The Siders Box Set Read online

  The Siders Series - Books 1-3

  Leah Clifford

  Copyright © 2020 by Leah Clifford

  Published by Inked Entertainment Ltd in 2020

  All rights reserved.

  The moral right of the author has been asserted.

  This book is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers. Any unauthorized distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.

  This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is fictionalized or coincidental.

  E-Book - ISBN 978-1-912382-61-3

  Paperback - ISBN 978-1-912382-62-0

  Hardback - ISBN 978-1-912382-63-7

  Poems used:

  Walt Whitman. “Locations and Times” Leaves of Grass, James R. Osgood and Company, 1881–82, pg 218

  Edgar Allan Poe “The Raven”. Philadelphia: Graham's Magazine. 1845

  The Bible. King James Version. Luke 4:41

  George Gordon Byron, “Stanzas for Music”. Complete Works of Lord Byron, Including the Suppressed Poems, and Supplementary Pieces Selected from His Papers After His Death. Garnier, 1839

  Walt Whitman “Darest Thou Now, O Soul”. The Poems of Walt Whitman (selected)The Canterbury poets Walter Scott, 1886

  Emily Dickinson. “Hope Is The Thing With Feathers.” Poems by Emily Dickinson, Second Edition, Roberts Brothers, Boston, 1891

  TS Eliot, “Rhapsody on a Windy Night”, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, 1917

  Pablo Neruda, “Everyday You Play”, Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair, Penguin Group, Translated by WS Merwin

  Sudden Light by Gabriel Rossetti; A Victorian Anthology, Houghton Mifflin, editor Edmund Clarence Stedman.

  Also by Leah Clifford

  The Siders Series

  A Touch Mortal (Book 1)

  A Touch Morbid (Book 2)

  A Touch Menacing (Book 3)

  The Resurrectionists Series

  Vial Things (Book 1)

  Book 2 (coming 2020)

  Book 3 (coming 2021)

  Chapter 1

  Eden dug her hand into the damp sand, black polish chipping off the tips of her fingernails. The sand was chilly, the beach pockmarked by late afternoon raindrops. A gust of wind ruffled through her dark hair.

  She checked her phone. No missed calls. Last month there had been a string of parties as the summer hit its stride, the locals showing the nearly as out-of-control tourists how things were done on the shore. She couldn’t figure out what she’d done to get the cold shoulder from everyone the past few weeks.

  A quarter of her group would be headed off to different colleges in the fall. Maybe they were settling down, getting ready for the pressure. But that didn’t seem right. Wouldn’t they have wanted a last hurrah?

  Eden herself knew her days and nights of freedom were wearing thin. She lived with her mom in the small two-bedroom apartment they’d moved into after the latest eviction. Then again, it’d been days since her mother had asked her how many places she’d applied to, when she planned on getting a job, start contributing.

  I’ll work wherever takes me first and save everything, she thought, trying to convince herself it would only be a couple seasons before she could afford a car. And then a bit more cash and she could hit the road, go somewhere else where every day wasn’t bullshit. Start over.

  Even in her head the words sounded like lies.

  Eden sifted her fingers through the sand, coming back to the same facts. No car. No money. No job. If she got lucky, she’d spend the next fifty years working front desk at one of the hotels in this crappy tourist town. So that’s the extent of your brilliant plan? Her mind went to her other option, the one she considered more every day.

  She licked her lips, not pushing the idea away this time. She wanted the thought of death to hold some thrill, terror. Wrongness. Instead, it held an empty acceptance her body ached for. What was the difference between feeling dead, knowing her whole life would be whittled away in one continuous worthless job after another, and actually being dead? It wasn’t like anyone would miss her. They clearly didn’t now.

  She dug her hand deeper, and something distinctly not sand hit her fingers.

  “Sick.” She yanked her hand up, bringing a cluster of decayed scales with her. The wind changed direction. The faint smell of salty dead fish drifted to her. “Little late for the warning,” she muttered, scanning the area for an abandoned towel, anything to wipe off the goo. She grabbed a soggy magazine page from the sand and tried to scrape her fingers clean. “God, can nothing go right?”

  As if in answer, Eden’s skin prickled. She raised her head.

  The beach had cleared out while the sun finished setting. Only two couples remained. She could barely make out their horizontal outlines in the darkness. Carnival sounds and the scents of popcorn and cotton candy floated down from the Boardwalk. Two guys walked close to the water’s edge. They were still coming down the beach, a good fifty yards away, but closing the distance.

  She watched them for a moment. They seemed to be headed right for her. It was Jersey; getting hassled by guys was just another fact of summer. She usually put a few hours effort into achieving her normal balance between the fashionable “leave me alone” and a more stylish “I’m not afraid to knee your groin.” Lately though, even makeup seemed like too much work. She settled for a glare, hoping it would be enough.

  The blond one wore a dark green polo, the color setting off his hazel eyes. With the short sleeves and his tattered-to-be-trendy jeans, he had to have been freezing. Suffering just to pander to underage cheerleaders. Clearly a winner, she thought, and then second guessed herself.

  The unseasonably cool weather had stripped the beach bare of swimmers. Lover’s stroll? She eyed the other one. Brown curls, dark sweater, paired with khaki pants. Be gay. Be gay and keep walking. He noticed her giving him the once over and smiled in a way no gay guy in history had ever smiled at a girl. Perfect.

  Eden shifted her eyes back to the water, but the guys stopped next to her.

  When she turned toward them, the one who had smiled at her brushed his brown curls back from his face.

  “Your eyes are blue, like the ocean.”

  She raised an eyebrow in annoyance, unable to believe he’d gone with a line so pathetic. Slightly behind him, the other’s mouth cocked an apologetic half smile. At least he knew his friend was an idiot.

  “I think I'm lost at sea,” Lover Boy continued, his voice sincere.

  A snort of laughter burst from somewhere between her throat and nose. She stood, brushing the sand from her black leggings. “You can’t be serious.”

  “Damn. Gabriel, did you hear that? It was the sound of my heart shattering.” His face twisted in mock pain as he gripped divots into the sweater. It was only then that Eden knew for sure the guy was putting her on, the over the top pickup lines more humor than attempt to get into her pants.

  Even still, Gabriel winced in what was clearly second-hand embarrassment. “Come on, Az.”

  Eden enunciated each word she spoke, trying not to sound as amused as she felt. “The water’s not even blue, jackass.”

  She turned toward the stairs to the Boardwalk and Az tugged her arm. Even through the material of her thermal top his fingers were frigid.

  He offered up another smile and shrugged. “Storm-tossed seemed a bit cliché.”

  Her lips twitched be
fore she could stop them.

  Any of this working?” He dipped a little, studying her face.

  She bit her lip before the treasonous grin fought its way out. “You’re an idiot. You know that right?”

  She met his eyes for the first time. He jerked forward suddenly, more of a stumble than a step, as if she’d yanked him closer by some invisible string. She should have shot off some comment about staying out of her personal space but the retorts vanished, her thoughts melting away like scorched snowflakes. It was almost too bad his pick-up lines weren’t as pretty as his eyes. Their color like cooled anger. Blue sea glass.

  He looked equally stunned, his smile bringing out dimples so subtle she hadn’t noticed them until now. How could she not have noticed them?

  “Az, stop.” The voice was far away. She didn’t bother, really, to register it at all, just let it slide by as she sank deeper into those eyes. Nothing’s wrong, she wanted to say. Everything’s perfect.

  “I’m not doing anything, Gabriel,” he said.

  She couldn’t take her eyes off Az. A tingle started deep in her chest. She gasped a breath as everything inside her seemed to come back to life, shift into place.

  “Who are you?” Az asked, his words coming honey slow.

  “No one,” she managed. “Nothing.” She hesitated before she ripped her gaze away, dizziness rolling in as the connection broke.

  A pressure at her elbow held her upright as she slumped, unsteady. It was the blond one, Gabriel.

  “I’m fine, it’s just…” She snatched her arm away, fighting to get her bearings. What the hell had that been? Az reached out to her, concern in his expression. She stepped back, unsure and off kilter.

  “You look kind of shaky,” Gabriel said. He’d moved aside but looked ready to step in if her legs gave out. Luckily, they seemed to be in working order again.

  “Dinner,” she said. “I haven’t eaten yet.” Wasn’t even hungry, her brain spat out, let alone starving enough to hallucinate some dreamy lost-in-his-eyes stare down with a stranger. She pushed away any contradictions, forcing the excuse into reality. Just hungry.

  “Let’s get dinner then. Together. You and me.”

  “What, right now?” She glanced up at Az, expecting the same rush when their eyes met, not sure whether to be disappointed when it didn’t come. “I don’t think so.”

  “Why not?” He offered her a tentative smile. His hand hovered there between them, looking more orphaned as the seconds passed. But he didn’t move, a picture of patience as he waited.

  “Because,” she said before her brain blanked out, stealing from her lips any excuse she would have offered. She stared at him in confusion. “Why the hell would I have dinner with you, anyway?”

  “Because I’m an amusing gentleman wooing you into a better mood. Because, with your high standard of pickup lines, I think you’d be able to hold a decent conversation.” He shrugged, his eyes dancing. “Because I’m paying?”

  Eden crossed her arms, rubbing her lips together to crush her grin before it fully formed.

  “You in?” He tilted his head, eyebrow raised. “Was that a yes?”

  “I pick the place,” she said, giving up, letting the smile break loose.

  His own grin brought back the dimples.

  Chapter 2

  “I’ll take whatever’s most expensive, please.” Eden handed the menu back to the waiter without opening it, waiting for Az’s reaction.

  “Actually, now that you mention it,”—he didn’t break her gaze as he returned his own menu — “expensive sounds wonderful. I’ll have the same.” When the waiter retreated, Az leaned over the table, lowering his voice. “Out of curiosity, what are we eating?”

  Eden shifted forward. “I have no idea.”

  Az laughed, pulling back and draping his arm across the back of the booth. “So, awkward, but you haven’t told me your name.”

  A list of fakes scrolled through her mind, but in the end she figured the least she could do was give him her real one.

  “Your name is Eden?” His easy grin slid away. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  She sighed in mock annoyance. “Yeah, go ahead and get the forbidden garden comment out of your system. And no matter what witty snake joke you’re considering? Trust me, I’ve heard it.”

  “Gabriel’s going to have a field day with this one,” he muttered.

  Eden startled as the waiter dropped a basket of bread onto the table. She waited for Az to elaborate, but instead he took a slice of bread and buttered it. She peeled the wrapper from her straw, dunking it into her glass of ice water.

  Eden eyed him over the bread basket and grabbed a roll. What happened between us on the beach? The question bobbled around her head, but she couldn’t bring herself to voice it. Not yet anyway. “So I assume you’re on vacation? Couldn’t afford to go somewhere good?” she asked. At least it would tell her what he was doing here, how long he’d be in town.

  “Jersey’s far enough away for us to relax, but I can get back to the city.” Az unwrapped his silverware slowly. “We.” He paused. “We can get back to the city if we need to.” His fingers slid down the hem of the napkin, straightening it before he dropped it to his lap.

  Eden stared at him, her knife dipping into the unwrapped pad of butter. “The ‘we’ would be you and Gabriel? So you go to college together? In New York City?”

  Az shifted. “Not exactly.”

  “Roommates?” He didn’t answer. Great, she thought. The guy’s got one touchy subject and you zero right in on it.

  “Things have been crazy lately. We needed a vacation. You live here?”

  Subject change. Thank God. Eden sipped her drink before giving him a sarcastic smile. “Lucky enough to be stuck here year-round!”

  Az looked surprised. “Are you kidding me? It’s gorgeous at the Shore.”

  “Sweatshirts in August aren’t gorgeous.”

  “True. But you can’t let a little rain ruin your fun.” He caught her eye across the table. “Doesn’t it always clear up in time for things to get interesting?”

  She felt a blush creep up her neck, her face growing hot.

  Az glanced over her shoulder. “Looks like our mystery dinner is coming,” he said, sweeping his bread plate to the side. “I hope you’re in the mood for…” He trailed off, pausing as the waiter set down the plate. “Lobster tails.”

  “You’re not allergic to shellfish or anything are you?” she asked.

  “Nope.”

  “Good, because that would have been a deal breaker. Their lobster’s pricey, but it’s to die for,” Eden said, taking up her own fork.

  Az cocked his head, his jaw dropping a bit.

  “Here I thought we were on this grand adventure into spontaneity.” His eyes betrayed his amusement. “You knew what we were having the whole time, didn’t you?”

  Eden smiled. “I live here. You think I don’t know what they serve?”

  Over the table, Az grinned at her. “You are just full of surprises,” he said.

  Tinfoil swan of leftovers tucked under her arm, Eden stepped through the door Az held open. A thrill jolted through her when his hand brushed her back, guiding her past him. She wanted his hands on her, wanted him touching her.

  The temperature had dropped while they’d been in the restaurant, the chilly air rousing her a bit from her food coma.

  When they reached the Boardwalk, Az turned to her.

  “I should get going,” he said. “Gabriel’s probably hungry.” He held up the to-go dinner he’d ordered, but didn’t move, almost seemed to hesitate.

  She nodded, shifting to lean against the railing, struggling to think of something to say, an excuse to keep him there. “Thank you, for convincing me to come,” she said finally. “I was having kind of a shitty night.”

  “Me too.” Az tapped the heel of his hand against the bag he held. “It’s been a while since I’ve had one this good.” Something in his tone stopped her from calling him out for h
ow cheerful he’d been on the beach, made her take him at his word. She wondered how he’d managed to hide it so well. “You know, I’m going to be in town for a while.” He pulled his phone from his pocket and unlocked it. Eden took it from him, entered her number.

  “There,” she said handing it to him. “Maybe sometime we can go for least expensive thing on the menu.”

  He laughed, tucking the phone away. “That’d be cool.”

  He reached for her then, his hand cupping around the back of her neck, easing her toward him. Eden’s heart jumped at the suddenness of his fingers on her skin. She closed her eyes, her body rocking forward, anticipating the kiss.

  It never came. She opened her eyes, and he pulled back another inch, face lit with a teasing smile. “I’ll call you soon, okay?” he said and turned away without another word.

  Eden stepped back, the railing hitting her spine. She tried to find a snappy retort, but nothing came as he retreated into the crowd. Who pays for dinner and then just bolts? She couldn’t figure it out. And then pulling out of a kiss he’d initiated? Who the hell was this guy?

  Her cell phone rang. She yanked it from her pocket, taking a second to check the caller ID before she put it to her ear. The number wasn’t one in her call list.

  “Just wanted to make sure the number wasn’t a fake,” Az said.

  She couldn’t help her bitter laugh. “Well, you can go ahead and erase it. A bit of advice? Either kiss a girl or don’t. Never stop halfway through.” She pulled the phone away, her finger already heading for the End button when his voice came through the speaker.

  “Didn’t want to risk it.”

  She lifted the phone again. “Risk kissing me? What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Had to leave you wanting more. That way you’ll say yes when I ask you out again.”

  A thrill passed through her, the same she’d felt on the beach. But she kept a flicker of sarcasm in her voice. “You’re kind of an asshole, you know that right?”