Page 18 of Fight for Us

My jaw drops. I gape at him as he pulls away from me, shaking his head. His mood swings are honestly giving me whiplash. He never used to be like this.

‘I gotta go. Stay out of trouble,’ he mumbles.

Incredulous, I stare after him as he marches away. My head is spinning. Slowly turning, my eyes move around the yard. Nothing looks amiss. It’s weird to think all of that is going on beneath the surface. How long has this been happening? Why are they experimenting? So many questions whirl around inside my head.

As I make my way back to the house, my thoughts turn to the vampire trapped in the cell. He was different. I suppose I had a pretty black-and-white idea of vampires in my head. The one on the bus absolutely fit the vampire stereotype: predatory and impulsive. Whereas Theo seemed in control.

He would do or say anything to get out of that cell, a thought reminds me. I step through the back door. Kicking off my boots and shrugging out of my jacket, I head toward the kitchen, my hands still trembling from my encounter. The entire last hour feels surreal.

I locate Kayleigh as she moves around the kitchen, and I hover by the doorway.

‘Hey!’ she chirps, glancing over at me. ‘How was your day?’ ‘Interesting …’ I mutter, gravitating toward the kitchen island and dropping into the seat, leaning onto my forearms. ‘Do you happen to be aware that our family is caging vampires like animals beneath the ground?’

She freezes. After a moment, she places the mixing bowl down and turns. Studying her closely, I immediately realise that she is aware. Excellent. Another person that knows of what is going on around here, and yet again, I’m the one left in the dark.

‘I know some things,’ she eventually says. ‘I’ve heard bits and pieces, so yes, I’m aware there is something going on down there.’

I blink at her. ‘And … that’s it?’ I press. ‘That’s all you’re going to say?’

She shrugs. ‘I don’t really know anything, just that there is some sort of operation to do with the vampires, but because I don’t work for Dad and Velistra, I’m not kept in the loop.’

‘Right,’ I say, narrowing my eyes. ‘You never mentioned anything.’

‘I don’t feel like it is my place to discuss it, and as I said, I don’t actually know much.’

I’ve never doubted the word of my sister before, but I appraise her suspiciously. After a moment, I exhale, deciding to let it go. Maybe she’s left out almost as much as me.

‘Sometimes I feel like the place operates on a whole other level that I don’t have the access code to,’ I say, shaking my head.

‘I know what you mean.’

Does she, though? I always thought Kayleigh and I were much the same when it came to things here, since neither of us is a witch, nor were we born and raised on the farm like a lot of the others. But given she’s older and has more responsibilities than I do, it would make sense for her to be more involved in things that don’t concern me. I feel like an outsider at the best of times, so here’s a painful reminder that a lot of my thoughts and feelings about being isolated are not just in my head. Kayleigh at least has a purpose – she has taken on the domestic role in the house, keeping everything running and organised, whereas I seem to be dismissed whenever I offer to help. Other than my training sessions, I feel completely useless. It used to seem like I’d one day work for the family business as well, but I’ve begun losing hope that day will ever come.

I’ve also never felt so distant from Jace before. It’s like he’s keeping me at arm’s length and I’m not quite sure when or why the shift happened. Sure, I’m the first to admit that I don’t love the guy. I know our relationship isn’t that deep, but we have been in this situationship long enough to trust and care for each other. I would assume that trust and care went both ways, but it seems to be a little one-sided as of late.

Kayleigh exhales, as if she’s weighing up how much truth to give me.

‘You might think I fit better because I keep busy,’ she says. ‘But it’s because I’m useful. I don’t mean to say you’re not, but that is my way of feeling important and needed. That doesn’t mean I belong,’ she continues, meeting my gaze. ‘It just means I’ve learned how to stay out of the way.’

I frown. ‘You run this house.’

She huffs a quiet laugh. ‘I keep it clean. There’s a difference.’

I’ve always seen Kayleigh as steady, grounded, as someone who knows where she stands. Hearing this feels like discovering a crack in something I thought was solid.

‘I thought you had it figured out,’ I admit. ‘You always seem so sure of yourself.’

Her expression softens. ‘That’s because I don’t let myself fall apart in front of them, and I don’t let them convince me I’m not important.’

‘But you do with me,’ I say before I can stop myself.

Kayleigh looks at me for a long moment.

‘Yeah,’ she says quietly. ‘Because you get it. Because you’re the only one here who knows what it’s like to be normal yet expected to pretend you’re not.’

Normal. Human. Unmagical.

‘I hate that feeling,’ I say. ‘Like I’m always one step behind a conversation I wasn’t invited to join.’