What exactly was his intention?
"You mean that we're…"
He nodded, his gorgeous eyes dipping down my body and then back up to me. "Related?" He smirked. "Yeah. Don't tell anyone."
"Okay." Memories resurfaced from middle school, where he would say the same things. That he didn't know me. He was an only child. I was just some weird girl who came to live with him.My shoulders and mood fell at the realization. He still didn’t like me.
As we headed to the airport, I regretted accepting his offer altogether.
"Why are you pouting?"
I crossed my arms and looked out the plane window.
"It's all coming back. How big of an ass you are."
He stiffened beside me.
"I agreed to drop a few grand so you can go write a story at a haunted hotel and I'm the ass?"
"Why don't you want people to know about who we are? Am I not worthy of sharing your last name anymore? And I never asked you to spend the money. You could have said no,” I snapped, glaring at him.
He sighed. "I can't say no to you, Laney."
I didn't know what that meant. I turned away and gazed atthe darkness outside. It was snowing quite a bit, but not terribly.
"Is the storm that bad?" Nothing was going to stop me from going to this retreat.
"It will be," Priest said, looking rather bored. "I get why people canceled."
We looked around the plane. Half of the seats were empty due to cancellations. From Michigan to New York, it was only a two-hour flight, and for that, I was grateful. My makeup would stay fresh, and I wouldn't be jet lagged by the time we reached the hotel and I had my meet cute with Moth.
"So, what exactly have you been doing since I saw you last, brother?" I asked, trying to change the subject. We'd spent all morning arguing, I realized, as I stared at his perfect jawline, that I didn't know adult Priest at all.
"It feels weird to hear you say that," he muttered."Brother."
"Why?”
He shook his head and shifted his arm on the armrest, grazing my hand with his pinky. It sent an exciting shiver up my arm at the contact. "It's been four years since I've seen you last. What do you want to know?"
"How was school? After I left?"
"I have no idea." His expression darkened instantly. "I left shortly after you did."
"Where did you go? An alternative school or something?" Our parents wouldn't talk about Priest or anything regarding Marco's murder after I'd been sent away.I’d hardly talked to them at all.
"I'd rather not talk about it."
"What about after school?"
"This and that. I just got back a few months ago. I keep to myself."
"What college did you go to?"
"I didn't. I told you I didn't want to talk about it. You weren't the only one whose life was turned upside down.”
"I'm sorry," I said softly. “I wish I hadn’t been sent away.”
"Do you remember why you were sent away?"His words were like a small electric shock to my system. That was a good question. I squinted and tried to think.
