that sounds like a fine plan,” Merek said, his mouth full.

Cedric scoffed. “Food is not a plan. But of
course
you are only capable of thinking about your stomach at a time like this.”

Merek's eyes narrowed, and Liv felt a twinge of guilt that Cedric was taking his frustrations with her out on Merek instead. Especially because Merek didn't seem to realize that's what was happening.

“You,” Merek said, his voice dropping low, “have no idea what I am capable of.”

“Okay,” Liv said loudly, before Merek and Cedric continued to snipe at each other. “Maybe we'll get food later.” She turned to Cedric. “For now, the
new
plan is to wait here until we hear from Kat and Joe. And it wouldn't hurt to stay busy while we wait.”

Daisy yawned. “I've got the new PlayStation.”

“Sweet,” Shannon said, standing up.

“What is a PlayStation?” Merek asked, putting another hunk of food in his mouth.

Shannon grinned. “Oh, man. We are about to change your whole life.”

W
hile Shannon and Daisy showed Merek how to shoot two-dimensional zombies, Liv sat anxiously in the living room. Cedric had been out “scouting the perimeter” of the backyard ever since he'd called Kat to explain they were staying the night. Apparently Kat hadn't taken the change of plans all that well. But she hadn't yet found a single wrath, so she agreed to join them in Beverly Hills for the night and try again the next day.

Liv then spent two minutes getting an Uber for Kat, plus another ten minutes explaining to Kat—mostly unsuccessfully—how Uber worked. If Kat showed up at the mansion at all, it would be a miracle.

Liv got up from Daisy's game room, looking for a few minutes of peace to clear her mind. But as she walked out of the kitchen door and onto Daisy's expansive back porch, the frantic thoughts tumbling through her brain refused to go away.

She wondered whether or not they would be safe for the night. And if they were, what about tomorrow? Would they be
safe for the week, the year, ever? Even if Cedric was able to take care of Malquin, the Knights would still be after her. Would she be on the run, always, because of some stupid symbols on her skin?

Being outside didn't help Liv answer any of these questions, but she did find she could breathe a bit easier in the night air. A strong breeze lifted her hair off her neck—the first of the Santa Ana winds kicking off the end of a sticky hot summer. Liv made her way over to a stone bench that was propped against the wall of the house and sat down.

“Sorry to disturb.”

Liv glanced up to the edge of the brick patio, where Cedric was standing in the doorway, looking at her.

“If you want to be alone . . .”

“It's okay,” Liv said, and scooted over on her bench. Cedric crossed the distance between them in three quick strides and sat down. Liv noticed that he kept a decent amount of space between them. Still, they were alone together for the first time in hours.

Liv's insides tightened. She hated how when she was around Cedric, her body felt completely outside of her control. Being near him made her feel like she was spinning around in circles, arms outstretched, but she couldn't find anything to hold on to to make it all stop.

“Seems like Merek is getting the hang of things here . . . getting used to things, I mean,” Liv said, trying to keep her voice light.

“Three months of moaning and he has finally found
something in this world he can appreciate,” Cedric said with a wry smile.

“Violent video games. Who would have thought?” She took a deep breath and looked sideways. “Speaking of which . . . on a level from zero to fake zombie maiming, exactly how angry with me are you right now?”

Cedric was quiet for a moment. Then he said, “I wish I
was
angry with you.”

When Liv didn't answer, Cedric continued in a softer voice. “It would be easier if I hated you. Or even if I felt nothing for you at all. Then all I would have to think about is the fastest way to get home, even if . . .”

“Even if it meant tying me up in one place until it was time to use me to open a portal?”

Cedric shook his head quickly. “I would never do that.” He turned to her then, and his hands were balled up into fists resting on his knees, like he was forcing them to stay still. “But I also would not be here, jeopardizing what is best for my own people if . . . if I did not care so much about what happened to you.”

Part of Liv wanted to avert her eyes, to hide whatever emotions were visible there. With real effort, she turned to look at Cedric instead. There was little light on the porch, but his eyes shone from beneath the purplish shadow of his dark hair.

“You do?”

“I cannot stop myself from thinking about you. About whether you are in danger, or in pain, or upset. About whether you think of me . . .”

As Cedric spoke, Liv could feel herself tensing up with excitement—and with fear. What he said now couldn't be taken back, and if he kept talking, he'd be pulling her across an invisible barrier they'd only barely walked up to before. They'd almost crossed it in the motel, but he hadn't spoken to her like this since that night.

There was good reason to pull back—so many good reasons—but Liv didn't want to. She wanted Cedric to keep talking them both all the way through the barrier until they fell through the other side, together.

She was suddenly very conscious of her breathing, and her breath, and of the stale cookies she'd just eaten from Daisy's cupboard.

Very slowly, as if afraid he might scare her away with any sudden movements, Cedric reached out his hand and carefully brushed his fingers against Liv's temple, then ran them down the side of her face until they ended at her jaw.

“You are like nothing I have ever known,” he whispered. His eyes traveled over her face, from the bridge of her nose to her cheeks to her eyes and back again.

Liv's first instinct was to crack a joke to ease the unbearable tension growing between them. But she was tired of jokes. She was tired of talking at all.

Cedric's eyes focused on hers again, and then he was moving closer, closer, his hand resting on her neck now. She could see his eyelids dropping, and his lips as his mouth drew nearer and nearer to hers.

Then he was kissing her, first slowly, and then completely,
with one hand still on the back of her neck and the other reaching to her waist.

Liv's whole body felt fizzy, soft around the edges. And then Cedric's hands were running gently along her neck, the rough skin of his fingers drawing little invisible lines that made the small hairs there rise up, up, up.

She leaned into him, deepening the kiss and letting out a small sigh when it went from gentle to something more. Cedric gripped her harder. She ran her hand down the length of his chest, her fingers playing at the hem of his shirt. She carefully lifted it, hand shaking just a little, and let her hands run over the flat edge of his stomach there.

Cedric made a low noise and leaned forward more still, and then they were both falling until Liv landed with her back against the hard stone of the bench, with Cedric on top of her. His lips stopped moving for a moment and he pulled away just a few inches, and Liv knew without opening her eyes that he was checking to see if she was okay. But there was no need to respond, they were beyond words now, and she reached up hungrily and pulled his head back down toward hers.

Their bodies pressed against each other while their legs draped lazily down to the concrete ground. Liv was completely lost in him, in his mouth and his ragged breathing and his hands that ran from her shoulders, down her arms, and to her hips. She didn't know what would come next, but she didn't want to stop. She couldn't believe that this was happening, that this was Cedric and it was her and this was real. . . .

Cedric moved down to kiss her neck, and as he did so she
felt something tiny, cold, and hard fall against the skin just above her collarbone.

For a moment, Liv closed her eyes even tighter, willfully ignoring the small, circular thing that pressed deeper into her skin. But she knew what it was; she had known the second it fell against her, and ignoring it wouldn't work for long.

The warmth in Liv's insides faded away, and for the first time she really felt the hard stone bench beneath her, pressing into her shoulder blades. She put her hands against Cedric's shoulders and lightly pushed him away.

It took him longer to realize what had happened. He pulled back a few inches, his eyes confused, and then he saw it. His betrothal ring, dangling on a chain between them.

“It fell,” Liv said. Her voice came out sounding smaller than she had intended.

Cedric's eyes were fixed on the ring. Then, with one swift, sure movement, he pulled himself up and off Liv, all the way into a standing position at the side of the bench. Farther away than she could reach. She could still feel the warmth of his skin on hers.

“I—I am sorry,” Cedric said. She couldn't meet his eyes. “I did not mean—”

But that was too much; that was the worst possible thing for him to say. Liv held up one hand and shook her head, trying and failing to smile. She stood up from the bench and straightened her shirt. The space between them felt enormous; an entire parade could have marched through it, with her on one side and him on the other.

“I should get back inside,” she finally said.

Cedric nodded, but stayed rooted to his spot. Looking at him hurt her eyes.

Liv turned around and walked back inside while making as little sound as possible. Once the door was closed, she stood in the middle of the kitchen and tried to catch her breath.

It wasn't so hard to do now.

“What the hell happened to you out there?”

Shannon had taken one step into the kitchen, seen the look on Liv's face, and without a word, dragged her by the elbow into the nearest bathroom. Her hand was still tight on Liv's arm, her eyes worried.

“Wh-what do you mean?” Liv stammered, trying to act casual.

“I mean, you're all flushed and weird-looking,” Shannon said. “Are you okay? Did you see something out there, or—” Shannon stopped talking as Liv pursed her lips together and shook her head. Shannon's mouth curled into a smirk, and she raised one eyebrow. “Or maybe it was something else entirely?” she finished.

Liv thought about denying it, but she suddenly didn't have the energy to lie. She looked down at the pristine bathroom tiles, then back to Shannon. “Cedric kissed me,” she said.

Shannon's eyes widened, and she started to grin.

“And then I kissed him,” Liv continued. “And then there was . . . more kissing.”

Shannon's fingernails tapped lightly on Liv's arm. “For how long?”

“For a while.”

“And?”

“And . . .”

“Oh please, you are
not
holding out on me. What was it like to kiss an alien?”

Liv smiled despite herself and rolled her eyes. “He's not an alien.”

Shannon shrugged. “Whatever. What was it like?”

Liv flashed back to an image of herself and Cedric on the bench. She wasn't sure how to put it in words . . .

“That good, huh?” Shannon smirked.

“It really was. And then . . .” Liv trailed off, the smile dropping from her face.

“Ugh.” Shannon rolled her eyes and grabbed Liv by the shoulders. “Why do you make me drag things out of you? Just tell me what happened.”

Haltingly, Liv explained to Shannon about Cedric's ring and what it meant, and how once it became a real and visible thing between them, it was impossible to ignore.

Shannon crossed her arms over her chest. “So? So what if he's getting married at some far-off, future date? He's clearly into you
now
.”

“I don't know. I think he was about to say that he didn't mean for it to happen—the kiss. I think he regretted it . . . and I can't just forget about Kat,” Liv replied, her eyes on the bathroom tiles. “I mean, she's going to be his wife someday. And also, have you seen her?”

“Kat? I mean, she's okay-looking,” Shannon said with an unconvincing shrug.

Liv smiled. “You don't have to do that best friend thing where you lie and tell me a girl's not pretty when she clearly is. I mean, have you seen her skin? I bet it would even look good in HD. Plus, she and Cedric have this whole past, not to mention a future, and she's also a
literal ninja,
and I'm just . . .”

Shannon put one hand flat in the air. “All right, stop right there. Number one, you're obviously awesome, or else I wouldn't be your friend. So that's not your problem. And number two, I don't think Kat's your problem, either.”

“Really.” Liv remembered how the betrothal ring had felt on her skin. How cold the metal was, like it knew it didn't belong anywhere near her.

“Really. The problem is you.” Shannon leaned back on her heels, head tilted, as if daring Liv to make her continue. Liv took the bait.

“Me? What happened to me being awesome? You just said it, like, four seconds ago.”

“You are awesome, except about this one thing, where you can kind of suck.”

“I have no idea what you're talking about.”

“Did you tell Cedric how you felt? About kissing him, about the betrothal ring? Did you talk about it at all?”

“Um . . .”

“It was a hypothetical question. I already know the answer.”

Liv could feel her cheeks flame. “I'm pretty sure he knows how I feel.”

Shannon shrugged. “Maybe. It's possible reading minds is one of his superpowers. But on the off chance it isn't, you're
going to have to do the hard work of saying it out loud. Which I know you hate.”

“I don't—”

“Please. Getting you to open up about anything other than camera angles and box office figures is a miracle most days. I mean, it's obvious to
me
that you're into him, but that's only because I've known you for years. He might need you to spell it out. Open up.”

“I've opened up to plenty of people, including Cedric,” Liv said, without thinking.

“So I'm wrong? You've told him how you feel? About him?”

Liv crossed her arms tightly over her chest and tried to go back over what had happened with Cedric over the past few days. She was sure he knew how she felt—it was obvious, wasn't it? Except she couldn't remember actually saying the words to him. Not on the stone bench, not in the motel room, not in the car. Not ever.

“I don't know why, but I think I'm . . . afraid. To say it out loud,” she finally said.

Shannon nodded, as if that was obvious. “Yeah, I know.” She leaned in close, and very gently, she pulled Liv's arms apart and away from her chest. “The thing is, though . . . so is everyone else.”

Liv couldn't think of a single thing to say. Shannon reached over and opened the bathroom door.