Ghost Scarab

Sea Sparkle

Disclaimer: Portions of the chapter come from the first Scarab Beetle book and I am not trying to claim it as my own.

As I exited Raven's bedroom my mind was a mess. Did I really think like a criminal? I just knew that if I pulled out my gun in that situation then I could almost guarantee that someone was going to either end up hurt or killed. In my mind, it was better to let the thief get away with the money because what was money when compared to the value of a human life.

As I walked I glanced up at Corey who was sitting on the couch with his attention on his phone. I silently padded into the kitchen and headed for the fridge. It felt invasive to open someone else's fridge and I paused with my hand on the handle. Then reminding myself that Raven had asked me to do this I opened the fridge door. The chill air of the fridge combined with the already chilly air of the apartment to make me shiver and I tighten the jacket I got from Raven around my body.

The inside of the fridge was filled with takeout containers; all the containers were neatly labeled with a date. There were sodas stacked neatly on the bottom shelf. There was even a small section with fresh produce. Bending down I quickly snagged a can of Coke and closed the fridge door.

Next, I set about getting myself something to drink. I knew from past experience not to drink anything remotely acidic like juice or soda and since they already said they didn't have any tea that left water as my only option. I looked up at the cupboards not wanting to open them at random the find a cup. After a moment's thought, I decided to look in the cupboard that was closest to the sink because that seemed like the most logical place to put the dishes.

My guess turned out to be spot on and I was able to get a glass out by standing on my tiptoes. I filled the cup from the sink and was about to take a sip when I felt the air shift behind me. I whirled around only to find Axel standing a couple of feet behind me. I was very surprised that he was able to get so close to me without me knowing. I was typically very aware of my surroundings at all times.

Axel was wearing blue jean, black boots, and a dark grey button-up shirt. The upper buttons of his shirt were undone to reveal the sharp lines of his collarbone underneath as well as the start of a black undershirt. He had his long black hair combed back away from his face and I had to fight the urge to run my fingers through it to see if felt as silky as it looked. He was not wearing his glasses this time which gave me an unimpeded view of his dark eyes. For the first time since we met, he was close enough for me to notice his scent. The scent was primarily that of sandalwood but there were undertones to it that I couldn't quite identify although for some reason they felt extremely nostalgic to me.

He cocked one of his eyebrows at me and asked, "Who's getting you to play fetch?"

I set my glass onto the counter behind me to free up my hands and quickly defended Raven saying, "It's for Raven, I was thirsty so I offered to get him something as well."

Axel's dark eyes bored into mine and I felt as though he could see my every secret. I felt like he somehow knew that I had offered to get a Raven a drink because I wanted to avoid talking about something. He held my gaze for a moment longer and then his expression turned mischievous. He nodded in the direction of where the can was sitting on the counter, "I know you're thinking about it. Do it."

My heart beat wildly in my chest. It hadn't been a fully-fledged idea in my mind however the part of me that was desperately looking for a way to avoid the conversation that I knew was going to happen as soon as I got back, had been toying with various ways to distract him and delay for as long as possible. I probably never would have gotten the nerve to do it, besides it felt too mean when I was the one who had offered to get him a drink to begin with. But now Axel was telling me to do it and that gave me the courage to act.