*Previously Featured* Wren's first day at her new school is a twisted kind of day--in other words, anything but ordinary. With Kellan and Jaxon battling for her attention, their crazy love triangle draws Wren into a hidden world she never dreamed po...
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He stood there seething while I opened the fridge and grabbed two more bottles of coke from the shelf, then closed the door with my foot. I popped the bottle caps off with the opener on the side of the fridge, then held out one to him like a small peace offering.
"I'm not sure that's going to be strong enough for me to get through this conversation." Wow, now that is a statement I can relate to. He reached out and took the bottle anyway.
"Come on. We can sit on the chair swing." Gran was still cleaning up the mess we made of her kitchen, and I felt more than guilty leaving her with the clean-up, but before I could say anything she spoke.
"Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. There will be plenty of things to help me with when I get to the next order I have to fill," she said pointing to a paper on the table. "Go on." She waved shooing us out of the kitchen.
"Sorry, again for all the damage." He took a look around, then sighed. "I promise, I'll have someone by to fix it in the morning." He turned to leave, but stopped and added, "You're right about my temper, it's just when..."
Gran held out a hand, then smiled, "I think you need to explain that to Wren. Don't you?" she said not letting him finish. "Now, out the two of you."
He nodded, then headed outside and sat down on the swing. The old swing came with the house when we rented it. It creaked when it moved, but it had a great view of the yard and stars at night. It only sat two people, so when I took a seat, we were so close the sides of our bodies were touching. I pushed off the ground, letting it sway us back and forth, as we sat in silence listening to the chair's creaking.
"It's been a couple of awkward days for me. What about you?" I asked, breaking the calm.
He chuckled, "Yeah, you could say that," he said, staring at his fingers trace a path around the mouth of the bottle. He took a deep breath, then let out a big sigh. "Are you leaving me for Kellan?" he asked. When he lifted his head to look at me, his eyes were glassy and glowed the palest green. It was as if I would shatter him into a million pieces if I said yes.
"Jax..." He reached out and took my hand and stared down at our fingers touching.
"I know the story about me. I'd like to think I'm better than it, at least, you thought so once. It doesn't help to have a tyrant for a father to complicate and muddy how everyone sees me. He may be the leader of the Fire Circle and my father, but it doesn't mean I'm like him."
I nodded, "Yeah, he sounds kind of scary from what I've been told." I couldn't help but think of my mother as I said that.
"You've met him of course, you know," he paused to look up at me, "I'll never forget the day you were first presented at court. My father said he had invited a Weaver to our annual celebrations. He was going on about your credentials and background as he did with every potential match he had in mind for me. I remember trying to block him out of my head, not wanting to listen to his rambling on or anything else he had to say about finding my future partner. I just felt like I wasn't ready. Then you walked in with your parents, and it was like the entire room froze. You and I were staring at each other from the opposite sides of the room. It was as if I was compelled to know more. Nothing was going to stop me from finding out who you were."
