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“Whatcha working on?”
He doesn’t answer me right away. His lips drop to meet mine. I let myself get lost in kissing him. When he does answer, I’ve almost forgotten the question. “I’ve been trying to come up with fake research that looks believable. Something that looks like conclusive proof that there’s no connection between good and evil DNA.”
I nod. “Clever.” My fingers trace the silver chain around his neck. “Do you think you could get away with that?”
He steps toward my window wall and shakes his head as he looks out at the stars. “Do any of us think we’ll get away with this?”
My shoulders fall. I slink down, sitting on my bed across from him. “Look, Evan.” Pain shoots through me as I say the words and it’s worse than any pain I’ve felt while fighting the drugged up humans. “If it’s too hard dating me, or being around me, it’s okay. You can say it. We can cut ties or whatever.”
“Maci.”
I don’t even look up at him. But his hand touches my shoulder a moment later and I feel him sit next to me on the bed. “Look at me.” Reluctantly, I pull my eyes up to meet his. He takes my hands and places them into his lap, not letting go. “Dating you is hard work. You’re always busy. Your life is unpredictable. Sometimes we go an entire day only saying good morning or good night to each other.”
I hold up my hand. “Stop. I get it, okay? You don’t have to spell it out for me.”
He smiles, not even caring about my pain. “I do have to spell it out. And I wasn’t finished, so keep listening. Maci, I am crazy about you. I love every second I’m with you and when I’m not with you, I’m wishing I was.” He leans over and kisses my forehead. “You’re worth all of the hard work.”
“Thank you,” I whisper. My body melts into his and I wrap my arms around him as we fall back onto my bed. We watch the stars through my window until I’ve lost track of time. “How long can you stay?” I whisper.
His fingers filter through my hair, down my back. “As long as you want.”
Evan doesn’t flinch when someone opens a door in the hallway and two power levels walk out of Dad’s office. “Who the hell is that?” I whisper quiet enough for only Evan’s ears to hear. He shrugs. “Nova? Max?”
I shake my head. “Max isn’t home and neither is Dad.” His eyes go wide for a split second before he jumps off my bed, holding his arm in front of me, as if he’s protecting me. Me. A Hero.
I close my eyes and focus on the power approaching us from the two Supers in the hallway. One is definitely Nova. The other…I let out the breath I’d been holding. It isn’t a villain. But I’m still not sure who it is.
“Thanks for hanging out,” Nova says. “I’m sure you had other stuff to do.” I might be completely insane here, but it sounds like she’s more sweet and sincere than usual.
“It’s no problem. I’m here if you need me.”
Holy crap.
My eyes almost bulge out of my friggen skull. Evan’s mouth falls open and we stare silently at each other, wide eyed and open mouthed as if we’re two human kids who just saw a Hero for the first time, so freaking giddy and insane with the secret knowledge that we both share. I squeeze Evan’s hand and lean closer to my door so I can keep spying on my sister.
“Do you think the others would get mad?”
“No,” Nova says quickly, followed by, “I mean, I don’t know. I don’t think so. Maci wants everyone to like me so they’ll believe that I’m not a villain.”
“We’ll get you through this. Anyone who spends five minutes with you will know that you’re not evil.”
There’s a pause and some shuffling movement through the hallway and into the living room. Oh my god, is he touching her? Are they hugging? The suspense makes me
want to burst open my door right now and ruin their private moment.
“You have my number,” he says. The front door slides open, muffling whatever it is that Nova says in reply. I hear her thank him and then he says, “I’m serious. Just call me if you need anything.”
The door closes. Nova’s power level is all happiness and elation and a little bit of embarrassment. I bounce on the balls of my feet, my hands covering my mouth to keep me from saying anything. Evan holds back laughter and keeps shaking his head like he can’t believe it any more than I can. When I hear her open the door to Dad’s office, I pull mine open and step into the hallway.
Nova startles and then quickly masks her surprised face with a smile.
“That’s weird,” I say as I head into the kitchen for a snack. Nova follows me, taking a deep breath to calm her pounding heart. “What’s weird?” Her voice is dry.
I shrug and grab a box of Pop Tarts.
“I don’t know,” I say with an impish smile. “It kind of smells like Nyx Nightly in here.”
After Evan went home because he refused to risk falling asleep in my bed where Dad would find us, I stayed up watching human reality television for hours waiting for Dad to come home. When he finally did return, I guess I had passed out on the couch because he managed to slip in without waking me up. When I do wake up, it’s with a painful neck from sleeping on the couch. Max scoops a bowl of dog food for Chewy and then makes himself breakfast in the kitchen. Breakfast for Max consists of a dozen fried eggs and half a loaf of bread toasted and buttered.
