𝙨𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣'𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙣

𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆

Saturn
• • •

I should have known how disastrous we looked.

Emerging from Lianna's bathroom after at least ten minutes was suspicious enough to stir up skepticism, but the blood on Calvin's shirt was entirely another element. Every eye in the room fell upon us as we fled the bathroom. The most concerned pair of them all? My brother's.

"Oi, McKnight," he called across the room, "what the fuck have you done to my sister?"

"It's fine, Jup," I said softly, too intoxicated to have any force behind my words.

"No, this isn't fine, Saturn," Jupiter said, enraged. He stormed over to the door, blocking our escape.

"This is a misunderstanding, Jupiter," Calvin said calmly, "I haven't hurt Saturn."

"Then why on Earth did we all hear her shout at you?" Jupiter asked, "explain that to me, McKnight."

Calvin paused to collect himself. I wished he would just shove my brother aside and leave this whole mess behind us. "She cut herself," he said, "we went into the bathroom to take care of it. We had a small argument. It has been resolved."

"I knew I never should have trusted you with her," Jupiter said, ignoring Calvin's every word.

"Shut up, Jupiter," I pleaded, "just let us leave."

Calvin silenced me with a finger to my lips.

"Even the way you interact with her is repulsive," Jupiter spat, "you don't control her. Stop acting like you have such power."

"Move," Calvin said firmly. If I were Jupiter, the sheer aggression in his tone would have been enough to make me retreat. But my brother's rage clouded his judgement.

"I think I will," Jupiter said, "but I'm coming with you. We're taking this outside."

Calvin's hand tightened around mine. We followed Jupiter out of the party of staring guests but stopped outside my door.

"I'm not fighting you, Grey," Calvin said. He opened my door. "Saturn, go inside."

"No, I'm not leaving you," I argued.

"Inside, Saturn," Jupiter demanded, "you don't need to see this."

Calvin left my side to advance upon my brother. "You have no right to be protective over her," he exclaimed, "after leaving her when she needed you most? Fuck you, Jupiter."

To my surprise, my brother did not reciprocate with a strong hit to Calvin's face. Instead, his expression softened. Jupiter looked from me, to Calvin, then back to me. "You told him?" he asked, heartbreak in his tone.

"Of course I did," I replied, a single tear running down my cheek, "you can't run from what you did forever, Jupiter. That's why I came to Kenton. To force you to relive it."

Jupiter looked beyond shameful. He turned on his heel, unable to face the painful truth. Now that he was gone, I broke down in Calvin's arms. He shoved open the door to my room and pulled me into its safety.

"You're okay," he whispered, clutching me to his chest, "I've got you."

My tears fell in an ocean of despair. What had I done? "I need to make sure that he's okay..." I mumbled, fighting Calvin's grasp around me. It was no use, he was much stronger than me. I couldn't bear to imagine what my brother's grief might result in him doing. I wanted my revenge, but I didn't want Jupiter to suffer.

"He's alright, my love," Calvin promised me, "you did the right thing. Come on, let's sit."

He brought me over to my bed, where I collapsed in distress. Nothing Calvin could say was going to make tonight okay. He could not go back in time and force me into my room before I could ruin everything with Jupiter. He couldn't go back and take away the drink that had cut my finger. He couldn't reverse the fact that we'd even gone to Lianna's party.

He could not go back in time and tell my mother to flee her office just five minutes before it burned to the ground.

"I miss her," I mumbled into Calvin's chest, "my Mom. This is all my fault."

"Shh," Calvin hushed me, "I know you must miss her terribly, my love." He gently pressed me backwards into the pillows of my bed. He moved to my feet, and began to remove my shoes.

"It would ruin her if she knew that I was fighting with Jupiter over this," I said, at a loss for breath, "I'm such a failure."

Calvin set my shoes on the floor. "Enough, Saturn," he said, placing his hand over my racing heart, "stop beating yourself up over this. I need you to relax. We'll handle this tomorrow."

I could tell my distress was having an effect on him, and it only made me feel worse. I pulled him down next to me, feeling the need to comfort him despite my own state. I clung to his chest as I slowly drifted off into a deep, drunken sleep.

Fuck you, Jupiter.