Page 18 of Love Lives

"I wouldn't call us a thing. He's like a lap dog. You know that's not what I'm into."

Instead of saying anything, I just gave her a look, because she wasn't fooling me.

"Don't make a big deal out of it. And don't pull that big brother bullshit on me," she added with half an eye-roll. "I'm a month older than you."

"Only physically." A smile tugged at my lips. God, I'd missed my family. "Older or not, I still reserve the right to look out for my sister."

Elle sighed. "I'd call you a sexist, but I know you pull the same shit on all of us."

"Damn right I do." I sat in the chair opposite her and rubbed my temples. "Still need to take my meds."

"Yeah, take care of yourself before you judge me." Elle turned to the fridge again and filled a glass with water for me. "At least I'm not dating a vampire."

"I'm not dating a vampire," I protested, even as I accepted the glass of water gratefully.

"Wasn't talking about you, but interesting that you thought I was." The corner of her mouth twitched. "Anything you wanna share?"

"Nothing." I pulled a blister pack of pills out of my pocket and popped one. The world would look better once the pain went away. At least a little bit.

"You're sharing a room with Aldrich," Elle observed.

"I am."

"So?"

I very nearly rolled my eyes at my sister. "There's nothing for you to dig up, no matter how hard you try."

"Sorry. Part of the job." She glanced down at her phone and frowned. "Wonder when I'll get to work again."

"When all of this is over, I guess." Whenever that would be. "I'd rather be back at the restaurant too."

We shared a moment in silence, contemplating our fates. Then, my sister forced a smile on her face. "We'll figure something out." She licked her lips. "You think if we could talk to Dad...?"

"Are you sure that it's safe?"

"Caspar says it is, and I trust him."

I nodded, even though I didn't know if I wanted to trust the guy who was banging my sister. "You think Dad knew anything he didn't write down?"

"You know how paranoid he was," Elle said. "It's possible there's things he never wrote down for fear of anyone finding them. Secrets he took to his grave..."

"And that's where they'll stay," Aldrich interrupted our conversation out of the blue. I turned to glance at him, already annoyed. When had he even come in?

Elle obviously hadn't heard him either because she narrowed her eyes at him. "Did you sneak in on cat's paws or something?"

"What if I did?" Aldrich asked, neither confirming nor denying her claims.

"Doesn't matter how you came in," I said. "You weren't part of this conversation." Was I grateful to him for taking care of me? Yes. Was I going to let him make my decisions for me? Not in a million years.

"Just not a fan of this idea," Aldrich asked, claiming the seat next to me in spite of the daggers my eyes were sending his way. "We have no idea what this ritual would do to the so-called vessel and you'd be stupid to volunteer yourself as guinea pig."

"It's cute how you worry about him," Elle said. "But I wouldn't hurt my little brother."

I cringed. She knew how much I hated it when she called me that. Probably the only reason she kept doing it.

Aldrich wasn't convinced in any case. "I don't trust that you know what you're doing. You're dating a witch."

Seriously? Was that the best he could come up with? "You had a thing with Puck," I reminded him. "And I doubt he was the only one."