Page 63 of House of Bass

“You’re the exact opposite.” Harley blinked rapidly when she heard her, her breath catching. For a moment, the wind and rain stood still as she said this, like even they were affected by her words.

“Then none of them matter, not when it comes to the two of us.”

“Wanting to spend the night with you wasn’t the bad idea, coming here with all of them was.”

“Fine, then we’ll do what we said before. No mixing the two.”

“Harley, she’s your sister. She means a lot to you despite how much you try to hide it around me.”

“But–”

“It’s okay. I wouldn’t ask you to choose and you shouldn’t have to. Besides, I saw it in your face when I told you about my family, you wanted to run. And truthfully, I barely know enough about you.”

“Stop… talking…. ” Harley’s voice breaking with each word.

She didn’t.

“It’s probably best that we go back to the way our lives had been before we became whatever this is.”

And with those parting words, Scarlett entered the car that pulled up. Jameson and Ambrose both inside, the former looking murderous but driving away at her word.

The tears that had been threatening to leak in the corner of her finally fell and she hated it, she never cried. She shuddered from the cold and used her hands to rub her arm to keep herself warm, the adrenaline dying down and suddenly reminded of how cold it was.

She’d made her mind up. The plan to lock herself in her room as originally intended was back on. It was going to be her and some earplugs to attempt ignoring the pulsating noise that could be heard from a mile away. The idea to host this party was an awful one.

As she continued walking up the path to their house, a glint from the corner of her eye had her looking it way. There was a young girl talking to an older guy. They seemed to be fighting and as she neared them she realised it was Daniel, this must have been where he disappeared to.

His wings had blended in with the darkness but she could see it clearer as she closed in. But still, she didn't recognise the girl he was squabbling with. Whether or not she thought he was a good guy, she found it a little odd for him to be yelling at a woman and that had raised her eyebrows.

The younger girl was speaking animatedly to Daniel, Harley titled her head to the side gently assessing the situation and wondering if she should step in. There was only a tiny litter of people around, a couple of them stared but none stepping in.

When his hand grabbed hers, Harley shuffled a little quicker to the scene. “Is everything okay here?”

They both looked up at her, his hand dropped from hers almost immediately, an upset visible on both their faces. The girl recovered quicker and turned her frown upside down by releasing an ear-shattering squeal. “Harley!”

Harley’s face bunched up in confusion, she had never met this girl in her life. She would remember her. Other than the fact that she had a penchant for remembering faces, the girl was distinctive. She had brown skin slightly darker than hers, long legs, bright wide eyes even in the dark and most of all she was beautiful.

However, she looked no older than eighteen, maybe younger. There were nothing but skeevy twenty-somethings at this party, why would she be here?

“I’m sorry, do I know who you are?” Harley questioned, she looked up at Daniel for an answer, who just sighed.

“I’m confused. Everybody knows who I am,” she said, frowning. As if that was supposed to clear up her confusion but then remembered she’d once heard those exact words before, from Annabel.

“This is Anastasia. Annie’s troublemaker of a sister,” Daniel answered for her, looking down at the girl with a sour expression. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so rattled, by anything. She had spent more time with him than any of Annabel’s other friends. It was kind of troubling.

“Stassie, actually,” the girl butted in quickly.

The realisation of who she was set in for Harley, she should’ve recognised her. There was a poster of her in Annabel’s room. She was the famous musician, Harley had promised to listen to her music at some point. She must’ve been more worn out than she thought.

Harley had been delaying listening to the music in question because she knew when the time came, it would be much harder to leave if she inserted herself into their lives anymore than she already had.

She asked her, “Aren’t you like, underage?”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Anastasia cried, stomping her feet.“I’m basically eighteen!”

“Basically or actually?”

“She’s not eighteen,” Daniel butted in with a straight face and he glared down at her.