Read Online Chameleon by Kenya Wright - Free Book Online Page B

plugs out. A racket of bass and guitar poured out into the hallway. Goodness what volume does she have that on?
    She gazed at Rich’s bare and sculpted chest. A red tint spread across her pale face. “Where’s your shirt?”
    “What have I told you about blasting that music in your ear when you’re by yourself?” Rich replied. “Anybody could have attacked and raped you.”
    “I saw you all.” She chewed gum and blew a purple bubble.
    “No you didn’t.” Rich popped the bubble with his finger. Fin muttered a curse under her breath.
    “Leave her alone.” I dug in my pocket for my key, found it, and opened the door. Four glass vases of fresh daisies rested on my two-person table. I gasped. Wiz must’ve done this. The flowers weren’t there when I left this morning. He was the only one besides me with a key. Three boxes sat on the floor next to the table. That must be my stuff from Mom’s house. I stood in the doorway like a statue. I can’t deal with that now. I’ll have to do that later.
    “Can we come in?” Sasha asked. “Your boyfriend’s heavy.”
    “He’s not my boyfriend.” I stepped to the side. “Take him to my bedroom. It’s the yellow door across from us. You can lay him on my bed.”
    Sasha followed my orders.
    Fin bopped in and collapsed on my plaid loveseat. Besides the wooden table and two chairs, the ripped loveseat was the only other thing I could fit into the room. My landlord, a demon named Tax, called my place the presidential suite due to the bedroom and bathroom being closed in from the sitting area. Behind my small table, a sink within a counter and an old prehistoric microwave on top of the counter served as my kitchen. Wiz built shelves across from the loveseat and propped an old flat screen on there.
    “Who bought all these flowers?” Fin asked.
    “I think it was Wiz,” I said.
    Fin and Rich exchanged glances.
    “You get cable, yet?” Rich slumped down next to Fin, snatched the remote control from between the couch’s folds, and turned the TV on.
    “No cable, just the basic channels.” I faced Fin. “Where’s the blood?”
    “In the cooler under your table. Cat blood was the best I could get.” She pointed in that direction. “You need a fridge in here. Hopefully, the blood didn’t go bad.”
    I headed to the white cooler and halted. “Hold up. I didn’t see you carry this in.”
    “I broke in earlier,” Fin shrugged, “so I could bring the cooler inside. And then I figured you might get all mad that I let myself in. So I fixed your lock back to the way it was and hung out in the hallway.”
    “ All while blasting music in your ears.” Rich flipped through a few channels and stopped on one of the human music channels. “Oh god, I love watching humans dance. It’s the craziest thing.”
    Primal, a popular shapeshifter rapper, came on the screen and rapped, “You like it when I shift it, baby. Say it! You like it when I shift it.”
    “Rich , please turn that down. The witch next door is always calling my landlord and complaining.” I kneeled down and tugged the cooler to me, right as Sasha returned. “And Fin, do not break into my room again. That’s like the third time this month.”
    “ Dude, your locks suck.” Fin bobbed her head.
    “In the habitats, we shift it!” Primal rapped. “All over the world, we shift it!”
    “ And you totally need a bar on the door too and a security spell.” Fin tapped her foot. “It’s not like you have anything to steal though, but anybody can bust in here.”
    “And rape you,” Rich added.
    “Shut up, Rich!” Fin and I said in unison.
    Sasha came back into the sitting area and made herself comfortable in one of my chairs. “I put your voodoo man on the bed.”
    “It’s not dark magic.” I yawned and pushed the cooler over to her. “Here’s your blood. You can drink it here if you want. It’s up to you.”
    I figured someone would try to snatch the blood from her outside.
    Sasha’s fangs peeked