Chapter 97: You Missed Me

Astrid

Xander’s footsteps grew louder down the hall, and I went tense in Reed’s arms before I could stop myself, my whole body suddenly aware of exactly how this looked. "Don’t move," Reed murmured against my hair, far too calm for someone about to get caught.

"Reed," I hissed, but he only kissed my forehead once, slow and unbothered, as if his brother walking in on us mid-embrace was the least interesting thing that could happen that afternoon.

The footsteps reached the kitchen. Xander appeared in the doorway and stopped cold, and for one excruciating moment nobody said anything at all. I had never wanted to disappear more in my life. His eyes moved slowly from Reed to me and back to Reed again, and I tried to shift away, but Reed’s arm stayed around me a full second longer before he finally let go.

Xander raised an eyebrow. "Well."

My face burned instantly, and because my brain apparently short-circuited under pressure, the first thing out of my mouth was, "Hi."

He just stared at me, then at Reed, before walking farther into the kitchen and dropping a bag onto the counter with more force than necessary. When he looked back at us, his expression was somewhere between betrayed and delighted. "I leave for one afternoon."

Reed’s mouth twitched. I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole.

"One afternoon," Xander repeated, raising his hand like he was presenting evidence in a trial.

"Xander," I tried, but he cut me off immediately.

"No, no, it’s fine." He held up both hands now, entirely too dramatic. "Clearly I wasn’t needed here."

"You were gone for three hours," Reed said, finally speaking.

"Exactly," Xander said, as if that proved his point rather than undercut it, and that was what finally broke me. A laugh slipped out before I could stop it, and Xander immediately pointed at me.

"Don’t encourage him."

I pressed my lips together and failed completely, and Reed’s mouth twitched again in that infuriating almost-smile of his, which only made Xander look more offended.

I told myself getting up and acting normal would be easy. I would simply stand, walk to the counter, and pretend the last hour hadn’t happened. Unfortunately, Reed looked far too calm, and worse, there was something different about him now, something in the ease of his shoulders and the warmth still lingering in his eyes that Xander noticed almost instantly.

"Why are you smiling?" Xander asked him.

Reed’s expression went neutral immediately. "I’m not."

Xander turned to me instead. "Why is he smiling?"

"He isn’t," I said, shaking my head too fast.

"Interesting," Xander said slowly, narrowing his eyes at both of us.

I got off the stool and walked toward the counter where Reed had been cooking earlier, desperate to give my hands something to do that wasn’t fidgeting. Xander followed, not threatening, just casual, leaning against the counter beside me and lowering his voice.

"Did I miss something?"

"No," I said, far too quickly.

He smiled. "You should work on lying."

"Why?"

"Because you’re terrible at it."

"She is," Reed added from behind us, and I spun toward him.

"Both of you are annoying."

Xander looked at Reed again, and something in his expression slowly shifted before understanding hit him all at once. "Oh."

My stomach dropped. "Oh," he said again, eyes widening slightly.

"What?" I asked, though I already knew.

His grin spread wide. "Nothing."

He knew. Maybe not every detail, but enough, and I covered my face with one hand while he looked unbearably pleased with himself. Reed said nothing at all, which somehow made everything worse.

After we ate, we moved into the living room, and I settled myself between them, trying to salvage some scrap of dignity. Xander clearly had no intention of letting me have it. He turned to me out of nowhere and announced, "I think I’ve been neglected."

"You were gone," I reminded him.

"That’s not the point."

"It is exactly the point," Reed said, not even looking up from whatever he was doing.

Xander ignored him entirely. "I’ve been gone for three hours."

"You chose to leave."

"And yet you didn’t miss me enough."

I laughed. "How do you know?"

He pointed dramatically at Reed. "Evidence."

Reed looked up. "What evidence?"

"Your face," Xander said, gesturing vaguely at him, and I immediately covered my own face again while Xander leaned back against the couch cushions looking scandalized. "This is unbelievable. I leave you alone with him once."

"You didn’t leave her alone with me," Reed corrected calmly.

Xander went still, then turned toward him very slowly. "Don’t make it worse."

I laughed so hard I had to lean back against the couch, and for a few minutes everything felt normal. Better than normal.

Eventually my laughter faded on its own, and Xander noticed the shift immediately, his expression softening just slightly. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I said.

He studied me for a moment, clearly not entirely convinced, but he didn’t push. Instead he reached for the bag he’d dropped on the counter earlier, pulled something out, and held it toward me. It was my favorite drink, the same brand I’d once mentioned once in passing and assumed he’d forgotten.

"I got this for you," he said.

I stared at it. "You went out and bought this?"

"Maybe."

Reed glanced at the item, then at Xander. "You said you had somewhere important to be."

"I did," Xander said, entirely unbothered.

"Buying me food?" I asked.

"Exactly," he said, smiling like he’d just won something. Something in my chest softened at the thought, that he’d been out there thinking of me the whole time he was supposedly busy. "Thank you," I said, taking it from him, and he looked so pleased with himself that Reed felt the need to intervene.

"Don’t encourage him."

"She’s allowed to appreciate me," Xander shot back immediately, and I shook my head even as I smiled.

I started eating, and Xander watched me like he’d personally accomplished something extraordinary, until Reed said, "You still haven’t eaten properly."

"She literally has food," Xander said, offended on my behalf.

"That isn’t a meal."

"It’s food," Xander insisted, gesturing at what I was holding.

Reed stood. "I’m making her dinner."

"See?" Xander said, looking at me like he’d proven a point.

"See what?" I asked.

"This," he said, pointing at Reed’s retreating back, and when Reed ignored him and headed for the kitchen, Xander got up too. "Fine."

Reed stopped and turned. "What are you doing?"

"Helping," Xander said, all false innocence.

"No."

I laughed as Xander followed him anyway, ignoring Reed’s warning not to touch anything, reaching for something almost immediately, and getting told to put it down. I watched them from the couch, their voices filling the apartment, and felt something warm spread through my chest. My apartment. My mates. The silly argument drifting from the kitchen. For a little while I could forget everything else, the messages, Selene, Estelle, my mother, all of it. I was home, and I was with them.

The twins kept bickering, Xander laughing when Reed told him again to stay away from the stove, Reed muttering something I couldn’t quite catch. I smiled to myself and reached into my pocket for my phone out of habit, unlocking it before I could think better of it.

The messages were still there. Be careful who you trust at Moonshade. I’m serious, Astrid. My smile faded as I read them again, my chest tightening. I wondered if I should tell them, just show Reed, let Xander make some joke about whoever was trying to scare me.

Then my phone vibrated in my hand.

You shouldn’t have gone back there.

My fingers tightened around the screen. I raised my head slowly. The twins were still in the kitchen, still arguing, Xander laughing, Reed telling him to stop touching things. Neither of them had noticed anything. I looked back down as another message appeared.

Some places only feel safe until they aren’t.

My heart started pounding harder. I looked toward the apartment door, then toward the windows, the curtains, every familiar corner of the room suddenly looking different than it had a moment ago. My fingers tightened around the phone, and for one terrifying second, I wondered whether whoever was sending these messages knew exactly where I was sitting right now.