Page 39 of The Pinkie Pact

"Hallelujah," Kara said, not bothering to hide her mouth full of the hot, crusty bread.

Kieran rolled his eyes at her as he sat back down at the table.

"So is that a shocking breakup or something?" I asked. "Like how long were they together?"

He paused his forkful of salad halfway to his lips. "They were actually engaged. The wedding was supposed to be this summer here in DC."

"Oh, wow. At least it's early, and hopefully, they can still get most of their money back."

Kieran smiled at me. "Very practical."

Now that Christina had left, the atmosphere around the table suddenly relaxed and became almost fun as we soon finished off the food.

Kara reached for her bag. "Oh, can't forget. We brought dessert."

We did? I had completely forgotten, so I was glad when Kara brought out a big soft sugar cookie for us to share. She cut it up into thirds, and we all devoured it.

I started to clean up, but Kieran stopped me, putting his hand on my arm before quickly moving it away. "Don't worry about that. I'll get it later."

"Hey, Kieran, let's show Sky the roof deck," Kara said, clearly not concerned about all the dirty dishes sitting on the table.

Wine glasses in hand, we all bundled up and took the elevator to the top floor where there was a set of stairs leading to the deck. When Kieran opened the door and ushered us through, my breath caught at the beauty in front of me. The twinkling lights of the city spread out before us, the air somehow fresher up here.

Kieran and Kara pointed out different areas of interest as we walked around, and then we all pulled up deck chairs to the corner with the best view, putting our feet up on the railing.

And that was the moment I truly was able to see brother and sister in their element as they ended up telling me story after story about their childhood and all the times they got into trouble. I was surprised to see how well they got along, how they laughed together remembering, how much fun they had explaining everything in detail to me.

It left me with the warmest feeling to see them like this, all of us having such a great time together. I was beginning to realize they actually had a really close bond because they were on their own a lot. They definitely didn't mention their parents much in their stories.

After a long while, the door burst open, and a few other people came out onto the deck, so we decided to go back downstairs.

"Have you seen Mom's latest ads?" Kieran asked Kara in the elevator.

"No. But I'm sure you're about to show me, aren't you?" Kara said back.

He shook his head, and that was the first inkling I had that something strange was going on because after he stopped shaking his head, his hair seemed to keep moving. Very weird.

And then the elevator doors kind of looked warped as they opened. What the fuck was happening right now?

I stayed quiet as we took off our coats and sat down on the couch, Kara gesturing for me to sit in the middle. Kieran pulled up one of the ads he had mentioned on the TV, but I couldn't focus on it. Just a bunch of mouths moving. A bunch of words being spoken.

Did I drink too much wine? No. That wasn't it. Then what the hell was it? Should I say anything, or would they think I was crazy?

Looking at Kara's strange smile, I instantly realized what it was, and I had no idea how to feel. I was more than fine with it, of course, but I couldn't fucking believe she'd done that to her brother.

God, the poor guy. I just knew he'd be in for a rough ride, and my heart felt absolutely sick with worry about him. In that moment, though, I vowed to be there for him and do whatever it took to help him get through this.

My Anchor

Kieran

Sitting on the couch, I started to feel strange, not just due to the proximity ofher, but something else. Like the walls were moving and closing in on me, colors changing and shapes oscillating. What on earth was going on? Was I getting sick?

When the painting across from me started to wobble, I stared at it, but it wouldn't stay still. I really felt sick but like my mind was sick more than anything. This was creepy.

Right then, I felt Sky's eyes on me, and I turned to look at her, her face inches away from mine. Those blue eyes were brighter and almost tripping me out with their beauty.

And then I realized, damn it, Iwastripping. But how?

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