Текст книги "Sunburst"

Автор книги: Rachel Higginson

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Текущая страница: 2 (всего у книги 22 страниц)

Chapter Two

“What’s wrong with you?” Jupiter’s gruff voice demanded as soon as I was safe in my kitchen. He startled me and I jumped, whipping around to face him. He probably would have caused my heart to stutter, but it was already pounding away in my chest. He was scowling at me, waiting for an answer.

To be fair to him, I was staring at the kitchen door like it was made out of poisonous snakes with their fangs dripping, poised to bite me. But honestly I felt like at any minute Seven was going to burst through it and chop my head off with her extra-long fingernails.

All the way off.

And did Seven have extra-long fingernails? I didn’t really know. But that alone seemed crazy. And Seven was the epitome of crazy to me.

“Starling?” he asked with a deeper tone. He sounded meaner, even impatient, but I knew him enough by now that I recognized his concern.

“I thought I heard….” I paused to clear my throat. “I thought I heard Seven.”

A charged silence met my confession before Jupiter brushed by me and slammed through the mud room and out the kitchen door. The window pane rattled with the force of the door shutting and I took a startled step back from the crash of it.

“Stella?” my dad called from the living room.

For a few more seconds I stared at the door again, this time in total confusion. I didn’t know what Jupiter was doing, or why he felt the need to leave so aggressively. But the gesture felt…. protective? Maybe?

In the few months I had known him I was still struggling to figure him out. He was old, really, really old. Like nine hundred years old. And he wasn’t exactly from this planet. Although since Jupiter was his original home, he was technically from this galaxy. He might not be human but he shared a galactical genetic code with humanity. And as the final survivor from his planet, he had sworn an allegiance to protect Earth from the threat that ultimately destroyed his home.

The threat that was now trying to destroy this one.

“Dad?” I asked when I walked to the living room and found him sitting on the couch reading the Omaha World Herald. My dad– one of the greatest Warriors of his generation, father to the future protector of Earth, husband to a retired Sun, Angel-extraordinaire– was very concerned about local politics.

At least he wasn’t reading the Farmer’s Almanac…. which had been known to happen.

He looked up at me through his Clark-Kent glasses, the ones that were supposed to make him look more human and less…. superhero, and peered at me with thoughtful concern. Because he was a Warrior, like Seth, they shared a lot of similar characteristics. My dad’s wavy hair had the same natural golden highlights that Seth’s did. He was built for combat with trained and well-honed muscles like every Warrior ever born. And he passed for human just enough to co-exist on Earth, which was the main reason both my family and Seth’s had been chosen. I shared his crystalline blue eyes and golden skin toned, but that was mostly where our similarities ended. Other than my eyes, I was a clone of my mother– bright blonde hair and deceivingly delicate features.

“You heard Seven?” he asked, his voice carefully calm and measured. He was covering his apprehension.

“I think so,” I shrugged a shoulder and met his gaze.

“You didn’t see her?”

“Nope,” I shook my head once. “I just heard her.”

“Coming?” I watched my father grow more uneasy. He sat forward on the coach, pulling his glasses from his face and holding them between his thumb and forefinger.

“No, she was saying….” The farther removed from the barn I became, the more I doubted myself or why I felt so much fear. This all seemed so silly. So what? She said my name. She didn’t even try to engage me. “I heard my name. Truthfully, I’m not even sure if it was Seven, it just…. sounded like her.”

“She spoke to you?” My dad pressed. I got the distinct feeling he was hoping this was more than it actually was.

“Whispered,” I croaked, finally feeling as ridiculous as I sounded.

“Pardon?”

I cleared my throat and said more clearly, “She whispered my name. Just whispered it.”

“Stella,” my dad sighed. He rose from the couch and walked over to me, wrapping me up in a comforting hug. “We’re going to figure this out.”

I tilted my head up at him, resting my chin on his chest. “You mean, you don’t think I’m being silly? It was just a whisper. I should know better. I should-“

“Stop,” he commanded and I did. “This is war, Stella. We are at war. And they are not going to play fair. So stop beating yourself up. We are going to end this, and her. Just stay focused on those things and you will make it through.”

A little choked up, I sniffled, “Thanks, Dad.”

“Sure, sweet pea,” he kissed the top of my head and then straightened. “Tristan’s here. I can hear his truck.”

Sure enough there was the distant rumble of his oversized tires over the wet gravel drive. I gave my dad another squeeze and then walked to the front door and out onto our wrap-around porch.

The farmhouse we lived in was big but really old. The stairs creaked no matter how softly you walked on them, the porch was sagging near the middle and I’d heard my dad tell Jupiter the house needed a new roof. But this was home. Cozy, safe and familiar. Our home sat on acres of land that stretched out in rolling farmland and Tristan and I had every inch of the property memorized. Just like we knew every square foot of his parent’s property too. There wasn’t a whole lot to do in our small farm town growing up. So if we didn’t want to get stuck working with our parents, we spent time swimming in the pond on the back of his property, jumping hay bales, hiding out in the rafters of the barns or walking the corn fields, up one way and then back and then up and then back.

It was life on a farm, and we loved every minute of it.

The air was still cool, the heavy rain still hanging in the air, but no longer falling from the sky. Tristan’s old barely-white pickup kicked up mud and gravel as he drove down the drive. I had to laugh at his windshield covered in mud. He must have been out joy-riding with Lincoln and Rigley earlier, because his truck was a mess.

He pulled up in front of me and shot me a roguish smile through the filthy driver’s side window before opening his door and hopping down.

He was dangerously beautiful as he walked up the stairs to meet me. His head was freshly shaved, his emerald green eyes dark and needy and his full lips pulled up into a smirk of possession.

We stood apart for thirty seconds, taking each other in, breathing the space between, before I flung myself into his arms. This was how I met Tristan. Since forever, I threw myself into him and he caught me. He would always catch me.

He clung to me just as tightly and pulled me securely against his chest. He smelled like rain and hay, and Tristan. My head spun with all the events of the last several hours, but here, in Tristan’s arms they just didn’t seem to matter anymore.

“What are you doing here?” I asked into his chest, noticing how hard his heart was beating against my cheek.

“I needed to see you,” he answered. His fingers trailed back and forth across my lower back and I shivered at his gentle, barely-there touch.

“I needed to see you too,” I confessed.

We held each other for a few more moments before letting go of each other. We’d been keeping our relationship in check for long enough that we were painfully familiar with the boundary lines we weren’t allowed to cross. All hugs came to an end before they could be considered intimate– or more intimate than what was normal for us.

“What have you been doing today?” I asked him as I sank onto the porch swing that hung from the ceiling. The cushion was a little wet from the rain earlier, but I didn’t let it bother me.

Tristan sat down next to me and set us to swinging with one of his toes anchored on the ground. “Rigley and I were out mudding during the rain.” He was so casual, so nonchalant about it, I almost laughed.

“Mudding?” Meaning, they were out driving their trucks all over Rigley’s parents land in the most dangerous way possible. There were only certain stunts that splashed mud on top of a truck with extra-large tires. “That’s a little dangerous, don’t you think? Do you have a death wish I don’t know about?”

Tristan reached out and smoothed out my raised eyebrow with his pointer finger. “Do I have a death wish? Nope.” His eyes were intense again and his attitude too cavalier. “Driving around in my truck is perfectly safe. Fighting demons and psychopaths on the other hand….”

“Not fair,” I argued. We’d been doing this a lot lately, going back and forth about my fated future. “I don’t have a choice.”

“There’s always a choice,” Tristan said in a low voice.

“Fine, there’s always a choice,” I agreed. “Then this is what I want. I want to make this planet safe, I want to-“

“I don’t want to fight anymore,” Tristan cut me off by pressing his fingers against my mouth. “I came over because I couldn’t stay away from you anymore, I couldn’t…. Stella, I just wanted to be with you; that’s it.”

I nodded against his hand, relaxing because of how nice that sounded. I kissed the pads of his fingers as a gesture of surrender, tasting his skin on my lips. He watched my mouth, his eyes darkening with a heat that could burn even me.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he pulled his fingers from my mouth and then wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I snuggled into him and laid my head against chest. His heartbeat steadied, but I smiled at the idea that it wouldn’t take much from me to get it going again.

“Stella, this weekend, I want to take you out,” Tristan said gently, carefully.

“Sure, like Friday?” I asked.

We were both into our spring soccer seasons, but there weren’t very many Friday games. Usually we played Tuesday or Thursday nights and got Friday off. Friday night in the spring turned into a big date night throughout the high school. During the fall, we had football games, and during the winter basketball games, so with track meets that took place during the day and soccer games during the week nights, the weekends were almost completely free.

“Yeah, Friday,” Tristan confirmed. “But, Stel, I want this Friday. It’s mine. I want this to be a date.”

My chest ached at his words, knowing how impossible that would be. It wasn’t just that I couldn’t pick Seth because of Tristan, it was also that I couldn’t pick Tristan because of Seth. Love triangles were always so sexy in books, but in reality they were heartbreaking and crushing. I felt suffocated beneath the weight of this trifecta relationship, even while I knew who my choice would be in the end.

I could never pick Tristan.

I could never be with Tristan.

No matter what my heart wanted.

“I can’t go on a date with you,” I whispered, my throat thick with emotion.

I felt him tense underneath me, his whole body going rigid with frustration. “Yes, you can.”

“What about our friendship, Tristan? What happens if we cross the line and go on a date? If it goes really badly, you might not ever want to be my friend again.” I thought that was a valid argument so I turned in his arms so he could see how sincere I was.

He smiled sweetly down at me, his big hand running up my arm until he was cupping the back of my neck. “Stella, I have never wanted to be your friend.”

“What?” I gasped, a little surprised by the honesty in his tone.

“I’ve always wanted to be so much more than friends,” he promised and then leaned forward like he was going to kiss me.

My heart sped up and pounded clumsily in my chest like it was desperately trying to work right. My fingers curled in anticipation and my stomach flip-flopped with nerves. Because even while my body screamed for our lips to connect, my brain, heart and soul pushed on the brakes so violently I felt like pitching forward and getting checked for whiplash.

“Tristan, I-“

“Stella?” Seth barked from the driveway.

Oh, no.

I stood up immediately, but the swing came flying forward and clipped me in the back of the knees so that I fell back, directly onto Tristan’s lap. Tristan caught me with two hands on my waist, which was a sweet gesture, but completely the wrong time for him to be putting his hands all over me.

“Stella,” Seth bellowed, stalking towards us.

Tristan pushed me up, depositing me into standing, before he jumped off the swing, marching toward Seth. “Back off, man. Can’t you see she fell?”

“And that gives you the excuse to put your hands all over her?” Seth growled.

“Yeah, it does.” Tristan stomped down the porch stairs and met Seth stride for stride until they were staring each other down, just inches apart. While Tristan was technically taller than Seth, Seth was…. an Angel.

I truly believed Tristan could kick any human’s ass. But the fight wasn’t exactly fair when Seth could fly.

“She’s not yours to touch, Tristan,” Seth’s voice was low and threatening. Even the hairs on the back of my neck stood up at his obvious intent to harm anything that didn’t heed his warning. “You need to back off.”

“When she decides that, Seth,” Tristan matched his tone, just as pissed off, just as scary, “Then I’ll back off.”

Ugh, it was the Valentine’s Day dance all over again! Only that night I had been on Seth’s arm and we had been having a really good time.

Until Tristan asked to dance with me.

Then the night ended in a bloody fistfight that got both boys suspended from school for three days. It was humiliating, just like they were humiliating me now. But they didn’t seem to care. The caveman instincts had kicked in and they were consciously unable to think or function rationally.

“Seth, Tristan, get the hell away from each other right now,” Jupiter shouted from across the drive. When neither boy made a move to step back, he reiterated, “Now, boys, or I’ll make you very sorry you didn’t listen.”

Seth stepped down first, his body vibrating with rage, his glow hot and bright. He never took his eyes off Tristan, never softened his expression. He just walked between Tristan and me and stood there with crossed arms, and spread apart feet. The message was clear.

“I’ll call you later, Stel,” Tristan called out as he turned to hop back into his truck. “Or you can call me when you finally get some time alone.”

I didn’t know what to say and Tristan was already in his truck with the door slammed shut so I just waved as he drove away. His dirty truck swerved and fishtailed in his haste to get out of here.

But even after his truck was off our drive and out on the highway, Seth made no move to relax.

“Stella,” he growled with his back to me.

“I’m just as mad at you, so don’t start with me,” I hissed quickly before he thought he could behave like that and get away with it.

He was silent for a few moments, his shoulders tight with tension. Slowly, he turned around to face me and I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding. His expression was purely frustrated anger; his lips were thinned into a disappointed line. But it was his damaged and vulnerable eyes that broke my heart. It was the disappointment that was the biggest blow; it was the shattering of my heart when he looked at me like that.

“Stella, he doesn’t get to touch you,” Seth stated plainly.

I steeled my resolve and jutted my chin. I wasn’t a piece of property and I wasn’t already betrothed. “Didn’t we already have this conversation earlier? I’m taking my time.”

“And breaking my heart while you do it. Do you want there to be no trust between us? Are you trying to damage everything that could be good?” He demanded.

I felt sick at his words, physically ill. “Seth, I’m not trying to hurt you. I’m just trying to….” I looked away before I could finish. It wasn’t fair that his golden eyes could so easily undo me. “I’m just trying to figure me out.”

A ripple of emotion swept the atmosphere around Seth at my words, it was strong enough that I forced myself to look at him, to make sure he was…. Ok. He held my gaze easily, effortlessly, and I supposed he always would, I supposed that was one of his superpowers. He was the other half of me and I was fighting against a destiny I couldn’t control.

“Be careful you don’t lose me in an effort to find you, Stella,” he warned ominously. “Trust someone that knows, you won’t ever be whole without me, you can’t be complete without me. You have feelings for him fine, but I am your future, I was made specifically for you. He’s just a distraction that’s keeping you from everything you were meant to have.”

He walked away then, cold and withdrawn. He was warning me about losing him, but I was starting to wonder if I already had.

Chapter Three

I woke on a loud gasp sometime after midnight. I was strung tight with anxiety, my body completely battle-ready.

I felt the danger he was in, but I still hesitated, taking a moment to stretch and adjusting to waking up from a dead sleep. Chances were Seth was just having a bad dream, something we realized drew all kinds of Darkness to him while he slept.

Ever since Jupiter and Seth moved in a few miles away, I’d been waking up on occasion, feeling the Darkness as it hovered over him. He didn’t realize the danger he was in, or that he needed to be woken up. It was like night terrors for Angels.

Part of me thought about just calling Jupiter and letting him deal with it. Seth had been overbearing and rude today and then I’d spent the rest of my day feeling guilty, when I hadn’t even done anything wrong. I turned Tristan down for his date. And I wasn’t going to let him kiss me.

Still I was punished.

Ok, I wasn’t that callous, I knew I was in the wrong too. But right now I didn’t feel like doing anything about it.

The other part of me, just wanted to go to Seth and forget the day happened. I wanted to be with him and make sure he was alright. I was miserable like this– I hated that we fought.

Even without his distress right now, I would have been desperate for him, desperate to work this out between us.

I needed him right now– this very second. Maybe even more than he needed me.

And that’s what prompted me to get up and slip some yoga pants on. I paused at my parents’ door to tell them where I was going and why and then raced down the stairs.

Suddenly it was imperative to get to Seth as quickly as I could.

Because we didn’t want to draw any attention to ourselves, especially after a battle of the epic-proportions-variety back in February, I was forced to drive my dad’s truck. I sped through the backcountry roads of eastern Nebraska, swerving over gravel and braking for the occasional wandering wildlife.

Seth was only a fifteen-minute drive from my farm. During that time I thought over why he had bad dreams to begin with, because the source of his problems, was also the source of mine.

When Seth was little, his parents had been murdered in front of him by the same bad guy that hunted us today– Aliah. And if that weren’t enough to scar him for life, his older sister had stepped over their dead bodies– quite literally– and joined Team Evil. Seven haunted my thoughts on a daily basis, but she also haunted Seth, not physically, but in his dreams, in his thoughts, in every part of him. Seth still mourned his lost sister and the pain of her betrayal.

Now Aliah’s mission in life was to recruit Seth to the dark side in the whole, “Luke, I am your father” bit. Only, he wasn’t Seth’s father. He murdered Seth’s father.

And even though Aliah made his plan absolutely clear, I was surprised he was able to fit in head-hunting my Counterpart, when he had so many other things on his plate– like world domination, destroying the entire realm of heaven and turning Earth into another desolate wasteland.

Obviously he had a personal assistant.

The early spring air chilled me as I jumped from the truck. Just like last time, even though oppression settled around the house, nothing physical had manifested yet. There were no Shadows lurking through the night or Fallen waiting to fight. It was just Seth’s dark thoughts and haunting dreams.

I used my own key to let myself into the small ranch farmhouse Jupiter and Seth shared. I’d been gifted one shortly after Seth’s first episode, when I’d entered the house, Chuck Norris, style and broke down the front door with my foot. Jupiter thought it would be easier if I didn’t have to do that every time– not for me but for him, the man that had to replace all the broken doors.

As soon as I walked through the front door, I felt the physical oppression that weighed on Seth. My heart clenched tightly in my chest and my lungs froze as I empathized with his pain.

Quietly, I crept through the darkened house, even though Jupiter probably already knew I was here. I opened Seth’s door and paused for a moment to take him in. He was completely transformed in sleep– sweet, gentle, off-guard. He looked perfect all the time, but something about watching him sleep tugged on every heartstring.

He was shirtless in bed and his sheet had slipped below the waistband of his plaid boxers– his only pajamas. His hands were tucked under his pillow and he rested on his side with his knees pulled partly up. His skin was tanned and golden-esque, but while deep in one of his nightmares there was no healthy glow illuminating his dark room.

I sat down next to him as softly as I could and ran my fingers through his unruly hair. “Seth,” I whispered, hoping to wake him gently. “Seth.”

He stirred, but just barely. He shifted to his stomach, stretched out on his mattress and made an unintelligible grunting noise.

I smiled, unable to stop myself. He was absolutely charming like this. I moved my fingers through the silky waves of his hair again, loving the feel and texture of his thick waves. “You’re having another bad dream,” I whispered a little firmer this time.

He made another sound and then reached out for me. His arms wrapped around my waist before I could protest and he had me tucked into the spoon of his body before I could even process objecting. His body was hot against mine, so hot and comforting. I fit against him perfectly, and our feet tangled in each other instinctively, as if this were the most natural position in the world.

“Mmm,” he sighed contentedly; his words rumbled against the nape of my neck. “You came to me.”

My heart jumped at his words and how peaceful he sounded now that he was awake. He’d told me how terrifying his dreams could be, how messed up they could make him. I was thrilled to know that I made it easier for him to detox from the evil that seeped in his subconscious mind.

And more than that, I was elated that he was happy I was here. The pleasure rushing in my stomach felt a lot like butterflies and a lot confusing– considering I was holding back as much as I could from Seth.

Still, I promised, “I will always come to you, Seth.”

He acknowledged me with another sigh. “Stay with me,” he pleaded, pulling me tighter against his strong, muscled body. “I need you tonight. Stay with me.”

“Alright,” I agreed instantly. His voice was deep and raspy with sleep. His face had just the shadow of a beard and it scraped against the bare skin at my nape.

“You’re my Light, Stella,” he murmured in a voice that proved he was falling asleep again. “When I’m lost in Darkness, you are my Light.”

I felt his breathes even out against my back, his arms relax their hold. He was asleep again. But it would take me a long time to fall asleep after those words. I wanted to fight this bond between Seth and me, this future that I wasn’t ready for. But when he said things like that and held me like this, everything felt so natural I wondered how I survived without these things– without him. He was meant for me.

He said he needed me, but I needed him just as much.

I just didn’t know what to do about that yet.

–

“Stella,” Seth’s voice breeched the deep nothingness I was floating in. “Stella, wake up.”

Gentle fingers were running across my bare stomach, I was hotter and more content than I had ever been. And I felt safe.

And these days, I never felt safe.

I realized then how afraid I’d become of my everyday life. How thoughts of Seven or Aliah or awaiting evil had crept into my bloodstream and started controlling the flow of blood to my heart.

I hated my weakness in that moment.

But I hated Aliah more.

My eyes fluttered open and immediately met Seth’s golden gaze. His eyes were bright with affection and his skin a warm, soft heat that wrapped around every part of me.

Somehow in the night we’d turned to face each other and our limbs had tangled in an attempt to press as tightly together as we could get. His head was propped up by one hand and his other wrapped around my waist, holding me to him.

“Sorry,” I nuzzled my face into the pillow so I sounded muffled. My morning voice was hoarse and scratchy, but my morning breath was worse. “I didn’t mean to spend the whole night.”

“I’m glad you did,” he murmured, pulling me tighter against him. I sucked in a breath at hardness of his body. Every inch of him was firm, taut muscle from where my feet wrapped around his calves to his thighs pressed against mine, to where my arm wrapped around his waist. He was so…. manly, even though he wasn’t technically a man. So maybe he was more male– all testosterone and alpha-instinct.

“My mom is going to kill me,” I groaned.

“And Jupiter won’t exactly be pleased,” he chuckled.

I buried my face in Seth’s chest at the thought of having to walk out of this room and face Jupiter this early in the morning. Awesome….

“But I needed you, Stella,” he whispered.

I lifted my face to meet his golden gaze again. “I know.”

He stared down at me for several moments before he whispered, “I think I’ll always need you.”

My heart stuttered in my chest and I didn’t really know how to respond to that. So I tucked my face back against his heart and let the steady rising and falling of his chest soothe my tattered nerves. That was a lot to wake up to.

He sighed, but tugged me impossibly closer for just a moment before releasing me completely. With quick, swift movements he was out of the bed and yanking on sweatpants over his boxers. He took his delicious heat with him and I felt the coldness as it seeped into my very bones.

But I got up too, knowing I was the one forcing us to keep our distance.

“Last night… I mean, you haven’t woken me up in at least three weeks. Are you…. is everything alright?” I crossed my arms and watched as he tugged a white t-shirt over his head.

His naturally highlighted mess of hair popped through the top before his perfect face appeared. His eyes were darker than usual and his jaw had a muscle popping in and out.

“I’m fine, Stella,” he almost growled out. “I don’t know why those wake you up. I can’t even remember my dreams.”

“Nightmares,” I countered.

“I can’t even remember my nightmares.”

A heavy silence fell between us; the force of it laid on guilt like a physical weight. There were so many things I was doing wrong these days. So many things I didn’t even want to face, let alone deal with. Like I was capable of handling the pressure and consequences. I was sixteen.

Still, I promised Seth, “I know I’ve put this…. distance between us, but Seth, if you ever just want to talk to me, I’m here for you.”

His steely mask cracked just a little and he looked up at me with some of his old warmth, “I know, Stel.”

Some of the pressure eased off my heart and I bent over to slip my shoes back on– they had come off sometime in the night. Seth tossed one of his sweatshirts to me and I just barely caught it. Sometimes it was astonishing I was able to handle a sword.

“I don’t need this,” I shrugged. “But thanks.”

Seth’s gaze flickered over my chest and minimal tank top and he cleared his throat a little nervously before he said, Trust me, you need it.”

I scrambled into the huge piece of clothing, secretly relishing the warmth and feel of it as it draped my body. It had to be relatively new, because it was so soft on the inside. I wanted to rub my face against the cotton, and it still smelled like Seth– like wind, and fresh snow and something entirely foreign, but familiar to me at the same time. The sleeves covered my hands completely but I kept them like that, afraid if I pulled them out I would lose the warmth that came with something that belonged to Seth.

“Thank you.”

He smiled then, big and toothy and I was so thrilled we’d found our naturalness again. I hated the in between fighting that came whenever I pushed him away or he asked too much of me too soon.

“I’ll call you later, alright.”

“Alright,” I agreed and then left him alone in his bedroom.

I passed Jupiter on the way out of the house. He barely lifted his eyes from his coffee and paper to acknowledge me.

“Thanks for not breaking down my door,” he grunted. And then he went back to his paper. That was his only comment. No reprimand? No scolding? His blasé attitude was strange.

But even stranger was arriving home and greeting my parents who were both wearing sleepy smiles. They were both sitting over steaming cups of coffee too and seemed to be in quiet conversation.

“I’m sorry,” I said immediately on impulse– in case this was a trap.

“For what?” My dad looked at me, his piercing blue eyes seeming to see all the way through me.

“For….” I was kind of at a loss. Last time I’d slept all the way through the night with a boy I had been in huge trouble. A few months ago they had been pissed that Tristan had snuck in my bedroom window and we’d fallen asleep. Now they were just shrugging it off? After I walked in the door at dawn? Had they been body snatched??? “For staying the night with Seth. We accidentally fell asleep and-“

“It’s alright, babe,” my mom cut me off with a tender smile. “You told us where you were going last night.”

“But…. but… but you were so mad when Tristan spent the night!” Was I trying to get myself in trouble?

My parents shared a look and then my dad said with one eyebrow raised, “We were angry when Tristan spent the night in our house, without our permission or knowledge.” And that was the tone I was expecting from the beginning. His next words shocked me though, “But Seth isn’t Tristan, Stella. You of all people should know that.”