Page 113 of I Was Always Yours (RCA: Royal Crown Academy)

I know I’m pushing him, but tough shit. He needs to give me something if he wants me to stay on the line.He licks his lips before answering, thinking of what to say.

“I’ve thought of you.”

It’s my turn to draw out the silence, ignoring the butterflies that have erupted in my stomach.

He continues when I say nothing. “More than I should have. More than I’ve thought about anything else.”

It’s not what I expected him to say, but it’s enough. Enough for the reality of our circumstances – I know that even if we’re on better terms now, I still won’t see him before the new year and our deadline.

I know I should put up more of a resistance, but the truth is I do want to talk to him.

I worry my lip and he grunts in response.

“Don’t do that. Not when I’m not there to sink my teeth into your lip myself.”

God, how I wish he was. “You could have been. Why didn’t you come home for the holidays?”

“That’s not home. I don’t go back to that place.”

“Really?” I guess I never knew that. I’d seen pictures of him with Rogue and Rhys over past holidays, but I always assumed that he went home in between those moments.

“Before we were called there for the engagement, I hadn’t been back in years.”

“How come?”

I can see him hesitate, ready to retreat behind those walls, keeping the answer tightly under lock and key. I keep my face impassive, careful not to reveal how much I want him to confide in me. He has to make that decision himself without me forcing his hand.

“They don’t want me there. My so-called parents.”

“That can’t be true.” I hear myself say, because it’s unfathomable to me. He’s their only remaining son and he’s Phoenix. Who wouldn’t want to soak in every possible second of his presence?

I must say that last part out loud because he chuckles. Something twinkles in his eyes as he looks at me, something that’s never been there before. “I promise you; they don’t share that opinion.”

I try to rake my brain for memories of Phoenix with his parents, but come up short. All I can remember is how neither one of them had comforted him at Astor’s funeral.

I’d thought it was bizarre at the time but hadn’t stopped to think it might extend to beyond that terrible moment.

And then I remember his father threatening to cut him off, like he could do it so easily. The pieces are starting to come together and they don’t paint a pretty picture.

“I don’t want to talk about them.” He says, his walls slamming shut again. “Why aren’t you at the party?”

“I’ve been told to sober up.”

“By whom?”

“A friend.”

He quirks a brow at me. “Don’t be coy.”

I tilt my head back and look up, taking in the beauty of the night sky as my head continues to spin. “You know if you were outside right now, we’d be looking at the same stars even though we’re in two completely different countries. Isn’t that crazy?”

He chuckles and a warmth separate from the one caused by the heating lamp seeps into my veins.

“I’m glad no one is seeing you like this. Tipsy and sweet and vulnerable.” He says, as he takes the kitchen door to the outside. I hear Bellamy calling for her phone in the background, but he ignores her. He sits in a chair and looks up. “Look at the stars. Do you see a grouping that looks like an hourglass?”

I look down at him instead. “You don’t have a coat on, aren’t you cold?”

“Don’t worry about me. Look up. Do you see it?”

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