Chapter Fifteen – “A teaser of what’s to come.”

Ma hadn’t gone back to her house all night. Maybe it was fear but she wasn’t ready to put a name on it. She just knew that she wanted to stall for as long as she could, to keep Aaron safe. She was already regretting acting so rashly, the damn demon had even been smart enough to teleport her there so she didn’t know exactly where Aaron was, just who he was with.

Beatrice was thankfully not being a bitch about it and for that she was grateful.

They were sitting in her kitchen, both sipping from huge cups of tea, the kitchen silent except for the occasional slurping sounds as they sipped noisily.

“I think we should end the contract.”

Ma’s head shot up at that and she said dryly, “there’s a reason why it’s called an unbreakable contract Beatrice.”

“I know why it’s called that,” Beatrice snapped, “but it can be reversed if the offering party revokes the deal. Isn’t that allowed?”

Ma swallowed thickly, hiding her face behind her big cream mug to cover her lost expression, “Don’t you think it’s too late? Half of the deal has already been fulfilled. We can’t turn back now.”

“But we can try.”

Ma wanted to. She really just wanted to end the contract and do this on her own, find Aaron and keep him. She was sure that he didn’t know how to leave Aethereus yet so he was probably going to be here for a longer time than usual. She could act devastated about Macy; pretend that the Umbra had hypnotized her or some bull crap just to get him back on her side. She knew with how kind hearted Aaron was that he would fall for it hook, line and sinker.

“I think we should give this a think,” Ma said in response.

“So what about the Umbra? Are you sure they’re properly contained?”

“They’re suspended in the air in my sitting room so this means they’re trapped since they can’t travel through the underworld.”

Beatrice swallowed back a sigh, “I don’t think we should underestimate their power. They were locked for a reason.”

“Honestly Beatrice, you worry too much.”

“But I’m right most of the time, aren’t I?”

Ma rolled her eyes, “please don’t ruin this day before it’s even begun.”

Beatrice managed a strained laugh and they enjoyed their cups of tea in silence.

It happened when they were taking a peaceful afternoon nap. Sulphuric black smoke filtered through from the floor, sliding into the unsuspecting Fays’ ears. Ma and Beatrice convulsed for a second before all went still.

It was going to take a while before anyone noticed anything.

*

Aaron stared at the guitar like it had a second head. He’d just finished having lunch with Jamie, Richard and Nicholas and came to his room to get a rest because he was in a really depressed mood and didn’t want it to affect anyone else, when he spotted Kelechi sitting on his bed with a beautiful golden brown guitar lying casually by her side.

“What?” Kelechi asked a little worriedly, glancing at the guitar before glancing questioningly back at him, “Isn’t it to your liking?”

Aaron blushed, licking his lips as he walked deeper into the room and sat on the other end of the guitar, stroking his fingers over the polished wood almost reverently, “Oh no, it’s…God, it’s perfect but…how did you…?”

“How did I know?” Kelechi completed with a smirk as she picked up the guitar and gently placed them in Aaron’s hands, “Let’s just say I know a lot of things,” she winked.

Aaron grinned, “I…thank you. This means a lot.”

“I didn’t say you could have it.”

Aaron laughed, “Oh I know.”

“But you can have it.”

He laughed again and managed to roll his eyes at her as he rested the guitar properly on his thighs, gently plucking at the strings. He thought Kelechi would leave but of course, like he should have suspected, she stayed, staring creepily at him.

He bit his lower lip in confusion and shifted uncomfortably, “uh…?”

“Well? Let’s hear it then,” she giggled and he blushed.

“Y-You want to hear me play?”

“I didn’t get the guitar for decoration you know.”

Aaron heaved in a huge breath, “fine. I prefer the piano though, just saying.”

“Be content with what you have. My gut feeling says you like music, so why does the medium in which you express it matter?”

Aaron shrugged a little, plucking randomly at the strings, “I don’t know. I guess there are just things you have a talent for. Just because I love music doesn’t mean I can play the drums.”

“But you can practice – the talent is in your fingers, Aaron, not in the instrument.”

Whoa, that actually kind of made sense and he shook his head, blushing a little, “do you want to hear me play or not?”

“You’re a sassy little mouth when you talk, aren’t you?”

Aaron huffed and Kelechi nodded, giving him an expectant look. The first song that came to his mind was one of his favourites, ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ by Elvis Presley, it was short and sweet and had a zing to it that always made his insides feel queasy but a good kind of queasy. It had always been one of his favourite tunes to play on the piano but of course because he had Stacey, he’d practiced the tune on his guitar too.

He didn’t think he was much of a singer but his voice was decent so he bit his lip as he started to pluck at the strings and when he began to sing, he made sure to put as much heart and power as Elvis did in the song, singing from not just his chest but his stomach as well, “Well, since my baby left me, well, I found a new place to dwell, well it’s down at the end of Lonely Street at Heartbreak Hotel where I’ll be, I’ll be there so lonely baby…”

He completely got lost in the song, eyes drifting closed as he sang to his heart’s content. God, he’d missed playing his guitar and just letting go like this. Music was basically his life and for a second, Aaron forgot about his problems – his worries about his family and how he was going to get back to them. He just forgot it all momentarily while he loosened up.

He added some extra zing to the song, feeling his stomach and chest grow light as the passion flowed thickly through his veins. The song was basically two minutes long but it felt like years, long beautiful years and when Aaron opened his eyes, his heart jumped in his chest at the sight of Jamie standing by his bedroom door and staring at him with her lips parted like she’d just seen a ghost.

He blushed and suddenly felt incredibly shy. His mind quickly replayed what had just happened and he wondered if his voice sounded nice and if he made a mistake on the strings or –

“That was…that was wow.”

Aaron turned the shade of a ripe tomato, shifting a bit on the bed, “oh…well, it’s…it’s nothing.”

Jamie walked into the room and plopped down on the bed beside him. Wait, when had Kelechi even disappeared? One second she’d been staring creepily at him and now it was like she hadn’t even been in the room.

“How do you even do that? I mean, back at Ma’s you played wonderfully on the piano but God, you must have magic fingers or something.”

Aaron blushed, “it’s nothing, seriously. I love the piano and I’ve had a lot of practice with a guitar.”

“Still, it’s like I’m in heaven when I hear you play.”

“Don’t be dramatic,” he mumbled but he was blushing furiously and so was Jamie and they both couldn’t meet each other’s eyes, instead glancing at the floor shyly.

And suddenly Aaron wanted to play a song for her and now that she wasn’t looking at him, it boosted his confidence a little. He normally didn’t mind playing in front of people because he didn’t really care what they thought about him but with Jamie it was different. He felt nervous and his heart was racing and his fingers suddenly felt sweaty and it was like he couldn’t grip the guitar or pluck the strings right.

He heaved in a deep breath and closed his eyes; playing the song he’d been playing at Ma’s; ‘Underwater’ by Mika. Of course, that song was better with a piano but he’d made his own rhythm for it with his guitar.

He was a bit shaky when he started the song but as he continued, the passion returned, brimming in his veins and rushing through his fingers.

He opened his eyes and they just happened to lock with Jamie’s and he felt his heart drop a little in his chest as he sang, “cause all I need is the love you breathe. Put your lips on me and I can live underwater…”

Jamie’s eyes were wide with wonder, lips slightly parted and Aaron felt his gaze dropping helplessly to her mouth, his voice shaking a little as he lost concentration. Jamie unconsciously licked her lips and Aaron didn’t even realize he was leaning over, all he knew was that Jamie’s face was magnifying and those full lips were getting closer and closer to his.

“You’ve got some real talent there, Aaron.”

Aaron nearly jumped out of his skin and Jamie nearly had a heart attack. Aaron hadn’t even realized that he’d stopped playing, the guitar lying carelessly in his lap.

Aaron glanced up at Richard who was resting against the doorjamb and he blushed violently. Crap, Richard had nearly caught them in an awkward situation – if he’d appeared just one second later, Aaron was sure Richard would have caught him kissing his daughter – now that was a situation Aaron wanted to avoid at all costs.

But the thought of kissing Jamie made the lower muscles in Aaron’s belly clench and his toes curl a little with desire. God, he wanted – no, he ached to kiss her. He’d never wanted to kiss anyone so badly and he didn’t even understand the desire – what was there to enjoy in kissing? It was like a pointless act. But he couldn’t help wondering if her lips would be soft, if they would melt deliciously against is, if he could…God, if he could slide his tongue into the wet warmth of her mouth…

Oh lord.

“Uhm, thank you,” he finally found his voice to reply, the words coming out rough and he began tugging awkwardly at the strings of his guitar, shaking his head lightly to get the naughty thoughts out of it.

“I’ll just…uhm…” Jamie muttered and to Aaron’s surprise, her voice was as husky as his. Was she imagining the same things as he was? Oh God no, now that was turning him on even more. “I’ll go…check…Nicholas…” and she was gone from the room, leaving Aaron alone with Richard.

Richard entered the room and sat on the bed beside Aaron, sighing softly.

“You know if you want to go back you…” he paused, letting it hang.

Aaron felt his heart sink because he knew exactly what Richard was talking about.

“Yeah, I know,” he replied, his voice coming out as broken hearted as he felt.

Richard shifted a bit closer, patting him comfortingly on the shoulder, “If it’s any consolation, I think she likes you as much as you do her. She’s actually never shown any interest in someone else like this before,” the Canidae chuckled and that made Aaron feel equal parts happy and sad – happy because he was possibly Jamie’s first crush, just like she was his and sad because if he wanted to leave, which he really did, he had to detach himself from his feelings.

That was practically impossible which meant he might never go home but he couldn’t even dream of doing that because he couldn’t be so selfish to his family – he couldn’t put them through something like that when he was aware of what was going on.

“I’ll leave you alone for a bit,” Richard said softly, giving his shoulder a soft squeeze before leaving the room.

Aaron sighed and fell back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Badly needing a distraction, he picked the guitar up and headed out of the house to the small pond beside the cabin. The pond’s bank was actually black sand and it made the clear water look strangely beautiful, the sand itself sparkling a bit. Green lily pads floated on the surface of the water along with the lilies themselves and beautiful goldfish swam at the bottom.

He sat on the black sand of the river’s bank, sitting cross legged and balancing his guitar as he began to play. This time he didn’t sing, just drowning himself in the rhythm of the notes floating out of his guitar as he played, slowly bobbing his head in time with the music.

He actually cracked a small smile as he thought of his mother telling him to stop the racket; it was three a.m. in the morning.

God, he missed her. And those hugs he found bothersome from his twin siblings, he was actually craving them right now. And Katherine, God, how was she doing? And was Steven her boyfriend? He knew that what he’d seen was probably a dream, a figment of his imagination but it had felt so real. Like he’d been visiting earth.

He heaved in a sigh and realized that while he was playing, the goldfish had swam up to his side of the river bank, wiggling under the surface and creating a golden-orange blanket on the surface of the clear pond.

“You like the sound of the guitar, eh?” he teased lightly as he plucked on the strings, eyes widening with amazement when the fishes began swimming and jiggling even faster at the sound. Wow, they did like the sound.

He decided to focus on that, forgetting about his problems for at least a little while.

*

Aaron watched Kelechi a little worriedly. They’d just finished having dinner and decided to sit outside where it was nice and cool, the lights from the cabin illuminating the place. They were sat beside each other around the pond and Aaron was reluctantly albeit shyly playing some music from them with the guitar. It gave the night a serene kind of feeling and they were all quiet and happy – except Kelechi.

“What is she doing?” Aaron whispered to Richard who was seated by his right, staring a little uncomfortably at Kelechi who was currently staring into the pond like she’d seen a ghost.

Nicholas and Kelechi sat on the opposite side of the pond while Richard and Jamie flanked both of Aaron’s sides.

Richard turned to frown at Kelechi in question, blinking in surprise and immediately getting to his feet just as Kelechi came out of her trance looking extremely worried.

“Aaron, I need you to –”

Just then the ground began to shake violently and everyone automatically got up on their feet just as the sky was suddenly covered in black smoke.

When Aaron looked harder, he realized it wasn’t the sky per se, but it was like there was an invisible shield covering the cabin and the pond and the black smoke was spreading all over the shield until the sky and the surrounding trees were completely obscured and they were covered in a what looked like a black dome. Aaron took a step back, recognizing the smoke as the thing that killed Macy.

“They’ve gotten stronger,” Kelechi whispered and although the rest of them didn’t know how, Kelechi knew. The Umbra only got stronger each time they killed and judging by the size of the smoke now, they must have killed more than one person. It made her sick to her stomach.

“Sweet sweet boy,” the Umbra chanted in its many million voices, swirling and twisting all over the invisible shield.

Aaron could only stare, rooted to the spot with fear. He felt like any second now the shield wouldn’t work anymore and the smoky demon was going to come pouring in and do to him whatever it did to Macy and he was terrified.

“Oh, can you smell that,” they continued in a heartless chuckle, “the fear is so strong in this one.”

“Kelechi,” Aaron whispered desperately, eyes still roving all over the shield desperately, praying hard for it to hold the demon away.

“Aaron you’re fine. They’re still not strong enough to break through.”

“Oh but we will be. This is just a teaser of what’s to come. By the time we have you, you’ll be begging for death. You have such a beautiful bright soul, unlike your broken friend and even the other girl – nearly drained but still shining so brightly. She will make a nice dessert.”

At the sound of those words, Richard grew as pale as a sheet, his eyes darting towards Jamie. Jamie noticed the look and her heart skipped a little in her chest.

“W-What?”

“Oh?” the demon chuckled ecstatically, “Isn’t this delightful? Dear satyr, please don’t be foolish enough to think you can stop us. We will destroy your shield and you know it. We come for only the boy and the girl. Give them to us freely and there will be no catastrophe.”

“You can go drink some troll snot for all I care,” Kelechi spat back defiantly, glaring at the black smoke swirling all over the invisible shield.

“As expected of you,” the demon laughed, “we’re going to ask again but this will be the last time. Hand over the two humans and the rest of you will be spared.”

Kelechi crossed her arms over her chest and gave the smoke a glare that could kill a man. The smoke swirled and shifted silently over the bubble of protection before hissing angrily.

“Fine then, have it your way. Many innocent souls are going to die for your lack of cooperation and by the time we return, your petty magic will be useless.”

At that, the smoke instantly began gathering together until it shot into the ground so violently that Aaron, Jamie, Richard, Nicholas and Kelechi stumbled on their feet, landing on the ground with harsh thuds.

The night resumed like nothing had just happened but everyone was still shaken.

“Come on, we need to devise a plan to stop them,” Kelechi said as she got up, dusting the sand from the brown fur of her goat legs, her small tail wiggling for the same reason.

She made her way to the house and everyone else quickly followed after her.

Richard was still as pale as a ghost and he wished to the gods that Jamie had forgotten what had just happened outside, his heart was pounding frantically because he wasn’t ready. Please not now, not yet, not like this, he thought desperately. When they got to the sitting room, Kelechi took a seat and everyone else automatically followed.

“Remember I said the Umbra was normally locked to the underworld? Well, if someone unlocks them, they need to use a medium for the Umbra to travel from the underworld to this one. The only way to stop them is to destroy said medium and I can –”

“Wait,” Jamie whispered, suddenly coming out of her daze, her gaze sharp, “wait, what the hell just happened?”

Richard and Kelechi immediately exchanged glances and even Nicholas looked worried. Only Jamie and Aaron were confused but he knew what Jamie was asking. The Umbra had mentioned that they wanted the boy and the girl and they obviously weren’t referring to Kelechi which meant –

“Dad?” Jamie asked, her voice rising just a little, “dad, what’s happening?” her eyes were slowly filling with confused tears.

 “I was going to tell you,” Richard began desperately, getting out of his chair to kneel in front of his adopted daughter, taking her hands in his, “I swear I was going to tell you.”

Jamie suddenly started breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling rapidly, “t-tell me what?” she stuttered.

Richard looked like he couldn’t speak, his throat working convulsively but no word escaping his lips. His ears were flat with distress, tail swishing back and forth worriedly.

Kelechi sighed and said softly, “You were eleven when it happened.”

Jamie felt like she couldn’t breathe, her hands tightening in her father’s as she looked up at Kelechi, “I was eleven when what happened?”

There was a brief, stifling pause and it felt like the entire house was holding its breath.

“When you came to us,” Kelechi completed and Jamie felt like she couldn’t breathe.

“When I came to you,” Jamie repeated with a confused nod of her head, she sucked her lips into her mouth before mumbling in a choked voice, “I don’t think I understand.”

Kelechi knew she was in denial but she knew it was time anyway, “when you came to us from the human world.”

“From the human world,” Jamie laughed, “is this some sort of sick joke?”

There was a tense silence. Jamie glanced back at Richard, her eyes pleading, “Please tell me this is a joke.”

“I’m…I…I’m sorry,” Richard whispered, his voice coming out so completely heartbroken that it tugged at Aaron’s heartstrings.

Jamie slowly cupped her hands over her nose and mouth, watery eyes wide with disbelief.

“This isn’t happening,” she whispered, her voice coming out muffled from underneath her hands, “tell me this is not happening. This can’t be real. I’m…what?”

Aaron was just as confused as her. Jamie came from the human world? Came from the…

It took a second for that to sink in. Immediately his heart was filled with hope. Oh my God, Jamie was human like him? He suddenly saw her in a new light, sitting there on the couch and wondered why he hadn’t seen it before.

Probably because she’s blue and transparent?

Which then led him to asking, why exactly was she blue and transparent?

Jamie’s face contorted sharply and it looked like she was about to cry but was holding it in. It didn’t work because the tears of stress spilled down her cheeks and she waved her hands in the air, as if trying to get rid of something stuck to her fingers, “oh gods. Oh lord. This is not happening.”

She suddenly got up from the chair she was in, moving away from Richard and glaring at him accusingly, “when were you going to tell me? Were you ever going to tell me?”

“I was…but it wasn’t the right time –”

“God, this is not happening. I think I need to…I need to…” and then she was stalking out of the house.

Richard got up, immediately about to run after her but Nicholas shot out of his seat to grab his arm. The Canidae immediately collapsed into the Fay’s embrace, his voice choked as he whispered into his chest, voice coming out muffled, “I guess you’re going to tell me ‘I told you so’.”

“You mean you knew too?” Aaron asked Nicholas in surprise and the Fay had the grace to blush. He suddenly felt angry for Jamie. She was eleven – eleven! And she’d been stuck here since that time – just why were they keeping her until now? Why did Richard refuse to tell her and Jamie was right, it didn’t seem like he’d ever been going to tell her.

“Aaron,” Kelechi said softly, “this is a very delicate matter. I know it looks bad but it honestly isn’t.”

“Really?” Aaron whispered, getting up from his own chair, “because I don’t see how it’s not bad. She came here when she was eleven – I mean, what about her family?”

“Aaron, not every human has a complete family when they come here. I told you they come to Aethereus most times to escape tragedy. Do you even know why Macy came here and refused to leave?”

Aaron didn’t respond but he waited for the answer. He didn’t know how Kelechi knew all this, but that was just…Kelechi. She just knew.

“She was being maltreated by her dad, Aaron,” Kelechi whispered through clenched teeth, the words coming out like she had to force them out.

Aaron licked his lips, “why is that so…” it suddenly sank in and Aaron stared at Kelechi with eyes as wide as saucers, “oh my God. Then Jamie - ?” he asked with horror.

“Nothing as drastic happened to Jamie, I assure you but trust me when I say Richard had his reasons for keeping her.”

Aaron didn’t understand it but he wasn’t about to question what was happening. He glanced towards the door with hesitation.

“Go on,” Kelechi encouraged, “she might need someone right now.”

Aaron swallowed thickly, hesitating again before clenching his hands into fists and making his way to the door.

*

Jamie stared at her reflection on the pond’s surface like she had never seen it before.

Human; she was human. It felt surreal to her. It was surreal. How was she human?

You were eleven when you came to us from the human world.

She laughed bitterly, picking up a stone and throwing it into the pond, distorting her reflection on the surface and sending the goldfish instantly rushing away from the stone like it was a bomb. The cool air was doing nothing to clear her head and she could feel a light headache coming on. She was squatting by the pond and she raised her hands up, staring at her transparent blue palms like something was going to change. Her vision blurred as she was suddenly overwhelmed with the betrayal she felt from a man she loved and trusted with her heart.

How could she even look at him now?

She sniffed, quickly wiping at her eyes when she heard the front door open. She was expecting Richard but her heart seemed to skip when she saw that it was Aaron. She turned back to face the water as Aaron sat down quietly beside her. She appreciated his presence so much it astounded her, even though he wasn’t saying anything and obviously didn’t plan to, she loved that he was there and she could feel his warmth, hear his breath in the silent night.

“You know, for someone so inquisitive I wonder why I never asked him about where I’m from,” she began, sniffing again as she watched the goldfish swimming happily in the pond. The stars and the moons in the sky reflected on the pond’s surface, making it look like beautiful melted mirror, “I don’t know why I never asked. I just…I guess that being with him was so perfect, made me not want to know what I was before then – why I couldn’t remember. I was scared,” she finally admitted on a soft sob, “I was scared that whatever I was before Richard got me must have been horrible if not, why would I have no memory of it? So I pretended that it didn’t exist. And where has that got me now?”

“It’s okay to be scared of the unknown,” Aaron said softly, “I’m sure he was doing it to protect you.”

Jamie sniffed, “Oh, I know. I know he would never hurt me. But this is just…” she bit her lip, trying to hold back the tears as that overwhelming feeling surrounded her again, making her feel like she couldn’t breathe.

So many questions flittered through her mind like how and why she was here, why was she blue and transparent – it was all so confusing and she felt like she wanted to go to sleep and pretend this was a horrible dream that never happened.

She didn’t even realize that she was heaving desperately, trying to breathe until warm arms were pulling her into an embrace and she buried her face against Aaron’s chest, and inhaling the soft springy scent of detergent in his hoodie.

“That’s it,” he whispered against her hair, “breathe.”

She swallowed, breathing in and out slowly and regaining her stability. Her heart rate slowed and in Aaron’s arms, she suddenly felt grounded, safe, like she had no worries in the world.

She looked up at him and his face was so close she was sure she could count the freckles dotting his cheeks and nose and his eyes were so green and open – he had thick, messy eyebrows and the corner of his eyes were slightly slanted downwards, giving him an adorably dopey look. Her gaze helplessly dropped to his lips; they were small but full and pale pink, slightly parted.

Time froze. Her heart felt like it had jumped into her throat and was thumping frantically.

Aaron felt like he couldn’t breathe. He wondered if he was the only one feeling the electricity in the air as he gazed at Jamie, who was currently staring fixedly at his mouth. It made his own gaze drop to her own lips and God, he wished so badly that she wasn’t blue because it felt like she wasn’t there in his arms but he could feel her perfectly and oh God was her face getting closer –

“Jamie,” he whispered just as their lips connected, their eyes drifting closed on contact.

Pleasure, hot and sharp zinged up Aaron’s spine, making him heave in a huge breath, pulling Jamie more tightly into his arms as he pressed his lips more firmly against hers.

Her lips were soft, softer than he’d imagined but undeniably firm and the pressure was absolutely blowing his mind. He moved his lips against hers, loving the way their lips were moulding together passionately and she shifted against him so that she was straddling his thighs, her hands coming up to cup his cheeks.

Their breaths were mingling and it was so hot, God.

When he traced his tongue firmly across her lips, she giggled and her mouth opened and the sound turned into a soft moan as he thoroughly explored the depths with his tongue, plundering her mouth hungrily. The sound of that soft moan sent another zing of pleasure shooting up Aaron’s spine and he unconsciously tugged on her lower lip with his teeth which made her moan again and he couldn’t help but groan in response.

He didn’t even realize he was stroking her sides restlessly, from her hips up to just shy of underneath her arms until she curled like a cat, her body arching against his.

They pulled apart when it got too hot, breathing heavily and resting their foreheads against the other.

They were silent for a second, Jamie’s hands playing with the big curls of Aaron’s hair while his own hands rested on her hips, thumbs gently stroking the exposed skin where her shirt had ridden up.

She looked up at him, her eyes wide and pupils blown, cheeks opaque with a blush so that he was able to make out most of her features and gosh, he couldn’t help kissing her again, knowing deep down that he was going to get addicted to her lips like a man on crack.

When they pulled away again, Aaron could barely open his eyes because of how heavy his eyelids felt. He was staring at Jamie like she was the most important thing in the world and Jamie felt her insides turn to mush.

“I…do you mind if you exchanged rooms with my dad tonight? I’m…I’m not ready to face him just yet.”

Aaron smiled, “yeah, that’s fine by me.”

“Thank you,” she whispered and then they were kissing again, soft and sweet.

They stood up, dusting the sand off their clothes, hands joined as they made their way back to the house. When they got inside, Jamie said goodnight to everyone and made her way to Aaron’s room. Aaron watched her go, a small dreamy smile on his face.

Kelechi coughed, snapping Aaron out of his stupor and he blushed a brilliant red.

“Uhm, she’s going to sleep in my room with Nicholas,” Aaron said, “so I’ll just go to Richard’s…yeah…uh, goodnight.”

Kelechi was laughing softly as he left the room and Aaron’s blush deepened even though no one could see him now.

And even though there was imminent danger on his head, he couldn’t help but feel like this was one of the best days of his life.