Those glasses are killing me.
Three seconds of silence hangs in the air. I know that look—my father is trying to figure out where he knows her from. I step in quickly, shifting the conversation back to business, anything to pull his attention away.
An hour later, the meeting wraps up, and we finally have a moment to breathe.
“What’s next?” Oliver asks, clapping his hands like he is ready for round two.
“I made reservations at Le Bernardin for eight,” I say, gathering my things and preparing to head out. But as I start to leave, I find myself waiting, watching Lauren pack up her tablet and notes.
Why the hell am I waiting?I never did this for Stella.
We all stand near the elevator, and as Lauren walks by, she flashes us a bright smile. “Good night!” she says, her voice cheerful.
We stand in silence, hands shoved in our pockets, unsure how to respond. Luca breaks the tension. “Aren’t you coming?”
I want to shoot him a glare, but instead, I feel the anxiety bubbling up, waiting for her response.I wasn’t ready to end the day without seeing her again.
Lauren stops and turns to face us. “Oh, no thank you! I have thingsto finish up here,” she says before heading back to her desk. My brothers nod and file out of the office.
“I’ll meet you at the restaurant,” I say, already moving toward her. “I want to make sure she gets a taxi.”
Ignoring the incredulous looks from my brothers, I walk with purpose toward Lauren, the alchemist who somehow has me under herspell.
Back Then- My house.
I hear someone pounding on the front door, even through my headphones. The noise is so loud it cuts right through the music. I get out of bed, knowing my siblings won’t bother answering, and my parents aren’t home.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“What the hell?” I mutter as I head downstairs.
Bang! Bang! Bang!I fling the door open, ready to throw a punch, but what I see on the other side stops me in my tracks.
“How could you?!” Bunny yells. Her bike is tossed onto the lawn—Mom’s precious lawn that she’s always nagging me to stay off—and muddy footprints trail right up to the door. Bunny looks absolutely furious.
“I can handle your hatred, but you didn’t have to take it out on Mateo!”
Ah, so that’s why she’s here? Because I busted her boyfriend’s head.
A half-smile creeps across my face.
“Silas, what did you do?” Oliver calls from the first floor, laughing.
“Nothing. Get back to your room,” I grunt, glancing over my shoulder.
I grab Bunny by the wrist, yanking her inside before she can react.
“Let me go!” she screams, struggling against my grip as I drag her toward the farthest part of the house—the pool house. It’s the one place where she can scream and kick all she wants, and no one will hear or see a thing. We pass through the living room, the kitchen, the garden, the pool, and enter the small house my mom keeps for guests she wants to impress. “Let me go, Silas!”
“No,” I say firmly as we enter, slamming the door shut behind us.
Lauren takes a step back, her eyes wide with distrust, like she’s expecting me to do something terrible. I can see the fear and frustration all over her face.
“Are you really making a fuss over that guy?” I ask, feigning ignorance, like I don’t know his name.
But of course, I know exactly who Mateo Domínguez is—my worstnightmare. The charming, always-smiling, “I’m-friends-with-everyone” Mateo Domínguez. The one who had the nerve to talk to Lauren without my say-so, just like every other idiot at this school.
“Why?” she whispers, her voice suddenly sounding worn out. She looks exhausted, probably tired of my crap, of her life, of everything between us and this stupid game we’re stuck in.
