affluenza (1.) | ✔️

Start Over

        SEBASTIAN PARKS THE car in front of my house, rubbing his hand along my knee in order to calm me. It wasn't working—not in the slightest. I glance over at him, widening my eyes like a kid asking for the last chocolate chip cookie. "Please don't make me go," I whisper, fear evident in my voice. "I've spent my entire life trying to ignore my father's second family. This kind of makes it a tad bit hard."

"You can do this, baby," Sebastian murmurs back, turning off the car completely.

I huff a breath. "Remember this morning? The cuddling, hugging, kissing." I sit up in my seat and press my lips against his jaw, working my way down to his neck. "Wouldn't you rather go back to that?"

Sebastian lets me kiss his skin softly, melting into my touch with ease. A low sound emits from his lips and it sends goosebumps down my back. It's when my hands burrow their way underneath his tan sweater that he stops me. Sebastian places his hands on my hips, pushing me back down. "Nice try, Brayls. Let's go."

        I groan vehemently as he gets out of the car, jogging over and opening my door for me. I climb out with a grimace that only seems to make him laugh. Sebastian loops his fingers with mine and even though I'm annoyed, I lean into his touch. "Thanks for being here," I whisper to him.

        Sebastian squeezes my hand and winks at me. "Always."

        I take a deep breath as we reach the door, pulling out my key and unlocking it.

It was nearing noon, so I had half a mind to assume that Oba would be at work. She's not, however. She's sitting in the kitchen, clutching her phone and tapping her nails nervously. When she sees me, her eyes light up. "Braylen! I've been calling you all night! What happened to your phone?"

"I turned it off," I whisper sheepishly. She stands up and crosses over to me quickly, wrapping me in a huge hug. I glance over at Sebastian, eyes wide in shock before I return the hug.

She clutches the back of my head, sighing deeply. "I was so worried about you," she admits, sounding close to tears.

I pull away from my aunt, suddenly feeling awfully guilty. "I was with Sebastian. I'm sorry; I should've called you."

Aunt Amanda purses her lips. "Yes, you should've. But I'm just happy you're all right. Thank you, Sebastian."

        Sebastian waves her off. "My pleasure."

        I could hardly fight the blush that appears on my cheeks. Oba shoots me a knowing grin. "Oh, um, is Hiro here?"

        "Shower upstairs," Oba responds, eyebrows scrunching up. "He's gonna go home, he said. Didn't want to make you feel like you couldn't be here."

        My heart drops to my stomach as guilt seeps through. "Crap," I hiss, crossing my arms. "Well, we've just got to figure out how to get him to stay."