Dare You To (Pushing the Limits, #2)(69)

I blink and close my mouth, not having realized that I had      verbalized a thing.

A black bird flaps its wings overhead, creating a shadow on      the ceiling. Images of a deadly archangel coming to destroy us all enter my      mind. The bird grows more agitated and the other birds fly to a beam on the      opposite side of the barn. He takes off into the air and smacks the wall, dips      down, flies across the barn, and rams into the opposite wall. My heart thunders      with every hit. I watch with wide eyes and shaking hands. “We have to help      him.”

I jump up and stumble toward the barn door. Struggling for      balance, I force one of the doors open with a loud creak. I lean against the      frame and wait for the bird that’s damaging itself over and over again to      escape. “Go! Get out of here!”

“Shut the door,” Ryan says. “Birds are stupid. If you want      it out, you’re going to have to trap it and drag it out.”

I gesture wildly into the open night. “But the door is      open!”

“And the bird’s so panicked that it’ll never see the      opening. All you’re doing is inviting your uncle to come in here and find us.      Unless you’re ready to go home, close the door.”

The bird smacks itself into the wall again and flutters to a      nearby beam. He ruffles his feathers over and over again, then finally draws in      his wings to rest. My stomach rolls in torture. Why can’t the bird see the way      out?

“Who’s Echo?” asks Ryan.

“But the bird...” I say, ignoring his question.

“Doesn’t understand you’re trying to help. If anything, it      sees you as a threat. Now, tell me, who’s Echo?”

I take a deep breath and close the door. I want the bird to      find freedom, but I’m not ready to go back to Scott’s. Thanks to my impaired      state, I half walk, half trip back to my bed of straw. Damn bird. Why can’t      something be easy? “Noah’s girlfriend.”

“That’s a screwed-up name,” he says.

I giggle. “She’s a screwed-up girl.” I stop giggling and      remember how Noah looked at her: as if she were the only person on the planet,      the only person that mattered. “But Noah loves her.”

That must be love: when everything else in the world could      implode and you wouldn’t care as long as you had that one person standing beside      you. Isaiah has it all wrong. For many reasons. He doesn’t love me. He can’t.      For starters, he doesn’t look at me like Noah does Echo. Besides, I’m not worthy      of that type of love.

The bird hides its head under its wing. I understand that      feeling of wishing the world would go away. If I had wings, I’d hide underneath      them too.

“It’s just a bird, Beth. It’ll find its way out      eventually.”

Something deep and dark and heavy inside me tells me it      won’t. The poor bird will die in this damn barn and will never see blue sky      again.

Straw rustles and Ryan drops beside me, stirring dust into      the air. He clumsily rolls onto his side to face me. His warm body touches mine      and his eyes have a strange intensity. “Don’t do that.”

My heart trips over itself. Ryan kept his hat off and I like      it more than I should. His hair kicks out crazily in the back and it gives a      boyish charm to a face that belongs to a man.

“Do what?” I ask, ashamed that my voice comes out a little      breathless.

His eyebrows inch closer together and he moves his hand near      my face. He stops and so does my breathing. Ryan stares at my lips and then      caresses my cheek.

“You do that a lot.” His finger slides steadily to the tip      of my mouth. My skin tingles under his touch. “Look sad. I hate it. Your mouth      turns down. Your cheeks lose all color. You lose everything about you that makes      you...you.”

I lick my lips and I swear he watches. His finger pauses      before tracing another teasing path across my cheek. My pulse quickens and heat      spreads through my body. His touch—oh God—feels good. And I want good. So      much.

But I don’t want him. At least, I don’t think so. “Are you      stalking me?”

His lips burst into a bright smile and he withdraws his      hand. “Welcome back.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”