Veiled (Ada Palomino 1)

Jacob and Jay head back inside the Knightlys’ house, while the rest of us go to ours. I can tell Perry is stewing, wanting to yell at me for who knows what. I know she’s scared shitless that I’m going to get hurt and to be honest, I’m scared too.

But at the same time, as much as I feel safe with Dex and Perry, as much as I trust them, something tells me that I’m going to need Jay a lot more than I think. I know I’ve just “officially” met him, but there’s a lot to be said for an immortal being that not only invades your dreams but can whisk you off to another dimension.

And I definitely don’t want to expose Dex and Perry to any danger. They’ve got their own life going on in Seattle, they’ve put all of this shit behind them. What kind of sister would I be if I made it start all over again? I’ve already lost my mother.

I’m not losing them too.

CHAPTER EIGHT

It turns out I got some sleep after all. After we headed back into the house, unnerved by our middle of the night rendezvous, Dex and Perry went about making a nervous, silent kind of breakfast while I got dressed and lay down on the couch, trying to recoup my thoughts.

Next thing I know, it’s eleven a.m. and Dex and Perry have packed up their stuff and are loitering in the hallway, talking to Dad.

“Hey sleepy head,” Dex says as I stagger out of the living room, sleep in my eyes. “We didn’t want to wake you, you seemed like you needed it.”

Dex is giving me an easy grin though I can tell from his eyes that it’s kind of forced for Perry’s sake. It’s nice to know he doesn’t harbor any hard feelings about my decision, but my sister is another story.

In fact, she’s not even looking me in the eye.

Dad glances between the two of us, not sure what’s going on. “Well, I’m sorry to see you off, pumpkin,” he says to her. He only glances briefly at Dex and gives him a head nod. Dex responds in kind. Such guys.

Perry softens slightly at her pet name and hugs dad, closing her eyes tight. It’s only when she pulls away and promises to call when she gets home, that she finally looks me in the eye.

“Take care of yourself,” she says to me stiffly before picking up her giant duffel bag and heading out the door.

Dex shoots me an apologetic look. “Let me fix this,” he says then trots after her, pulling her to a stop in the middle of the yard.

“You two fighting?” my dad asks me uneasily as we watch them walk across the lawn. We used to fight all the time but haven’t since mom’s death. I’m not sure if he’s seeing this as a good thing or a bad thing.

“Something like that,” I tell him and go out after them, my dad wisely staying in the house.

“Don’t be stubborn,” Dex is whispering to Perry, taking her bag for her and sauntering over to the Highlander with it.

I hold out my hands in surrender as I approach Perry. “Look, I’m sorry I’m staying but it’s the right thing to do.”

Perry’s mouth is held in a thin white line. She shakes her head. “You’re supposed to trust me, Ada, not them. We don’t even know them. I’m your sister. We’ve been through so much . . . I don’t know what I’d do if I let something happen to you.”

Now she’s near tears. I rarely see her cry so it already brings my defenses down a couple of notches.

I come over to her and pull her into a hug. “Hey,” I tell her while she sniffs on my shoulder. “Nothing is going to happen to me. I’m not choosing strangers over you Perry. It’s just that I trust Jay. And Jacob too. I know it sounds crazy, I can’t explain it.” I pull back and press my hand into my sternum. “I feel it in here.”

She wipes her nose on her sleeve, narrowing her eyes at the Knightlys’ house. “They’re already fooling you.”

“Well what do you expect me to do? I start school soon. I couldn’t live with you and Dex forever. You wouldn’t want me to anyway.”

“We would manage.” She sighs, flipping her ponytail back over her shoulder. “You’re right. The whole school thing. I just figured that maybe whatever it was would blow over by then.”

“I don’t think things are that easy,” I tell her. “I think I have to deal with them as they come up. We both know we can’t sweep shit like this under the rug.”

“Yeah,” she reluctantly concedes. “I tried for years. Didn’t work.”

“And I was there to watch you try.” I put on my bravest smile, which of course comes across as totally cheesy. “Hey, there’s nothing stopping you from staying here anyway,” I point out, flipping the tables on her. I actually wouldn’t mind if she stayed at all.