Page 151 of Ominous: Part 1
“Yeah,” Seb says. “But I can change that.”
I shake my head quickly, annoyance pushing through me. “No.” I keep my tone firm. “I’ll deal with him.”
My brother studies me for a long moment, but I think his desire for sleep wins out and he just nods once, then stalks down the hall to his room, closing his door behind him.
What. The.Fuck.
My bag slung over one shoulder, I head to the front door, catching the scent and sound of bacon frying, popping over the stove in the kitchen, just past the living room.
“You gonna bring her home too?” Irritation makes Reece’s voice gruff, and I lift my eyes as my fingers tighten around the strap of my bag.
The front door is closed, and Mom is the first person I see.
She’s in her work clothes. A loose, oversized shirt, gray, stretchy pants, and her white tennis shoes. Her hair is pulled up in a clip, and her eyes are on mine, a small smile on her lips as she flips the bacon she usually only makes on the weekends for her, Sebastian, and Reece.
“Yes, sir.” I hear Eli’s quiet, lilting voice.
I turn my head, finding Eli and Reece facing off in the living room, in front of the worn, striped couch him and Mom strapped down in Reece’s truck and brought with them from Wilmington.
I think there’s still sand from the beach in that couch.
I drag my gaze from the picked threads up to meet Eli’s eyes, now on mine as he turns a little away from Reece to welcome me into theirconversation.
“Hi,” he says, just like he did the first night we spoke in the library. Immediately, his gaze drops to my bare thighs. Something in his composed demeanor seems to falter. He clears his throat, and I relish in his momentary discomfort as he takes in the fact I’m wearing a skirt.
But a second later, he’s back in place. Ever the actor as he looks away from my legs.
With his composure returned, he seems surreal in here. Too good for this place. After so long of me giving him the cold shoulder, being this close to him, forced to interact, his presence is overwhelming. His thick, dark hair is beautiful, just over his eyes, a smile on his sensual lips, far too sexual to be making an appearancehere.In my living room. With my stepdad.
Unlike me, Eliiswearing the gray, V-neck sweater, overtop the white dress shirt of our uniform, and the collar looks hot as hell over his black, leather choker.
“Next time someone is gonna give you a ride to school, why don’t you let me or your mother know so we can adjust our schedules accordingly?” Reece’s Southern accent slices through my sinful thoughts. Reluctantly, my cheeks growing warm, I face Reece.
He’s an unattractive man.
Next to Eli, the ugliness is jarring.
Average height, with a few bits of beige-blond hair around the sides of his head, his bald spot pink and gleaming from the sun streaming in the windows by the TV, and beady blue eyes. He’s dressed in a mustard-yellow shirt and khaki pants, and I honestly can’t tell if I find him so hideous objectively, because of how he looks, or simply because we never get along.
“Yes, sir.” I bite the words out. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see one of Eli’s dark brows lift at my words, or maybe my venom. I’m not sure which.
“Bacon is almost done,” Mom calls out, as she always does, trying to interfere before there’s interference really required. She’s seen the fights play out so frequently she knows exactly when to divert one before it ever begins.
Reece has turned his gaze back to Eli, a furrow in his light brows, his thick arms crossed over his chest.
“Actually, this is my fault.” Eli doesn’t smile, and he looks genuinely contrite, hands in his pockets, eyes on the muddled gray of the carpet. “I… I just thought it would help.” He glances up at my mom, then back down, swallowing hard. “I knew what time you two usually left, and I thought if I could save you a trip…” He trails off, lifting his gaze slowly. He towers over Reece, but somehow manages to give the impression he’s looking up at him with his pious performance.
It’s unsettling, watching it.
He looks like he believes what he’s saying, and while it could be true—because I certainly didn’t agree to let him pick me up for school—his submissive act is bullshit.
Eli doesn’t bow for anyone, and certainly not a man in a mustard shirt inside a trailer.
“Eden didn’t know.” He clears his throat, and I see Reece’s eyes twitch over to me for a second. “I apologize.”
Mom gives a polite laugh, flipping off the element and bringing the bacon pan to the sink. In this moment, I’m glad I never told her we were ever fighting. “Please, don’t apologize,” she says, grabbing the plate lined with paper towels and stacked with an entire pack of cooked bacon. She turns to the rickety, pale wooden table pushed against the wall opposite the stove. “Thank you for picking her up. Reece was just startled to see a car in the driveway, that’s all.” She sets the plate down and turns to grab more from the cabinets.
“I wasn’tstartled.”Reece speaks through thin lips, glaring at the back of Mom’s head. “I just didn’texpectto see a shiny new sports car in my driveway when I stepped outside this morning.” He rolls his eyes, sighing, then turns back to me.
