Page 50 of Unbidden

As we descend the stairs, the boy from earlier yells something at us, but I don’t stop. I pull Tinsley all the way out to the car, practically shoving her inside before racing around to the driver side.

Once we’re buckled in and on the road, I can feel the adrenaline pumping through my blood starting to wane. My hands sting, but I push that all aside.

“Are you okay, Tinsley?”

“Yeah. Thank you for coming to get me.” She sniffles.

“T, honey, why are you crying? Did he do something? Do I need to murder him?”

She chuckles a bit. “No, but he was very persistent. I kept telling him Reed would be waiting up, but he didn’t want to leave.”

“Speaking of Reed, you need to call him.”

“My phone’s dead.”

“You can use mine.” I hand it over.

I watch as she dials the number but doesn’t press Send.

“What are you waiting for? You know he’s out searching for you.”

She lets out a sigh. “I know. I just don’t want to hear how they were right and I’m not ready to date.”

I hold my hand out. “Give it here.”

She gives me a confused look.

“I’ll talk to them.” I press Send as she chews on her bottom lip.

“Yeah,” his gruff voice answers on the second ring.

“Hey, Reed. It’s Sage.”

“How the fuck did you get my number? You know what? It doesn’t matter. I don’t have time. I can’t talk.”

“Wait!” I call out before he hangs up. “Tinsley’s with me.”

“What? Tins is with you? Why?” His voice becomes even harder.

“She called and asked me for a ride. I’m taking her back to your house. I just wanted to call and let you know. She’s safe. Don’t hound her as soon as we get there.”

“Who do you think you are to tell me what to do? She’s my sister. I will give her a lecture on missing curfew and then find out why she called you instead of me.”

I scoff. “With a tone like yours, I wonder why. We’ll be there in ten. I hope you aren’t home yet,”

I hang up and throw the phone in the cubby, ignoring the set of buzzes coming from it.

“I might’ve either bought you some time or made it worse. Reed honestly brings out the worst in me. You should have called Keaton. He would have listened.”

She sighs. “I know, but Reed is the one who’s going to lecture me the most. He stepped into the parental role when we were kids since ours are too busy for us. Mom tried to hire nannies, but Reed and Keat would chase them off until Mom finally agreed to let Reed be in charge. I know he can be a real asshole sometimes, but it’s only because he had to grow up too fast.”

“As far as I can tell, you’ve all had to grow up faster than you should have. Don’t give him too much credit.”

“In some ways, yes, but in others, I still have some growing to do. Like tonight. Grown me would have called as soon as Asher ditched our movie in favor of a party, but he said he liked me and wanted me to meet his friend. I didn’t realize when he said his friend, he meant his penis.”

I grip the wheel tighter. “Did he touch you?”

“No,” she says with conviction. “Not at all. I mean, I know what you walked in on, but I didn’t mind kissing him. I just didn’t want to go further.”

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