I closed my eyes, the little hairs on my neck rising.
Winter. She was home, after all.
“What? Now?” Arion whined. “Have Mom help you when she gets back.”
Get the fuck out of the pool and get her what she wants.
“I don’t know why you want it.” Arion took my beer again. “It’s not even Halloween yet, and you can’t see the damn thing anyway. What’s the point?”
Bitch.
But even as my aggravation with Arion Ashby rose, the skin on my back warmed, knowing Winter was right there behind me.
And even if I tried, I couldn’t think of anything else right now.
What was I about to do to her sister just to get that same, exact feeling?
How did she get out here anyway, and how did she find her sister? I wanted to turn around, but I just stayed planted, listening.
“It has music,” Winter said, her tone growing defensive. “I like it, so what do you care?”
But Arion didn’t answer, and after a moment, her gaze dropped back down to me. Winter must’ve walked off.
Now that I knew she was home, any lukewarm interest I was able to muster for Arion had all but disappeared.
It has music. I like it.
I didn’t know if I felt responsible for the fact that she now only had four senses by which to experience the world, but it was a strange feeling to want to protect someone from others when I knew I’d be worse for her health than anyone.
I nudged Arion off and turned around, hopping out of the pool. Walking over to the table, I grabbed a fresh towel and glanced around, finding Winter near the pool house. Her hand was hooked around the arm of another girl about her age. That must’ve been how she made her way out here and found her sister.
Girls swarmed around her, and she looked overwhelmed but happy. Her mouth changed a lot, showing that she was a little nervous with all the commotion, the music, the people in her backyard… Folding her lips between her teeth, pursing it to one side, various hesitant but sweet smiles… She wasn’t used to this at all.
What kind of parties did she have at her blind school in Canada? And why the fuck did he send her all the way to Canada, as if she’d needed to be buried behind the curtain of some foreign country, so everyone would just forget about their less-than-perfect daughter? A wealthy family like hers could afford tutors for her to stay home if they thought regular school was too much. And if not, there were schools in the city.
Hooking the towel around my neck, I sat down at the table, instantly patting my shorts out of habit.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
I needed to find a cigarette.
“Get your sister a sweatshirt,” I heard Kai say to someone. “Everyone can see through her shirt.”
I shook my head, about to laugh.
“So don’t look at her tits,” Arion replied as she reached over the table to grab a towel. “She’s a kid.”
Sister.
Arion’s sister. I looked over, seeing Winter nodding to something someone was saying as her eyes lingered, unfocused toward the mid-section of the person in front of her.
She was barefoot in jeans and a white, ribbed tank top, a little stretched out and worn like she just did not care, but her face was clean of makeup, lips a natural dark pink and the barest remnants of curl left in her blonde ponytail as it draped past her shoulders. She was perfect.
A smile pulled at my lips, but I stopped myself and took a deep breath.
And that’s when I noticed the outline of her breasts through the fabric. The faint curves of the half-circles and then the points, more prominent with the chill in the air tonight. I darted my gaze left and right, noticing one group of guys looking over at her, speaking amongst themselves and laughing in unison at whatever was said.
Dumb fucks.