𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐎𝐒

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟐

𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀
CRIST

"You had that with my brother?!"

"Damon Lars comforted you?"

"You and Alessio kissed on his motorcycle?"

"You and Damon fought?"

The questions exploded all at once, overlapping in disbelief and shock. We hadn't seen each other for barely a day or two, and somehow all of this happened. Our group FaceTime call was chaos, everyone trying to process the ridiculous revelations. It was our thing to call when we weren't meeting up. We could barely go a day without catching up, but this was next-level insanity.

"Okay, let's go over this slowly," I said, raising a hand to my screen as if I could stop the madness. "First, Lily. Explain."

Liliana winced, biting her lip. Her voice wavered as she spoke. "I'm sorry, I know he's your brother, but it just happened."

I blinked, trying to process her words. Liliana had been obsessed with Jaxon forever, but hearing her admit it still made my stomach twist.

"Okay," I said slowly, exhaling through my nose. "We'll deal with that later. Now, Stella. No way Damon actually comforted you."

Avery's face popped up on the screen, her expression mocking. "Seriously, Damon Lars comforted you? Damon?! Of all people? Did hell freeze over?" Stella rolled her eyes, obviously annoyed but not denying it. "Yeah, he helped me in the bathroom. Big shock, I know. Anyway, what about you, Avery?"

Damon was hell.

My own personal hell.

We all waited for Avery, who was smiling like a lovesick fool. Her cheeks turned crimson, and the blush was so visible that it made her reaction even more obvious. "I kissed Alessio," she said, her voice soft but giddy. "On his motorcycle. It was... amazing. But, uh, the problem is he's still kind of with Ava."

"Ugh, screw Ava," I muttered, crossing my arms. "She's a literal parasite."

"Right?!" Avery groaned, throwing her hands up. "She's always acting like we're all beneath her, but honestly, she's nothing."

"Doesn't matter. Alessio kissed you, not her," Stella pointed out, leaning back in her chair. "Honestly, good for you. She's just his placeholder."

Avery rolled her eyes, pretending to brush it off, but her smile lingered.

Then Stella broke the silence. "Speaking of assholes, what the hell is wrong with Grayson? How can he keep doing this to me?"

Avery flipped the page of her book, sparing Stella a glance. "You're still hung up on him?"

Stella hesitated before nodding, her eyes downcast. "Yeah. I do like him. I hate that I can't get over him, but it's like he's in my head. And as soon as I think I'm done, he's... there."

Liliana chimed in, her voice soft and careful. "It's fine to like someone, Stella. But you know how Grayson
is. He can be mean sometimes."

"Sometimes?" I scoffed. "Try always. The guy is practically allergic to kindness."

We all laughed, though there was truth in the statement. Grayson Meadows was an enigma wrapped in cruelty and laced with moments of surprising depth that left you questioning everything.

"Anyway," I said, glancing at the time. "I have to go. Dinner's ready."

"Same," Avery said, closing her book. "Don't forget about the math test tomorrow."

"Yeah, I won't," Stella muttered, already scribbling something in her notebook. We ended the call, and I sighed as I made my way downstairs. Everyone was already eating when I walked into the dining room.