Via"I'm pretty sure she wants us to keep talking about the damn subject we were talking about earlier, but it doesn't feel right just brushing off the way Georgia is feeling."I continue to look at her with pure concern, but she shakes her head. "I'm not pregnant, so please don't ask," she frowns, explaining her situation once more."But—" I motioned to the living room."I had the flu and am slowly recovering. It's fine." She shakes her head again. "Please change the subject."It's clear the subject of pregnancy makes her uncomfortable, so I do as she said and change the topic.…"When's your next race?" I ask Aiden as we munch on our French toast slices.I glance at the soccer field where the team seems to be doing their morning routines."Soon, but you're banned from going," Aiden states abruptly, causing me to turn to him faster than Sonic."I'm what?" I ask, frustration evident. "By who?""Nobody in particular," he shrugs. "You just got several people on edge, so you're not allow
Via"So, I'm doing alright?" I ask him as I play with a bracelet I have around my wrist."Yeah, especially for being a stepmom that's a student," he drifts off again. "Anyways, I found them. Look." He turns his phone over to me.Aiden shows me a few pictures of Starlight doing different things with him and Ethan. Starlight looks so happy with her dad and Ethan."Wait. This was last year." I can't help but smile. "You weren't dating Ethan then," I say teasingly."Yeah, and?" Aiden says as he suddenly takes his phone and shoves it into his pocket."And when are you finally going to tell me the story between you and Ethan?" I ask him as I take one of the last few bites of my French toast."Never," he rolls his eyes. "You're nosey.""What do you mean never?" I mirror his tone. "You promised!""Yeah, and?" He shrugs. "Some promises are meant to be broken.""I will be speaking to Ethan about this," I say with a pout as I shove the remainder of my French toast in my mouth."Snitches get stit
ViaSuddenly, the door opens, and I'm greeted with my big brother and his fiancée."Merry Christmas!" Rosalie says as she and Dean enter the house."Merry Christmas," I say back to her as I kindly try to take the few dishes of food she has in her hands."No, it's fine. I got it," she says as she wanders off into the kitchen."Your fiancée is stubborn," I say with a laugh as Dean closes the door."Yeah, I know," he says with a laugh. "It's one of the many reasons why I fell in love with her.""Awe, that was cute," I say with a small laugh as I turn to walk away."Oh, also," Dean says, which causes me to freeze in place, then turn to him. "Everyone caught me up on what happened." Dean trails off. "You know I could talk to them, right?"As much as that sounds like a loveable brotherly act, I don't think any of my men would be happy with that. I'm pretty sure they still hate Dean for the way he acted on Thanksgiving."Yeah, I know," I nod. "But that's not necessary," I shake my head. "The
Via"I told you not to bother, Via," Georgia scolds Rosalie before shaking her head. "Also, I'm not pregnant. So, stop looking at each other like that," Georgia protests as she closes the water bottle."But—" Rosalie motions to Georgia. "I was like you around five months ago. Then I took a pregnancy test, and it came out positive." She hesitates. "I'm just saying—"Georgia cuts Rosalie off. "Girls, stop it." Georgia scolds us then shakes her head. "I can't be pregnant because I can't have kids. I've already told you this, Via.""It can still happen. I've heard—" Georgia cuts me off."I've had two miscarriages in my life." Me and Rosalie both freeze at that. "Two," she repeats and shakes her head. "So, no girls. I'm not pregnant and it's not because I don't want to be but because I physically can't.""I'm sorry, Georgia," I say softly as I watch her get up off the floor."Girls, it's fine," Georgia shakes her head. "Let's just drop the subject. I'm pretty sure the soup is going to burn
ViaTheir way of thinking is extremely unsettling, and it makes me mad. They can't just go around not telling me things because they think they aren't important."But I had every right to know. You guys were lying to me and straight to my face above everything which was worse." I state as I hear the sound of bedsheets shuffling."Via, it didn't matter. We weren't lying because of anything dramatic. It wasn't important." He says which causes me to feel suffocated in frustration and anger."Okay, I'll remember to not tell you guys about things that aren't technically important. I don't want to be dramatic." I say as I shove him away and go to stand up."You're so stubborn and you're overreacting again." He says as he grabs my hand and brings me back to him. "Tell me directly why you're really acting like this."I feel my stomach churn more as I look directly at him. "Have you slept with anyone since we got together?" The words come out of my mouth before I fully even process what I want
Sebastian"Don't worry. I can't ruin the family name more than you already have," he says before hanging up.I can't help but take the phone away from my ear and stare at it.Did that just happen? The audacity Noah has is amazing. What the fucking hell, man?"Are you off the phone?" Maximilian asks, causing me to look up at him."Yeah," I state, turning off my phone and placing it on my desk."Okay, good," he finally stops pacing, and I return to looking at my laptop. "On a scale of one to ten, how mad should we be that Via is skipping school again?"His words make me stop short. Did I hear him correctly?"What?" I ask, looking up from my laptop."I said," he clears his throat, "how should we deal with Via skipping school—""Again."Jesus Christ, my ears didn't deceive me. I did hear him correctly the first time. My girl really is skipping school yet again.Dammit, there I go with the "my girl" phrase when she doesn't even talk to me. I'm an idiot."Nothing. She said she wants space,"
MaximilianWe instantly grab the few things we have and get ready to leave."You guys seem really eager," she says with a small laugh as she wraps herself in a purple fuzzy blanket."Yeah, no shit we are," I mumble more to myself than to anyone in the room.She doesn't know how eager we are. Today has basically been the highlight of nearly two weeks.Via goes to pick up Lance, but Nathaniel stops her. "He's heavy. I got him."She nods, then follows us out of her house. We wait until she's done locking the door before heading to Alexander's house."Don't fall, firefly," Sebastian tells Via as he reaches a hand out for her and guides her through the snow.Once we get into Alexander's house, Via snuggles up into Sebastian's arm. No doubt because it's just as cold in here as it is outside."It's freezing," she says as we walk into Alexander's kitchen."Yeah, I didn't think I'd, let alone we'd be here today," Alexander says as he disappears into the living room."I'm going to go put Lance
MaximilianThat's where everything took a turn. It always goes back to four years ago, or in Alexander's instance, six years ago.I look at Via and watch as she studies us while taking small sips of her tea. How do we look in her point of view because from my point of view I don't see us as solid friends. Fuck, I don't even think we're friends period.Looking back on it, I don't think we actually were ever solid friends. We were more like acquaintances with a need for support to survive to some degree.Via stirs her cup of tea and tilts her head. She then narrows her eyes at me. "You expect me to believe that you guys would never lie to me again?" She looks away from me and down at her teacup. "I know you guys are great liars but don't lie about that too.""Via—" I trail off, not knowing exactly what to say.Well, that's false because I do know what I want to say but I know Via isn't going to want to hear it. She's set on being pissed at us, therefore anything I try to say will just b