Ruined (The Eternal Balance #1)(6)

“I wasn’t exactly thrilled about it, either.” She thought I meant the car ride. The truth was, I should have never come back to town. The urge to return had been building slowly, but when I found out that my Uncle Rick, the man who’d raised me, was terminally ill, I couldn’t put it off any longer. I needed to say good-bye.

Sam wasn’t supposed to be here. Neither was Chase, who was scheduled to visit a friend in Jersey. Wrong on both counts. Two strikes. One more and it was game over for someone. I planned to see my uncle, then make a run for the city limits like someone had lit my ass on fire.

“I was serious though,” I said, inclining my head toward the road. The car barreled toward the river and showed no signs of stopping. “Feel free to slow down.”

Her foot pushed the brake as each of her fingers turned white, wrapping tight around the wheel. The car didn’t slow.

“Any time now…” I prodded, gripping the “oh shit” handle above the door. The demon shifted, sensing distress. There was never any privacy. It was like I lived in a house with glass walls. Every thought—every emotion—was on display for perverse entertainment of the monster inside.

The car picked up speed as it slipped past the final hill and closed in on the last few feet before the railing. Thick gray mist filled the car. “I’d love to…” she spat, violently stomping the pedal now. Thunk thunk, thunk. The sound echoed through the small space.

“It’s not working?”

“Of course it’s working. I think I’d rather just drive over the edge!” She smacked the wheel and smashed her foot down once more, throwing all her weight behind it. It didn’t do any good.

Time was up, and we were out of road. “We’re not going to stop. Open your window!” I slammed a hand against the dash to brace myself, then started pushing furiously on the window button with the other. Like the brakes, nothing happened. “Fuck. Why isn’t it working, Sammy?”

“They’re broken,” she yelled in a panic, yanking up on the buckle of her seat belt. “College dropout. Piece of crap car!”

A growl rose in my throat. “Why the hell would you not get that fixed?”

Sam ignored me, fingers fumbling with the belt release button, jabbing randomly until it clicked free. She cursed and reached for the door, but it was too late. The car crashed through the guardrail in an explosion of twisted metal and clamorous sound as it careened off the road.

For a minute we were weightless. Suspended in midair like spiders from a string. Sam had unbuckled her safety belt, and her body lifted from the seat like a rag doll. I threw my arm across, pinning her down to keep her from smashing forward into the windshield.

“Hold on,” I grunted, bracing us both. We jerked forward on impact, the car slamming into the water with a deafening crash.

Sam pulled up on the handle, but the door wouldn’t budge. The pressure of the water had us trapped already. “We’re stuck!”

“Stay calm,” I said, withdrawing my arm.

I closed my eyes and fought hard to keep control. The excessive waves of panic rolling off Sam made tucking the monster away that much harder. “The worst thing you can do right now is panic.”

“Don’t panic?” She pounded the dash. I almost pointed out beating up the car wouldn’t do a damn thing either, but now wasn’t the time to play the * card. Not with her on the verge of losing it and the demon licking its nonexistent lips at her fear. The taste of it had the thing churning, restless, and hungry. “Are you kidding me? We’re going to die!”

“We’re not going to die.” My voice deepened. Shit. I was losing it. “I can get us out of here.”

The car slipped beneath the surface and the water rushed in through the floor and vents. It was cold and rising fast. “Really? Did you develop gills while you were away?”

“Sammy, calm the f*ck—” The ache in my muscles ignited, turning into an all-consuming fire. It stole the air from my lungs. Her fear was too much.

I closed my eyes and counted to ten, fighting like hell against the darkness. If I lost control, Sam would drown. The demon wouldn’t care about anything except self-preservation. It pushed. I pushed. But it was a losing battle. The black thing convulsed, driven by the heightened emotions, and with a flash of sharp pain and a flare of bright light, I became a spectator hovering on the edge of consciousness in my own body.

The demon wasted no time. Though faster and physically more powerful when in control, it was still subject to most human vulnerabilities while living inside my body. It made me tougher and stronger, but if my body died, the demon died with it.

It made a move to grab the door, but Sam intervened. She grabbed its face—my face—and pressed her lips to mine as the water inside the car closed over our heads.

Danger.

Sammy.

Death.

Sam.

Violence.

Samantha.

Pain. Sammy…

The instant our lips met, the watery inside of the car was gone, replaced by a wooded area surrounded by large rocks. Two teenagers—one angry boy and a damaged, but determined, girl stood in the center.

It was a memory—one I remembered all too well, but it was different somehow. This was from someone else’s perspective. It took a second, but I realized it was the demon’s memory. The thing was remembering Sam and the kiss we shared the night I left. A rush of emotion hit hard. The soft, warm feel of Sam’s small body crushed to mine. The way her hair smelled like raspberries. Lips. Longing. Need. A moment of absolute peace and perfection in a life full of violence and pain.