Dead Girl Walking ― Aaron Minyard

28. someone to you

the kingdom come, the rise, the fall
the setting sun above it all
i just wanna be somebody to you
― banners

♦

WITH MARA JOINING KEVIN AND NEIL in their after-hours practice, her free time dwindled to a fraction. Even so, she couldn't bring herself to skip. She finally had her brother back in her life, but he'd come with a time limit. She wouldn't let herself waste any of the time she had left with him.

Even if re-forging their bond would lead to her breaking when he was gone for good.

Outside of practices with Kevin and Neil, Mara spent the majority of her free time with Aaron. With how their schedules aligned, it was easier for them to carve time out together than with the other Foxes. They chose the library as their refuge, since Andrew claimed he was allergic to books and rarely set foot inside.

And if, without the fear of Andrew seeing let, Aaron was brave enough to slip his hand into Mara's... well, she couldn't really complain.

Except when her brother caught them.

She and Aaron ground to a halt in the café, having been about to get in line for drinks. Neil froze at the sight of them as well, holding a steaming cup of what smelled like black coffee in his hand.

Mara stared at him, daring him to say something. "Neil," she said in stiff greeting.

Neil stared back. "Mara." His eyes flickered to Aaron. "Seriously?" he asked casually in French, though his eyes held something between murder and disgust.

Mara grit her teeth. "Mention this to anyone and I'll carve my initials into your throat."

Neil blinked at her. "I thought you were dating Kevin."

"I hate you." Once the words were out, she tugged on Aaron's hand, glaring at her brother. "Goodbye."

Neil watched them get in line, only walking away when Mara glared at him again.

"What did you say to him?" Aaron asked, glancing at the direction Neil had walked off in.

"I told him not to say anything," Mara said. "And to enjoy his coffee."

"Seemed more tense than that," Aaron said.

Mara shrugged. "That's just how I talk to him. He's annoying."

Aaron snorted. "Since when do you and Josten have issues?"

"Not issues," Mara said. "Just... ease of disagreement."

They ordered their drinks and brought them to one of the tables on the second floor of the library. Midterms were finally upon them, which meant Mara had to actually focus on school (for the first time in her life). Her art projects were already well underway, but she'd found herself slacking in her other gen-eds. And with exams coming up...

Yeah, Mara had some work to do.

Said work was monotonous but relatively easy, at least compared to whatever had Aaron squinting at his textbook and scribbling notes like a madman. She considered asking what was so important to make him study this frantically, but figured he wouldn't appreciate the break in concentration.

Instead, Mara focused on her own work, catching up on her psychology readings and art history notes. Halfway through a chapter, her phone buzzed with a text from Nicky.

Nicky: talked to neil. ur secrets safe w him :) <3

Mara sighed. As much as she appreciated Nicky making sure Neil wouldn't go around telling the rest of the team about her and Aaron, she didn't love the fact that her brother was bound to grill her about it later.