Toxic (Denazen #2)(16)

“So I’ve heard,” she said wryly.

“Look, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve been taking care of myself for a really long time—without parental interference. Dad talked, I ignored. It’s a little late in my life for someone to be telling me to do my homework, wash behind my ears, and be in bed before ten.”

“This is a big adjustment for both of us. I may have raised Kale inside Denazen, but being a mother out here—” Mom looked around the room wearing an expression much like the one Kale had when he first came into my house. Dazed and confused didn’t cut it. Leaning over, she picked up the can of Sprite I’d left on the nightstand and gave it a shake. “Everything is different. I know you can’t understand—”

“You’re right. I won’t ever fully understand what it’s like for you, but I’ve spent enough time with Kale to know the world must look like an alien civilization from your eyes.”

“I’m your mother, and you’re my responsibility.” She set the can down and stepped forward, sounding unsure.

“Please, please don’t take this wrong, but I haven’t been anyone’s responsibility for a long time.”

I leaned close and kissed her forehead. She cringed a little—personal space issues.

“Promise I won’t be long. Just wanna make sure he’s okay.”

There was no chance for her to object. I was through the door and down the hall without looking back. When I got to the bottom of the first-floor stairs, it occurred to me that Mom never said which room they’d moved Kale to. I made my way to the front desk where—surprise—Rosie was still planted in front of her small TV.

I waved a hand in front of my face and scrunched up my nose. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you perfume isn’t a substitute for soap?” Every day it was a new, disgustingly pungent perfume. I imagined Rosie’s house was crammed to the ceiling with little bottles in assorted shapes and colors bearing designer labels and expensive price tags. Sometimes the smell was so bad that I wondered if she didn’t experiment, mixing several together to create her own icky fragrance.

She shrugged. “It’s sad that you have no taste. It should be a criminal offense.”

I did my best to breathe through my mouth. Not that it helped much. I could taste the fumes. “Don’t you ever sleep?”

“I don’t need sleep,” she replied.

I couldn’t tell if she was joking or not. After all this time, I still had no idea what Rosie’s gift was. “They moved Kale. Can you tell me which room he’s in now?”

A normal Rosie response would have been ten minutes of avoidance, then five minutes of bargaining, followed by a multiple choice answer and a sneer that could scare small children. This time, a slow smile spread across her face as she toyed with the edge of the registration book. “Oh, sure. They moved him into the room right next to that sweet, redheaded girl. What’s her name, Jade? And have you seen her? Really beautiful. That Kale’s a lucky guy getting to spend his time with her. Room one sixty-two.”

I swallowed a sarcastic remark. It went down thick, aided by the stench in the air. I refused to let her see that it bothered me. I nodded and was out of the lobby and down the hall in record time, the new information motivating me. Of course they’d put him next to Jade. She was like a cosmic off switch.

When the door opened, he looked tired, but the second our eyes met, his face lit up like the stormy sky outside. Just the sight of him standing there looking down at me like that was enough to wipe away the niggling bits of insecurity I’d felt over What’s-Her-Name earlier. “Dez.”

He stepped aside and hugged the wall to give me plenty of room. Closing the door behind me, I crossed the floor to the phone and said, “Fifteen feet, right?”

Lips slipping into a mischievous grin, he was next to me and punching in the room number next door in a flash. Through the wall, I heard it ring five times before Jade picked it up, her sleepy voice garbled through the receiver. “Stay in your room, please,” he said. “I’m going to kiss Dez.”

I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped my lips. Bet that wasn’t what she hoped he’d say when he called.

All smiles, Kale hung up the phone.

“That’s going to get really irritating.” I tried to look annoyed, but it was impossible with him right there, grinning.

He was quiet for a few minutes before he began to laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Though to be honest, it didn’t matter. As long as he kept laughing. I heard that laugh in my dreams every night. Deep and a little bit dark, it caused my heart to pound and sent the butterflies in my stomach into a hysterical frenzy. It was my favorite sound in the world.

“Did it feel this way when I was angry at Alex?” His mood was light, but the mention of Alex’s name caused his eyes to darken just a little.

Jealous. I was jealous of Jade. “It was kinda nice,” I admitted, then backpedaled. “But it’s not the same thing.”

He tilted his head, right eyebrow rising slightly above the left. “You’re not angry because Jade can touch me?”

“I most certainly am not.” Only half a lie. I was more angry—at the moment, anyway—that she had to be lurking around so I could touch him. I was all for putting on a show, but I drew the line at voyeurism.