Ice Blue [ Book One ]

4 // Backstory

Wish that you could build a time machine
So you could see
The things no one can see
Feels like you're standing on the edge
Looking at the stars
And wishing you were them

What do you do when a chapter ends?
Do you close the book and never read it again?
Where do you go when your story's done?
You can be who you were or who you'll become

• • •

Dinner was nice so far, I was was thinking as I ripped apart a Hawaiian roll and buttered it. But, of course, I should have knocked on the wooden table because that's when one of Princeton's older sister said, "What Clan do you come from?"

The discussion that the family had been working to keep me apart of went hushed and the knife I was using to butter my roll stilled in my hand. Pain stabbed my heart at the thought of them, and I took in a shaky breath. I had to learn to get over my pain at some point. "Rosedale."

"Rosedale? As in Andy Rosedale?"

Yes. As in Andy Rosedale. Now can you shut the hell up about where I come from? I would appreciate the hell out of it if you stopped talking about it.

"Mm," was all I replied. "Yeah."

"Wait ... your name is Rivera?" she said, realization clicking. "You're his chosen. You two —"

"Are nothing anymore," I said sharply, slamming the knife down on the table harder than I meant. "I'm no longer apart of his Clan. I'm an outcast. He's no longer my chosen."

The woman bit her lip while the silverware clanked against the plates awkwardly, nobody wanting to get involved. Princeton, however, had his brown eyes focused intently on me, hooked onto every piece he could manage to capture.

"I'm sorry." She set down her glass. "I didn't mean to upset you, Rivera. I'm Maddie."

"It's nice to meet you," I muttered, unsure whether I liked her or not. She was nosy, obviously, very curious. But she didn't seem threatening, just gossipy. "Sorry for snapping."

"It's okay."

"I hear your cat is very beautiful."

Good God, could this woman get anymore personal? Asking someone about their animal side is the equivalent to talking to a couple about their sex life. It's a very intimate topic. When we're shifted, it's fine when we see it. We're animals. When we're humans, it's awkward to talk about our forms outside of the shift and mindlinks.

"Maddie," Princeton mumbled from across me. I looked toward him, trying not to grin at the sight of his eyes cast down to the plate and his cheeks holding a pink color. "Could you be anymore blunt?"

"Oh come on. I'm asking about an animal, not her boobs."

One of the brothers choked on his food while their mother glared at him, then turned her wrath on Maddie. "Madilyn!"

"What?" she held her hands up in the air. "I'm asking a legitimate question!"

"A personal question," her mother scolded. I swore, if Lana was my mother and she stared at me like that I would be running for the hills to hide. "Apologize."

"Yeah, Mads, apologize for your indecency," said one of her brothers with a large smirk. He had long hair, pulled into a ponytail, and gray eyes.

"Oh don't talk, Terrence. Mom found you in bed with Lila the other day, right?"

"What?" A quiet brown haired girl, another sister, yelled, stabbing her fork into the wooden table and sending a flaming glare at her brother. "Misha's little sister?"