He swam over, boxing my body against the wall and resting his hands on each side of me. I could feel my breath getting shallow as my heart pounded against my chest.
“I’ll get you back.” He smirked, then moved to the side of me, pulling his body out of the pool, and then held his hand out again.
Water dripped from the bits of his black hair that had fallen over his eyes. I watched as they slowly ran down his neck and disappeared into his shirt that was now glued to that perfectly chiselled chest of his. The ink looked like it was bleeding through the fabric.
“You going to stare at me all afternoon, or are you going to take my hand this time so we can get you dry?”
The blood rushed to my cheeks. I couldn’t believe he’d caught me gawking at him. I took his hand, and he pulled meout, then wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close as we started walking back to the house.
I caught Stephen watching us at the patio door, then he disappeared as we reached the house.
“Are you cold?” Sebastian asked as we entered the kitchen.
“Sebastian, it’s like thirty degrees.”
Before he could respond, Stephen called to him from further in the house.
“Sebastian, get in my office, now,” he said, and I could tell he was trying to control his anger.
Sebastian’s arm tensed before he slowly removed it from my shoulders, turning to look at me.
“Go upstairs, I’ll be up in a bit.”
He walked over to Stephen’s office, the door closing behind him. I couldn’t help myself—I crept over, listening in on the conversation.
“Is there something wrong with you?”
“What are you talking about?” Sebastian replied.
“She’s your sister. Do you know what people would say if they saw you two together like that?” Stephen hissed.
I heard Sebastian scoff. “Is that all you care about? Your precious reputation?”
“Do not push me, boy.”
My heart sank.
I’d heard Stephen shout at Sebastian a few times, but this seemed different; it was about me. I grabbed the door, pulled it open, and marched in. My heart raced, and I swallowed a few times to wet my dry throat. My eyes darted to Sebastian as his bright blues hit me, then over to Stephen. His face was red, and he did not look happy to see me.
“It’s not Sebastian’s fault. It’s mine. I pulled him into the pool.”
“This is nothing that concerns you, Aria.”
“But you wouldn’t be shouting at him if it wasn’t for me.”
“Go to your room. Now,” Stephen snapped.
“Don’t talk to her like that,” Sebastian growled, taking a step closer to him.
I took a deep breath to stop myself from trembling. “It’s fine. I’ll go.”
I turned and rushed out of the room. The tears hit my cheeks before I even made it up the stairs.
A few hours had passed, and I hadn’t seen Sebastian. He hadn’t replied to my messages either, so I was now outside his bedroom door, hand mid-air. I took a deep breath and knocked. After waiting for what felt like a lifetime, I knocked again, louder. It wasn’t long before Sebastian opened the door.
He’d changed into some joggers and a T-shirt, and his earlier pulled-back hair was now all messy. Yet it wasn’t that that I was fixed on.
It was his split lip.
