“You’re going to prom with your sister?” Kimber asks, sounding annoyed. She gives me a weird look, and I remember that she picked up on my attraction to Parrish. And that she also saw me and Chasm together in Parrish’s room. Ugh.
“Better her than you,” he quips, but she’s so happy to have him back that she doesn’t respond. “I can do this.”
Tess’ phone buzzes, and she glances down, giving a tired sigh.
“Those FBI agents are here to talk to you; we’ll resume this discussion later.” She buzzes them in on her phone and then stands up, heading over to the front door.
Parrish is still frowning when he turns back to me.
“Go study, Gamer Girl. I’ll join you guys when I can.”
The thought of being separated from Parrish kills me, but I know I won’t be allowed to listen in on the interview anyway.
I give a quick nod, our eyes locking together for a moment, and then I head upstairs with Maxx and Chasm to get started.
When Parrish comes upstairs later, he has a letter in his hand. It’s addressed to me.
“Here,” he says, offering it up as my heart stutters at the sight of him. I’m on my bed, bent over my academy-issued iPad as I follow the lessons that Chasm’s been guiding me through. I thought all last week how ahead I was in my classes, how easy it was going to be for me to do my exams, but that was when I wasn’t worried about whether I’d get an A or a B or even a C.
Now I’m worried.
I want to see my sister more than anything in the world, and if I have to pass these stupid exams with flying colors, that’s what I’ll do.
“Tess wanted to open it, but I told her that was fucked-up and creepy.”
“You need to be careful with Tess and Paul right now,” X warns him, working on his own laptop. He has a few exams to take online before he’s finished with his university work the way Maxine is. He glances over as Parrish slips his hands into his pockets and then plops down on the bed next to me.
I can smell him already, and it’s making me twitchy. That, and just the heat of his body seeping into mine makes me ache all over and turns my nipples to hard points that I pretend to ignore. In reality, I just want to throw myself into his arms. The way he’s staring at me, I figure I’m not the only person with those sorts of feelings.
“They’re being ridiculous,” Parrish says, still staring at me. “I’m not made of glass; I don’t want to sit around this house all day while you guys are at school getting your asses kicked by Lumen and Veronica and whoever else.” He leans back on the bed, putting one palm flat on the mattress behind him. “And I’m not missing out on my junior prom because of some deranged ass motherfucker.”
Chasm, seated cross-legged on the floor with his own iPad in his lap, studies Parrish carefully for a moment. He hasn’t mentioned it, but I can’t help but wonder if his own studies have been falling behind because of everything else that’s been happening. And if so, what Seamus might do to him because of it.
“How did your interview go?” he asks, carefully avoiding the subject of prom as I open the letter that Parrish gave me. No doubt that Tess will want to know about it later—just in case it so happens to be from my grandparents or Maxine. God forbid I have any contact with them.
“As expected,” Parrish answers blandly, giving a shake of his head and then sighing. He lays back on my bed and closes his eyes, absently rubbing at the front of his hoodie where his wounds are. “They’re not done with me yet, that’s for sure. But Tess chewed them out for putting too much pressure on me too quick, so I rolled with it.”
“Huh.” That’s it, Chasm’s tacit response. He looks back down at his iPad and then again at his best friend. “If you want to take the exams, you’ll have to study, too. Wouldn’t you rather rest?”
Parrish sits up suddenly and exhales, giving a quick shake of his head before noticing that my TV is still sans power cord.
“She hasn’t given you your electronics back yet?” he asks, annoyance clear in his voice. “Jesus.”
“It’s not that big of a—” I start as I stare down at the letter. Both the envelope and the page inside of it are crafted of quality, handmade paper with dried yellow flowers embedded into the fibers.
Miss you and love you fierce. Stay strong. I’m coming.
“What is it?” Parrish asks, and I laugh, crumbling the letter up in my fist and chucking it into the trash can across the room. Well, I aim for the trash can and miss entirely, sending the ball bouncing beneath my dresser.
