Page 39 of Twilight of Embers
“Where are you going?”
I stiffened at the accusation in Delaney’s voice. “To dinner.”
Her eyes narrowed in my direction. “With who?”
Triple crap.
I swallowed hard as I slipped on my boots. “Some friends.”
Knox counted as a friend. Cáel, too. Therefore, I wasn’t lying.
Delaney pushed off her bed. “You’re going with Knox, aren’t you?”
The accusation was back, as if I’d stolen her favorite sweater or something.
“Yes.” I snatched my key card and wallet out of my backpack and moved back to the closet.
“Take me with you.”
My stomach roiled as I reached for one of my new jackets, the army green one. “I think it’s a family thing.”
Delaney’s jaw clenched. “You aren’t family.”
“No, but Knox wanted me to meet his family. I can’t just bring someone along.”
Her mouth formed a perfect little O. “He’s taking you to his house?” she shrieked.
I pulled on my jacket and shoved my wallet and phone into the pocket. “Um, yeah.”
“No one gets invited there. I haven’t heard of a single classmate. Not once. My sister hasn’t either.”
My brow furrowed at that. Knox hadn’t made it seem like a big deal, but maybe it was.
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Delaney grabbed my arm, squeezing it hard. “Please, Hayden. Just text him and ask if I can come.”
My stomach gave another twist. “It would be rude. If you want to go to dinner with Knox, ask him.”
Just the idea of it made me want to puke, but Knox was free to do whatever he wanted. He didn’t owe me anything.
Delaney released her grip on me, glaring. “You’re not going to make a whole lot of friends if you won’t do someone a simple favor.”
Her words landed, slicing into me, but I didn’t reply. I moved for the door and headed out into the hallway. Each step had guilt digging deeper. By the time I reached the quad, I felt awful.
“Hayden,” Knox called, pushing off a BMW X5.
I blinked a few times, pulling myself out of my spiraling thoughts. “Hi.”
He frowned, wrapping his arms around me. “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head. “Nothing.”
Knox pinned me with a stare. “Hayden…”
I let out a whoosh of breath. “Delaney wants to come to dinner. She realized I was going with you and asked me to bring her. She kept pushing and really wanted to come. Now I feel like a jerk because I said no.”
He studied me carefully, running a hand up and down my back. “Do you want her to come?”
