For a second, I thought I was out of the doghouse but Antoine didn’t leave right away.
“Can I give you some advice?”
I didn’t say anything, letting him say what he wanted to say whether I wanted to hear it or not. I just wanted them out of my space.
“You’re telling yourself you’re trying to protect her.” He paused, eyes locked with mine. “One day, you’re going to wake up and find out she didn’t wait for you to be worthy of her. I was fortunate. The others kept me honest. You won’t be afforded that mercy.”
My mouth opened to, I didn’t know exactly, to deny him? To agree? In the end, I didn’t say anything and Antoine walked out my door.
I shut the door behind them and leaned against it, blowing out a hard breath. Between Jack and her dads, if I survived this mission, it would be a miracle.
Chapter 20
Jack
The sun had completely set by the time I woke up. All my late nights had caught up to me, none more so than last night. By the time I was able to fall asleep, the sun was already high in the sky.
I never ended up finding Tabby, which was all kinds of frustrating. Once we confirmed she wasn’t there, Julian took off, leaving me with Xinyi and Iris.
That would’ve been fine except I wasn’t really in the partying mood anymore. My mind swirled, bouncing between who could have sent the message and what exactly happened with Julian in the woods.
I rolled over in the bed, my head pounding from the witch’s brew, and pressed the neck of Kyren’s shirt to my face, inhaling.
Someone knocked on my door.
I ignored it, closing my eyes again.
Another knock.
I groaned, pulling the covers over my head.
The door burst open and hit the wall loudly. I jerked up from the bed, gun pointed at the entrance. Before I could shoot, a blonde figure tackled me. They shoved me back on the bed, pinning the gun above my head.
“Now, is that anyway to greet your mother?”
I peered up at my mom, rolling my eyes at her dramatics. “Really? You couldn’t have just called?”
She leaned forward, rubbing her nose against mine. My mom’s blonde hair fell around her face, hiding us in our own little world like when I was little. Snatching the gun from my hand, she rolled over.
“I did.” She studied the gun, checking the chamber. “You didn’t answer.”
“Maybe take a hint.” I snatched the gun from her and rolled out of bed. “Did the dads come with you?” I asked, walking over to shut my door.
“They’re here.” My mom lounged on my bed, one leg crossed over the other, her high heels clicking together.
Supposedly, she used to dress more like me, jeans and t-shirts, but all I ever see her wear nowadays are dress pants and blouses. Far cry from the badass hunter she’d once been.
I arched a brow at her, dragging a pair of pants on. “Where exactly here?”
“Oh, around.” My mom waved her hand in the air noncommittal. That meant that my dads were probably prowling the campus, sending everyone into a tizzy.
If the fangirls and boys of the academy were crazy every time they saw me, I could imagine how psycho they were going to get when they see one of the OG Durands walking around amongst them.
I chuckled, shaking my head as I side-eyed her. “Antoine’s going to hate that.”
My mom shrugged. “It’ll do him some good. He’s been stressed lately.”
I busied myself swapping my shirt, letting her take her time elaborating. I could ask her what dad was stressed about, but mom had a way of oversharing all on her own. All I had to do was wait her out.
