“Katie found an apartment for us but we have to start paying on it this month.” Ashleigh shrugged. “So, I’m gonna head back and help her set it up.”
“Fine.” Scarlett couldn’t believe Ashleigh would just leave. She already left Scarlett to handle everything the last two years while their mom was still alive. Why not just make Scarlett deal with everything else?
“You’ve always wanted your own space.” Ashleigh grabbed the remote and switched the channel to an America’s Next Top Model rerun. “Now you’ll have it.”
“Awesome.” Scarlett fought back the tears pooling behind her eyes. If Ashleigh didn’t need her, she didn’t need Ashleigh. Having a sister was overrated.
The piano in the corner of the room caught Scarlett’s attention. A thick layer of dust covered it, dulling the brightness of the sage green paint underneath. She and her mom had painted it when Scarlett was in middle school. Its original wood had faded and wasn’t worth saving and Scarlett wanted to make it her own, so she and her mom went to the store and bought a quart of paint—in whatever color Scarlett wanted—and borrowed a sander from the neighbor. Together, they gave the old piano a new life.
Scarlett hadn’t touched it since she found her mom. She hadn’t played it or even cleaned it. She’d dusted every other inch of the house, but she couldn’t bring herself to do anything to the piano.
Scarlett grabbed her purse and the keys to her mom’s car and stormed back out the door.
She looked around the block. Had Cade followed her home? She didn’t see him, thank god. The last thing she wanted to deal with was some supernatural freak of a creature. Or worse, a hallucination. Scarlett got in the car and drove to Natalie’s. She blared the car radio to drown out the anger seething from her. Even though she didn’t know the words, the thumping of the bass distracted her. At least she still had her best friend. Natalie lived across town. The benefit to living in a place so small was that you could get from one side to the other in a few minutes. Scarlett kept looking in her rearview mirror. Would Cade follow her? Did he drive? Scarlett doubted it, which made her even more nervous.
When she turned onto Natalie’s block, she saw the group of cars parked in front. Scarlett recognized a few. Peter’s Honda. Bailey’s mom’s van. Teddy’s old Camaro. Teddy. He must be home from summer break. Scarlett’s pulse jumped. She had barely talked to Teddy since Christmas time. The day she broke up with him. The shock in his eyes when she said it was over. He was the one good guy she dated and she blew it. No shock there.
Scarlett parked a few houses down. She used to just walk into Natalie’s. They’d been friends since the first day of kindergarten. Practically sisters. Things got a bit awkward when Scarlett started seeing Teddy. He was Natalie’s brother. Natalie wasn’t happy when Scarlett suddenly ended it with no explanation, but a week later, when Scarlett found her mom’s body, Natalie acted like nothing with Teddy had happened. Scarlett and Natalie, best friends again.
At first, when Natalie invited her to hang out, Scarlett did. They went to at least a party every weekend where Scarlett drank her pain away. A temporary fix, but a small respite was better than nothing. The last few months, Scarlett kept to herself. During the week, she’d focused on school. On the weekends, she’d lost herself in a Netflix binge; any reality was better than hers.
It took Scarlett a minute to get the courage, but finally, she knocked on the door.
Natalie opened it with a beer bottle in her hand. “Oh my god, Scarlett. Are you okay?” She pulled Scarlett into a hug, seeming thinner than the last time Scarlett had hugged her. “Come in.”
The front door opened into the living room. It was a small house, but the open floor plan made it seem bigger than it actually was. The room reeked of beer. A few people sat on the sectional. A few others, including Teddy, stood in the kitchen, his arm wrapped around a girl in a short, black skirt and heels. Her jet-black hair hit the middle of her back. Teddy laughed at something she whispered. His eyes crinkled like they always did when he smiled. He hadn’t noticed Scarlett, yet.
“I’m okay,” Scarlett said as she looked back to Natalie. “I can come back later. I don’t want to interrupt.”
“No, stay.” Natalie grabbed Scarlett’s hand and pulled her into the living room. “Look who came to join us.” Natalie smiled. Still her outgoing self, though the bags under her eyes made her look tired. “I think this calls for a drinking game.”
Teddy’s grin disappeared when he saw Scarlett. She stared into his eyes. How could she say she was sorry with just a look? Natalie handed Scarlett a beer. It had been over six months since Scarlett had drunk—the last time she went to a party at Bailey’s. Teddy was there with the school skank, who’d had her eyes on him since freshman year. Scarlett drank. A lot. So much, she spent all night in the bathroom, where Teddy found her and held her hair as she became one with the toilet. He didn’t talk to Scarlett then, but he was there for her like he promised he always would be.
Breaking up with him was the right thing to do. He deserved better than Scarlett.
Scarlett gulped half the beer her first drink. It tasted as bad as it used to, but Scarlett knew too well how it felt after she drank enough.
Everyone gathered in the living room and played a game. Scarlett finished her first beer and started another, the buzz tingling her skin.
Ashleigh was right. Scarlett was a screw up. Why should she bother changing now? She was here with people who understood her. Might as well enjoy herself. Scarlett pressed the beer to her lips and chugged.
With his fae senses, Cade could find Scarlett as long as she didn’t get too far away. If she stayed within a few miles, he could evanesce to her. When a fae fed on someone, a link was formed. Cade closed his eyes and reached for Scarlett’s aura. Once he connected to it, his body became energy that moved through the air swiftly until it found its destination.
Cade had followed Scarlett to a small house at the edge of the human town. The house looked like every other house on the block. Single story. Tan in color. Worn out roofs. Nothing spectacular. But this house was fuller than the others. He could feel the alcohol buzzing inside.
Wearing an invisible glamour, Cade went around the house and through a gate. A German Shepherd growled at him from the back porch. Cade hissed and the dog whimpered. Humans bragged themselves the superior species, but they had the dullest senses. Cade opened the blinds of the sliding door with his magic and peeked inside. Past the empty kitchen, a group sat around a sectional with beers in their hands. Scarlett held a beer in one hand and with the other, tapped a finger on her thigh, her gaze pointed downward.
Cade inhaled her nervousness.
An idea came to him. Summer fae usually dressed more formal than the average human. Especially a prince like Cade. Normally he didn’t use glamour for clothing. It was a hassle. Actually wearing clothes was easier and didn’t require any magic. But showing up in the suit he was wearing would look too suspicious, so for tonight, glamour it was. He shifted his suit into jeans and a Pink Floyd t-shirt he’d seen before—a human enough outfit.
Cade knocked on the door.
“Guys, shhh,” a voice said. “Hide the beer.”
Cade chuckled. Humans and their laws. The fae didn’t drink beer, but they had their own kind of wine. All the fae enjoyed it, even the children. It fueled their powers. Made them happy. And it didn’t have the bad habit of causing belligerent fighting like human alcohol. All that human emotion fired up Cade’s magic, so he wasn’t complaining.
A short girl opened the door. “Can I help you?” Her blood shot eyes blinked at him. She kept her mouth shut, likely hiding the beer on her breath. If Cade were a cop, she had bigger problems to worry about. The whole house reeked.