Page 70 of Laid Bare

“Do we have to? I swear we just got here,” I say in alarm, grabbing onto Mom’s arm, like she’ll be able to save me from being carted away once again.

“I’m sorry,cor meum, but we do. And as long as we stick to what we’ve been allowed, we’ll be able to come back again. And once you leave the academy, we can petition for them to move into the supernatural section of Faridity, if you’d like.”

“Really? They’ll let me do that?”

“Us,cor meum. They will let us do it. That is if Mr. and Mrs. Matthews want to.” He nods respectfully toward my parents.

“Silly, man. How many times have I told you to call me mom?”

“Many times.” Axel flashes her a fangy smile, a light chuckle on his lips. “Take time to think about it, and if it’s something you both would want to do, just let us know. We’ll take care of everything on our end.”

Everyone gets up from the table and heads in the direction of the door, but I drag my feet, not ready to say goodbye yet. It feels like we just got here, but in reality, I know we chatted across the table for over an hour.

These limitations suck, but it’s better than being told we couldn’t come at all. I don't know what kind of favors Axel and Luka had to agree to in order to make this a possibility, because I know it shouldn’t have been, but one day, I’ll pay them back for everything they’ve done for me.

“Gentlemen, why don’t we step outside and give Bailey a moment with her parents?” God, I could kiss that vampire right now. There are things I want to tell them, but I didn’t want to say it in front of everyone.

“I’ll be right out. Thank you, vampy.”

“Anything for you,cor meum.”

Luka shoots me a lingering look before he closes the door behind him, the last one to leave.

“Come with me.” I grab Mom and Dad’s hands, dragging them into the bathroom. They shoot each other questioning stares but stay quiet as I flip on the shower and the sink, praying it’s enough to drown out what I’m going to say.

“What’s going on, Bails? Are you being held against your will? Is everything Axel and Luka said really a lie? I swear I’ll kill them if they are,” Dad fires off twenty questions rapidly, but I wave my hands in denial.

“Nothing like that at all. I actually wanted to introduce you to someone, someone who means a lot to me, and while I can’t give you all the details as to why, his presence is secret for now.”

“Okay, but sweetheart, I thought you said there were no other prospects.”

“It’s not what you’re thinking, Mom.” I hold out my hand. “Aero.”

My Pegasus does a quick flutter against my neck before he zips out from underneath my hair, landing softly in my palm.

“This is Aero. He’s… well… the best way to explain him is he’s my spirit guide. He’ll protect me if he has to, and he’s become my best friend since he showed up. He snores, farts, and loves taking over the couch. And he’s not normally this size. I reduce his mass when I go somewhere so he can stay with me.”

I shift from foot to foot in the cramped bathroom, waiting to see if my parents will look at me any differently now that they see how much more there is to me besides what’s on my skin.

“Oh, sweetheart. He’s freaking adorable.” Mom moves closer, peering down at my pony. “Hello, Aero. I’m Bailey’s mom, and this brute here is her dad. Thank you for being there for our daughter while she’s away from us.”

Aero flaps his tiny wings until he’s hovering in the air. He zooms closer to Mom, nuzzling the tip of her nose before treating Dad to the same. Dad’s face breaks out in a childish grin when Aero whooshes away, back to his little hidey-hole under my hair.

“There’s so much more I want to say, but I have to go. As soon as I know when I can come back, I’ll let you guys know. And please, think about the petition Axel mentioned. I… I really want you guys there with me.”

“Are you sure, Bails?”

“Definitely. I don’t want to miss any more time with you guys than I already have to.”

“Then there’s nothing to think about, sweetheart. Your dad and I agree.”

I pull them both into a tight squeeze, hanging on for dear life. “Thank you. I love you guys so, so much.”

“We love you too, Bails. Always. No matter what happens. Now, get out of here before those two men of yours break down the front door thinking we kidnapped you.” Dad’s right on that part, but it wouldn’t be Axel or Luka doing the breaking. It would be Bane and Zane, hands down.

Mom and Dad walk me to the front door and out onto the porch. The guys, all four of them, are leaning against the red SUV like they have all the time in the world to wait for me. They do a bang-up job of ignoring the lookie-loos peeking out their windows or passing on the sidewalk, content to pretend like they’re not even there.

With one last hug goodbye and a few more tears, Luka ushers me back into the SUV, this time him and Axel bracketing me while Zane and Bane take the front.

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