Chapter 28

Evangeline

The sound of laughter. I must have fallen asleep during the movie.

I crack an eye open. My feet are in someone's lap, and there is a blanket draped over my body. Must be one of my brothers. How sweet of them.

A blurry figure looms over me. Lucas's face comes into view. He pokes my cheek. "Rise and shine, Princess." He moves to poke it again. I grunt and deflect his oncoming hand. "Why does everyone like to target my cheeks? Jesus."

"Cause you're so adorable, that's why!"

"Shut up."

A snigger from not too far away. I whip my head toward the source of the sound. My eyes widen as I spot a blue-haired boy lounging in the beanbag just across the room.

I freeze. The boy from the window! Indeed it is. Pretty ombré hair. Navy at the roots, fading to azure and ending with a striking electric blue at the tips.

That day, I wasn't able to make out his face.

Facial features similar to that of a feline. Sharp jawline. High cheekbones. Slightly upturned, aristocratic nose. His eyes are emerald green, but the pupils seem to be strangely elongated, leaving a cleft in the iris. However, the most cat-like thing about him is the huge Cheshire grin he gives me as our eyes meet.

"Owen Hale. I live next door." He offers me his hand. Lucas nods encouragingly, so I crawl over his lap on all fours to shake hands with Owen. Lethargy makes my movements sluggish, and I barely miss kneeing Lucas in the balls as I struggle to drag my ass over and across him.

"Evangeline." I offer him a sleepy smile. Right now, I'm too somnolent to care too much about the fact that he saw me half naked at the window, or that he's seeing me in this state. That shit can and shall be dealt with another time.

I shuffle back to Lucas's side and flop onto the opposite end of the sofa, too lazy to return to my room to sleep. I pull the quilt up to my chin, snuggling into the arm of the couch.

I'm not sure how I much time I spend listening to the boy's quiet chatter. The constant hum of conversation lulls me to sleep. Somewhere along the way, I am gathered up into strong arms. I thinks it's Lucas. I try to tell him that it's okay to put me down, that I can walk to my room myself, but exhaustion overcomes me, and I welcome the embrace of oblivion.