Page 51 of Always: A Legacy Novel

“Think,” Calisto replied harshly, “before you speak.”

“Yeah, all right.”

“And Jesus Christ, when your sister says jump, Cross, you ask that little girl how high, and don’t you even hesitate. She adores you. You are the only brother she is ever going to have—get fucking used to being her best friend, her hero, or whatever the hell else she wants you to be whether you like it or not, whether you want to be or not. Got it?”

“I got it, Papa.”

“Good. Don’t ever forget it.”

“Cross, did you hear anything I just said?” Emma asked.

Cross looked up from his phone screen to see his mother staring at him. “What, Ma?”

“What is up with you?”

“Nothing.”

Emma patted her son on his cheek with a gentle palm. “You’ve had a rough couple of weeks, haven’t you?”

Cross ran a hand through his hair, and stuffed his phone into his pocket. That was likely the only way he would stop checking the stupid thing. “Nah, everything is fine, Ma.”

His mother frowned, but didn’t press the issue further. Cross figured that was probably because she didn’t want to somehow put him in a bad mood when they were having a good day. Emma had wanted to shop, Camilla was having her day out with Calisto, and so Cross was left to be his mother’s companion while she did her thing.

Apparently, he needed clothes, too. Not because he actually did need them, but his mother liked to spend money. Cross didn’t much care, but his mother rarely bought him anything unless asking him if he liked it first. Especially clothes.

“You’re sure nothing is wrong,” Emma pressed as she moved to another rack of clothes.

Cross glanced down at his empty hand, almost expecting his phone to still be there. “I haven’t talked to Catherine in two weeks, Ma.”

Emma frowned. “Do you talk to her pretty often?”

Every day.

Multiple times a day.

Or he used to.

Cross wasn’t sure if his step-father had explained the beach incident to his mother, or not, but that was when Catherine suddenly went silent on her end. He didn’t like that at all—he didn’t like the heavy feeling in his chest, or the deadweight in his stomach.

“Usually,” Cross finally answered.

“You two got in some trouble, huh?”

So his mother did know.

“She did.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “You should have, too.”

“I just went to the beach, Ma.”

“You know I don’t like you running from one side of New York to the other without some kind of adult with you, Cross. And you do it all the time, even when you’re told not to.”

“Zeke was there.”

Emma scoffed. “He is not an adult, far from it.”

Cross shrugged. “Keeps me out of trouble, though.”