Sterling Silver (Sterling Hunter Series Book 1)

Chapter 25

Sebastian watched Tabitha dig into the leftover macaroni and cheese he had dug out of the fridge, her thoughts spinning.

"So... do you want to talk about it?" he asked. He'd been waiting to ask that question since she got there, since he'd seen how much of an awful night she'd had. Being a brother to a sister himself, he cringed at all the mistakes Derrick had made. All the wrong things he had said.

Tabitha shrugged and looked up from her food, her face passive. "There's not much to talk about. My dad died, my family split up and my brother sucks. I shouldn't have told him what I did, but I think he kind of needed to hear it."

Sebastian nodded and propped his elbow on the counter, leaning his chin on his fist. "I think he did too. If Emmeline was in a situation such as yours, I wouldn't leave her side. Especially if she was kissing a vampire."

He smirked and she rolled her eyes spearing a few more noodles. "Whatever. He won't stick around. Derrick's already got his life figured out. He knows what he wants to do, and what he wants to do is be normal. I'm not part of his plan. Besides I don't need him."

He liked how she completely ignored his comment about kissing a vampire. Sebastian still wanted to know what she thought of him. She did a pretty good job of hiding those particular thoughts from his probing. And... he wanted to tell her what he concluded yesterday evening. How he sort of might... be in love with a mortal girl who would eventually grow old and die without him. Sebastian needed to know what she thought. He knew they'd only just met two weeks' ago. Sebastian had known acquaintances for far longer than two weeks.

But... everything was going so fast. Moving faster than Sebastian could keep up. Maybe that was because of Tabitha and her impulsiveness. She kissed before she thought. She killed first and asked questions later. She's impulsive, a complete adrenaline junkie though she would never admit it and a thrill to be around. She always did the unexpected and never thought twice before doing something irrational.

Sebastian had never met a girl like her. Not even Marcie was so unpredictable. He liked the way she attacked him without hesitation. The way she did everything without hesitating, from talking to kissing to hunting.

Tabitha cocked her head and gave him a weird grin. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Sebastian blinked and smiled, shaking his head. "No reason. So what are you going to say to your brother when you have to go home?"

"I don't know. Probably the truth... again. I always seem to blurt out what I'm thinking even though I don't want to." She suddenly laughed and shook her head.

Sebastian smiled a confused smile and leaned forward. "What's so funny?"

Tabitha chuckled, dropping her fork. "Nothing, just Derrick used to always tell me what a bad liar I am and how I'm honest to a fault. I guess he was right."

Sebastian grinned and pushed a water bottle toward her. She gave him a thankful smile, if a little shy, and took a drink. "Well I know it probably doesn't mean anything but you don't need anyone to protect you. You don't need anyone in general. But you do have me... and Chelsea for that matter."

Tabitha smiled, a genuine, happy smile and set her water bottle down, slipping off the bar stool. "I know I do. It's not like I need my sisters and brother anyways. They don't understand my life. Not anymore. But you do. Chelsea doesn't but that's Ok. I like having at least one normal and oblivious person in my life."

Sebastian slid off his stool as well and leaned against the counter as Tabitha folded her arms, glancing toward the door. He could practically see the stakes drawing her back to training. She tapped her fingers against her arms, pent-up energy evident.