Not of This World

Six: Wren

I let Aaron drive to Nicole's since he has his car right there in my front yard. Sya looks a little uncertain about getting in the car with us. I don't want her to, so I open the door for her and give her a reassuring smile.

She stays silent the whole five minutes it takes to get to Nicole's house. I glance back at her a few times. Aaron tries to hit on her a few times, but she just gives him a hard stare. It makes me wonder just how much I know about her. She could be a murderer. The man last night said she was dangerous, but she didn't look dangerous. She looked scared.

Aaron walks right into the house without knocking, shouting our arrival. I walk in with Sya just as Nicole pokes her head out from a hallway.

"Hey. You must be Sya. I'm Nicole." She smiles.

"Hello." Sya gives her a small smile back.

"So you need clothes?"

"Yeah... Um..." I try to think of a believable lie. "They lost her suitcase at the airport or something."

"Where did you fly from?" Nicole asks Sya.

I decide to let her come up with some far-away state, but she stays silent, looking at me.

"Nashville, remember, Sya?" I prompt.

"Yes, sorry. My mind went blank for a second."

Nicole laughs. "Happens to me all the time, especially during tests. Well then, you'll need clothes for a few days so let's go find some for you." She beckons Sya back into the hallway.

"Thanks, Nicole."

"I tried to explain to Wren that she didn't really need clothes, but he just wouldn't understand." Aaron shrugs.

"You're a pervert, and Wren is a nice person," Nicole calls before she closes her bedroom door behind Sya.

Aaron walks into the kitchen. I follow him.

"You are a pervert, you know."

"I know you were thinking the same thing." He rolls his eyes and reaches into the fridge.

"You should ask before you take anything."

"She has a million of these in here." He takes out two cans of soda and tosses me one.

"Whatever."

"But really, you have a hot cousin."

"Don't even go there. She has no interest in you." I open my can over the sink.

"How do you know? We just met."

"Did you see those looks she gave you in the car?"

"The first rule to attraction is unattraction." He shrugs.

"That makes no sense. You're such an idiot."

"Then why are we friends?"

"No idea. Do you think they're done yet?"

"Girls take forever to get dressed, so no." He walks out of the kitchen and sits on the couch.

"She just needs a few shirts and things."

He smiles. "And things."

I hit him on the back of the head. "You need to tone down your thoughts."

"What? You were thinking the exact same thing. I've known you for a long time. I can read your mind. I also saw you looking at her when she came down the stairs."

"So?"

"She was hot, right?"

"She's my cousin." I avoid the question. But she was hot. I just don't want Aaron thinking I see her that way. I barely know who she is. I just want to get back home and make her tell me everything. Who she is, why those people were looking for her, and where she's from. A prison? She's still a minor, like me. She can't have done something bad enough for an organization no one has heard of to be after her. United Service Association?