Page 28 of Her Nightshade

“Morning, Mom,” Sloane muttered, her eyes flicking towards Charlie and then quickly back to her phone. I couldn’t help but notice the way her posture stiffened, how Callan would barely acknowledge us.

Charlie, calm on the surface but clearly more tense than usual, slid a plate in front of me. “For you,” he said quietly with a small smile.

I took my seat, but my mind was already spinning, trying to piece together why the room felt so stiff. Maybe they were upset with each other? Sloane and Callan weren’t arguing last night, but something must have happened. Something wasn’t right.

Or…had they heard us last night and this morning? The thought shot through my mind like a bolt of lightning. I swallowed hard, the heat creeping up my cheeks. Charlie and I hadn’t exactly been quiet and now I wondered if they heardeverything.

I glanced at Sloane, trying to read her expression. Was she avoiding eye contact because she knew? She wasn’t exactly shy talking about sex, but maybe actuallyhearingher own mother was another thing altogether. The thought made me shift uncomfortably in my seat, my palms sweaty under the table.

Charlie sat beside me, his hand finding its place on my knee under the table, but my focus was elsewhere. Callan still hadn’t said much, and Sloane was unusually quiet, her eyes still fixated on her phone.

“Everything looks great,” I said, trying to break the silence, but the awkwardness lingered.

“Sorry if it’s a bit cold. Got a little distracted this morning,” Charlie teased, his hand tightening slightly on my knee.

My cheeks flushed and I glanced at Sloane who bit her lip slightly, a small smile lingering on her lips. “I bet,” she muttered.

I bit my lip, uneasy.Dios mio, theydidhear.

“How did you guys sleep?” I asked, hoping to shift the mood.

Sloane shrugged, her voice flat. “Fine.”

Callan was quiet for a moment, his eyes shifting between me and Charlie. “Yeah, I slept fine,” he finally said, his tone too casual.

The thought that they might’ve heard everything from last night only made the tension worse. I tried to shake it off, focusing on the breakfast in front of me.

Maybe it wasn’t just what they’d heard. Maybe something had happened between them, something I wasn’t part of. But that possibility didn’t ease my embarrassment at all.

I glanced around the room and it felt like something was about to snap. I was about to press them further when Sloane broke the silence, her voice now light and casual. “So, Mom,” she said, glancing at me with a sly smile. “It didn’t sound like you got much sleep last night?”

My cheeks immediately burned. Charlie’s hand tensed slightly on my knee and Callan glanced away with a subtle eye roll.

“Ay,” I muttered, burying my face in my hands, unable to stop the embarrassed laugh that escaped me. “You heard us.”

Sloane grinned and the tension in the room finally eased as she shrugged. “I think the whole building heard you,” she teased. “But hey, it’s your space. Do what you gotta do.”

I let out a relieved laugh, though I could still feel the lingering embarrassment. “Sloane…”

Charlie chuckled beside me, the tension lifting from his body as well. “Sorry about that,” he said, though his tone was unapologetic as he flashed me a wink.

Sloane waved it off. “Maybe you guys should like, I don’t know…soundproof your room.”

The room lightened, the awkwardness dissolving into something more familiar, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to this. Still, I let it go. Whatever tension had been building, Sloane seemed to smooth it over.

“I was thinking,” Sloane began as we cleaned up from breakfast, her voice low despite it being just the two of us in thekitchen. “We should go check out that new boutique thrift store that just opened down the street. Just the two of us.”

I nodded, smiling as I opened the dishwasher. “Sure, baby. That would be fun.” But as soon as I said it, a small tug of worry crept in, wondering what Charlie would do without me for a few hours. We had spent nearly every waking moment together this past week, and he made it clear that he never wanted to leave my side. But of course, we’d have to do things separately sometimes. It would be too suffocating if he were with me constantly…right? My head told me yes, but my heart said that I wanted him to follow me around like a little puppy.Perhaps I could even get him a leash…

“So, you and Charlie…” Sloane said, pulling me back from my thoughts. Her tone was serious with a subtle hint of concern. “I didn’t realize how serious this was.”

A flustered smile tugged at my lips and I shrugged, shaking my head slightly. “It’s just…intense, and I don’t know where it’s headed. I’m not even sure I’m ready for something serious,” I said softly, still not ready to admit my feelings out loud to anyone else yet.

Sloane let out a gentle laugh. “I think it’s too late for that, Mom. Charlie’s totally crazy about you. This morning, he even told me he loved you, and…it was a lot.” Her tone was teasing, but she was cautious, watching my reaction.

Wait—this morning?Was that why it felt so tense earlier? When did this happen?

Sloane answered my unspoken question. “We had a chat early this morning before you woke up,” she said, probably sensing my confusion.

---