2. Fifteen

Adam suggested that I unpack my stuff until Emily got back from college and I obliged. I mean, it was getting really hard to maintain conversation. What do you even talk about to your sister's boyfriend who you're only meeting for the first time?

Yeah, nothing.

I had no idea how a couple of college-going students could afford a two-bedroom apartment on their own but I wasn't about to start complaining. Their extra bedroom was going to be my room, for the time being.

Unpacking felt unreal. Placing my clothes in a foreign cabinet felt strange. How did my life turn to a point where I had had to live at my sister's place?

Stopping my depressing thoughts midway, I concentrated on unpacking my stuff. I had no idea how long it took me to unpack but once I did, I plopped down in my bed and took a deep breath.

I plugged in my earphones opened a random playlist on my phone and started to wonder about the new school I was going to join. I would be a freak, joining in the middle of the school year. 

Happy thoughts.

Emily opened my door after a few hours and smiled at me. I paused the song which was playing and sat up on the bed.

She walked inside the room and took a good look around. "I see you've unpacked."

"Yeah, figured I would just get it over with."

She slowly walked and sat beside me in the bed. "How was your journey?"

"It was fine." By fine, I meant that I had a panic attack and mental breakdown on the road as had to call my ex-boyfriend’s father to help me. He was the one who kept me grounded and even gave me a few silver articles so that I wouldn't be affected by my need to be with his son. Not fine, I am fun-freaking-tastic.

"Good." Emily's eyes moved over my face and then she suddenly hugged me. "Oh god, I missed you."

I smiled and bit back my tears and hugged her back as tightly as I could. Before the feud on the dinner table with Harper, me and Emily had been as close as two sisters could get. I missed that and from the hug, I could tell that she missed it too. Maybe we could salvage a bit of our relationship.

"I missed you too."

"Do you want to rest more or would you like to prepare dinner with me?"

Dinner? I checked the time on my phone to see that it was almost 7. Damn, I must have fallen asleep.

"Sure, what's for dinner?"

"You'll have to wait and see. It takes a lot of time to prepare food for four people, well now five people."

"Four people? I thought it was just you and Adam?"

"Well, yeah. But sometimes, Ethan and Cecelia come over for dinner and this is one of those days."

I nodded. Two encounters with that boy in a day; I had no idea if I was looking forward to the dinner or not.

***

Emily hated my tardiness in the kitchen, so I ended up sitting on one of the barstools of the kitchen, giving her company.

"Don't take it to heart. She gets cranky when she cooks. Don't let me inside the area till she's done." Adam chuckled while watching the highlights of some tennis match on the widescreen.

I chuckled in response. "Yeah, well, she gets that from mom." I bit back the sudden nostalgia that rose inside me at the mention of my mom. She must be preparing dinner at the moment too.

"At least let me help with setting the table." I laughed and stood up to do the job anyway. Emily just nodded while adding some last-minute something to a dish I didn't even know existed while I took the pasta and put it down on the table.

The door opened and I didn't need to look to know that it was Ethan who walked in. The way my body felt hot all of a sudden made me confirm who it was. 

My eyes whipped up to see Ethan holding the door open for a girl to come inside, a bottle of wine in his tanned arms. Was the tan even natural? With the kind of beaches around here, I hoped the tan was natural. Maybe he purposely strips down to his boxers to get that tone color.

One thing was certain, my mind was full of crap. What was about this guy that made me tingle in all the right places? My subconscious violently displayed images of Harper when I think about Ethan. What was about him that made me forget about Harper and all the bad things he did to me?

My eyes moved to the girl who entered after him. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't expecting a blond bimbo because I was. At least, one thing is different about him than Harper.

The girl was a brunette and was dressed in a cute beige cardigan and slim-tight jeans. Her skin was flawless, her face without an ounce of makeup and she seemed genuine. I liked her instantly and I didn't want to.

I was going crazy because I had issues with a girl who was dating a guy I just met today. Hell, I came here to get away with guy problems and not dive straight into them. Not to mention that this guy was another werewolf, which made it a super no-no.

I tore my eyes away from the happy couple and walked inside the kitchen to grab another dish. I overheard the muffled sounds of Adam greeting Ethan and Cecelia.

"I heard about your meeting with Ethan this morning." I stopped moving while my eyes whipped to meet my sister's.

"Don't mind him. He's just a little different." I weakly nodded, unaware of where she was going with this. This situation became uncomfortable very quickly. "And don't mention werewolves, Cecelia is a human and doesn't know."

"He's dating her and hasn't told her?" 

"He's been dating her for six months and you were best friends with a couple of werewolves for eighteen years." She pointedly said.

I sighed. "Point well made." With that, I grabbed the stuffed turkey and put it on the dining table, where five chairs were arranged for us to sit.

The boys had opened up beers because Ethan was standing on the opposite side of the table, with a chilled beer in his hand. "So, you're still here?!"

I rolled my eyes. I couldn't even make out if he was joking or just stating a fact. "So are you." 

I walked to the fridge and took one beer out for myself. 

"You sure you can drink?" Ethan pointedly asked with a stupid smirk on his face.

"I'm an adult." I raised my eyebrows and rolled my eyes. I walked inside the living room where the highlights of the tennis game were still playing. Cecelia sat on the couch beside Adam, the both of them fully engrossed in the game.

I took the seat beside Cecelia and decided to introduce myself. "Hi, I'm Zara, Emily's sister."

She turned her whole body towards me and gave me a megawatt smile. "Oh, hey. I'm Cecelia. I'm with Ethan." Oh, believe me, I know.

I took a big drink of my beer to relieve my body of the stress and frustration. Won't lie, it felt damn good.

"Damn sis, slow down." Adam chuckled.

I stopped the slight cringe that came with hearing the word is and took another big gulp. My eyes moved to Ethan, who was sitting on the sofa beside Adam. He raised his eyebrows as if to say really, and in response, I took another big sip.

At this rate, I will soon be wasted and puking my guts in the toilet. The thought made me slow down a bit.

"So, Zara. Emily told me you were a senior in high school?"

"Yeah, I am. So, how did you guys meet anyway?" 

"Well, I met Ethan at a sorority party. He was with Adam and Emily. We started talking and here we are, six months later."

"Oh, that's cool. How did you meet Ethan, Adam?"

Adam laughed which made me more curious. My eyes moved to Ethan's to already find them on me. I fought the urge to blush at his intense stare.

"I met Ethan at a bar and he punched me as soon as his eyes landed on me."

I moved forward in my seat. Ethan punched Adam? "What were you doing? Making out with his girlfriend or something?" I laughed.

Adam chuckled while his gaze moved to Ethan's. It was as if I was experiencing a telepathic conversation. Maybe, I was.

Ethan took a deep gulp of his beer and looked at me once again. "Something like that."