Chapter 21

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I open my eyes.

I blink a couple of times as early morning light streams onto the bed, groan – Ugh, school – and stretch. The room smells warm, homely – different than usual, though my sleep hazed mind can't figure out why. I blink again.

And then, with an almost painful jolt, the events of last night come back to me.

Weird cupids attacked me and Charlie, a Matchmaking Agent's heart was taken, a body is missing.

My heart thumps.

Cupid and I kissed.

I sit upright and look beside me. The dark pink pillow is crumpled, slept on, but vacant.

Where is he?

My eyes dart around my room, noting that his bow and arrows are no longer propped up against the full-length mirror in the corner of my room. I feel a pang of panic, mixed with hurt. Has he left me?

It's then that I realize what the homely scent is, wafting through my door that is slightly ajar.

Bacon.

It provokes a stomach rumble.

I look at the clock by the bedside table: seven o clock. Dad will have left for work a good hour or so ago. And he never cooks.

Is Cupid making breakfast?

A smile tugs at the corner of my lip.

I get out of bed, pad across the carpet, and pull skinny jeans and a green sweater. I tie my unkempt hair into a knot on top of my head, then barefoot I tip-toe downstairs. I peer around the door to the kitchen.

Cupid has his back to me – facing the hob. He's wearing the same, unwashed clothes, as yesterday- creases criss-cross across his grey top. The sunlight reflects off the bronze in his hair – stuck up in tufts due to him just getting out of bed - as he flips strips of bacon. His bow and arrows are placed haphazardly on the center of the wooden kitchen table. I look at them pointedly.

"You better hope that my dad doesn't come home early..." I say.

He turns around, one hand still on the pan. His ocean eyes widen slightly as they focus on me, then his face cracks into a grin.

"Because you had a Love God in your room last night?" he wiggles his eyebrows, "Because I've left my bow and arrows on the table? Or because I'm stealing his bacon?"

I laugh.

"All of the above," I go to stand beside him and look into the sizzling pan. "What's all this?!"

"Couldn't sleep. Not after my brother's message..." I notice his fist clench around the panhandle, whitening his lightly tanned knuckles. His strong jaw hardens. Then he looks at me and his eyes soften. He grins, "Plus – you were snoring. And muttering in your sleep..."

What?!

My eyes widen in alarm and his grin widens.

"Yeah... you were saying all kinds of things; about how great I was – how much you like me, that kind of thing."

I feel my face heat up and resolutely look away from him.

"...it was getting a bit awkward to be honest; a bit hard for my small and humble ego to take..." he continues – a stab of pleasure in his tone as though he's enjoying the effect he's having on me.

Cupid? Small ego?

I look up at him and narrow my eyes.

"Liar."

His grin widens, his eyes twinkling violently. He says nothing for a moment. Then he nods.

"Yeah...I'm lying. You seemed very peaceful," he shrugs. "I just wanted to make you breakfast."

He flips the bacon into two buttered bread rolls on the counter, then passes a plate to me. I take it and lift myself up onto the counter, dangling my legs in front of the cupboard.

"I could get used to this," I say with a grin. "Thanks."

A sadness seems to flicker across his face – only momentarily, but it's definitely there. I wonder if he's worried about Valentine, or if it's something else. Then he smiles.

"You like my bacon sandwiches, you should try my risotto," he moves so he's stood in front of me, my legs dangling at either side of his. His body heat washes over me and suddenly I don't feel so hungry anymore. Not for breakfast anyway...

Pull yourself together, Lila.

"Seriously," he says. "Come over tonight. I need to keep an eye on you anyway."

I look into his eyes and he wiggles his brows.

"And I heard your dad was out tonight, so there's no excuse really."

He gives me what he clearly thinks is a winning grin. I roll my eyes.

Two nights in a row with Cupid?

It seems that – after pretty much avoiding each other for the past few months – things are starting to move quickly. Too quickly? Valentine – whatever his terrible plans may be – seems to have inadvertently pushed us closer together.

I hesitate and he takes my plate from my hands, putting it down on the counter beside me. Then he leans forward, his palms pressed against the granite surface. I feel my pulse begin to speed up at his proximity. But still I have my reservations about Cupid, I can't help it.

"What is it, lovebug?" he says his lips turning down in the corners slightly – his eyes burning into mine.

I look up at his face. He still looks more tired than usual – the now two-day old stubble covering his hard jaw, the smudges still existent below his eyes.

I sigh and shake my head.

"Nothing. Dinner at yours sounds great."

He nods but doesn't smile.

"I really am sorry I keep on getting you into these situations," he says.

"You really do have a crazy family," I say.

His face brightens and a laugh escapes his lips.

"Yeah, you could say that," he says. He steps away, "Come on. Eat up – I'd better get you to school."

***

The morning passes by without incident. Charlie informs me that she is on 'Lila watch' and insists on walking me to classes and accompanying me to the bathroom – which would be annoying if it was anyone else, but seeing as it's Charlie I don't mind so much.

I feel on edge though. Like someone is watching me. And – though I see nothing out of the ordinary at school – I can't shift the feeling that something is wrong. A couple of times I think I see a flash of dark hair – and I wonder if it's the girl I thought was following me the other day.

Valentine's Day is coming. Stay away from your match.

Then my mind recalls the three, strange cupids that attacked us last night – and wonder if one of those is on my tail. But surely if they were in school I would know about it.

I shrug off the bad feelings. I'm probably just being paranoid after everything that I've found out the past few days.

At lunch, as we munch on fries and burgers, Charlie leans forward in her chair and fixes her dark brown eyes on me.

"So...Cupid stayed the night last night, huh?"

She wiggles her eyebrows and I laugh.

"Come on, give me the details."

She slurps on her coke – her eyes unmoving from mine.

I tell her  – missing out the part where Cupid pulled away and looked sad. I don't know why but I don't feel like talking about that. Then I move onto the part about the missing heart, and the missing body – which apparently Cal told Charlie about already.

We're discussing what it could mean when my phone buzzes.

A message flashes across the screen from an unknown number.

Hey lovebug, battery's dead. Using another phone. Meet me in the gym after school. Cupid.

He'd said he'd pick me up in the parking lot, but maybe he wants to do some training or something. I shrug and reply that I'll see him there, my pulse quickening at the thought of seeing him again.

Then I continue my conversation with Charlie until the bell rings – signaling class.

***

At the end of the day I head toward the gym to meet Cupid. Class ran over a little and the locker-lined corridors are pretty much abandoned already. I find myself looking over my shoulder as I move – still feeling on edge, still feeling like something is wrong.

As I step into the seemingly empty school gym, I find myself remembering the time I met Cal here – when he first showed me the three types of arrow. A lot has changed since then.

"Cupid?" I say softly, my voice echoing back to me off the grey walls.

There's clearly no-one here.

I start to move across the floor, through the shadows and the small pools of light created by the high window slits by the ceiling. My footsteps are amplified by the silence.

I glance toward the store cupboard at the other side of the vast space. Then I pull my phone out of my jeans pocket to call Cupid. 

Why isn't he here?

Something feels wrong.

It's then that a bad smell washes over me – sweet and rotten like decay. My eyes flit up, alert searching for the source.

Suddenly an arrow flies through the air toward me, knocking my phone out of my hand. It lands with a clatter on the floor about ten feet away from me. My heart jolts into my throat. I hear the doors to the gym slam shut.

I'm about to spin around me when I see movement ahead in the dark entrance of the store cupboard.

I freeze as a dark figure begins to emerge, shrouded by shadow.

I reach for my satchel, plunging my hand into it to pull out the Ardor arrow I stuffed in there earlier. Because, before he even speaks, I know exactly who I'm now face to face with.

My heart thuds hard against my chest. My blood turns to ice. I try to steady the tremble in my body.

"Hello, Lila," his voice is deep, amused, "I hope you'll excuse the deception I used to get you here," he lifts up a cell phone. "I thought it was about time we finally met."

He steps into the light.

"I'm Valentine. And I believe you are Cupid's Match."

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