Bitter Demons

31. The Silver Box

I was in knots all day Sunday. I wanted to talk to Jackson about the crow, but I wasn't sure how to get his attention without someone seeing us together. Plus, the priestess had said he agreed not to spend so much time with me. I wasn't exactly sure where we stood lately.

Sometimes, I felt that Jackson truly cared for me. But other times, I wondered if he only cared about keeping his brother alive. For a while, it seemed like our relationship was really going somewhere, but he hadn't kissed me since that night at the hospital when I found out he was a demon. Maybe he didn't care about me as much as I thought he did.

I knew I couldn't just lie on my bed all day thinking about Jackson. I needed to keep my hands busy so I wouldn't go insane. I decided to clean my room, and when I started cleaning out the space under my bed, I found the silver box. The one Zara said was sitting outside my door yesterday morning. I'd completely forgotten about it.

I sighed and pulled the white ribbon from the slender box. Drake Ashworth had another think coming if he thought I was going out with him again. Why did he insist on sending me presents?

I removed the lid from the box and froze. I dropped the box onto the floor and backed away.

Inside the box, nestled in black tissue paper, were a dozen black roses.