Eye of the Storm -SAFE HOUSE BOOK 2-

16

Practically jumping out of Courtney's car, Austin shouldered his backpack and ran into the house, eager to see Briana. He was anxious, knowing she had a lot on her mind about her first day at her new school. He could see her run towards the window of her room, eager to see him after their day apart. Was this how it would be every day? He smiled at the thought. "You guys, she's smiling," he pointed out to their foster siblings as they headed to the front door and stepped inside.

Devon grinned, happy to know that Briana was being taken care of. "Holy shit, that's great," he exclaimed, locking the car as they all headed inside. As everyone hung let their backpacks fall to the floor, she bounded down the stairs and wrapped her arms around Austin's neck. He gave her a tight squeeze, looking at their foster mother as she came out of the downstairs office. Briana bounded off to the kitchen, muttering something about a snack and homework. "Laura, how does she like Pearson," Austin inquired, looking towards the Hispanic beauty.

With a nod, she hugged each of her children as they stared, waiting for an answer. "She said she had a good day when I picked her up. I think Pearson will be good for her. They have a lot of different classes than what you guys get to take, centering the students more towards college preparation than just average high school academics. She's really excited for her classes," the foster mom commented, tucking a strand of her long, black hair behind her ear.

Elated, Austin let her give him a tight squeeze before heading into the kitchen to see Briana. Putting some bread into the toaster for a sandwich, he looked at Briana while she ate an apple. Before he could check in, though, Courtney beat him to it. "Hey, Briana. Mom said you really like your new school. How was your first day?"

Slipping out of her heels, Courtney got a snack down for her brother, ruffling his hair as he ran to the deck to eat. They sat in the quick moment of silence as everybody chewed and Briana thought of her answer. "It was good," she decided after a moment, "I made some new friends already. There's this girl named Leslie in some of my classes- she's really nice, and I have another friend named Ollie. He really helped me out today," she exclaimed, not quite ready to tell anyone about Charlie.

Every person at the table cheered, glad she was finally in a good place. Austin wrapped his arms around her, giving Briana a quick hug before he returned to his own seat. As a treat, Courtney put out some snickerdoodles she had made along with a few glasses of milk. Briana broke her cookie into bite sized pieces, dunking each one in the milk until it was soggy enough to melt on her tongue.

Caleb turned to Briana, putting his hand on top of hers. "Are you sure you're happier there? Do you promise this is good for you? I want to make sure you are in a good place," he assured, eyes innocent as he ate his own cookie. Briana nodded, ruffling his hair as they shared smiles.

"Yes, this is a good thing. I think I'll be really happy here, preparing for college instead of learning theories and formulas I'll never use again," she explained, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Satisfied, he finished his snack before bounding up the stairs with his backpack, humming a song that Briana had never heard. Austin grinned, resting his head on his knee. He was excited for his foster sister and wanted to know all about her new school. Already, her eyes were brighter than they had been in a long time. He wondered if her new friends had anything to do with that, whoever they were. Regardless, she would open up about them when she was ready, and not a moment before.

***** 

Natalia's room was green, he realized as he leaned against the doorframe. She gazed into his eyes, touching her nose to his. "Are you going to come in or not," she asked, pulling gently on Austin's hands. He grinned, obliging as he stepped over the threshold and allowed her to lead him towards the bed, swaying as listened to a slow rock song. Austin had heard it before a few times, in the car with Courtney and Devon, and he hummed along under his breath.

Leaning down to kiss her, Austin felt his heart racing in his chest. It was a welcome rush that propelled him on, hands twisting themselves up in her hair as she swayed back and forth to the beat of the music. "You're so beautiful," he whispered in her ear, pulling her back so she could look him in the eyes. Breathless and starry-eyed, she grinned and fell into him, the lace of her shirt tickling his neck and arms.

He stared at the Court poster on her wall, the band leaning down with starry eyes. He remembered her singing on of their songs while they had lunch together at school one day. Button down shirts and frilly dresses peeked out of her closet, and it was easy for Austin to imagine her dancing around the room in every one of them. She looked so beautiful in her lacey white shirt and skin-tight blue jeans. Hugging her legs to his waist, Austin pressed his lips to her skin again and again. She tasted like peppermint, reminding him of Christmas and hot chocolate sipped with his birth mother. Tears began to fill his eyes, but he pushed them back, praying Natalia wouldn't notice. He would tell her about his mother, and his life with her, but not today. This wasn't the day for sad life stories, he decided.

Staring at her wallpapered ceiling, Austin closed his eyes as her lips traveled down and around his body, growing hard when she hissed air gently in his ear, a dandelion brushing over his skin. Never before had he seen a woman so beautiful, so strong-minded. He only hoped that she cared about him enough to stay.