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His jaw clenches, like he’s fighting against his desire to go kick Warren’s ass. Finally, with an angry sigh, he relents, dropping my hand only to collect my things and stuff them back into my backpack for me. He swings the bag over his shoulder and returns to hold my hand.
“Come on,” Jason says, leading the way out. We see Warren in the hall, and Jason sends him anI’ll kill you ifyou look at Siena the wrong wayglare as we pass him.
Before we turn the corner, I pause and look back.
Lily’s watching us from the doorway of Warren’s room, picking her nail polish. “Hey, Lily. You should call Nyah.”
Her forehead creases with worry, but I’m exhausted from this whole mess. I have enough things to worry about, and what happened to Lily is no longer one of them. Now it’s up to the two of them to figure it out and make it right. So, I don’t say anything else, instead letting Jason lead me outside to his car. I get in, still pressing the bag of corn to my head, relieved to have finally gotten some closure.
Twenty-six
It’s bright and early on Saturday morning when the doorbell rings.
“Natalia will get it,” Jason mumbles, his chest vibrating under my cheek.
He’s been sneaking in at night after Natalia goes to bed and spending the night with me in Mason’s room.
I’m sure she knows, especially since Jackson has a loud mouth, but I think it’s easier for her to pretend we’re staying in separate rooms when we’re not blatantly going to bed together.
It’s comforting, being here with Jason. I’ve spent most of my life feeling like I’m alone, and now here’s this person whom I love, who lovesme, who makes me feel so fucking happy it’s almost hard to imagine this level of joy exists. Even after everything I’ve been through these last few weeks, it all seems inconsequential in comparison, because I have Jason. We can get through anything as long as we’re together.
“But we should get up before she comes up here,” I say, though getting up is the absolute last thing I want to do.
I try to pull away, but Jason’s arms are a band around my torso, and he holds me close. “Five more minutes.”
“Siena!” Natalia calls from downstairs. “I can hear you’re up. Can you come down, please?”
Jason huffs dramatically as he releases me, his plans foiled.
“I’ll be just a minute!” I call back from the door, throwing Jason’s sweater on to fight the chill of the early-morning air breezing in from the cracked-open window.
Jason props himself up on his elbows, watching me.
He looks unbelievably hot in the morning, with messy hair and sleepy eyes, his naked chest and abs on full display. It’s a wonder I ever manage to stop staring at him long enough to get anything done.
I run into the bathroom to quickly brush my teeth, and when I return to the room, Jason has unfortunately put a shirt on.
“I’ll be down in a minute,” he says, giving me a quick kiss before I go downstairs.
When I reach the bottom step, I pause. Natalia’s at the front door, speaking to my aunt.
Zia Stella’s eyes shift to me, and they rake over me from top to bottom. I haven’t spoken to her since she picked me up from school on Monday.
“What are you doing here?” I ask. If she’s here to tell me Dario’s changed his mind about everything, she wasted her gas.
“I’m here to talk. Let’s sit on the porch,” she says, holding the door open for me.
I glance at Natalia for some reason, and she nods her head encouragingly, her kind, motherly smile just the reassurance I need to slip on shoes and follow Zia Stella out.
She sits on one of the porch chairs, and I sink onto the one beside her, waiting for her to start.
“I’ve been trying to give you your space,” she starts,
“but it’s time for you to come home.”
Before I can tell her Dario’s isn’t home, she cuts me off. “I don’t mean Dario’s. I mean home.Myhome. Your and Gia’s new home.”
My and Gia’s new home. Is she saying what I think she’s saying?
