He wasn’t done.
He turned to me, gentling his tone. “Those were bald-faced lies from her. I know you said you knew that. I know you called her on it. But I need to make sure you really know it.”
Her words had hurt, but I nodded. I bit down on my lip. “I know.”
“Wait for Kash.”
Another nod. “I’ll wait for Kash.”
He let out some air, only then looking like he could still breathe. “Good.”
But I had lied to him.
I didn’t know about Kash, and I didn’t know how to process that.
I was feeling all sorts of feelings I shouldn’t have been feeling.
I didn’t shut it down.
That was my second mistake that day.
FORTY-THREE
We sent everyone to fly back, except Matt and I. The two of us alone stayed back.
We were sitting down for dinner when they hit the door running.
Cyclone burst through, full-out sprinting for us. He dropped his bag by the door, and then he was first in Matt’s arms. I was next. His little body was squeezing me tight.
I was melting.
“Bailey!” His arms still around me, he leaned back. “I’ve got so much to tell you. You were right about AI being the next big thing. All the guys in my advanced class worked on a project together and we made an AI rock.”
I stared down at him.
First, I was marveling at how adorable he looked, no matter that he was shooting up in height and his face was beginning to grow more. Second, I had missed my little brother something fierce, and now his arms were around me. And third, an AI rock?
“What?”
He squeezed me before jumping back, his cheeks red and his eyes excited. His hands were waving all around the air. “Yeah. I mean, it can’t talk, but it can move. We tell it to do things and it’ll move there. Like, one guy told him to get him a soda from the fridge and the rock actually went to the fridge.”
Oh my God.
They had possessed a rock.
I just blinked at him, not sure how to respond.
Matt chuckled next to me, but then Seraphina was running through the doorway, too. She went to me first, burying her head into my shoulder and neck. And wow. Cyclone went up an inch, but Seraphina had shot up at least two inches.
No. No. No. They needed to stay little. They couldn’t grow. I wasn’t having it.
But she stepped back, a shy grin now coming over her, and she turned, stepped, and buried her face into Matt’s chest next.
His face softened, and he hugged her before she turned back to me. “I have a lot to tell you.”
“Good.” Good! I still had a mission to hack the mean girls who might be giving her crap. I needed to do an interrogation later, because I had promised Kash last summer that I wouldn’t hack my siblings … again. But I was looking her over, and she looked good.
She looked more than good.
“Ser,” I whispered, feeling all the emotions clogging my throat. “You are beautiful.”
She was stunning!
Her hair was longer, a little lighter, and that made it shine even more in the light. Her face had a natural, healthy glow, and her lips were the cutest shade of soft pink. Her eyes were dancing, and there were no shadows in them. They were clear, focused, and glistening as much as Cyclone’s were.
I pulled her back into my arms for another hug.
At that time, Marie came through the door, along with my mother. Both were carrying bags and wheeling luggage in.
I didn’t question any of it.
I didn’t question why Marie was back, what brought her back. I would, just not now.
I didn’t question why they were bringing in the bags. I never thought to. And then Marie was coming toward me with a fierce expression set on her face. Her mouth was firm, determined, and I was bracing myself.
She grabbed my shoulders and jerked me to her.
My face reared back, or it would’ve been right in her bosom.
She held tight and I felt her nod against my head. “I’ve missed you. You been gone too long. It’s ridiculous.”
I looked over her shoulder, saw my mother fighting a grin, and hugged Marie back. As soon as my arms closed around her, her whole body shuddered, and she held on for another beat before shuffling back. She sniffed and almost threw her arm up, wiping the back of her arm over her eye. “You have stuff to work out. You work it out with your family. Got it?”
I was grinning.
Same Marie.
“Got it.”
She clipped her head in another nod before turning and yanking Matt to her, too.
It was a whole repeat, almost verbatim, but they faded as my mom came to stand in front of me. She’d lost some weight since I saw her last. That wasn’t good. And there were bags under her eyes. And the spark, her feisty spark, wasn’t there. It was, but it was less. It had faded.