One Day Soon (One Day Soon, #1)(110)

Without a word, Yoss turned and took me in his arms, his eyes still closed.

Hot. Wet. Slippery skin. Gasping, aching breaths. He fell to his knees in front of me. I parted my legs and almost collapsed when his mouth touched me.

His tongue made love to me as I tried to stay on my feet, my fingers pulling on his hair as I moaned. And sobbed. And promised a thousand unattainable things.

Too soon Yoss turned off the water and carried me back to the bedroom where he laid me down on the bed.

And he held me as I came, with him inside me.

I had no way of knowing that would be the last time.

That he was already preparing to break my heart.



“I have to go run some errands first. I want to try to get a few things before we leave,” Yoss explained after we were dressed and were readying ourselves to leave.

“I’ll come with you,” I said, tying my shoes and putting on my coat.

It was past noon. We had stayed longer than we should have. Why did it feel as if we were delaying something inevitable?

“No. Why don’t you head back to the bridge? Di, Shane, and Karla are probably there. They’ll want to know where we were. We need to tell them about Bug. And we need to say goodbye. Tell them what we’re doing. I don’t want to take off without them knowing,” Yoss replied.

“Shouldn’t you be the one to tell them? Can’t we do that together?” I protested.

I was worried.

I didn’t know why.

Yoss smiled and kissed me deeply. Tongues. Teeth. Meant to make me forget.

“If we divide and conquer we can leave that much sooner,” Yoss reasoned and I couldn’t argue with that one.

I would do whatever he asked so long as we put Lupton and this messy, messy life behind us.

“We’re leaving today, right? You’ll meet me at the bridge?” I asked a little fearfully.

I had to trust him.

Yoss kissed me again.

“Go to the bridge. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Lies. Lies. Lies.

Why did my heartbeat sound like a warning?

Yoss walked me to the street where our paths would diverge. I would head to the bridge. He would head somewhere else.

“Where are you going?” I asked again.

“I told you. I just want to get some stuff together. I don’t want you to have to worry about things. I want to take care of you. Will you let me do that?” Yoss took my hands and kissed my raw knuckles.

“You don’t have to take care of me, Yoss,” I argued, frowning. When would he stop looking at me as a defenseless girl? When would he realize that he didn’t need to go to the ends of the earth to keep me happy?

“I know I don’t have to.” Kiss. “I want to.” Kiss. “When everything else goes to shit, I can be glad that I made sure you were happy and safe. That’s all that matters to me.” Kiss.

“Don’t be long,” I pleaded.

“I’ll be there, Imi. Wait for me.”

Promises. Promises.

Always promises.

He went his way. I went mine.

Separate paths.

I should have known that was our fate.



“Where have you been?” Karla demanded angrily when she saw me approach. She and Shane were sitting underneath the bridge, hands held over an open fire. It was unusually desolate. As if everyone had hidden themselves away.

“Yoss and I went to the hospital. To look for Bug,” I explained, sitting down beside them.

“He’s dead. Di told us,” Shane said dully, his hair matted on the side of his face. I saw an old cut healing on his forehead. Dried blood on his cheeks. His clothes were grubby and covered in soot from the fire. Karla was huddled in her jacket, her hands tucked between her thighs for warmth.

“I can’t believe that little f*ck is gone,” Karla remarked sadly, and the three of us absorbed the weight of that statement and what it meant.

“Do you know what happened? With the fire?” I asked, taking a piece of bread that Shane offered me from a torn bag.

“I heard it was one of the fires that were lit inside. The can fell over and a bunch of shit went up in flames. Someone else said it was a cigarette and lighter fluid. Who knows? The cops have The Pit cordoned off. No one can get in or out,” Shane replied, his mouth full with stale bread.

“Where’s Di?” I asked, looking around. She was the one I really wanted to see. I cared about Di. I didn’t want to leave without making sure she was all right.

Karla blew into her palms and rubbed them together. “She was here earlier but then said she had to go. She wasn’t good. She blames herself for Bug. She thinks she could have gotten him out somehow.”

“But that’s ridiculous! It’s not her fault!” I exclaimed, my heart hurting for my friend.

“That’s what we told her. When Bug was passed out, he was dead weight. And he wasn’t a little guy. He was tall and gangly as f*ck. No way could a little thing like Di get him out of the warehouse. And if she had tried we wouldn’t have lost just one friend last night.” Shane stared into the fire, the smoke curling up lazily towards the sky.

“When will she be back?” I hated the thought of Di out there feeling guilty for things that she had no control over. She looked so tough with her shaved head and tattoos, but she wasn’t. She had a heart that could be broken just like the rest of us.