Blackbird

Chapter 54

Ted thought he’d been afraid before, but he’d never felt anything like this. As the door swung open it was like every muscle in his body tensed up and sprang into action at the same time. He pulled Andromeda closer to him as their attackers stormed in.

He’d expected the black-haired angel of death that was Bellatrix Black. Or the dark, brooding form that was the pyscho Rodolphus. Even pretty boy Rabastan would have made sense.

What he didn’t expect was the bouncing halo of black curls and blazing golden eyes of Olivia, followed closely by Jake and Lorie.

Andromeda, who had also been paralyzed with fear, suddenly sat up. The bemused expression on her face would have been hilarious if he wasn’t wearing a matching one.

Liv’s eyes traveled from Ted, to Meda, then back to Ted. He’d been so thrown off by her arrival, he’d forgotten he was lying in a bed, next to Andromeda.

Andromeda’s face turned beet red, and she shuffled away from him. Despite her declarations of love, seeing her pull away still sent a jolt through his frame.

He wasn’t going to deny this was awkward though, which was why he also slipped away from her and scrmabled to his feet.

His friends were staring at him with gaping mouths. Well, Lorie and Jake were gaping. Liv looked like she’d been forced to swallow stinksap.

“Are you freaking kidding me?” Liv spat, only without the word freaking. “You ran off? With her?”

 The bright crimson left Ted’s face as quickly as it had come, leaving his face a pale sheen of green. He’d seen Liv angry before, but never like this.
“Liv, what are you doing here?”

Derailing her wouldn’t work, but it was the only thing he could think to say.

“Looking for you.” Her eyes flashed, but there was something underneath all the anger, something brittler. “So I could give you your freaking birthday present.” Once again, she did not say freaking. “We went to your house, but you weren’t there. Jean’s worried sick about you. Off helping a ‘mystery friend,’ she said. I should have known it was her.”

His heart clenched at the thought of his mother, and he stole a glance at Andromeda. She was staring at Liv with a pinched expression, like it hurt to look but she couldn’t look away. Sighing, he turned back to Liv. “How did you find us?”

“Followed the trail of weird stories about the girl in nighties who didn’t know a pound from a coffee cake.”

Jake pressed his lips together to keep from laughing, which Ted appreciated. Andromeda had dropped her head so he couldn’t see her face, but he doubted that comment made her feel better.

Lorie had been uncharasterically silent during the whole exchange, staring at them like they were speaking another language. She took the moment of silence to smile and say, “Happy Birthday.”

But Liv wasn’t done. “How could you, Ted?”

Neither of them took their eyes off each other as he said, “Because I love her.”

He saw Andromeda’s head flash back up, and he wanted desperately to glance back at her, but he didn’t dare break his staring contest with Liv.

“Why am I the only one who looks shocked by this?” Lorie asked, glancing between Liv and Ted, then back to Jake, who was avoiding her gaze.

Her mouth dropped open again. “You knew this was happening? And you never told me?”

Jake continued trying to ignore Lorie’s gaze, but when she stuck her hands on her hips and glared at him, he gave her a sheepish grin and shrugged.