Chapter 54\u00a0<\/p>\n
I spun around, eyes wide with panic. What was he doing?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat are you talking about?\u201d Orion asked, confusion replacing some of the anguish in his voice.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m saying that I\u2019m the reason Athena left the pack five years ago,\u201d Tristan said, his voice steady but\u00a0<\/p>\n
filled with pain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTristan, don\u2019t,\u201d I pleaded, shaking my head frantically.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat did you do?\u201d Orion was walking toward Tristan now, and Tristan didn\u2019t even flinch away from\u00a0<\/p>\n
the threat in his posture.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I ran between them, blocking Orion\u2019s path. \u201cDon\u2019t listen to him! I left because I needed space to breathe. Because I could se\u00e8 Mom and Dad everywhere looked, in every corner of the house, every street\u00a0<\/p>\n
in town. I should have talked to you about how I was feeling, but instead I just ran away because I was\u00a0<\/p>\n
being selfish.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Orion pulled me against him, and I could feel him wanting to believe my words.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThen what\u2019s Tristan talking about?\u201d he asked his gaze not leaving Tristan guilty face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What the fuck is wrong with Tristan? I\u2019m pissed but I can\u2019t show it because, Orion would suspect.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Is Tristan trying to make Orion commit murder or what? His he tired of life and wants Orion to help\u00a0<\/p>\n
end it?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had an argument the night before I left,\u201d I said, the lies coming easier now that I was protecting both of them. \u201cYou know how we used to butt heads sometimes. But I swear, that wasn\u2019t the real reason I\u00a0<\/p>\n
left.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was lying through my teeth, and I think part of Orion knew it, but he wanted to believe me. He needed to believe that there was a simple explanation, that his two favorite people hadn\u2019t been keeping devastating secrets from him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI shouldn\u2019t have let you leave,\u201d he said, his voice thick with regret. \u201cI should have told you that your place was here, with your family and your pack. With me and Tristan.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I nodded against his chest, relief flooding through me that he seemed to be accepting my explanation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
20:35 Sat, Jan 3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 54\u00a0<\/p>\n
2.11%\u00a0<\/p>\n
But I could feel Tristan\u2019s eyes on me, and I knew this conversation wasn\u2019t over. The truth had a way of coming out eventually, no matter how hard you tried to bury it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For now, though, we were all together again. Broken and scarred and carrying secrets, but together.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I\u2019m back now, and I promise I won\u2019t leave again,\u201d I said, pulling back to look at both of them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll tell you whenever something\u2019s troubling me. And you can tell me too you don\u2019t have to be the strong one all the time, Orion. And you too Tristan. I know I\u2019m your little sister but I\u2019m not little anymore.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I turned to Tristan, searching his face.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI promise I\u2019ll tell you everything when I\u2019m ready. I\u2019m just\u2026 I\u2019m not ready now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He ran his hands through his hair, giving me that pleading look I remembered from when we were kids and he\u2019d broken something but didn\u2019t want to get in trouble.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s okay. Take your time.\u201d I say and I mean it, I\u2019m not going to force him to say anything he isn\u2019t\u00a0<\/p>\n
ready to say.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2026.Later that evening, we all sat in Orion\u2019s living room, and I had Lily, Orion\u2019s four\u2013year\u2013old daughter, curled up on my lap asking me questions I didn\u2019t know how to answer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When I\u2019d first seen her at the door, I hadn\u2019t thought twice before wrapping her in the tightest hug I\u00a0<\/p>\n
could manage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAunt Athena!\u201d she\u2019d squealed the moment she spotted me, running toward me with all the boundless\u00a0<\/p>\n
energy only a child could possess.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was shocked that she could recognize me. This was the first time we\u2019d actually met face to face. I wouldn\u2019t have recognized her if I\u2019d passed her on the street.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWait till you get inside,\u201d Tristan had said with a knowing smile, but I hadn\u2019t understood until I\u2019d\u00a0<\/p>\n
walked into the living room.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Pictures of me and Orion were everywhere. Photos of all three of us together, family portraits spanning years of birthdays and holidays. I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw our parents\u2018 pictures displayed prominently on the mantle \u2013 not just Mom and Dad, but Tristan\u2019s parents too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was even a group picture we\u2019d all taken together at my high school graduation, everyone grinning and looking so hopeful about the future. I couldn\u2019t help but smile, even with Lily wiggling impatiently in my arms.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
11%\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 54\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAunt Athena,\u201d she said, her little voice serious in the way only children could be, \u201cwhy don\u2019t you never come see me and Liam? Don\u2019t you like us?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The guilt hit me like a punch to the stomach.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLily, don\u2019t say that to your aunt,\u201d Sarah had scolded gently, then looked at me with apologetic eyes. \u201cI\u2019m really sorry. She doesn\u2019t understand\u2026..\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s nothing,\u201d I said with a nervous laugh. \u201cShe\u2019s just a child. That\u2019s how children are.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI think she takes after you,\u201d Tristan said, making me raise an eyebrow. \u201cOrion, correct me if I\u2019m wrong.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Orion shook his head, grinning. \u201cOh no, he\u2019s absolutely right.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAthena was the most curious little thing when she was small,\u201d Tristan continued, making me blush. \u201cAlways asking questions that made adults want to disappear.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cStop it, Tristan,\u201d I said, laughing despite my embarrassment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor real though,\u201d Orion jumped in, his eyes lighting up with mischief. \u201cRemember that time Aunt\u00a0<\/p>\n
Corrie came over for Thanksgiving?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tristan burst out laughing, and I felt my stomach drop because I had no idea what they were talking\u00a0<\/p>\n
about.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe asked Aunt Corrie why she only came over when there was food, and if she didn\u2019t eat at her own house,\u201d Orion finished, making me want to crawl under the couch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They were talking about my childhood like I was still five years old. This was the disadvantage of having an older brother who was eight years older than me \u2013 he remembered every embarrassing thing I\u2019d\u00a0<\/p>\n
ever done.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOr that time she asked Mrs. Henderson why she\u2026..\u201d Tristan started.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cTristan, if you say one more word,\u201d I warned, handing Lily over to Sarah as I stood up and moved\u00a0<\/p>\n
toward him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He jumped up, laughing. \u201cIt\u2019s not that embarrassing\u00a0<\/p>\n
I growled in frustration. He hadn\u2019t changed one bit. He still loved teasing me every chance he got.\u00a0<\/p>\n
3\/4\u00a0<\/p>\n
20:35 Sat, Jan 3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Chapter 54\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t you dare,\u201d I warned, but I was fighting back smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Memories Drifted Into Soft Silence by Kyx Frost 54 Chapter 54\u00a0 I spun around, eyes wide with panic. What was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[77],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-the-second-gear-of-love-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26211","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26211"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26211\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}