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I rolled my eyes. “No.”

“You totally do,” he replied. “You love her.”

“No, I—”

“Clary and Aiden sitting in a tree…”

I threw the ball at him a little harder than normal, and he laughed as he pulled it into his chest with a thud.

“You’re dead,” I shouted as I started running toward him.

Elliot let out a dramatic scream and turned to run away from me. My brother wasn’t quick at the best of times, but his laughter seemed to be slowing him down. I easily tackled him to the ground and started tickling him. Tears leaked from Elliot’s eyes as he laughed and squealed for me to stop.

“Okay, okay, I yield,” he shouted. “You and Clary aren’t in the tree.”

I laughed and rolled onto my back to stare up at the sky. We were both panting for breath and had matching smiles on our lips. It had been a while since we’d messed around like that. I’d gotten so busy with school and football this year everything else had taken a back seat. Had it really taken a pandemic for me to realize I didn’t spend enough time with my brother?

A raindrop splashed onto my face as I lay on the grass, and I realized it was probably time to head back inside. I rolled over and got to my feet before helping Elliot up. “We should do that again soon.”

“Yeah?”

I tousled his hair and nodded. “Yeah.”

Elliot grinned as he turned to walk inside. I went to follow him, but as I looked up at the house, I noticed Clary in the window of her bedroom. She was curled up on the seat that overlooked the garden with a book clutched to her chest and a smile on her face as she looked down at us. The moment I caught her watching she immediately turned away. She focused on her book, pretending like she hadn’t seen us at all.

My chest swelled with a feeling of warmth though. Clary had definitely been watching us, and it had made her smile. I may have chickened out when it came to having a real conversation with her today, but that smile felt like an opening. Maybe my chances with her weren’t as slim as I thought.

9

Clary

It was surprising how quickly time passed while I was stuck in lockdown in the Moore household. Days passed without any news about my parents’ return, and before I knew it, a whole week had gone by. Mom and Dad contacted me frequently to talk, but it seemed that getting home was going to take slightly longer than they first expected. I worried about them terribly, but at least I didn’t completely hate my existence here.

Yes, I was living with the world’s most persistent flirt, but his mom was so nice and his little brother cracked me up. I was also starting to notice some moments when Aiden didn’t seem all that bad. I’d caught him playing catch with his little brother outside the other day. The way they had both smiled as Aiden tackled Elliot to the ground to tickle him was one of the cutest things I’d ever seen.

I was also growing used to Aiden’s constant flirtations, and they were starting to feel like bit of a game. If it was a game, I was losing badly though. I’d been so good at ignoring him at school, but the more time I spent with him, the harder it was to stop myself from laughing at his sad attempts at flirting. I also found myself firing back a reply more often. In Aiden’s books, any response was a good response. It felt like I was only encouraging him.

The one thing I wasn’t getting used to though was Aiden seemed to have zero personal boundaries. He always snagged the chair next to me at dinner and sat far too close. And, whenever he was talking to me, he always made a point of standing firmly within my personal space. After waking up to him working out in my bedroom on my first morning here, I’d seriously considered leaving a bear trap by the door. I really should have gone through with it because it seemed he was back again this morning.

“Clary, Clary, wake up!”

I groaned and blinked one eye open. Aiden’s smiling face was hovering over me. The guy always looked so happy. Even this early in the day. It only made my grumpy morning mood even worse.

“Aiden, I told you to stop letting yourself in here!” I threw an arm over my face and closed my eyes again in the hopes of blocking him out. If I couldn’t see him, then perhaps he’d take the hint and leave.

“I know, but this is an emergency.”

Could you roll your eyes when they were shut? It definitely felt like I could. It was far too early for this. “Surely, this can wait until later…”

“It can’t, actually,” he said, dragging my arm away from my face. “They’ve reopened school, and thanks to you, we’re running late.”

“What?” I jerked up in bed, suddenly feeling wide-awake.

“School is open again. Didn’t you know?”

I reached for my phone. “No, I didn’t, and that doesn’t make any sense. Surely, I would have heard before now if school was opening again.”

Aiden grabbed my hand and started to pull me from the bed. “You’ve been distracted all week, and I can’t help it if you don’t check your emails. Come on, you better hurry, or we’ll be late.”