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“Darion, we need to talk.” I say calmly. My voice shocks me, it’s loud and clear and full of strength that I don’t feel. “Trin is a beta, and while I don’t object to a union, you can’t have a beta without your pack agreeing, it's not fair. Not to mention how messed up she is at the moment.”
“Union?” Darion asks, confused. He turns, putting space between us. “What are you talking about?”
“You and Trin.” I say slowly, with dawning comprehension that he doesn’t even know what he’s done. “Oh, my god, you were just being nice.”
“Yeah, of course, we’re friends.” He glances away, and I catch the hint of hesitance there, the hint of a lie.
“Do you have feelings for her?” I almost roar. I stand up and pace the space in front of the couch.
“No! Gods, NO!” Darion roars. “No, I just…she was coming to meet me.”
I close my eyes. Guilt. He feels guilt towards her. Oh, fuck, this is such a mess. “Darion, I don’t think Trin realises this is just friendship.”
“I’m not sure what’s going on-“
Lukas shoves the letter into his hand. We’re all silent while he reads it.
He blinks, and then again, before he just slumps, and he looks exhausted. I want to close the distance between us. “I’ll fix it.”
“Darion, wait, you don’t have to do everything alone. I’ll talk to her.”
“No, this is my fuck up. I need to fix it.” Darion says softly. He walks from the room and goes deeper into the house. I hear the sound of his fist meeting the wall. I glance at Seb.
“I’ll go.” He says and ruffles my hair on the way past.
I glance at Lukas. “Can you, please, as well?”
Lukas huffs and kisses me quick and hard before he disappears. I pick up the letter and find the line that the three guys missed.
I ordered a friend to go in my place, and she’s stolen what’s mine, but I won’t back down without a fight.
I walk into the kitchen and palm Darion’s keys before I march out the front door and steal his car. If Trin wants to have this out with me, so be it.
Two minutes later, I’m flying down the driveway, heading back to the city I call home, and the sister I need to set straight.
My family is absent from their new home, and I can’t find any of them. I miss Elise and Muse with an intensity that makes me feel sick. Tomorrow, that’s tomorrow’s problem. So, I drive. I end up at my childhood home, the one that we lived in before everything went wrong.
There’s a family living in the house I grew up in. There’s laughter coming out the open windows. The yellow glow of their lights illuminate their shapes as they wander around their home in domestic tranquility. I imagine it’s my family. I picture myself in there, teasing Trin and plaiting Elise’s hair. Mum would serve up the meat and three veg for dinner while Dad yelled good-naturedly at the news.
Of course, that’s not a real depiction of my life, that’s the Stepford version, but even so, I can pretend we were happy.
Eventually, the family turns off their lights. I start the car and drive five minutes down the road, park again, and get out. In a dried up reserve, full of bark chips and rubbish, is a huge metal tower of connecting poles. I walk to an enormous tree and stare up at it. In front are the dead remains of what used to be rose bushes.
I close my eyes, remembering all those nights sneaking down here, following Trin. I remember the first time I saw Darion, how badass he looked with his baggy jeans and his surly attitude. He made my blood race in my veins, and for the first time; I hated my sister. I wanted what she had. And I hated myself for it.
But she tired of him, for whatever reason, and I found myself going to him when she couldn’t make it, just watching. The night I decided to tell him she wasn’t coming, I drew arrows in yellow paint towards the tree. I climbed high in the tree branches and spoke to him. One perfect night that ended everything. But I still love every moment of that conversation. I keep that Darion safe in my heart and my memory.
I climb the metal frame until I’m at the top and sit there in the warm night air. Owls shriek as they fly by and insects buzz past me at rapid speeds. The smell of summer reminds me of Seb, which makes me miss him. A cat bolts through the dark with a dog on its heels and vanishes just as fast. I can’t see the stars, but it’s comforting to know they’re there. I wonder what Lukas would say right now.
And then I hope Darion is feeling better. Seeing him so sad hit me in a way I don’t like. I don’t want to see him sad. I want to make him happy.
But that’s not your job. I scold myself furiously.
“Missy? Missy Clark? I thought I smelt you. Your sister said you come here sometimes.” He laughs. “I’m surprised she didn’t lie.”
I glance down and spot a lanky but tall man. Why would any of my sisters tell him where I went? That’s weird. He peers up at me from a familiar face. One I haven’t seen in years. It even takes me a moment to place him. School. Back, way back when everyone thought I was a beta, and I was allowed to have friends.
“Yarek?”
