Page 80 of Where There's Smoke
“Maybe I need to call Sunny and ask how she copes with all this, considering she’s with his cousin, who is just as bad.” I smiled.
“Oh no, I assure you that Fitz is far worse, but he is a little quieter with his chaos, whereas Blaze runs headlong into things like a chaos demon.”
My eyes widened as I looked down at the floor. “It makes you think what their Christmases were like as children.”
Behind me, he shuddered. “Chaos. Unadulterated chaos. And the grocery bills? Ugh.”
“Well, tonight everyone’s getting pasta, and they’re going to love it.”
Sam chuckled, squeezing me again. “Damn straight, they are.”
I was just mixing the pasta and the meat sauce together into a big casserole dish when Elliot appeared in the kitchen. I beamedat him in greeting, but the words I’d intended to offer died in my throat when I saw his stormy face.
Samson was standing back again, as I had shooed him away from cuddling me to pour the pasta and sauce because I didn’t want to spill it all.
“Elliot, is everything okay?” I asked tentatively, already feeling the pulse flicker in my neck, heat billowing through me.
“You’ve got visitors.Again,” he said, his voice hard.
Shit.
Which one of my brothers had turned up now? This was exactly what I didn’t want. Elliot and the others had been dealing with my crap too much, and now this? I needed space from my brothers, but something told me that if it was Chord, Elliot wouldn’t be so upset. At least Chord behaved, and we’d been texting too. He’d made no mention of coming here again.
Which, of course, left Reed.Ugh, you’ve got to be kidding me.
Was it too much to ask to allow me to live my life? He was always butting in, and I’d made my point pretty damn clear the last time he darkened our doorstep. I didn’t want to deal with this again.
My heartbeat was too loud in my ears, and the world felt like it was closing in around me. I was shaking subtly, and my gut was churning with rising nausea. Now, the pasta bake sounded absolutely terrible, and even the smell was making me want to flee the room.
Not like I had anywhere to go.
Elliot ducked his head before meeting my eyes again. While I could still tell he was annoyed, it looked like he was trying to keep it together. However, it also looked like he was about to drop another bombshell, his brows raising as he sucked in a deep breath.
“What? What else?” God, this day couldn’t get any worse.
“It’s not just your brother.” Elliot grimaced. “It’s alsoyour parents.”
I was wrong. I could get worse, and it just had.
Chapter 39
Melody
Why were my parents at Station Seventeen?
How the hell did they even know I was there? It only took me a second to realize that it was without a doubt Reed who’d told them I was staying here. He told them everything. Reason one million that I hated him.
Maybe that was why he was the favorite.
Putting the pot of pasta down, I wiped my hands on my jeans nervously, my heartbeat climbing up as a nervous rumble in my stomach set up shop.
“This can’t be good,” I muttered as I followed Elliot out of the kitchen.
“They’re in my office. I thought it best we avoid another Smoke family discussion in the lobby,” Elliot said.
He had a point. The lobby had been the location wherebothof my brothers and I had talked—and made a scene, thanks to Reed’s delightful “request” that I return with him. Maybe a slightly more private location would be better.
My nerves hummed, and my nausea only got worse with each step. I didn’t want to do this. I’d distanced myself from my parents for a reason, and there was no way this was going to gowell. My thoughts spiraled, landing on each worst-case scenario it could come up with. Sweat tickled my brow, and my pulse was so hard and fast I could practically taste it.
