He whispers into the crook of my neck. “I need you.” the simplicity of his words knock the doubt out of me. Yes, we did.
I whack him, my head tilting back as I contain my laugh. “You can’t just come in here and say I need you and expect me to just open my legs for you!”
He tilts his head in the adorable way he does and bites down on his bottom lip, his dimples sinking into both cheeks. “Really? Because I mean,” he squeezes my thighs—that are open. Chuckling, he puts me back down onto the ground. “Just kidding, Tillz, chill, fuck. You think too much into everything. I’m not fucking asking you to be my girl or anything.” Okay so maybe not.
My mouth pops open, and then slams shut, but then pops open again when I realize what he has just said. Luckily Micaela is asleep, or I’d be throwing shit right now. He goes over to her crib. “I just fucking miss her. Drives me crazy.”
I’m still trying to decide whether or not I’m going to bite. “I never said anything about me being your girlfriend, Nate,” I whisper. I aim for neutral, but the nip at the end of each syllable would prove otherwise. Nate picks that up, because he’s smart. He’s leaning over the crib, his arms tensing as he grips the edge. His head is hanging low, watching Micaela sleep, but as soon as those words leave my mouth, his hooded eyes come up to mine, a smirk on his stupid mouth. “Good. Don’t want any confusion here.”
“None at all,” I declare. Maybe I answered that a little too fast.
“You answered too fast.”
“Fuck you. Are you done?” I hate how he gets to me, but we’ve always been different. This is why I always thought he and Tate would’ve made a better couple. They made more sense because they both had no issues with sleeping around.
His eyes don’t move from mine. “You’re coming with me tonight.”
“What?” I cross my arms in front of myself. “To where?”
He stands straight. I can’t read his expression. What the hell is with everyone and their unreadable faces? This world sucks. “Be ready at nine. Mom already knows she has Micaela.” He turns to leave, but just before he steps outside and closes the door, he cranks his head over his shoulder, smirking. “And wear something short and tight.”
He steps out and shuts the door before I can swear at him. Daemon’s book is now squashed to the back of my brain, although it’s ties are still latched onto me by a thread.
I reach for my phone, dialing Madison. She answers after a few rings. “Hola.”
“What’s happening tonight and why is Nate picking me up at nine?”
If I can’t get any answers out of Nate, I’m cashing in on girl code.
“What? He’s bringing you?”
I pause. “Bringing me where?”
Just when I think she’s not going to say anything, she exhales loudly. “Wow. Okay, um, on a run. It starts at a meeting point and—you’ll see. Bishop is here now, but hey, can we talk tonight?”
“Of course?” I say, confused why she would need to ask if we could talk. We hang up and I go around cleaning everything quickly while Micaela is asleep. It’s just after six when I’m finally nestled in bed with Micaela, gazing at my phone.
I know that I shouldn’t.
I mean, I really know that I shouldn’t.
I pick up my phone and hit dial.
“Well, this is unsuspected,” Peyton purrs down the phone.
I briefly choke on my words, and then clear my throat. “Ah, yeah…” there’s a reason why I was calling her, and I need to get to that reason now. “Where are you?”
She scoffs, and I’m reminded why I really don’t like her, regardless whether she is my sister by blood. “Like I’d tell you.”
“Listen,” I turn over to the other side when I catch Micaela watching me. “I need to know something.”
“Hmmm, and what makes you think I’d tell you anything that you need to know?”
“I don’t really care, Peyton. I know when you’re lying and when you’re telling the truth, so I’m going to go with that.”
She pauses, and then exhales. “Fine. What?”
“Daemon…”
The sound of a high-pitched hyena cackles through my phone, and the image of what her face would look like right now has my fists bunching. “Aw, honey. I can’t tell you anything about Daemon. But here’s something I can tell you…” She stops again, and I roll back over the bed, swinging my legs off. I hang onto the silence by the tips of my finger nails. “Nate is playing you, this much I know. He is playing you big time.”
“Why would you think I’d care if he was playing me? Him and I are nothing.”
She lets out another cackle. I really fucking hate her laugh. Have I always hated it, or is it a new thing for me? “You and he will always be a something.” Then she hangs up, leaving me annoyed with her cryptic message. I go to call back but get a recorded voice message saying that this number is no longer in service.
Typical Peyton. Flips everything upside down and walks away.
A knock on my door yanks me away from my deciphering. I quickly get up and open it.
“Hey!” I say to Elena, who is standing there with a huge smile on her face. “You’re early?”
She wiggles, looking around the room for Micaela. “I know, I just miss her because I haven’t seen her all day, and als—”
“—let me through! Her cool aunt is here,” Scarlet, Bishop’s mom, pushes past both of us.
Elena sighs. “—also her.”
I snort, waving Elena inside to follow Scarlet. Kicking the door closed, I exhale. “Well, you guys are early, but I guess I can find something to do to burn time.”
I make them tea, but Scarlet wanted coffee, so I change hers to coffee. The silence is awkward, but having Scarlet here
