Nefarious ➛ Theo Raeken [2]

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Clarissa could smell coffee as she hopped off the last step and for the first time in months, she felt like the day would be okay. It felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders the night before and while she was still upset, she knew that she would find a way to bring him back.

"I see that you've finally stopped trying to sneak out." Clarissa startled the sheriff's deputy as she spoke and she smiled slightly at the way that he jumped like he had been caught doing something that he wasn't supposed to. "I'm impressed."

"Most of the people in this house have supernatural hearing." Jordan Parrish moved towards the coffee pot and her smile widened as she noticed that he had her favorite cup in his hand. He went through the motions of making her a cup of coffee and handed it to her when he was done. "There's no point in trying to sneak out anymore when I know you all know that I'm here."

"At least you've realized that." Clarissa took a sip of her coffee and raised an eyebrow as she watched him go back to what he was doing before she came down. It looked like he was making breakfast for a small army and she wondered if it was his way of making amends for what he had done. She had forgiven him weeks ago since he had done nothing but help them and he had showed that he cared about them. He had yet to hurt Evie or leave them in the dust and that was enough for her at the moment. "I heard that Corey and Mason came to ask you about the missing kid."

"I feel bad that I told them to leave it alone." Parrish admitted softly as he placed a few pancakes on the plate. She slowly sat her coffee down and moved towards the cupboard to get more plates down. She might as well help the man instead of standing around doing nothing. "Especially now since we know that someone is actually missing."

"People are going to keep going missing." Clarissa sighed as she heard footsteps on the floor upstairs. She and Parrish had proven the be the early risers of the house, but they had about an hour before they had to leave for the school. "Which is not good because we have five people to worry about and it's hard when you can't see the people who are trying to take them."

"Six." Parrish paused his actions and turned to her with one of the most endearing looks that she had ever seen on his face. He had proven that he cared about them because of Evie but maybe he was starting to care about them without her too. "I have to worry about you getting taken too. It would hurt them all if anything happened to you. You didn't see Eve last night when they called about you pulling that stunt."

"I was just trying to help." Clarissa defended herself quickly, but she could see that the older man wasn't done with her. He looked like he had been wanting to say something for a while. "I've been hearing them and I think I can help find everyone if I keep trying to access that connection."

"You could have been hurt." Parrish declared sternly, a frown on his face and a tense set to his shoulders. He looked like an older brother scolding a younger sibling and she wondered if that was how she looked when she admonished her own siblings for doing something reckless. "Damn it Clary, you don't see how scared they get when you willingly go put yourself in danger. Evelyn loses her mind and Corey and Delcan stop breathing whenever something happens to you. One of these days, you're going to do something that gets you killed and it will break them all."

Clarissa opened her mouth to speak but she couldn't find the words to defend herself for once and Parrish wasn't finished with her. He had obviously wanted to say something to her for a while now in a way that only an older brother could.

"You have a family that loves you and cares about you. One that would be lost if something happens to you." Parrish continued, his words coming out quickly and his breathing labored as he became more passionate with his speech. "I care about you too and last night, seeing you laying there, it was the worst feeling in the world. You looked like you were dead and we didn't know if you were going to make it back. I know that losing Theo broke your heart, but you can't keep breaking ours by putting yourself in danger like that. We have a family here and when someone in our family is hurting, we're all hurt. You don't have to do this alone anymore. Let us help you."