Perception

Part 84

Sang POV

Bile tries to crawl up my throat. My father's angry tone, and wild accusations trigger the memory of his storming into my room drunk. Just like last time, one of the boys stepped in and saved the day. I didn't like how concerned Mr. Blackbourne looked after hearing my father's call, and North's explosion only halfway made sense.

I don't know who the men I'm assuming are Academy members were that showed up at my dad's house early this morning. Apparently they were waiting for him by his car before daybreak, and didn't seem friendly like Ray and his daughter did.

My boys had warned me that a lot of people would want to meet me and try to entice me into joining their teams. That doesn't make sense to me either, but I'm still pretty shaky about what the Academy does and how they do it. All I've seen is what I've done with the guys, and they are pretty stingy with information. They say they are helping people. I've seen that, but somehow the pieces of Academy life that I do manage to see don't even share a common thread.

"So, what'd I miss?" Honey says as he reenters the room while still drying off.

"My father called. He wasn't very pleasant. Apparently people from the Academy are looking there for me. North blew up, and Mr. Blackbourne is making a phone call after looking deep in thought," I sum up.

Nathan plops down onto the couch and scratches his chest. "Huh," he grunts, and gets lost in thought.

"It'll be okay, Cupcake. You know Mr. B. will get everything straightened out. Academy members aren't supposed to try and contact you. We adopted you with a closed adoption," Luke whispers against my head.

"I don't know what that means," I tell him, feeling frustrated.

"They cannot contact you without them going through us. We need to allow an introduction. This is to protect both you and the interest of the team. When Mr. Blackbourne first initiated the adoption, you were still so shy and scared of strangers," Luke explains.

"Baby, you weren't ready for the attention that would have been forced on you. I still don't think you'd like it. Girls are somewhat uncommon in the Academy, and add on that you are a ghost? They'd be all over you worse than the asshole boys at Ashley Waters," North grumbles then rubs his hands through his dark hair.

I think about this for a couple of minutes in silence, but come to my own conclusions.

"I've been asked more than once not to leave you guys. I'm not a fickle person, but I guess you didn't know that yet. Now that you know me better, can't you see that you're only making me more desirable to them? You're creating a mystery that you know they all want to figure out. I think I should be introduced so that all of the hype can die down," I tell them.

I really don't want to think that they are purposefully keeping me hidden because of selfish reasons, but that is what it's boiling down to right now. They're afraid I'll leave them, and they don't trust that I'll stay. Honey's hands bunch a little and he sits up straight. He's staring into space, looking scared. North looks thunderous but doesn't say anything to affirm or deny their mindsets. Luke seems to have stopped breathing. Gabe is muttering darkly, and twirling the black hoops on his ear.

"You don't trust me," I whisper.

"It's not about trust, Sweetie," Luke tries to tell me but I interrupt.

"Isn't it? Isn't that the first rule? Doesn't everything always boil down to trust?" I argue.

I inhale and hold my breath for ten seconds before slowly releasing it. This isn't how I want to be. While the content of my little fit is valid, the delivery is only going to create more tension.