Devils Roses 01 - Cursed

with me. He just sits there. I accused him of flirting with Jessica at a hot-tub party we had at his house on Sunday. He sat on the couch, watching some special on how they’re making the astronauts retire and work in tourism. I yelled at him and he cut me off mid screaming fit and said, ‘Hey babe, can you get me a drink of water?” She changed her voice to mimic a man's for the question.
    I smiled, knowing the exact face he would have used. “Guess you’ve met your match.”
    She nodded. “I’m scared though. What if I mess it up?”
    I shook my head. “He won't let you. He doesn’t buy into your drama.”
    She put a hand down on my arm and rubbed a little like Mom used to. “Aimes, can you try to get better? I know you’re sad about something, but can you just try a little harder? I can't take this. Giselle is dying, Jaime is sick like you, and you’re scaring us with all this sleeping.”
    I nodded, gulping back a tear lodged in my throat. “Yeah. I’m going to take a shower and get dressed now. Have the police got any idea what’s happening?”
    She got up from my bed and shook her head. “No, they’re still kind of lost. I guess they found the cup she was drinking from though, so that’s good. They know what the drugs are that the rapist is using.”
    I got up from my bed slowly. “What day is it?”
    She smiled. “Friday, the big dance is tonight. I think Shane's worried you won't be able to go.”
    “ I’ll go, I need to go to Giselle’s to get my dress, though. She wants me to wear her spring formal dress.” I felt weird about it.
    My sister’s face lit up again. “You’re going to go? I’ll drive you over when you’re done showering.”
    I looked over at my open window and felt lost. Aleks hadn’t been back. I reminded myself I didn’t care. I didn’t want him back.
    The shower was relaxing on my aching back. I hadn’t done anything in nearly a week, which seemed to be killing me. I decided, even if I was dead-assed exhausted, I wasn’t going to bed until it was actual bedtime.
    I felt so many emotions all at once, that my poor little wall had been crumbled and ground into dust. I didn’t know what to do about Shane, he was the perfect guy for me. More though, I didn’t know what to do about Aleks. He was all wrong for me, but for some crazy hormonal and chemical reaction-based reason, my heart seemed to need.
    I pictured his face and I melted. I remembered our kissing and touching, even though he had never crossed the second-base line, I felt naughty. Everything about him, turned me into a person I didn’t know. Everything about Shane made me feel safe and relaxed—more like the girl I was before everything had happened. I just needed to decide if I wanted to change or be who I was.
    I put my face into the shower and turned the water to cold, hoping the shock would be helpful. I had never been in real reciprocated love before, and of course my first romance had to be a love triangle. And not just any old triangle—no, it had to have a supernatural being as the one I wanted, instead of the guy I’d always thought I'd loved.
    My brain still treated him as a joke. I couldn’t help thinking about the fact that my dad had been feeding me all week long and I didn’t remember much. Perhaps, my memories of Aleks were also not correct.
    Not feeling any more convinced of anything beyond my absolute love for him, I climbed out of the shower, angry with myself.
    For all my grades and common sense, I clearly hadn’t gotten any taste in men. I decided maybe I could force myself to relearn to love the person that was right for me, instead of obsessing about the person who wasn’t even real.
    I walked into my room to dry off, to find Aleks sitting on my bed. I was naked, except for my towel, which only covered the essentials. I wanted to jump on him and kiss him, but I stood my ground at the entrance to my room and leaned against the doorframe.
    He sat there quiet for a while, staring at the stuffed bear he was holding. It was my bear, Beary, from when I had my tonsils out, when I was nine. He squished him, feeling the density of the fluff.
    I raised an eyebrow at him. “What are you doing here?”
    He smiled devilishly, not taking his eyes off Beary. “Watching over your sister.”
    I couldn’t help but laugh at him. "You’re cheating. I can’t get over you, if you don’t leave me alone. Stop touching Beary, he doesn’t like you either.”
    He looked up at me with his