“What is this place?” I ask.
“Let’s go find out,” Eros says, killing the bike and hopping off excitedly.
“He likes to trespass on private property to lurk around inside abandoned buildings,” Tres offers.
“It’s called urban exploration, dipshit!” Eros yells over his shoulder.
“It’s called asbestos,” Sebastian counters. “And he won’t be happy until we’re all dead from it.”
“Let’s make this quick so we can get back to camp,” Lathan chimes in. “I need a beer.”
“It’s cute that you think I didn’t come prepared,” Eros says, walking backward as he reaches into his backpack and tosses a can toward Lathan. Lathan gets off his bike and points the can toward Tres before opening it, spraying it all over him.
“You fucker,” Tres says, shoving a cackling Lathan. Sebastian hits a red button to kill the engine before swinging a leg over, then holds out a hand to help me down.
“You guys do this a lot?” I ask after I take off my helmet. Sebastian takes it from me and hangs it from the handlebar.
“Every time we hit a new town.”
“So, you’re like, with the carnival?”
“In a way. We have a contract with Jessup. We go where the carnival goes.”
“What’s the difference between a carnival and a circus?”
“The circus keeps their animals in cages. We let ours run free,” he says, with a glint in his eyes. The insinuation is clear. They are the animals.
The sound of gravel crunching beneath tires comes a second before we’re blinded by the headlights of Elliot’s truck. I lift my arm to shield my eyes.
“Sorry!” Elliot yells out of the driver’s side window before he kills the lights. “It’s dark out here. Had to use my brights. I almost lost you guys back there.”
Sebastian ignores him, and the others are already waiting on the porch of the house.
“It’s okay,” I say, waving him off. I feel bad for this guy. I can tell he wants to be accepted, and clearly, it’s not going well for him.
Elliot smiles, then hops out of his truck and follows us to the front door. It’s eerily quiet out here. The ground is damp, and the air is cool, even in the middle of summer.
Eros wiggles the door handle, but it doesn’t open.
“It’s locked,” Elliot says, stating the obvious. “Where do we go now?”
Eros gives Sebastian a look that I interpret as is this kid for real? before he picks up a brick from the porch and throws it through the vertical window parallel to the door. The harsh sound of glass breaking in the quiet night makes me flinch. Eros shoves his arm through, uncaring of the shards of glass, reaching around to unlock the door.
“Magic,” Eros deadpans, giving spirit fingers. “Ladies first.”
I hesitate, not wanting to be the first to walk into the dark, abandoned, and quite possibly haunted house.
“Meet you in there,” Sebastian says to Eros when he gives him a questioning look.
“I was referring to Elliot anyway.” Eros smirks and claps both hands down on Elliot’s shoulders none too gently before shoving him over the threshold. The guys file inside, leaving Sebastian and me alone.
“You’re afraid of a lot,” he accuses with a wolfish smile.
“Maybe you’re not afraid of enough,” I shoot back, surprising even myself. I don’t usually snap at people like this, but something about him gets under my skin. “Dangerous stunts, breaking and entering…got a death wish, Sexy Sebastian?”
“Everyone’s gotta die sometime,” he says, shrugging. “At least I’m actually living in the meantime.”
I shake my head, rolling my eyes. He’s known me for all of five seconds. I’m not sure if I’m more offended at the fact that he thinks he has me pegged, or the fact that he may be right.