FABLE

Chapter Forty Nine

I'm putting the finishing touches on a strawberry cupcake when I hear the doorbell ringing, followed by frantic knocking.

I run to the front door, and swing it open.

Kitty's standing on the front porch, looking like she just stepped out of The Great Gatsby. She's wearing a chic forest green silk dress, and her bob of dark hair is tied back with a filmy white scarf, which trails down her back. Fluttering in the breeze, the scarf makes it look almost like she has a set of translucent wings. A pair of huge dark glasses - the sort celebs wear when evading the paparazzi - in combination with the scarf wings makes me think of a bug.

In fact, Kitty looks a lot like a dragonfly right now - a dragonfly crossed with a gorgeous glamazon heiress.

As soon as I open the door, she's visibly relieved.

She turns towards the road and gestures behind her, at a black Jeep parked just a few meters away.

All the car doors swing open at the same time. The boys jump out of the car, slamming the doors behind them. They've run across the driveway and through the front door before I even realise what's happening.

With a sigh, Kitty shuts the front door closed behind her.

"Thank god," she says. "I don't think we were spotted."

To my relief, the boys aren't nearly as overdressed as Kitty is. Lyall, Ben and Elliot are all wearing jeans and sweaters, while Alastaire is in a white blazer jacket, a tank top and jeans. Felix is in jeans and a midnight green v-neck sweater, which perfectly matches the rims of his hazel eyes.

Eyes which right now are frozen in the space between my collarbone and my chest, just above my right breast.

The floral print romper I'm wearing is pretty low-cut compared to what I'd usually wear. I expected my parents to have something to say about that, but they seem to have been too busy cooking to notice.

Let's hope it stays that way. 

The extra inch of skin on show has caught Felix's attention, but not for the reason one would expect. His gaze is fiery and intense, yet strangely distant, and I know that somehow, he's staring at one of my ghost scars.

Unlike the one over my ribcage, this scar is so faint and shallow that it's practically invisible. In fact, I have a couple like that, all over my body - on my back, my ankle, my wrist.

It's no surprise really, considering the whirlwind of glass that I was swimming through when the bus went down.

I think of these secret scars as invisible reminders, ghostly tokens, forgotten save for when I run my fingers over their indiscernible ridges just to check they're still there.

Without warning, Felix steps forward, closing the space between us. In full view of Kitty and the other boys, he reaches out and trails a finger gently over the line of the scar, just above the rise of my right breast.

I gasp and jump back, clutching my hands over my chest.

The skin tingles slightly where he touched it, a cold buzzing like an electric aftershock.

"Whoa, slow down player," says Ben. "At least wait until after dinner." With that, he walks out the hallway into the kitchen. Elliot gives Felix a stern look before following Ben.

"Fee, what are y-" Lyall begins, looking from Felix to me nervously.

"Come on Lyall, let's go say hi to Ash's parents," Kitty says hurriedly, pulling Lyall out of the room with her.

I'm left alone with Felix and Alastaire.

One look at Alastaire's face clearly tells me why she was in such a hurry to leave.