Never

Chapter 18: Covington

Thaddeus's POV:

"Why does your sister hate America so much?" Winter asked.

We were on the road, almost to Dorian's house in Covington. It hadn't been the worst drive of my life. Winter asked a lot of questions and it made the time pass by faster.

"Truth be told, I'm not entirely sure all the reasons," I answered, drumming my fingers against the steering wheel. "She says she doesn't like the culture or people, finds them to be obnoxious."

"It sounds like you don't believe that's the reason."

"My sister has endless amounts of patience because she has to put up with Kristoff and me," I said honestly. "I seriously doubt some boisterous Americans would ruin it for her. She's been alive too long to get agitated so easily."

"So what do you think the real reason is?"

"I don't know."

Juliette used to travel with me everywhere. Kristoff preferred staying in one spot but Juliette and I decided if we were to be alive so long, we had no excuse to not see and experience every inch of the world. We were inseparable for centuries, sometimes taking a couple decades off at a time but always coming back to it. Until one day she just stopped. She didn't want to visit anywhere anymore. She wanted to stay right where she was.

It was only a couple decades later I learned it wasn't that she wanted to stay where she was, she just only said no if America was on the itinerary. I'd asked her about it innumerable times but her answers were always less than satisfactory.

I knew my sister. You don't spend centuries with someone without learning everything about them but on that particular subject, I had nothing. She would speak nothing. I could only conclude something happened and she didn't want to tell me. Why, I wasn't sure. She told me everything else, sometimes more than I wanted to know. It wasn't that I didn't love my sister but I didn't love hearing if she had a good shag and she was all too willing to drop that information without warning.

"Huh," Winter said, scribbling into her sketchbook. "What's she like?"

"Juliette?"

"Mhm."

"She's..." How to explain Juliette? I'd need the rest of eternity for a proper description. "She's an absolute angel, a pain in the ass, the easiest person in the world to speak to, and a complete nightmare if you get her angry. She also seems to think she knows what's best for Kristoff and me so she pretends to be our mother."

Winter let out a breathy laugh, still scribbling into that sketchbook. "That's how sisters are."

The moment the words left her mouth, she stiffened. I adjusted my hold on the steering wheel and glanced at her out of the corner of my eye.

"Not that I'd know," she added. "I mean, I just hear that's what it's like."

I nodded slowly. She fiddled with her pencil and I rolled my eyes. "You don't actually think I bought that, do you?"

"Can you just pretend you did?"

"Why?"

"Because I don't want to talk about it."

"You've been asking me questions this entire drive," I pointed out. "You can't answer one?"

"You can ask whatever you want, but if it's personal you won't be getting an answer."

I frowned. "You asked me personal questions."

"No I didn't."

"Asking about my sister is personal, because if it's not, then how come I can't ask about yours?"