Page 68 of Tainted Rose

Scarlett

“I’ll see you soon. I’m really okay.” I edge closer to Xander in his bed where I’d been napping until my aunt and uncle had called a few minutes ago.

“Promise me, Scarlett. Oh my God, your mother would never have forgiven me if something happened to you.” I can imagine Aunt Liz pacing on the other end of the phone, hand to her forehead.

“Aunt Liz. Seriously. I’m okay. And Isabella and Sebastian say I can stay with them until you get back.”

Her breath stutters out. “I’m so relieved that they found you and put a stop to all of this.”

“I know. Believe me. I’d kind of like to stop talking about it for right now, if that’s okay.” My hands grip Xander’s T-shirt, and he wraps his arms more tightly around me.

Xander leans down near the phone. “She’s okay, Mrs. Baker. I’ve got her. I won’t let anything happen to her.”

A warm, happy feeling swirls through me. “Did you hear Xander?”

“Yes, and I know we’ve been hard on him, but we owe him big. We won’t forget that.”

“And Sebastian?” I grit my teeth and squint an eye, nervous.

“I’m still plenty pissed off about whatever went down between him and my sister. But he gave you to us, so he can’t be all bad.”

“And he and Xander came to my rescue together.” I don’t want her to hang on to the hard feelings she’s always harbored towards my absentee father now that we finally know who he is.

“I know. I know.”

“Everything’s going to be okay, Aunt Liz. Tell Uncle David I can’t wait to see him when you guys get back.”

“Okay, sweetie. Take care. Be safe. We love you.”

“Love you, too.” I sigh deeply, snuggling further into Xander’s chest as I hang up. “That was hard. They feel terrible that they can’t get a flight until tomorrow.”

He kisses the top of my head. “It’s all good. I’m going to take such good care of you.” He eases back so he can look into my eyes. He looks serious at first, but then wriggles his brows at me, showing me that his naughty tendencies haven’t gone anywhere, they’ve just been held in check for a bit.

I slap playfully at his chest, unable to contain my laughter. “You’re terrible. But don’t ever change, Xander.”

He chuckles. “Never. I’m never going to stop wanting you. Needing you.” He clears his throat. “I checked in with Beau and Micah and let them know you’re okay.”

“Yeah. I texted Daphne and Max. They were freaking out, especially since they weren’t at the party but started hearing things through the grapevine from people who were.”

Xander blows out a breath. “So, I guess the last thing to do is to go down and listen to what Sebastian has to say. While you were sleeping, he got pretty worked up, knowing he was going to have to explain what happened between himself and your mom.”

“There’s no sense in anyone keeping secrets now. Everything needs to be out in the open.”

“I know. And I think he expects that you’ll question him until you’re satisfied with his answers. I know I really want to hear what he has to say about all of it, too.” His hands cup the back of my head, threading his fingers through my hair. He lowers his mouth to mine, and I immediately get sucked into the kiss. His tongue sweeps inside my mouth, sending sparks skittering all over my body.

He smiles against my lips. “We’ve got time for this later.”

I smirk. “You realize your mom set up the guest bedroom for me, right?”

“If they think you are staying in there without me, they’re fucking insane.” He barks with laughter, then presses his lips to mine. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

Downstairs, we gather around the kitchen table—me, Xander, Sebastian, Isabella, and June. The only one not present is Janie, who’s in bed for the night. We won’t be telling her just yet that she’s my sister. We should ask for advice from a professional before we do. She’ll understand, eventually, I guess. It would be a lot for a five-year-old brain to comprehend. I’m excited to work toward it, though.

Xander holds my hand on the tabletop. June has seen to it that we each have something to drink—Isabella and I have peppermint tea and the guys have ice water.

Sebastian clears his throat after taking a long swallow of his drink. His gaze lands on me and doesn’t waver. “Scarlett, I want you to know that I never saw the letter your mother wrote to me. Xander showed it to me while you were asleep. I swear I never saw it.” He shakes his head. “Your mother mentioned it that summer after we’d graduated, and I had no idea what she was talking about.” He sighs. “And I guess Christina Warrington is devious enough to have found it and hidden it from me. I’d been in a vulnerable spot when she came to me, suggesting we go to prom together. Your mom was acting weird and distant. I had no idea it was because she thought I was blowing her off after reading the note. I didn’t know she was pregnant.”

I nod. “So, what happened after that? We know she was pregnant and scared and thought you were abandoning her. And then you took another girl to the prom.” I take a sip of my tea. “Which seems kind of like small potatoes compared to what else was happening with her at the time, but I’m sure it all kept stacking up until …”

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