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She had no idea what she was doing, Chloe thought as she gently pulled the box of Lucky Charms away from Katie and headed downstairs. She wanted to go back to the way things used to be. She wanted to be sixteen and have absolutely no idea just how unfair life could be.
But that was never going to happen, Chloe reminded herself as she put the box of cereal back in the cabinet and turned around, only to feel her stomach drop when she spotted her uncle sitting in the dark and-
“We need to talk.”
CHAPTER23
“You’re going to have to go home sometime,” Sebastian murmured as his gaze flickered to the small teenage girl who had been hiding in his room since he got home from school today to find her worrying her bottom lip between her teeth and-
“What are the odds that my mother forgot about what happened at school today?” Mikey asked, absently rolling the baseball that she’d rummaged through his closet for between her hands.
“I’m sure that she forgot all about the school calling her to let her know that you made another girl cry,” Sebastian said, taking in the incredibly adorable teenage girl sitting at the end of his bed.
“Uglycry. I made her ugly cry,” Mikey amended, making his lips twitch.
“And the fact that you’ll be spending the next two weeks in detention?” Sebastian asked, watching Mikey shift to get more comfortable, only to give up and stretch her legs out over his blanket-clad legs as he sat there, taking in his old Yankees tee-shirt that she’d helped herself to from his bureau that ended just above her knees.
“Should probably be something that I avoid bringing up until after I tell them that I love them?” Mikey said with a wince.
“Probably,” Sebastian murmured absently as he took in the gym shorts that she’d helped herself to from Mathew’s room since his kept falling off her. “And the fact that you’ve been hiding out here all day?”
“Will hopefully give them enough time to get over their need to beat me,” Mikey said, nodding solemnly as Sebastian ran his gaze down the short, tan legs thrown over his down to her cute little toes and-
“This is going to be so much fun,” Jonathan said with a satisfied sigh, drawing Sebastian’s attention to find his brother gesturing for him to get on with it.
“Or it could allow their rage to build,” Sebastian said, clearing his throat as he returned his attention to the book that he was reading.
“There is that,” Mikey mumbled sadly, only to sigh heavily. “Let’s talk about something else.”
“What would you like to talk about?” Sebastian asked as he turned the page and-
“I have a few suggestions,” Jonathan said with a satisfied sigh that had Sebastian grinding his jaw as he threw his brother a look of warning.
“And those would be…” Mikey murmured, drawing his attention to find her absently rolling the baseball between her hands, looking lost in thought while he found himself still wondering how he was going to tell her.
“We could start by talking about the way that Sebastian can’t seem to take his eyes off of you,” Jonathan said, making it difficult to remember how to breathe as his gaze shot back to Mikey.
“That’s because I’m adorable,” Mikey said, shrugging it off like it was no big deal and somehow leaving him even more confused than he was before.
That is, until she said, “But I have been wondering about all the glaring,” making Sebastian swallow hard as he shot his brother a panicked look, only to find the little bastard smiling as he released a satisfied sigh.
“Yes, Sebastian, why have you been glaring at Mikey?” Jonathan asked mockingly as Sebastian somehow managed to resist the urge to throw his iPad at his brother’s head.
“I haven’t been glaring,” Sebastian bit out with a look that should have told his brother just how close he was to getting the duct tape.
“What would you call it?” Mikey asked, sounding curious as Sebastian sat there, wondering what she would do if he reached over and took her hand in his. Probably pull her hand back so that she could continue rolling the baseball between her hands, Sebastian thought, biting back a sigh as he swiped to the next page.
“A normal reaction when you go out of your way to piss me off,” Sebastian drawled, watching as she slowly nodded.
“That’s fair,” Mikey murmured, making his lips twitch as he looked up and-
God, she was so goddamn beautiful, Sebastian thought, swallowing hard as the words that he’d been struggling to hold back now for months threatened to break free and-
“So, I have a question,” Jonathan said, saving him from doing something incredibly stupid.
Releasing a shaky breath, Sebastian looked away from Mikey just in time to see Uncle Reese, who looked understandably pissed, walk into their room and fold his massive arms over his chest while he glared down at Mikey. Swallowing hard, Sebastian’s gaze shot back to Mikey to watch as her mouth worked soundlessly for a few seconds before she closed it, cleared her throat, and somehow managed to get out, “And what would that be?”
“Shouldn’t you be running?” Jonathan asked, only to follow that up with a gesture for her to get on with it when Mikey continued sitting there, staring helplessly up at her stepfather.
