Page 10 of Tethered Fates

I’m about to turn when a pair of white headlights come my way. Wincing from the glare, I sidestep onto the muddy edges of the road to avoid the car, the ice underneath my shoes crunching.

Tyres squeak as it begins to slow, and I bring my forearm up to shield my eyes, gripping my skateboard as the rounded, dark vehicle gradually slows beside me. There’s a click before the window rolls down, and only when I see a fluffy purple coat do I relax.

“Hey, babe, you alright?”

“Summer,” I breathe out, relieved to see a familiar face. She works as a handywoman at the same tattoo studio as Kai. “I’m… alright, I guess.”

Summer’s eyebrows pull in. “That doesn’t sound okay.” She indicates to the passenger seat with her chin, the blonde hair she’s pulled into a ponytail falling over her shoulder. “Need a ride?”

I pause. I should go back to speak to Kai. But then again, what’d be the point if he’s going to keep lying?

So I nod.

She smiles, her eyes warming. “Hop in.”

Chapter Four - Teagan

Tyres wheeze as we roll to a stop and park outside my parents’ unremarkable home. In an unremarkable suburb, each house with the same unremarkable square of green out front.

My thoughts keep returning to Sen. He was a dark, alluring figure against the night, and the palette of his colours is one I’m desperate to play with. What could I create with his sapphire-at-midnight hair? Or the nocturnal brilliance in his eyes? His dusky tan skin?

My fingers itch, my mouth wet and hot at the idea of exploring every inch of him.

“Ready to talk about the fight you had with Kai?” Summer asks.

I shrug, my bomber jacket rustling against her fluffy purple coat in the small space of her car.

Summer’s chin bobs. “I get it, babe.” She hesitates, the obsidian rings on her fingers glistening like wet rock. “Kai and I…had a bit of a falling out, too.”

I glance at her, curious to hear more.

Summer lets loose a heavy sigh and drops her head on the backrest, blonde hair spilling around her face like strands of gold in the overhead light.

I wait for her to speak; I’ve never minded silence, it means I get to watch Summer bring her hand up to stare at her rings, and the way they catch the light but don’t seem to reflect it, making the car feel darker. Not in a bad way, but comforting like when I’m huddled under a warm blanket.

After a beat, Summer says, more to herself, “I don’t think Kai will ever forgive me.”

I blink once, waiting for more morsels of information.

Summer rolls her face to meet mine, smiling sadly and eyebrows drawn down. “I regret upsetting him, Teagan. But…urgh! If he’d just told me about his…secret, we wouldn’t be in this bloody mess.”

“He lied to you, too?”

Her hazel gaze sticks to me, searching for something, and from the corner of my eye, her ringed fingers twitch, like coaxing something from thin air before dropping her palms into her lap.

Summer leans in closer, eyes glinting with sympathy and something else. An expression I don’t understand, like she’s just learned something interesting.

I hope she tells me; I love interesting things.

“Yeah, babe,” she replies slowly. “In fact, everyone but Luuk knew.” Another friend who works at the tattoo studio, another person Kai has lied to. It’s all so unlike my brother.

I suck in the tiniest breath.

“Has Kai been keeping things from you, as well?” Summer frowns, tilting her head to the side, golden strands falling into her eyes. “But Kai never lies to you.”

I scoff, crossing my arms. “Vidar’s messing with his head.”

“Vidar? He’s the one who told Kai to lie to me, too,” Summer replies. “And…er, it’s a bit awkward but…”