Arcanum Hominem (#1)

Chapter 53

"Hurry up, Killian! What's taking you so long?" I yelled up the stairs, glancing at the time on my phone. We still had twenty minutes before we had to be at the house, but I didn't like being late. Being early was on time for me. 

"I'm coming, calm down!" he yelled back down at me, and I huffed, pacing in front of the door. The stairs creaked, and I looked up, raising my brows. Most of Killian's hair was out of his face and pulled back into a neat ponytail that rested on his neck, except for one curl that graced his face. He wore a black cotton button-down with white specks on it tucked into black slacks. He reached the bottom of the stairs and stood in front of me, undressing me with his eyes.

"I like this dress. Where were you hiding this?" he asked me, wrapping an arm around my waist, pulling me close. I was wearing a red velvet dress with spaghetti straps, and it stopped right above my knees. The dress had a deep plunge with fabric bunched stylishly. My hands rested on his chest, itching to run through his curls. 

"Thank you. I bought it a few days ago just because." I shrugged, pursing my lips as his eyes lowered to my chest. His hand lightly caressed my arm and came up to my chest, a finger sliding down my exposed skin. I kept my breathing even as his finger slid up my neck and paused under my chin, lifting my face. My mouth parted on their own, and when he leaned in, I turned my face last minute.

"Again?" Killian chuckled as his lips landed on my cheek.

"I don't want to be late Killian, come on." I leaned back and raised my brow at him when he met my eyes. He smirked and opened the front door, gesturing for me to exit.

As we made our way to the house, my stomach turned in knots. I didn't know what to expect when we got there. Would my mom be welcoming to Killian and be a fake the entire evening? Or would she actually show her true colors? I honestly didn't even know how I should act. I hated this woman with everything inside of me. It would be hard to fake just for Killian. Being cordial would be extremely hard for me, which was why my stomach wouldn't stop turning. I felt like I was going to puke. 

I gripped the armrest that sat in the middle of us and inhaled. From the corner of my eye, I could see Killian glance at me before looking at the road again. His hand left the steering wheel and rested on top of mine. I welcomed the warmth from his skin and the reassurance that came with the gesture. He didn't even have to say a word. The house wasn't far from our place at all, which bummed me out because I was hoping the car ride would be long enough for me to get all of the nerves out. 

Killian pulled into the long driveway, and the familiar large house was directly in front of us. There were no other cars in the driveway, and there was a porchlight that was on to help us see in the darkness of the night. Killian turned the car off, and my stomach twisted even more, making me grip the armrest tighter. 

"Hey," Killian spoke softly, and I looked at him, eyes wide. "You got this, okay? I'll be by your side the entire time. If anything goes south or you want to leave at any time, let me know, and we'll be out of here. Okay?"

I nodded, grateful that I wasn't doing this alone. "Thank you for doing this, Killian." 

He smiled softly and raised my hand to his lips, giving it a soft kiss. "Of course, what are friends for?" 

"For fucking, apparently." I joked under my breath as I exited the car. So far, the just friends angle wasn't working, and honestly, I wasn't going to stop the fun that was happening between us, especially when it served as a great distraction for situations like this one. 

"I heard that." Killian raised a brow as I walked around the car to meet him, and I chuckled, grabbing his outstretched hand. We walked up to the front door, and I squeezed his hand tightly from nervousness. If it hurt him, he didn't show it. His face was perfectly perfect. I counted to three in my head before ringing the doorbell. I could hear the sound faintly as it rang through the house, and I moved closer to Killian when I heard shuffling on the other side of the door. 

There was a lock that clicked, and then the door slowly opened. I clenched my teeth as I stared at the woman standing in the doorway. She wore a light blue dainty dress that flowed down to the middle of her legs. 

"Welcome! You must be the husband. Come in, come in, Chase will be down momentarily." My mom greeted us, well, mainly Killian, and we walked into the house. She didn't even make eye contact with me, which made me more upset than if she did. My mom closed the door and gestured at us to follow her. We made our way through the grand foyer and she led us to a grand dining room with a large table that was decorated beautifully, I wouldn't deny that. 

"What is your name dear, I don't believe my daughter here told Chase." My mom faced Killian, a strained smile on her face as she looked him up and down, probably trying to figure out if I deserved to be with someone like him or not. Just thinking about that pissed me off. Killian glanced at me before answering. 

"I'm Killian. Your home is beautiful." Killian introduced himself and gave the back of her raised hand a kiss, his charming smile plastered on his face. I wanted to kick him for making her like him. It wasn't really his fault, though. He couldn't help himself. 

"Why, thank you, you're too kind. You can call me Eve. You can have a seat anywhere you like. I'll go check on Chase and see what's taking him so long."

I scrunched up my face and scoffed. "Thanks mom, for the hospitality you're showing your own daughter," I said sarcastically, finding a random seat at the table and sat down, annoyed. My mom pressed her lips together and didn't say a word, walking away. Killian came and sat down next to me, sighing.

"Hey, I know you guys are at odds with each other, but if you want this night to go without a hitch, you have to keep the sarcasm to yourself," he spoke softly, probably to lessen the blow of my words if I didn't agree with him. But I did agree with him.

"You're right. I'll try my best." I sighed, sitting back into my chair. We were both silent as we waited for my mom and Chase to come to the table. I was too anxious to talk anyway, so I welcomed the silence. Killian probably wanted to give me some space to be in my thoughts, which I appreciated. After a few minutes, footsteps filled the silence. I looked up to see my mom and Chase walking our way. 

"Here they come. Get ready to be bombarded with questions." I mumbled under my breath, but loud enough for Killian to hear. He looked up and immediately froze, hands gripping the table tightly.

"Who is that with your mom?" he whispered fiercely, eyes anxious as he waited for my answer. His demeanor threw me off.

"That's Chase, my stepdad. Are you okay?" I asked as his grip tightened on the table. He shook his head and leaned closer to me.

"Scarlett, the man with your mom, is our target, Hunter Emmons." 

My eyes widened.