Page 19 of Origins

Jack’s gaze sliced through me as he brought his mug to his lips.

“I’m not going to tell Dad. If you want to let the villain ruin your life, that’s up to you.” He paused to take a drink of coffee.

I was a little offended that Jack would say that. “Sulien won’t ruin my life.”

“Calista, you’re going to be lucky if all he does is break your heart.” He said, pushing past me. “Sulien isn’t like you and me, and you need to let him go.”

I wanted to keep the conversation going, but as Jack was leaving, my phone vibrated. I fished the device out of my pocket. My heart fluttered when I saw Sulien’s name. Quickly, I ran into my room before answering the call.

“Hey,” I said, pressing my back to my bedroom door.

“Good morning.” Sulien’s voice came across rougher than usual. “How’d you sleep?”

My lips pressed into a thin line as I fought the urge to smile.

I was a little offended that he didn't give me my daily weather report, but that could wait.

“Fine, I guess… Hey, I miss you. Can I come over?” I said, trying not to sound as desperate as I felt.

“You know I’d love to see you.” The audible shifting of covers filled the line before Sulien drew in a sharp breath. “But I have to work a double today.”

Confusion caused my brows to draw together. “A double?”

“Open to close.” He yawned.

… That was legal? “Okay, how about after? I could spend the night if you wanted.”

A silence filled the line, and something in my gut told me Sulien was about to lie. My abilities had been quietly expanding for the last year or so, but I still wasn’t able to read minds from a distance.

“I’ll probably be beat after work, and I don’t really think it’d be safe for me to drive to your house to pick you up… Maybe another time?”

“Well, I could have my driver drop me off and—”

“No!” Sulien cleared his throat after snapping. “Callie, my neighborhood is dangerous, and I don’t want to risk you being here without me.”

The sharpness of his tone hurt my feelings in a way I didn’t think it would.

“I understand,” I whispered.

“I promise. I will call you the second I get home, and we can talk all night.” Sulien sighed.

“Sounds good,” I said half-heartedly before we exchanged goodbyes.

I knew it would probably be best for me to give Sulien his space, but after that phone call, there was no way in hell I wasn’t visiting him today.

***

The trip from my house to Sulien’s apartment was only a fifteen-minute drive, so I assumed it wouldn’t be a terrible walk. Oh, how wrong I was.

The first few blocks were fine, especially because the weather was nice. But the longer I walked, the grittier the area became. By the halfway point, I could feel eyes lingering on me wherever I went, so I picked up the pace. I knew that if anyone planned to hurt me, I’d hear their thoughts before they had a chance to lay a finger on me—but what would happen then?

I had absolutely no way to protect myself. Thankfully, it never came to that.

By the time I reached Sulien’s apartment building, my feet were aching from the journey. My heart fell a little when I noticed his car in the driveway, but I tried to ignore it, hoping he’d just run back to the apartment to grab something he forgot.

I trudged across the cracked pavement and felt relieved when I realized someone had left the main door propped open with a rock. If they hadn’t, I would have needed to wait for someone to let me in.

I probably should have left the door the way I found it, but I could practically hear Sulien telling me that was a bad idea. So, I kicked the rock aside and let the door slam shut before walking down the hall of nearly identical doors.

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