Catching Teardrops (MAC Security 5)

“I—”

“She wants to stay home and help me run the church,” Dad interrupts, not giving me a chance to tell him I really do want to go to college.

Aiden sits down and they start talking about what he’s doing on his courses and I stand here awkwardly, feeling Dad’s eyes burning a hole through the side of my head. Then it all starts to make sense, everything clicking into place. He knew Aiden was coming home, that’s why he’s been ignoring me, giving me a reprieve from his anger.

I grimace, knowing when Aiden’s gone I’ll be punished worse than usual so he can make up for lost time. Swallowing, my hand moves over my pocket, the cell feeling like a safety net I never had before.

“I was thinking I could take us out tonight, like old times.” Old times... as in before Mom left us.

“I have a church meeting tonight. When will you be heading back to college, Aiden?”

He shrugs, not committing to anything as he says, “Monday or Tuesday.”

“Good, you’ll be at Sunday service then.”

Aiden looks over at me, rolling his eyes with a grin on his face. “Looks like it’s just me and you tonight, Lily. What do you say? Wanna come out with your big bro, or will I cramp your style?”

Laughing, I’m about to say hell to the yes, but again Dad interrupts, “She needs to be home by eight.”

Standing up, Aiden throws his arm over my shoulder again. “She’ll be eighteen in just over a month, Dad. I had a curfew of midnight. Plus, she’ll be with me.”

Watching Dad’s eyes, I see the flames inside them, the warning for me not to go out, but I can’t seem to care about it right now. It’s been nearly two years since I saw Aiden, and if my plan goes off without any hiccups, this could possibly be the last time I see him for years.

“I’ll go get ready,” I whisper, pulling my bag up my shoulder and stepping out from Aiden’s hold.

Running inside the house, I don’t give Dad a chance to say anything else, afraid of what he’ll do or say in front of Aiden. To Aiden, he’s like any normal dad: fun, loving, kind, and strict in some ways. He doesn’t know the real him, the him with evil running through his veins. He only sees the mask, whereas I see the true form.

I try to push it to the back of my mind as I get changed and check the cell again, but I can’t stop the anxiety flowing through me at knowing what will happen when Aiden’s gone.

I have three days, possibly four where I can pretend to be like any other high school senior and not worry what will greet me at home, not worry about what I’m saying and the punishment that’ll come after it.

Pushing my shoulders back, I shake all the thoughts from my head before deleting the message I was going to send to Luke. If he wants to talk to me, he’ll message me back. I can’t be that girl, the kind who messages nonstop.

“Come on, Lil!”

“Coming!” I shout back to Aiden, looking in the small mirror at the jeans and top I’m wearing. Shoving on a denim jacket, I declare myself ready and run a brush through my wavy blond hair before pushing the cell back into my pocket and heading out of my room.

I’m halfway down the stairs when Dad starts to walk up them. He doesn’t stop when he sees me, he keeps going, getting one step above me before growling, “You keep your mouth shut.”

I nod, my hands starting to shake as he waits a beat before continuing up the stairs and out of sight.

Maybe I should stay in? I could end up causing more trouble than—

“Come on! I’ve been waiting hours!”

Blinking, I clear my eyes, seeing Aiden standing at the bottom of the stairs. It almost hurts to look at him. Looking so much like our mom is both a blessing and a curse, but he’s the perfect mixture of Mom and Dad. The way his nose hooks at the end is just like Dad’s, and I have to stop myself from letting him morph into him in my head.

He’s not like Dad. Not in the slightest. In that way he takes after Mom—kind and gentle.

“No, you have not.” Rolling my eyes, I walk down the stairs and out the front door. “So where we going?”

“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” Aiden singsongs behind me.

“You’re such a douche.”

He raises his brow as we come to a stop next to his car. “Someone got sassy while I was gone.”

“I have not!”