“I’ve passed through there once or twice,” Arman answers through thin lips. “Not in a while now, though. Changed man over here.”
Orian lets out a laugh. “Likewise.”
The tension in the air only seems to fade slightly, Arman’s shoulders relaxing by an inch or so. Whateverhappened between them can stay between them—and stay in the past.
Right now, I’m having a crisis.
Granted, it’s a crisis that only Orian knows about, but it’s a crisis, nonetheless. We need to get a move on to the art show before the crowd disappears.
“Ready to go, everyone?” I ask, not really waiting before looping my arm through Raya’s and leading us toward downtown.
The walk to the fountain isn’t too long, and while Raya spends most of it telling me about her recent streaming and gaming adventures, my mind is elsewhere. The closer we get to Carson, the more my senses buzz.
So many feelings swirl inside me that I can’t even tell what they are, let alone begin to figure out how to deal with them. There’s something going on with the artistic mystery man, and one way or another, I’ll get to the bottom of it.
Ihaveto.
Orian must notice something is off, as he’s suddenly walking in line with Raya and I. “So, Raya, what do you do for work?”
She loosens her arm from mine, leaning forward to look past me and give her attention to my brother as we walk. “I’m a video-game streamer. So, I work from home.”
He nods. “That must be nice, getting to do it all from the comfort of your home.”
“It is. Not everyone gets the appeal, but it’s definitely right for me.” She beams, her usual shyness seeming to fade away.
I don’t know how long Orian will be here, but having him and Raya get along will definitely make mylife easier. Raya is important to me, which I’ve made abundantly clear to Orian in the short time since his arrival.
“What do you do?” she asks.
Orian laughs, but it’s unlike any I’ve heard from him before. It sounds…nervous. He’s never nervous. Being confident is his biggest strength—and weakness, for that matter.
“Well, I was working as a bouncer for a club,” he reveals, letting out that nervous laugh again. “But I quit that to come here.”
I nearly trip over my feet, my tail whipping behind me. He didwhat?
“Are you planning on staying in Harmony Glen then?” she asks, Arman quickly walking alongside her and staring at Orian.
Orian’s quick, “Yes,” comes at the same time I answer, “No.”
My tail beats against his leg as I turn my head to face him. Right now, my anger at Orian is overriding all the buzzing from Carson’s presence.
Is he fuckingkiddingme?
He is not staying here. He is not moving to the town I’ve built my life in. I don’t care if he’s my brother and that he’s here to help me. It’s not happening.
No way, no how.
“My dear brother, I thought we discussed your visit was…temporary,” I say through gritted teeth, trying not to let Raya see just how mad I am.
Orian gives me a sheepish smile. “Well, I thought maybe we could discuss that again at a later date.”
Oh, we definitely will be discussing the matter againwhen we aren’t on our way to an art show with my friends. And by discussing, I mean bashing in his head until he understands that he is by no means moving to my town.
“Where would you work? I don’t think any of the bars here are hiring—or really need bouncers, honestly.” Arman sounds a bit nervous as he joins the conversation, his words coming quickly.
With a shrug, Orian’s eyes dart between Arman and I. “Maybe I’ll take a new path, something calmer…like at a wellness store.”
That’s it, I’m going to kill him.
