Between Heaven and Hell (PA #2)

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Romeo (Lust)

Either I'm tripping balls or Alex is actually turning blue. And unless someone spiked my apple juice with some dragon's breath, I'm pretty sure I'm sober.

So, what the fuck is up with him?

"You're blue," I inform my most bothersome brother. "Is this a new style?"

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," he curses as he perceives the change in skin tone. He closes his eyes and takes several deep breaths, almost as if he's...meditating? Since when does he do that? I'm beyond confused.

A blueberry scone gets tossed at my head. I grab it and offer it to Low, but she doesn't even notice it. She's too focused on Alexander, something that should never happen. Ever. Out of all of my brothers, Alexander is the one I'd least expect to be competition for Willow. They hardly ever interacted when we were growing up, and it's clear he despises her.

But then again, so did Galileo, and look at him now. Always sneaking off with my girl and throwing out enough desire to keep even my Lust satisfied.

Maybe having Alex train with Willow every morning was a bad idea. It doesn't take much to be enamored by her and he's getting continual exposure to her charms.

Willow places a light touch on my elbow. When she sees that she has my attention, she says, "Eli's trying to talk to you."

Across the table, Lizzie has a scone in her hand, prepared to lob it at me. So she's the one who threw that.

"What did you mean by 'new style'? This isn't the first time Alex has done that," Lizzie says.

I'm taken aback. "Um, yes it is?"

"No, he did it like a month ago," Lizzie counters.

"And I was there?" I question.

"Yeah," my sister confirms.

I must've been too busy staring at Willow. She is much more pleasant to look at than anyone else, especially my least favorite brother.

"So this isn't a new thing for him," I surmise.

"I'm right fucking here," Alexander inserts. He's no longer blue, so the meditation thing must've worked.

"We're ignoring you," Lizzie says. "This is an asshole-free day, so unkindly fuck off and leave us alone."

Not one for being told what to do, Alexander takes a seat at our table. He chooses the spot next to Ari, which is probably the safest choice. Ari's least likely to physically harm him.

"That wasn't an invitation," Lizzie gripes.

"It sure fucking sounded like one," Alex replies, taking one of the green plates and piling it high with food.

The absolute nerve. "Do you know any other words? Or is your vocabulary limited to iterations of 'fuck' and nothing else?" I ask him.

He looks over at me, smirking. "Nice hat," he snarks.

I readjust it slightly, not rising to the bait.

"I like the hat," Willow defends. "It's very festive."

Alexander snorts. "You have terrible fucking taste. We've already established that."

I'd argue with him, but there's not much of a point. I'd have better luck yelling at a brick wall. Besides, Alexander hates practically everything that isn't Gwen or shiny baubles. His opinion on what's good or not doesn't hold a lot of weight.

Ari subtly leans back, allowing the two of them to see each other more clearly.

"I'm not the one with the blue skin," Willow says.