Page 25 of Begin Again

His jaw twitches. “And this guy—he’s the reason you missed check-in?”

I hesitate, thinking of Theo, of the way he smiles at me, the way he makes me feel lighter even when I don’t want to. The way his presence sneaks into my thoughts when I least expect it. “It’s… complicated.”

Orion scoffs. “It always is with you.”

I roll my eyes. “Okay,Dad.”

His expression hardens, and a familiar pang of regret twists in my chest. Orion has always felt responsible for me, ever since—

Nope. Not going there.

I shake the thought away. “Look, I get why you’re worried. But I promise you, there’s nothing to freak out about.”

Orion watches me for a long moment, his gaze sharp, assessing. Then, finally, he exhales, raking a hand through his hair. “I don’t freak out, Selene.”

I snort. “You could’ve fooled me.”

His glare sharpens, but then his shoulders loosen slightly. “I’m staying for a few days.”

My stomach drops.Oh, hell no.

“Orion—”

“It’s not up for debate.” His tone leaves no room for argument. “You want me to believe everything’s fine? Prove it.”

I groan, throwing my head back. “You aresoannoying.”

“Yeah, well,” he mutters, crossing his arms again. “You’d think you’d be used to it by now. Tell me about him.”

I blink. “What?”

“This guy who had you so distracted you forgot we exist.”

Rolling my eyes I sigh, leaning against the kitchen counter. “It’s not like that. His name’s Theo. He owns Bear and Brew, it’s the cafe in town.”

Orion watches me carefully, his expression unreadable. “And?”

“And nothing, my dude. We went ononedate, that’s all. He’s funny and always has a smart comment to make. I mentioned that it’d been a while since I put pencil to paper so for our date he set up painting stations and we watched Bob Ross and painted.”

Orion presses his lips together like he’s holding back a sigh, but instead of pushing, he shifts gears. “And the town? Is it everything you thought it was when you packed up and left DC without even looking back?”

I frown, caught off guard by the question. “The town is… weird lately. A lot has happened.”

His brow furrows. “Like what?”

I hesitate, then tell him about my conversation with Aubrey earlier today, how she’s convinced she’s cursed.

Orion listens intently, his expression unreadable, but I can tell he’s filing away every word.

Then, suddenly, there’s a soft rustling noise behind me. My breath catches as I glance over my shoulder. Valkyrie, my fearsome-looking Doberman, slinks out from behind the couch. Her ears are flat, her eyes wide as she cautiously inches closer, watching Orion.

Orion notices and raises an eyebrow. “What’s her deal? Isn’t she supposed to be a guard dog?”

I sigh. “She’s probably freaked out. Knowing you, there’s a good chance you came in here yelling my name like a lunatic.”

Orion scoffs but crouches down, extending a hand palm down for her to sniff before whispering, “I don’t bite, you know.”

Valkyrie flicks her ears back and, after a long moment, finally creeps forward. I hold my breath as she sniffs his fingers, half-expecting her to back away. But then—like the traitor she is—immediately nudges his hand with her nose, her butt giving a slow, uncertain wag.

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