Unbound (Unbound, Book 1) ~Formerly Casting Power~

Chapter 51

Calin dropped his arm when we reached the door to my suite. I'd never had a boy in my room before, aside from Jules, and even though he'd only be in the sitting room, my nerves were frayed. It's just a movie. It's not like we had a reason to want the door closed. We were just friends. Nothing to worry about.

"Nice bedroom," he said, gazing around the room before settling his gaze on me. "Where's the bed hiding?"

I laughed, thankful to him for diffusing the awkwardness between us now that we were alone. "They decided to give me a plasma instead."

"Seriously?" his eyes widened.

"No, not really." I pointed to the door and walked closer to the couch. "My bedroom is through there. This is my sitting room."

"You have your own sitting room?"

I shrugged. "And a bathroom and a walk-in closet."

"Must be nice." He whistled.

"I'd rather be home."

"I can understand that," he said. "No matter how cool all this might be, it won't bring back your mom and the friends you had in Briarville, will it?"

"Very astute, Sherlock," I said, and then winced. "Sorry, I don't mean to be bitter. It's not fair to take it out on you."

"You probably need to take it out on someone, though." He watched me too closely, much too perceptive, and I fought the urge to flee.

"Hmm, yeah, I've thought about that. My plan is to aim it at the most antagonizing aspect of my life right now."

"And what's that?"

"The prankster who's running around framing me for their stunts."

"Hopefully tonight solves that problem for you," he said. "My mom said—"

"So, you were told to hang out with me because of your mom." I was so stupid for believing he wanted to hang out.

"It wasn't like that, Noreena," he promised. "My mom doesn't tell me who to hang out with, and I certainly wouldn't listen if she told me to hang out with someone that I didn't want to spend time with in the first place."

"Then what is it that she told you?"

"She didn't see anything concrete. At least, nothing about you. She saw that a prank will be pulled. I am the one who wanted to hang out and make sure that you have an alibi."

"What prank?"

"She didn't say." He shrugged. "My mom is weird when it comes to her visions. Protective. She can't stop them but rarely talks about them. She says it's unethical for her to reveal the future in case someone tries to change it."

"I think I like your mom. I can see why my mother was friends with her."

He smiled and the twinkle jumped back into his eyes as he watched me. "So, movies?"

"Yes, Meet Joe Black." I walked over to the couch and plopped down, picking up the remote. After a few moments, he followed to sit to my right, closer than necessary. I wasn't complaining. "Would you like a soda?"

"Sure."

I popped open the mini refrigerator beside the couch and pulled out two drinks. No matter how many I went through, the quantity was always replenished in my absence. "I think they went slightly overboard with all this, don't you?"

"Maybe he's just trying to make up for lost time?" He raised his eyebrows and pulled the tab on his drink. "You dad probably just wants you to be happy here."