Sympathy for the Devil

20

Killian and I didn't talk as we headed into the kitchen, where Bennett was already cooking up a storm, from waffles to pancakes to bacon and eggs. A few jugs of orange juice and cranberry juice were resting on the counter.

"Killian, Ashlynn called you," Bennett spoke as he continued concocting a breakfast feast.

Jealousy nearly slapped me in the face at the mention of another girl. But I didn't want to be that girl. Killian wasn't my marked territory. We were only having fun. Short-lived heavy-duty fun.

Bennett had a ring around his eye where I punched him. I gulped guiltily. His mom and dad will definitely have questions about that. He's their golden boy after all.

"Why?" Killian muttered with a scowl.

"Probably because you hooked up with a fae. You know how needy they can be. You should probably call her back." Bennett continued moving around the kitchen effortlessly. Who knew he could cook?

"Whatever," Killian muttered as he dialed a number and entered another room down the hall.

"Morning, Ellie. I didn't know what you liked, which led to this masterpiece of a concoction. Josh's mom really supplied this place with a lot. You have bacon, eggs, waffles, and a variety of toast. Pick your poison."

"Who's Ashlynn?" I asked as I took a seat at the bar. I tried to keep my voice light like air.

"Killian's flavor of the month," Bennett spoke with an eye roll as my cheeks flushed. Does that make me another one of Killian's flavors now? I hoped not.

"While it all sounds good, and, believe me, I'm always hungry for breakfast, I can't."

"Why? Is it something Killian did? You can ignore him; it works for me anyway."

"Oddly enough, no." I glared in Killian's direction as he came back into the kitchen and downed some orange juice from the jug, even though there was a glass right next to the container, as a light voice spoke on the other end of the phone. It was Killian's flavor of the month's voicemail. He hung up the phone as he wiped an orange juice stashe off of his face with the back of his hand.

"Come on, man." Bennett grabbed the container unhappily.

Killian held up his hands in mock defense. "Hey, I'm doing you a favor. It's one less glass to clean." Killian turned his focus towards me. "Now enlighten us, Jellie Belly. What drama has uprooted your life now?"

"Really? Do you think I need another reason not to want to eat? Josh died last night. He's gone. There is no bringing him back. And we are staying at his beach house like everything is normal and fine when his parents must be worried sick right about now."

"Oh no," Bennett said as he wrapped his arms around me. His shirt smelled of strawberries, and his white shirt sleeve was stained orange from splattered eggs. "It's not normally like that, Ellie. I promise. And that was not your fault. You're still new to this. Eventually, you will figure out how to teleport. It's easier than driving everywhere. And we are planning to leave and cover up what happened. We just thought you deserved to get some sleep before we left again."

Well, I definitely got plenty of sleep.

So that's why Killian always seemed to show up. He could teleport. At least that made sense now.

"Mind keeping it down. It's not even noon yet, and I'm curing last night's hangover." Ankou, for the first time, wasn't wearing his traditional attire. He was wearing a black t-shirt and distressed jeans. He didn't appear much older than us. He could pass for a high schooler or college student. It's odd to fathom that this is Killian's father. His scythe blade was trailing beside him. The blade hovered above the ground. It had a mind of its own. Ankou's hair, which was once long, has now been cut short and coiffed. His hardened features, though, aged him and made him less appealing to look at.