Page 47 of Knox Academy Omnibus
“You were dry humping our sister like a damn dog.”
“Not your sister,” Amelie slurs.
“Shush,” I snap. “I’m talking to Kalen.” Damn it, I’m meant to be apologising to her, not making things worse. Thankfully, she’s too drunk to care. Normally she would have chewed my ass out for that.
“Give me a break, O! It’s a party. Everyone fucks at parties.”
“Whatever. Get lost for a bit, Kalen,” I tell him. “Slate and I have unfinished business with Amelie.”
He looks at her, torn. I can see it in his eyes, he really cares about her. Might even love her. As the baby of the family, he’s always felt the need to protect someone, the way we all do to him. But he’s also loyal to his family. Who does he stand by? And is Amelie family? It’s a grey area. I can see the same questions play out across his face and he desperately tries to grow enough of a backbone to say no to us.
“It’s fine, Kalen,” Amelie breaks the tension by saying. He nods once and leaves, the spring in his step from her arrival, gone. “What?” she snaps, crossing her arms across her chest in a defiant pose. It just highlights her breasts, but I try to keep my eyes on her face. It wouldn’t do well to get distractedorpiss her off right now.
“Can we go somewhere to talk?” I ask.
“Where could we go?” She smirks.
“We know somewhere. Will you come with us?”
“What? You’re not just going to drag me off against my will?”
“A. When did we ever do that? B. I don’t like making scenes unless Ireallyhave to. C. We will never do anything to you that you don’t want us to do. Ever. Remember that.”
To my relief she nods and agrees to follow us, so we head out of the only entrance into the party room bunker and into the dimly lit tunnel. The tunnel twists and turns as it heads back up to the surface but there’s a few break off tunnels from the main one and this is where I lead Amelie, with Slate bringing up the rear. It opens out into a small cave-like space.
“Slate,” I give the order and my twin pulls a lighter from his pocket. A moment later a dozen tea lights in jars are lit and the space comes alive.
“This is nice,” Amelie says, looking around. I try to see it through her eyes, with a pile of cushions and blankets on the floor, the dancing candlelight, the distant beat of the music… I guess it might be okay, for a cold, dank cave anyway.
“If you think this is nice, you have to get my brothers to take you on better dates,” I snort.
“We haven’t been on any,” she replies.
“Allow me to rectify that,” the words slip from my lips before I can form the thought.
“You didn’t bring me here to ask me out,” she points out.
“True, but I’m going to anyway,” I agree, then pause. Now that I’ve got her here, I don’t know what to say or do. “Amelie, we’re really sorry.” I’m as earnest as I can be.
“I-”
“No,” I interrupt her. “I know you must really hate us, but I want to promise you that it wasn’t our intention to hurt you. I,we, feel terrible.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” she whispers.
“Maybe not. But knowing what you told us about that video, should have made us more cautious and careful,” Slate chimes in.
“We got caught up in the moment and we were idiots,” I tell her.
“I don’t want to be treated like a China doll. I didn’t know I was going to react like that. It’s...it’s not a situation I’ve ever been in before. Willingly, anyway,” she adds at the end. I don’t know why, but a burning rage, white-hot, consumes me at her words. Why do I want to get on a plane, hunt those fuckers down and make them pay?
Whydo I care?
“It doesn’t matter. We shouldn’t have put you in that situation in the first place,” Slate tells her exactly what I’m thinking.
“I liked it,” she admits. “Until my brain didn’t.”
“Well, I’m promising you now: it won’t happen again, okay?” I’m firm. And I mean it. I never want to freak her out like that. Itell myself that I’m imagining the flash of disappointment that I think I see in her eyes. I have to be.
