Page 50 of Always: A Legacy Novel

“Cross,” Calisto said.

“Yeah?”

“Do you understand?”

“Yeah, Papa, I got it.”

Calisto finally let go of the doorjamb and straightened to his full height. “Please tell me you’re not having sex with that girl because I seriously don’t think her father could take that if he found out at this point. I know you messed around with one of the girls that hang around Zeke, but let me be very clear, Catherine is not like her, Cross. She is not.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“How the hell did we go from the beach thing to fucking?”

“Cross!”

“Relax, we’re not.”

And just because he messed around with someone before, as his step-father liked to say, didn’t mean he screwed everything that moved.

Calisto pursed his lips, and glanced upward. Cross swore he was sending up a silent prayer of thanks. He did that a lot.

“We’ve had that talk enough times,” Calisto said, a warning lingering heavily behind his words.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Don’t knock someone up. Condoms every single time. Consent can’t be given by drunk or high people that don’t even know their own names. You don’t have to worry about that.”

“If you’re even trying to joke with me right now, I swear to God …”

“I was serious,” Cross said, plucking the pick back out to play. His fingers hovered over the strings of the guitar. “Was that all?”

“No, that’s not all.”

“What else is there?”

“This morning,” Calisto said, “you and your sister fought until your mother had to separate you. You’re old enough to know that’s unacceptable.”

“She won’t leave me alone,” Cross explained, “and I told her to get the hell out of my space.”

“Cross.”

“She instigated it, that’s all.”

“Cross.”

“Maybe if she had more siblings to bother, she’d leave me alone.”

Calisto quieted, and folded his arms over his chest as he stared Cross down from the other side of the room. “Sometimes I honestly believe you don’t think. You just speak, Cross, without even considering for a second what you’re saying. Because that’s just how you are, but you need to curb that, son. Do you even know how badly that would hurt your mother if you said something like that to her?”

Cross frowned. “What?”

“Camilla did have more siblings, Cross. So did you. A little brother that was born early and didn’t live long after his birth. And another baby—a very early miscarriage. You were early, too, but healthy enough. You’re still a miracle to your mother. And your sister? She’s a goddamn miracle, too, born even earlier than you, and she fought every day of her first months just to live, Cross. Every. Day. So please don’t ever tell your mother maybe if her miracle children that did live, had the babies she can’t have because they’re dead, they might actually get along.”

Well …

Fuck.

“Sorry,” Cross said quietly.