“Yeah, it was me,” Cal admitted, his face turning red and an awkward smile creeping across his lips.
Lena gagged. Actually gagged. She covered her face with her hands.
“Ew! Oh my god! Ew!” She peeked through her fingers, looking horrified. “I asked about it! I asked if she was pretty! And it wasyou? I was talking about your neck while you guys were… oh my god, I’m going to throw up.”
“Lena,” I started, trying not to laugh.
“No!” She held up a hand. “That is disgusting! You are my dad’s! I don’t want to know about you guys giving each other hickeys! I was in high school when you guys debuted! You’re supposed to be asexual beings who just wrestle and buy me food!”
She stood up, pacing the small room, looking traumatized. And I think we all were a little bit.
“Cal said she was a ninja,” she muttered to herself. “And I agreed. I called Cal a ninja. And he was just… sneaking into your room to be a full-blown freak. Oh my god. And the hoodie! The vintage one!”
“A freak?” Cal said, smirking. I was trying not to laugh as he glanced at me.
“So it literally was a boyfriend hoodie,” Lena groaned. “I hate you both.”
“I mean technically… Yeah,” I agreed.
She stopped pacing and looked at us. Her expression softened, just a little, beneath the dramatic disgust.
“So,” she chewed on her lip. “You guys are… good? Happy?”
“Yeah,” Cal said, throwing his arm around me.“We’re happy.”
“Good,” Lena mumbled. “I—I really don’t know what to say here—just… keep the PDA to a minimum. My brain is still processing.”
She grabbed her phone, typing furiously. A moment later, both of our phones pinged.
Group Chat Name Changed to: The Dads
I checked the contact details. She had changed my name toNice Dadand Cal’s toMoody Dad.
“There,” she stated. “Now it’s official.”
We spent the rest of the night with Lena, her cracking jokes and putting things together like a giant puzzle. She thought she was totally blind, but we promised we’d just been damn good at hiding it all.
After Lena left, the silence settled back into the room. It was late, pushing past midnight.
I knew I had to do it.
“I have to call Scott,” I whispered.
“It’s late,” Cal said, looking at the clock.
“He’ll be up,” I said. “And even if he isn’t, he’ll answer.”
Cal nodded. He moved to sit on the bed, intending to give me space, but I didn’t want space. I climbed onto the bed and curled up between his legs, pressing my back against his chest. He wrapped his arms around me instantly, resting his chin on my shoulder.
I dialed. It rang twice.
“Silas?” Scott’s voice was alert. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I said, my voice thick. “Yeah, everything’s okay. I’m sorry to call so late.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Scott said immediately. “What’s going on?”
“I’m coming home,” I said. “Tomorrow. For the week break beforeEmpire.”
