Silence echoes from the other end of the line, and my stomach drops out of my ass to splat onto the floor. My mom doesn’t even know Ember exists.
“Yes…,” my mom says slowly, “Ember.”
“You know, the man living with your son.”
I make a strangled noise as Ember pats my back soothingly.
“Yes, we’ve heard of him,” my mom says carefully.
My parents have definitely not heard of him because I haven’t spoken to either of them since my uncle’s funeral.
“I do hope all good things,” Amina chuckles.
“Well,” my mom hedges, “we didn’t realize they were so serious.”
“Oh, of course they are serious. They’ve mated!” Amina says with a giggle.
“We are not mated yet,” I mutter stubbornly.
Three heads turn toward me as my mother gasps through the phone, not having heard my denial.
“Mates… as in, they’ve been married?” my mom asks, clearing her throat as she tries to understand this convoluted conversation.
“Not married, yet, but hopefully soon they’ll be married, soul-bonded, and popping out little phoenixes,” she says cheerfully.
I swear my soul leaves my body. It’s like I’m watching this from up above, hovering near the ceiling as Amina bulldozes her way through my life. I’m grateful that Ember has such a supportive family, but it’s difficult not to be upset with how she’s forced her way into my life.
“What’s happening, love?” My father asks, finally joining the call.
“Ember’s mother, Amina, called and wanted to speak with us about something,” my mom says, her voice quiet, like she’s trying to cover the phone with her hand but fails.
“Ember?”
“Yes, Sunshine’s mate.”
“Sunshine has a mate? Since when?”
“I don’t know, honey. I’m trying to figure that out now.”
Amina smirks at me as we listen to my parents’privateconversation.
My mom must have uncovered the phone because my dad’s voice comes in clear next time he speaks.
“Oh, yes,” he says, sounding like his usual flat and controlled self. “We were unaware that they had… formalized their relationship.”
His words weren’t said with any unkindness, but it still hurt to hear how little he cared about what was going on in my life. He has no clue who Ember is or what he means to me. He doesn’t realize that Ember is the only person I’ve ever met who makes me feel important. He’s the only one who has ever put me first.
“Sunshine is still pretending their relationship isn’t officially official, but they are in love and will be combining life forces any day now.”
Combining life forces? What the hell does that mean?
“What do you mean by combining life forces?” my mother asks, putting a voice to my thoughts.
“We are phoenixes, dear. When we mate, we mate for eternity. We join life forces with our partners so that they may have our lifespan and never be separated from us.”
The fuck? This is the first I’m hearing of that little detail. Ember’s immortal. So if we mate, that would make me immortal. Do I want that?
“Oh, okay,” my father says, processing this information about as well as I am.
