Total pages in book: 181
Estimated words: 181613 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 908(@200wpm)___ 726(@250wpm)___ 605(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 181613 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 908(@200wpm)___ 726(@250wpm)___ 605(@300wpm)
“Mom looked pissed,” Melody whispers. “But I calmed her down by eating the chili.” She winks. “A sacrifice I was willing to make to get her to smile again.”
“Thanks,” Aspen replies as we all head back into the dining area.
“You’re back,” Alistair says.
“You sound surprised,” her dad says.
“Of course. I know our family.” Alistair shrugs. “He must have a thick skin to endure this.”
Penelope’s jaw drops, but her dad laughs, and it feels like the room is much less covered in a dark blanket than it was before.
“Okay, okay, enough with the quips. Let’s just focus on dinner and make sure your mom’s hard work doesn’t go to waste,” Felix says, pointing at my seat. “Sit.”
“Yes, sir,” I reply, sitting down with Aspen.
I look around the room, but one of the seats is still empty. “Where’s Silas?”
“He ran off. Said he wasn’t hungry and that he had things to do,” Xavier replies.
“Rude, if you ask me,” Melody says.
“Is he gone? Like gone gone?” Aspen asks.
“Yup,” Xavier says. “Heard his bike race off.”
“He’ll come around,” Penelope says, with a sigh. “He just needs time to … accept the new situation.” She looks us up and down. “I think we all do.”
“True that,” her brother says. “It’s kinda weird knowing your sister is in a trio with a Torres.”
“Don’t start this again, please,” Aspen groans. “What I do is my own business. Not yours.”
“You bet, but I am still going to grill him just like we grilled Grey. We should invite him over to dinner sometime.”
“Ha!” Aspen laughs. “Good luck with that, he’ll smash your face in if you try to scold him.”
“You think I’m scared of Apollo?” Xavier snorts.
“You should be,” I say.
“I just need this fork, that’s it.” Xavier holds up the utensil like it’s a mighty weapon from the gods above, and after a moment of silence, everyone at the table bursts out into laughter.
“What?!” Xavier says. “It’s true. Goddammit, why won’t anyone believe me?”
“I believe you, honey,” her mom says, taking a bite of her chili. “Now eat your food before it gets cold.”
Aspen
While Grey is still stuffing his mouth, I lean back in my seat and rummage in my bag to fish out my phone. I completely forgot I turned it off, but I remember getting a lot of notifications. I wonder who it could be.
I turn it back on again and watch the messages pour in.
All from Apollo.
“What’s wrong?” Grey asks me, as if he can see the frown forming on my face.
“One sec,” I say, as I scoot back my chair and walk off into the hallway so I can have some privacy away from my family.
Skin pricks ripple over my back.. There are missed calls and messages—dozens, maybe more—all from Apollo.
Apollo: Pick up your goddamn phone!!!!!!!!!
“Fuck,” I mutter as I immediately dial his number.
When he finally picks up, he yells into the phone. “Goddammit, finally one of you picks up!”
“What’s going on?”
“Silas kidnapped Levi!”
“What?” I shriek.
“Aspen? Is everything okay in there?” my mom asks.
“Yeah, everything’s fine!” I call back, trying to avoid any more attention.
But Grey pops into the hallway to listen in to my conversation.
“That’s not possible. He was right here with me at our family dinner,” I tell Apollo, while sweat drops roll down my neck. “I saw him. He only left like fifteen minutes ago.”
“I don’t care what you saw. Heath told me about his plans, and I trust him,” he barks. “Fuck, fuck, fuck! He’s not calling me back. I should’ve just gone to grab Silas at your parents' house instead of looking for Levi. FUCK!”
“Apollo!” I shout. “Where is Levi?”
“Gone. I searched everywhere; the Phantoms, the gym, the pool, the entire fucking campus. Hell, I even searched the fucking rose garden. I can’t fucking find him anywhere!”
My eyes meet Grey's while my heart begins to pound.
“Oh God …” Panic slowly seeps into my bones. “Silas is going to kill him.”
Levi
Ten minutes ago
I stare at the grave of the girl who died because of my decision.
Even if Aspen forgives me, in the eyes of everyone around her, I am still a killer.
Nothing will ever change that.
I sigh out loud and wipe away some of the leaves that have fallen on her stone, but I pause at the sound of a familiar click.
“Don’t. Move.”
A smile warps my face. “You’ve finally gathered the balls to come at me alone.”
“Fuck you. Get away from my sister’s grave.”
The gun clicks again, and I know he took off the safety, so he means business all right. I raise my hands and slowly turn around, walking away from Mavis’s grave.
“How did you find me?” I ask.
His jaw clenches, but the smug grin still appears. “It’s not hard to put trackers on bikes.”
Well fuck. In my euphoria over finally getting the girl, I got careless. And now it’s come back to bite me in the ass.