Salt And Pepper

AGE GAP ------ 18+

"You're making bracelets," I say, as though it's the most incriminating thing in the world.

She groans again, turning her back to me as she crosses her arms tightly over her chest. "So what? I wasn't tired."

"It's nearly midnight," I reply. "And you have school in the morning."

She doesn't move, but I catch the way her shoulders hunch tighter, her voice muffled as she mutters, "What are you, my dad now?"

Dad. Daddy-

I exhale a quiet breath, brushing a hand through my hair. "Hardly."

Silence again, but not an uncomfortable one. Her room smells faintly of salt and lavender, and I can just make out the soft fringe of her hair spilling across the pillow as she stubbornly keeps her back turned to me.

"What were you planning to do, anyway?" I ask, nodding at the shells. "Make a bracelet for every single person in this town?"

"Maybe," she shoots back, but I can hear the faint pout in her voice.

I crouch beside her bed, levelling myself just below where she lies. "Sadie."

She finally rolls onto her back, blinking up at me with bleary eyes. Her hair is a wild mess around her face, her bottom lip pushed out ever so slightly as she glares at me like an unruly child who's been caught.

"Go to sleep," I say gently.

"Make me."
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Sadie Harper: 17-year-old school girl with a playful and carefree attitude.
Victor Hale: The enigmatic 45-year-old newcomer to their coastal town, stirring emotions she doesn't fully understand.