I clear my throat as relief pounds through my veins, sweet and potent. “That’s more than fair,” I say.
“Absolutely,” Juliet says, nodding fervently. “I’ll clean up all the flour.”
Luca shoots her a skeptical look, his eyes lingering on her tear-stained face, probably remembering how she flung herself at him, or how she tried to attack him before that.
“And let me give you my number,” she babbles on, “just in case?—”
“That won’t be necessary,” Luca says, holding up one hand to stop her. He towers over us, taller even than Cyrus and Felix, and something about the way he speaks is foreboding.
“No,” Juliet says, hurrying past me and looking earnestly up at him. She’s clearly not picking up on the same stay-away vibes I am. “I would have offered even if all this hadn’t happened.” She gestures around the kitchen at the lot of us. “I’m helping our parents while they’re gone, checking on the house, making sure the tenant has everything he or she needs?—”
“It’sreallynot necessary,” he cuts her off again, removing his glasses and wiping them with the hem of his shirt. “Please just—clean up the flour and then go.”
I shoot a glance at Aurora just as she looks at me, both of us with brows raised in surprise.
“I—okay,” Juliet says, her voice faltering. “We’ll clean up and leave.”
Luca nods curtly, his eyes trailing over every last one of us, and then he sweeps out of the room without a backward glance.
The second he’s gone, Cyrus turns his glare on me, Aurora, and Juliet. “You three,” he says, pointing at each of us in turn, “are grounded.”
Aurora snorts; I frown.
“I’ve got bad news for you, Cyborg,” Aurora says—Cyrus’s fists clench at the nickname. “You can’t ground any of us. We’re adults. And besides”—she throws a glance at me and then Juliet—“they’re the ones who made this mess.”
My jaw drops as Juliet’s eyes widen in outrage.
“Way to throw us under the bus,” I say, whirling on my traitor of a big sister. “You’re the one who was going on about how we needed to get our stories straight?—”
“Good grief,” Cy mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Andyou said we needed to figure out a plan,” Juliet pipes up, her brow furrowed at Aurora.
“That was when I thought that guy was dead,” Aurora says. “Now I know he’s fine.”
“Ladies,” Poppy cuts in quickly when Juliet shows signs of responding. “Let’s get this place cleaned up and leave. Okay?” She looks around at us. “All’s well that ends well. Mistakes were made on multiple counts, but?—”
“Speak for yourself,” Felix cuts her off with a snort. Then he looks at me. “You did good, Sunshine. It must have been a pretty solid hit to take down a guy that big.” His gaze skates over my face once again, softer now. “You feeling all right?”
I swallow, my eyes dropping to the flour-coated floor as something queasy turns in my gut. “Yeah,” I say.
He’s alive,I tell myself.You didn’t kill anyone, and he’s not pressing charges. He’s alive, and you’re alive.
You’re alive. It was scary, but you’re alive.
More tears prick at my eyes as a wave of—what? Fear? Exhaustion? Gratitude? The emotions wash over me as through my mind plays image after image—Luca Slater approaching, flour poofing into the air, Luca crumpling onto the floor.
And then, before I can stop them, more images—the car pulling in front of me from out of nowhere. I try to push that memory away, but it bulldozes in. The world going sideways as I crashed, the burn of my aching body?—
Stop!
I’m fine. I’m alive. I’mfine.
I squeeze my lids shut to stop my eyes from stinging.
“Mmm,” Felix says skeptically, and when I look at him, his gaze is still on me. “Liar.” He straightens up, stepping away from the counter he’s been leaning on. “Come on.”
I blink at him. “Come on…where?”