Page 49 of Secrets and S'mores
“I know the situation with her sucks. But I’ll second Onyx’s offer for you to stay.”
“Chickens are deployed and I’m starving!” Hazel announces, plopping down. She grabs the entire bowl of chips and starts to shove them into her mouth.
The conversation stays light, and Hazel laughs while telling us about Slate’s initial flirtations and then about how they finally got together. It’s sweet and makes me feel hopeful.
Footsteps on the porch announce Slate’s arrival.
“It’s late, let’s head home,” Marigold says to me.
Hazel wraps us in a tight hug before we slip out.
“Did you have fun tonight?” Marigold asks.
“Yeah.”
“No, seriously,” she says, giving me a hard look.
My arms cross over my chest. “I’ve never really had friends like this before, which sounds totally pathetic. But there aren’t a lot of women in our pack andnone of them are close to my age. So this was really nice.”
“Again, this is why you should stay.” She smiles, hoping I’ll suddenly change my mind and agree.
“Thank you for everything,” I say, waving at her as we split paths. She heads south toward her cabin with Jasper, and I climb the steps to the porch of Onyx’s home.
Cedar greets me with a simple, “Hello.”
The shower roars behind the hall bath’s door, so I guess Onyx is occupied. Pushing the disappointment down, I close the door to my room. It’s late and I really am tired. Despite the comfortable bed, my mind buzzes with everything from the last two days. The problems in my pack. My new friends. My mother’s awful texts. But mainly, my new boyfriend.
My phone beeps with another message from my mother, demanding my attention. My stomach churns as I turn my phone to silent and place it face-down on the dresser, far from my bed. Tomorrow I’ll have to face her demands. But not tonight.
11 Video Games & Violence
Onyx
Ember gets home from her girls' night late and goes straight to bed. I listen from the hallway as her breathing evens out. It might be desperate, but I can’t help myself.
The next morning Ember bakes scones with my mother while I watch from the table. She listens to everything my mother says and asks intelligent questions. Her green hair shimmers as she laughs.
“What do you think?” she asks intently as I take a bite of the blackberry scone smeared with butter. It’s still warm and the pastry is tender.
“You are an incredible baker. And don’t tell my mom, but you might be even better than she is,”I say. Mom smiles from the doorway before she heads out, giving us privacy.
“What should we do today? Since I have another free day being an unwanted and involuntary guest,” she says.
A grin spreads across my face. “Want to play some video games?”
To my delight, she agrees.
She settles on the sofa in the family room while I run to grab a few video games. When my hand reaches for the case on my shelf, something small rolls under my fingers.
What the hell?
Pinching the item, I open my hand and frown down at a tiny translucent orange chicken. Frowning at it, I spot a second one sitting higher on the shelf, tucked behind a figurine. This one is green.
The chickens tumble in my palm as I wander back into the family room.
“Whatcha got there?” Ember asks. There’s something more than casual curiosity in her voice, and I narrow my eyes at her.
“Do you know anything about tiny chickens?”
