Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
Jinx settles on my lap, her warm weight a comfort, especially as the sound of everyone around me starts to feel too loud, a static buzzing in the back of my mind.
Levi is sitting cross-legged on the floor, tossing treats to Pebble, who hops around, cooing in that happy little way of hers.
Koen is stretched out on the couch, one arm slung lazily over the back, while Ezra is sprawled on the other end, watching me with that curious, expectant look.
Somehow, just sitting here, being here for our usual Sunday movie evening, is more exhausting than anything else I’ve done all day.
Which, admittedly, wasn’t much.
I barely left my room, opting to sulk inside my head.
My thoughts circled back to her this morning, more often than I expected, especially since I’d gotten barely more than a glimpse—just a figure from the back.
Her long brown hair peeking out from under the helmet Sylus slid onto her head.
She’d been drowning in some oversized hoodie and baggy sweatpants, a look that should’ve been easily forgettable but somehow wasn’t.
Maybe it’s the mystery of her more than anything that’s hooked me, especially after I found out about her previous relationship with Sylus.
It’s crazy how small the world is sometimes.
Koen, Ezra, and I talked last night while trying to get Levi to drink some water after their night out, and they mentioned how she and Sylus had an ongoing fling before the twins found her.
They only realized the connection last night.
Sylus, of all people.
Oscar used to say the people who were meant to be in your life would find their way there, no matter how improbable it seemed. Sometimes, I think he was right.
Life scattered our deck of cards all over the ground when Oscar died, and somehow, we have picked up a new one as we work to put our family back together.
We’ll find out soon enough if she’s a true fit.
Even earlier, when I was in my room with the door shut and only her text messages from last night for company, it felt as though she was right there.
And I don’t even know what she looks like.
I only emerged from those walls because Koen knocked on my door earlier, talking about dinner, about how nice it would be if I joined them, and before I could find an excuse to refuse, he was already leading me down to the kitchen.
The persuasive bastard.
And now, here we are, stomachs full of pasta, Sylus plopping down beside me, giving me a look like I’m one of his embroidery projects he can’t wait to finish. He’d probably embroider some horrible phrase on it like, Be nice to yourself, you dumb bitch.
“So,” he begins, turning his attention to me and leaning in. “You sticking around for the movie?”
I know he’s trying to figure out how hard to push me to stay.
Hell, I think they all are based on the unsubtle glances they’ve been throwing my way.
We had these movie nights often enough that I could picture what would happen if I stayed easily, and that’s the problem.
They’d laugh and talk while I sat here quietly, trying to figure out how to appear like I’m functioning.
My chest grows tight the longer I think of it, and I rub the center of it as if that’ll help soothe it.
I look down, letting my hand slide over Jinx’s fur, focusing on the softness there, on the simple comfort of it. “I… I probably should get back to my room,” I mutter, trying to find something to say that isn’t no.
“You don’t have to be okay to hang out, you know.” Sylus’s voice drops to something that feels too understanding, too kind. “We don’t need you to fix yourself for us.” He shrugs as if it’s the simplest thing in the world, but the words twist inside me, feeling like something else entirely.
I try to brush it off, to look away, but his gray gaze holds mine, and it’s as though he can read every thought I’m trying so hard to keep buried. I want to tell him he doesn’t understand, that it’s not that easy, but he looks like he’s already guessed that too.
It makes me shift uncomfortably. When you’re stuck where I am, even kindness can feel like a demand, an expectation. I want to be here with you sounds the same as why can’t you be here with me? Like I’m disappointing them by not being better, not snapping out of it, not being… normal again.
At least as normal as I was three months ago.
He slowly nods. “You don’t have to explain anything, man. Just… stay. Watch the movie.”
The old urge to recoil, to shut off, surges up again.
I glance down at Jinx, her eyes are half-lidded, completely at peace, and I let my hand rest on her, grounding myself in her warmth.
Then, with a bit of defiance, I look up at Sylus, half-wanting to prove him wrong.
“All right,” I murmur as I turn my attention to the television.
“I’ll stay. But if it’s some feel-good crap, I’m out. ”
Sylus laughs. “Deal.”
What feels like an eternity later, the definitely feel-good movie finally ends, the overly cheerful notes of the last song lingering as the credits roll up the screen.
Levi hums along, tapping his foot to the beat until the screen fades to black.
Pebble flutters around his shoulders, seemingly as happy as Levi about the Disney movie he made us sit through.
I stretch, trying to shake off the tiredness that cloaks me and notice Sylus next to me with his phone in hand, looking like he’s debating something.
“I should probably wait,” he mutters to himself.
“Wait for what?” I ask, curiosity getting the better of me.
“Texting Sparkle.”
“Sparkle?” I huff, glancing around at the others. “What’s her name, anyway?”
“Glitter,” Koen answers, a half-smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
“You guys are fucking with me,” I accuse and lean back, forcing a laugh and trying to mask the bitterness.
“It’s her stage name. God, you guys are boring,” Levi chimes in with a grin. “Still jealous I don’t have one. We should rectify that, right, Ko?”
Koen rolls his eyes as he says dryly, “Sure, Dove.”
Sylus smirks at Levi, crossing his arms as he gives him a taunting look. “I thought we were happy with Barbie and Ken?”
“Ha-ha,” Levi replies, flipping Sylus off before reaching out to let Pebble hop up his arm and onto his shoulder. “You’re hilarious.”
It feels good to see them joke around, something grounding in the back-and-forth banter, even if I’m still on the periphery of it.
“So, what’s the plan now with our glittery friend?” Levi asks, his eyes sweeping over us all but landing on Sylus. “Did you guys talk? Did she want to talk about… our little lies?”
“Nope. She said she wasn’t pissed, but I don’t believe her.” Sylus shrugs.
I huff, not even trying to hide my frustration because, really, not telling her everything from the start was a bad call, though I get why they held back.
Still, if I were her, I’d be furious.
And Ezra—Ezra fucking hit her.
I clench my teeth together as I glance at him. His jaw is still darkened by the bruise that Koen gave him as a kind of rough justice. There’s some satisfaction in that but not nearly enough.
“Yeah, she’s probably still pissed,” I mutter, more to myself than to the group.
Ezra sighs, seemingly unfazed, but his posture is clearly defensive. “Look, I don’t think she needs to know the full extent of everything.”
“You’re the one who said she could be trusted, Ez.” Sylus straightens and leans forward, his words growing more impassioned. “She’s in this now, and if we don’t tell her the truth, it’ll come back to bite us.”
“I said she can be trusted with what she needs to know,” Ezra snaps back. “There is no need to lie. That doesn’t mean she has to know everything. None of us truly know her.”
“Speak for your fucking self,” Sylus almost growls. “I know her.”
“All right,” Koen pipes in for the first time, looking around the room. “Here’s what I suggest. We all meet up with her tomorrow morning. We talk, give her something. And Ezra, you can gauge her for whatever unknown danger you still think she’s carrying.” He grins, and Ezra’s eyes narrow.
“Fine.” Sylus huffs, his gaze still pinned on Ezra. “Only if he doesn’t lay a hand on her to do so.”
“Fine.” Ezra scoffs, mirroring Sylus’s tone, crossing his arms over his chest. “In the Lane Building. I don’t want her here.”
“Works for me,” Koen agrees, looking at me with that steady, assessing gaze. “What about you, Alaric? You coming?”
I think about it, but my stomach twists immediately at the thought of leaving the house, especially with her in the mix.
Texting is safer.
“No, I don’t think you need me for this.”
I’m a pussy.
I know that.
“She’s proven she can do what we need her to do. The only thing that might get in her way… are her nerves.”
And I know plenty about that too.