When The Stars Align

chapter fourteen | the ups and downs of falling in love

WE SLOWLY GO BACK to our normal routines, the shock of the invasion of the castle finally fading. I wake up the next morning, feeling a hundred times better, physically, at least. The house is empty, for the most part.

The king and Victoria probably have their royal duties to handle, and their kids probably headed off the school, the younger ones being cared for at the castle. Lysander went back to work, continuing his so-called investigation, and Sophia worked as a school teacher, probably there now.

I passed a few maids and Mr. Hemingworth in the halls as I heading downstairs slowly. The TV was on, so someone had to be downstairs.

But first, food.

I stumbled into the kitchen, drowsy. Maybe if I asked Mr. Hemingworth nicely, he'd have someone bring a stack of pancakes to my room. The stitches in my leg have almost healed, and it doesn't hurt as much when I walk. Maybe I could go on a run tomorrow morning - the mansion was great, but I was growing tired of it, feeling suffocated.

I walk into Atticus in the kitchen, pouring himself a bowl of cereal. Bleary eyed, I wonder if I'm actually seeing the right thing. "Don't you have your own home? Why are always in my house?"

He looked up at me, smiling, and grabbed a spoon from the drawer. "This has only been your house again for the last three or something days-"

"Two," I corrected, but I don't think it would help my case.

"Whatever, two. Lysander and Victoria and even your parents have let me crash here when my mom was out of town," Atticus explained.

"Oh, she's on another business trip?"

He gives me a curious look. "Another? Was your side job stalking me and your siblings? But yeah, she's back in the city. I could stay at home, but I'd rather not."

With one hand, he grabs the bowl, and with the other, he grabs the crutch leaning against the fridge. Funny, I didn't notice that before.

"What? You're scared of staying home alone?"

"More like I'm scared of responsibility," he said with a laugh. He struggles with the bowl in his hand, so I grab it before it can spill.

"Thanks." He walks himself to the drawing room, falling back onto the couch. I place the bowl on the coffee table, then head back to grab myself some fruit and yogurt.

There were some old cartoons playing on the TV, the sponge and the starfish making me smile. Atticus reduces the volume, and turns to me. "Tori told me to take you to my classes this afternoon. I said that you probably wouldn't like that, and then she said I have to drag you there."

I gag at the thought of going back to school. Third grade was easy, sure, but I hated waking up to go there. University was sure to be a pain in the ass, based on what everyone says about it.

As far as I'm concerned, Victoria never went to university after she got married, stopping at high school. Lysander, I'm pretty sure, has a degree in business or accounting or something money related.

"What do you major in?" I asked him, popping a strawberry in my mouth. "Do you know what you want to do?"

He shrugged. "Honestly, no. I'm kind of just taking a dip into a few courses, might decide next semester or something. Maybe it's just my family history, but doing something related to space science or history seems cool."

When he was a kid, he always said he wanted to be an astronaut, floating among the stars. The thought of sending him into space was scary to me, because seven year old me didn't want to lose him in the deep, dark space.