Absolute

10

Sean left shortly after the meeting, needing to return to the hospital. I had squinted at this claim, but Mr. Blackbourne had only nodded, offering to give him a ride as he was leaving as well. Our plan wouldn't be in effect until later tonight, so it made sense that they had other things to do in the meantime.

Kota and Nathan turned on video games while Luke wandered away. I pulled my legs closer to my chest as I listened to North and Silas murmur softly in what I assumed was Greek. There were a few words that sounded like they looked, but overall, I was lost in the conversation. Victor left as well, saying he had things to check on and prepare before tonight.

He'd smiled at me and made sure to use my name when he said goodbye.

Kota found a spot next to me and offered me a distracted smile as he navigated the game system to the game that Nathan was pointing at on the screen.

I decided to excuse myself, finding the bathroom and locking myself inside. Once I was there, I gripped the porcelain sink, my one good hand already white knuckled as I tried to focus on my breathing.

What had I just done?

There seemed to be no going back, no way that I could decipher at least. I'd let them too far in, I'd given them too much information. And now they planned on sneaking into my home, the home that contained my wayward family, and attempt to... well I wasn't clear on that either.

While I was keeping a select of my own secrets, I had a feeling they had theirs as well. The boys at least. If I'd been uncomfortable at all with the group of the opposite sex I'd stumbled upon, those feelings had faded away as they'd given me more than enough reasons to trust.

My whole self wanted to trust them, and they kept making it look easy. Every kind gesture, every easy smile.

My sweaty palm slid on the glossy surface and I readjusted my grip, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I'd gotten ready this morning, but my hair had always been its own entity. In the short time since I'd tamed it, it had become a singular large knot again.

I distracted myself by working my fingers through the strands. After a moment the hair started to cooperate and my body slowly relaxed while I took care of myself. I took my time combing out my hair and then splashing my face with some cool water. My left hand was still wrapped in bandages and felt alright, but the sight of the bandage alone reminded me of the blisters and damage I'd been caused.

When I finally emerged from the bathroom I felt better, and the house had been overtaken by a strong yet wonderful scent.

I followed my nose straight to Erica's bubbling pot on the stove.

I couldn't tell what was inside other than it was a soup or a stew of some sort. There was too much steam and a lot of flavor coming from it. I looked around for a tasting spoon and found one in a drawer.

I checked the kitchen with a quick sweep of my eyes before dipping the spoon in and pulling it out. The meal was delicious, as predicted. But as I dropped the spoon into the sink, I thought it might be missing something.

"What did you think?" A curious voice inquired.

His voice was close enough that I jumped, and when I turned around to confront the sneaky sneak, Luke was grinning a wide smile at me. Like he'd accomplished something.

I played it cool.

"Could use some chives."

He tilted his head, and although his smile did lessen a bit, I had a feeling it was more to curiosity that disappointment. He moved past me and opened a cupboard near the stove, pulling out a glass jar and shaking the chives over the pot.