Heroine

Ch 27 - Honest

I couldn't help but laugh at Adam.

"Yeah, I'm definitely a human, Adam." I snickered. "And even if I wasn't, you know I'm a shit liar. You would know if I wasn't."

He looked at the carpet and then back up at me. "Sometimes people don't know they're not human."

"Well, trust me. I've wanted to have magic powers since I could read. You think I haven't tried to bend water when I'm doing the dishes?" I joked.

He didn't laugh. He still looked dead serious.

"At first, I thought your parents were parascientists like all the other doctors that live here and maybe you were some kind of creation of theirs." He squared himself on me. "But I have cameras installed at their clinic and I've been watching them since the second you moved here. They definitely didn't know magic existed before they set foot in Shady Cove."

I made a face at him. "You have cameras at the clinic? Why?"

"And then I thought maybe you were a changeling." He ignored my question. "Some demigod or fae asshole trying to hide their kid among the humans."

He placed one of his hands on the couch in front of him, still looking soberly at me.

"So, I started having you tested. I took your hair and ran every single test I could get my hands on to find out what you were." He ground his jaw. "You came back human every single time. Bea swears you're human. Everyone swears you're just human. But I don't believe them."

I glared at him.

"Jasmine- from the coffee shop- she's a Djinn." He said, his stern face still painted on. "The boys found her and freed her when we first moved here. They tried to wish our mom wasn't dead. But no magic can touch life, love, or death so they just set her free since they didn't want anything else. And now she's a friend of mine and I thought she created you from nothing somehow."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because she can see everyone's deepest desires, Rose." He said it like an accusation. "She told me yours."

I bristled. "What's mine?"

"Family." His face softened for the first time. "You want a family."

My heart cracked slightly.

"Well, that's awesome you've been all up in my business, Adam. That's not an invasion of my privacy at all." I made a face at him.

His face fell slightly but he still held his chin high. He had his reasons and didn't need to defend himself.

"Why did you think I'm not human because I want a family?"

"Because you're perfect, Rose." He let out a breath and closed his eyes like that was weighing on him. As if he didn't tell me that every day already.

He crossed the room and stood in front of me.

"Time stopped the first time I laid eyes on you." He grabbed my hands in his and rubbed his circles into my skin. "You were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen. And your smile lit up the entire room like you were made of pure sunlight. And for the first time in my entire life, I wanted someone... I wanted you."

My heart pounded in my chest. He lifted his hand to touch my face. His rough thumb stroked my cheek and his fingers tickled the hair on the back of my neck in the best way.

"You are funny and cool and you get along with my brothers. And fucking smart. You're so smart, Rosie." He looked into my eyes like he was lost and needed help. "And every time I see you or speak to you I just want you more. You are brave and resilient and strong as hell. You're amazing. And the fact that you see through everyone's bullshit..."