Infinity Chronicles Book Two Read online

“Maybe we could talk to the others, I think I’m as ready as I can be at this point. I know there’s still so much I need to learn, but maybe if we came out,” the words feel weird but I can’t think of anything else that fits, “it might actually help find my mom. Maybe someone knows her or knew her.”

  “We’ll talk to them tonight,” Milo confirms his hands still holding mine as he leans down and give me a quick peck at the corner of my mouth. I don’t even have time to return his affection before he turns and leaves the bathroom.

  Should it feel strange that I was kissing Ares just a little while ago, and Milo just kissed me less than ten minutes later? My head is telling me it’s not okay, that people would call me names, but the light feeling I have in my stomach and the grin on my lips says something else altogether. And what about the guys, do they know that Ares has already kissed me, would they be mad?

  As my thoughts spiral, Ollie pokes his head in the door. “Almost ready?” His blond hair is pulled back in a low ponytail near the back of his neck, a few shorter pieces have already fallen out, framing his perfect jaw line. I know he’ll end up taking the elastic out and redoing it several times throughout the day, maybe even abandoning the hair tie to let it hang down to his shoulders. His light green eyes run up my legs slowly. Ollie seems to have the same fascination with my legs that Ares has with my neck. I’ve noticed that every time I wear my sleep shorts, his eyes rarely meet mine.

  “Yes. Just finishing up in here. I have to throw my clothes on.”

  A slow grin lights up Ollie face. “Want me to grab you something?” I’m shaking my head no before he even finishes. “What? There was nothing wrong with what I chose,” he defends in mock outrage.

  “Ollie,” I warn, my tone full of disapproval. “If I had worn that to school, I would have been sent home on a dress code violation.”

  A low chuckle sounds. “We wouldn’t have even made it to school, Ares would have killed us both.” He leaves me then, returning to the bedroom. I follow behind him, tempted to hop on his back just because it seems fun.

  Curbing the desire, I head over to the closet disguised as a wall and slide the partition back. Dante is lounging on the second bed. His arms folded behind his head as he stares up at the ceiling. His mind wanders so easily. It’s easy to see why he’s such a magnificent artist. I think he spends half his time daydreaming. When I first met him, I labeled him the bad boy, but in truth, he’s so much deeper than that.

  I bite my lip and thank whoever is responsible for my good fortune. Maybe it has something to do with my connection to the four of them, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more handsome group than my guys. Dante’s dark hair, though a few shades lighter than his brother’s, is pushed back from his face. The beginning of dark stubble is visible on his chin and jaw. Some days he goes without shaving, today is one of those days. Though it only reaffirms his bad boy persona, I love the way it looks.

  He tilts his chin down and looks at me. It’s only then I realize I’ve been caught staring instead of getting dressed like I should be. “Okay?” he questions in that deep voice that always manages to work its way right into my blood stream.

  “Just thinking,” I reply, heading into the closet. I hear him shift on the bed, his footsteps nearing behind me.

  “About?” Dante rarely wastes words. I find myself wishing he would go on and on just so I could hear him speak.

  I’ve gotten better about always blushing, but I still feel a flush rise to my cheeks. “What I’m going to wear to school today.”

  I feel him over my shoulder as he leans in close to whisper, “Liar.” His words hold no anger, nor humor. “If you look at me like that when you’re thinking about clothes, I shouldn’t have anything to do with putting them on.” I spin around with my mouth open in surprise. Dante doesn’t even blink. He meets my stare and challenges me, raising a brow.

  I snap my lips closed, I don’t even know how to respond to that. I wasn’t really going as far as thinking of him naked, but now that he’s put the thought in my head, I can’t get it out. Dante reaches out, his finger and thumb snatching a chunk of hair, letting it run through his fingers. “You should get dressed, unless you need help?”

  I narrow my eyes, now he’s just trying to goad me. I turn away, my hair pulling from his fingers as I do. I jerk down the first pair of new jeans my hands land on. I’ve thanked them for all the clothes several times and at first, I was reluctant to take them, but it’s been so nice to have more than two or three jeans to wear all week, and man does it save me from having to do laundry so often. Thankfully, the clothing they bought is pretty similar to what I’ve always worn. They are a lot nicer, and fit so much better, but they’re not trying to make me play dress up—well Ollie does, but that’s not the point. Peering over my shoulder to watch his reaction, I snag the black t-shirt hanging farther down the line, it’s Dante’s. He stands back, his arms crossing over his chest, but his face is a mask of indifference. Pushing past him, I take my finds into the bathroom and using my butt, I push the door closed.

  Dante’s shirt is too big, but I’ve already committed so I’m going to make it work. I try tucking it in, but it’s so long that it makes my hips and stomach look lumpy, not attractive. I settle with tying a big knot in the back. It pulls the waist tighter than I’m used to, but the top is still extra big, so I don’t feel like it’s too much. Turning, I check out my handy work in the back and have second thoughts. You can see a small triangle of my lower back, but I’m afraid to retie the knot, it was hard enough the first time.

  “Time to go,” Ollie yells as he bangs on the door.

  “Damn this stupid idea,” I mutter, and with my head held high I step into the bedroom, finding all four of them waiting on me.

  My brow furrows, is there something going on? Usually Ares is running interference with Mia while Dante or Ollie start the car. That leaves me with one or two tops to get out to the car and then to school. Why are they all here? I forget about my shirt altogether.

  Dante slaps his hand over his eyes. “Bad idea.”

  “What is?” My eyes skip from one to the other, while I wait for an answer.

  “Nothing Laura, everything is perfect.” Ollie is trying to suppress a grin, but failing. He wraps his arm over my shoulder and leads me from the room. I hear Dante groan out a long sigh as we leave.

  “Where’s Mia?” I whisper, looking around like she might pop out from behind a corner.

  “Ares said she wouldn’t be up for a few hours, she was up pretty late.”

  My lips tighten in a thin line and my muscles go rigid. “And what did Ares say they were doing up so late?” My voice is low, coming out pinched between clenched teeth.

  Ollie stops and looks down at me. “Don’t spark up on me now,” he warns, his face serious. I pull away from him.

  So far, I’ve only sparked up, as Ollie calls it, one other time on accident. It seems to be heavily tied to my emotions. That’s another reason we keep everything friendly at school.

  Touching Ollie always makes the connection flare. Lately I’ve been feeling a different pull when Ares touches me, but now that I know I might light up like a firework, it’s easier to push the feeling away.

  “Give me a little credit, I’ve been practicing,” I mutter, sulking down the hall. I make it to the car before the others. Ares didn’t even say goodbye to me when I left. I’m not holding out hope I’ll be able to ask him in person what he was doing with Mia.

  Two

  Dante gets in the driver’s seat, leaving Milo and Ollie to sort out which one of them will take the front seat. I’ve already claimed one in the back.

  I’ve gotten used to arriving at school with the guys. The first few times I actually walked in with them, I acted like I didn’t catch how many people stopped and watched, now I don’t have to pretend so much.

  Delany hasn’t even looked in my direction since the night at the diner last week. I’ve seen her around Dante a few times, but she acts like I don’t e
ven exist, which is strange considering that’s all I wanted in the beginning.

  I walk into my homeroom with my backpack still over my shoulder. A lot of the bigger schools I’ve been to don’t allow you to bring bags into class, but the teachers don’t bat a lash at all the kids skipping their locker and toting their books around with them. I get a few head nods, and even a couple hellos as I pass by, making my way toward my seat. Mostly I still keep my head low, I don’t like all the attention that comes with hanging out with the guys, but I’ll deal with it because the rewards are worth it.

  After a quick round of attendance, the teacher ignores us. I, like many others in the class, use the time to make sure I have everything I’ll need for all my other classes. There’s some talking, but it’s still early, half the kids are sipping from insulated cups getting in a dose of caffeine.

  The hallways are loud as we change classes and I’m trying to make my way to third hour when someone taps my shoulder. Looking back, I find Charlie. I haven’t seen too much of him since he came into the diner. We’ve passed each other in the halls, but he hasn’t attempted to talk to me. “Hey, how are you?” I ask, the question just rolling off my tongue. I’m not really sure what he thinks after the encounter with Ares, but he has a small, sheepish grin on his face.

  “I’m good, been kind of busy.” He looks away. “How about you?” he asks.

  Slowing my steps, but still walking in the direction I need to go, I nod. “Yeah, I’ve been kinda busy too. So, what’s up?”

  Charlie keeps pace with me, he’s jostled a few times from oncoming students rushing to class. “Nothing really, I was just wondering how you’re holding up, it’s tough being the new kid and all.”

  Reaching up for my backpack straps, I run my hands across them few times. I don’t really know him well. I realize he’s making small talk, but I’m not great at it. “It’s okay. I’ve been working a lot, and school isn’t so bad.”

  “And hanging out with Dante and his friends?” Charlie adds.

  “Yeah, I guess.” I’m not sure what else to say about that so I just keep walking.

  “So, are you dating one of them?” My steps falter. Am I? I don’t really know what we are other than I think of them as mine, but if I told that to Charlie, he would assume I was crazy, because I wouldn’t be talking about only one of them.

  I shrug. “I have to go, I’m going to be late for class.” I rush away before he can ask me anymore questions.

  I’m only a few steps from my classroom when Ollie pokes his head out looking left, then right, in my direction. His brow furrows, and he steps fully into the hall.

  “Something wrong?” Ollie’s eyes scan the hall behind me. “I was worried you might be late.”

  I don’t want to tell him Charlie asked me a question that has me all flustered, so I just grab the sleeve of his hoodie and tow him with me to our seats. “No, nothing’s wrong.” Ollie eyes me with a tilted head. “Did you get your test results back in Bio?” Dropping into my seat with my bag on the desk, I try for a change of subject. Ollie is typically easy to distract.

  He doesn’t take the bait this time though. “Was that Charlie I saw behind you? What did he want?”

  I busy myself by taking my book and notebook out. “Nothing, he was just saying hi.” I don’t know what Ollie would think if I told him what Charlie asked me. I was afraid he or the other guys would assume I was the one asking about our relationship status. I’d rather ignore the topic altogether for right now.

  Ollie stays quiet, I look over my shoulder, but his head is down. When he looks up, I watch as his shoulder lifts and he shoves his phone into his front pocket. He meets my eyes and opens his mouth, but the tardy bell rings, cutting him off.

  We don’t have a chance to talk much in class, which I’m grateful for. I don’t like not being honest with him, and by the way he keeps looking at me, I expect he knows I’m acting a little off. Giving him a wave and a smile over my shoulder as I walk out of class, I find Milo already waiting for me in the hall.

  “Oh, are you meeting Ollie? He’s coming.”

  “No, I’m here for you,” Milo says and looking over my shoulder, he tilts his chin up, acknowledging someone behind me—Ollie I’m sure.

  “Why?” I can’t keep the surprise from my tone.

  Milo wraps his hand around the backpack strap high on my chest. I know immediately he’s going to take it, so I shift my shoulder and turn so it slides off easily. “I’m walking you to class.”

  “Okay…” I let the word hang between us, he’s never walked me to class before. I barely see Milo throughout the day other than lunch. We don’t share any classes. Once he has my bag, he lifts his hand in a go ahead gesture. Shaking my head, I lead the way to my next class. Milo doesn’t even speak to me on the way. He’s stalking behind with his head on a swivel as he watches the surrounding kids. I slow down and he barely notices, bumping into me when I turn to face him.

  “Milo, is something wrong?” I scan the halls much like he was doing, looking for whatever has him on alert.

  “Nothing, we need to get to class.” I recognize a brush off when I hear it, I just gave the same line to Charlie. I spin back around, my steps a little heavier than needed, and stomp away. Milo lays his hand gently on my shoulder.

  “You don’t need to run.” He doesn’t let go, instead he closes the distance between us, walking right on my heels. I navigate the halls until my classroom door becomes visible. When I turn to face him, he’s already looking down at me. “You’ll tell me if someone bothers you.” I guess he meant for it to come out as a request, but it fails miserably. It’s an all-out demand.

  Narrowing my eyes at him I ask, “Why, what do you know that I don’t? And please don’t tell me…” I look around making sure no one is listening to us. I lean up on my toes to get closer as I whisper, “Delaney has remembered I exist.”

  When I drop back on my feet, Milo grins down at me. “I don’t think she forgot about you. I think it’s more like she wishes she could forget about you.”

  I roll my eyes. “As long as she keeps doing it, I don’t care what she’s telling herself.” Milo’s hand lands on my cheek seconds before I feel his lips on mine in a sweet peck. When he pulls away, he looks down at me. His eyes are blown wide and his lips are parted. He looks as surprised by his actions as I am. A shy smile forms on my mouth. Milo just kissed me, and he looks positively freaked out, or scared. One or the other.

  After a few seconds pass, his lips turn up with a self-satisfied grin. “You need to go to class.” His voice is a low whisper. I nod, agreeing with him, but continue to stand there looking at him. Milo uses his hands on my shoulders to turn me, holding me in place. The weight of the backpack falls on my shoulders as he slips it on. A slight push toward my class gets my feet moving in the direction I need to go. I don’t notice the people around me, I don’t even care my teacher is about to close the door as I slip past her. All I can feel is the softness of Milo’s lips on mine

  Chapter 2

  Dante finds me a few seconds after my class gets over. Typically, we all meet in my stairwell and share lunch, but today he directs me toward the cafeteria. I want to drag my feet. To argue that our lunch spot is so much better, but it’s like he knows me or something.

  “Laura, Milo and Ollie are already waiting for us. You don’t need to hide away in some corner, we should have been coming here to eat ages ago. I think we just liked having you to ourselves.” I open my mouth to give him some reason why our private lunches are better, but he continues. “Milo told us he kissed you.” That shuts me right up. What should I say to that? Will he be mad? “Probably wasn’t the best idea considering we’re trying to keep our relationship under wraps, but I wish I would have done it first.”

  My eyes snap up to his. Dante has a dark look, he’s one of the biggest guys in school. Before I knew him, I’d never want to tangle with someone like him, but in reality he’s sweet and thoughtful. When he goes quiet most people would
think he’s being all dark and broody, but nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, he is intense, yes he does have an edge, but that edge is buffered with a big soft spot for everyone he cares about.

  “You’re not mad?” My question comes out as a whisper, even though we’re mostly alone in the hall.

  Dante wraps his arm over my shoulder and squeezes me to his side. “Sometimes I wish you would have grown up like us, knowing what to expect when you found us.” I open my mouth again to apologize, but he places his finger over my lips, shushing me. “But I know you wouldn’t be you if you had. And you are perfect just the way you are.” Dante’s words are spoken just as softly as mine were, the deep timber of his voice rolling over the syllables.

  Something inside me melts with his words and I find myself wrapping my arm around his waist. I want to lay my head on his chest, to pull the feeling of contentment he’s exuding into me. But I know it’s dangerous, it’s not just his words, but the closeness I feel to them when their gifts are connecting us. The last thing I need at school is for someone to see me sparking up.

  “When are you going to shift for me?” I surprise myself by asking the question I’ve wanted to ask for a while. Dante releases me, I feel the loss of his touch immediately. Wrapping my arms over my stomach, I wonder if I’ve pushed him too far.

  “You want to see me shift?” His words are hushed and if I wasn’t waiting for his response, I wouldn’t have heard him. He reaches forward and grabs the handle for the lunchroom door. The noise hits me like a wave.

  But he hears my answer anyway. “I do. But I understand if it’s private or something.” I try to smooth over my blunder. If that’s not something he’s ready to share with me, that’s okay. I can wait. I make a show of peering around the crowded room looking for Ollie and Milo. Dante brushes his fingers against mine as he passes. I know he did it on purpose. It takes away a tiny bit of the sting I feel at his rejection.