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Hey, can we talk?
Calla, I’m worried about you.
I have no idea what’s going on. If you’re ignoring me, I understand, but please let me know you’re okay.
Please answer me. I need my best friend.
I made a huge mistake. Please call me.
The knots in my stomach get tighter with each message, and I shove my phone back into my pocket. I can’t deal with this right now.
A few minutes later, I recognize the neighborhood we’re driving through as the one I grew up in. My stomach swirls with nerves knowing what I need to talk to my parents about and concerned with how they’re going to react. I imagine it’s something they’ve considered, knowing their daughter was promised to a group of vampires, but that doesn’t make the conversation any easier to walk into.
The car pulls up outside my parents’ place, and Atlas gets out, opening my door. I take the hand he holds out to me, and gasp in surprise when he pulls me in close, dropping his lips to my cheek. “We’ll figure this out.”
I wrap my arms around him tightly—tighter than I have before—and breathe in his scent. It makes my chest tighten when my thoughts immediately drift to the possibility that I may one day soon not remember it—rememberhim.
Once we pull apart, I duck my head back into the car for a second and say, “Don’t get into too much trouble without me.”
“Right back at you,” Lex remarks with a wink.
Gabriel comes around the car and nods at Atlas before he gets back into the passenger seat, then the two of us walk toward the door.
Mom is flying outside and down the porch steps before we’re even halfway up the walkway. She throws her arms around me, squeezing me so tight I can barely pull in a breath, but I don’t care. I hug her back just as hard. It’s safe to say her almost dying helped close the chasm that was between us for years.
“Hey, Mom,” I say, laughing softly as I step back.
She hangs onto my arms, looking me over as if she didn’t see me not that long ago in the hospital. “I had no idea you were here!”
“Uh, yeah. It was an unexpected trip.”
Her eyes fill with concern. “Calla, what’s going on?”
“Perhaps we should go inside?” Gabriel offers in a smooth voice, stepping up beside me and offering my mom a polite smile.
Her gaze shifts to him and narrows. “Youare not welcome in my home.”
“Mom,” I say, pulling her attention back to me. “Please be nice.”
She opens her mouth as if she’s going to argue but then closes it and nods, wrapping her arm around my shoulders and hugging me against her side as we walk inside, with Gabriel trailing behind us.
Dad comes into the hallway from the living room, and his eyes light up when he sees me. “I wondered what your mother was rushing out the door for. She’s been ordering Amazon packages almost daily, so I just figured it was a delivery.”
Mom smacks his arm, and he chuckles.
“We’re not here long, but I wanted to visit.”
Dad’s eyes slide to Gabriel and his lips turn down. “I see.”
“Hello, Mr. Montgomery.”
Dad crosses his arms over his chest, looking less than thrilled at Gabriel’s presence. “Which one are you?”
Gabriel smiles as if the question wasn’t meant to offend him, which I’m sure it was. “Gabriel Simmons, sir. It’s nice to see you again.”
I press my lips together.Sir. Gabriel’s at least five times my dad’s age and, oh my god, how have I not thought about that before?
“Mmm hmm. And is there a reason you needed to escort my daughter to her own home?”
