chapter two
840 Words
By the time our last class ended, I was more than ready and happy to leave, I was tired due to lack of sleep last night.
I packed my books into my bag and stretched in my seat, silently grateful that I wouldn't have to listen to another lecture until tomorrow.
Sloane, however, didn't seem nearly as eager to leave.
She was staring at her phone with a smile on her face.
“What?” I asked.
She looked up at me.
“He's here.”
I frowned. “Who?”
She gave me a look.
“You know, for someone who has heard me talk about my brother for a year and a half, you ask that question a lot.”
I laughed.
“Cassian?”
“Who else?”
She slipped her phone into her bag and stood.
“He's waiting for me outside.”
I followed her out of the classroom.
“So you're finally going to introduce us?”
“I told you you'd meet him today.”
“You did.”
“And?”
I shrugged. “I'm not exactly nervous.”
“You should be.”
I stopped walking.
“Why?”
She turned around with a grin.
“Because he's my brother.”
“That doesn't answer my question.”
“It will when you meet him.”
We stepped through the doors, and Sloane immediately looked around.
“There.”
I followed her gaze toward the parking lot.
A black SUV was parked near the entrance, and a man stood beside it with his arms folded across his chest.
I immediately knew who he was.
Cassian.
Even from a distance, I could see the resemblance between him and Sloane. They had the same sharpness around Thier eyes the only difference was that Sloane had light blue, his were different.
He looked older than I expected.
And intimidating.
Very intimidating.
“That's Cassian?”
Sloane smiled.
“Told you."
She grinned seeing my expression
Before I could say anything, she started walking toward him.
I followed.
Cassian looked up from his phone.
His eyes landed on Sloane first.
Then they moved to me.
He stopped.
Completely.
I slowed down.
There was something strange about the way he was looking at me. Not the kind of look that made me uncomfortable exactly. It was more like...
confusion.
His brows drew together slightly., his expression changed.
Not dramatically.
Just enough for me to notice.
He stared at me for a second longer than necessary.
Then Sloane threw her arms around him.
“I missed you!”
He hugged her back, but his deep grey eyes found me again over her shoulder.
I smiled politely.
“Hi.”
He didn't answer immediately.
He just looked at me.
Like he was trying to remember where he'd seen me before.
Except I knew we'd never met.
“Cassian?” Sloane called.
He didn't answer.
“Cassian.”
This time, he blinked and looked at her.
“What?”
Sloane laughed.
“I said hi.”
“Hi.”
His voice was deeper than I expected.
She turned toward me with a grin.
“And this is Elara. The best friend I've been telling you about.”
His eyes returned to me.
For some reason, I suddenly became very aware of myself.
“Hi,” I said.
He stared at me for another second.
“Elara.”
He said my name like he was testing how it sounded.
I nodded.
“Cassian.”
Sloane looked between us.
“Well, that was awkward.”
I laughed.
Cassian didn't.
He was still staring at me.
And I couldn't understand why.
CASSIAN
The moment my eyes landed on the girl following my sister, a strange wave of relief rushed through me.
It hit me so suddenly that I instinctively touched my chest.
The pain I'd been feeling since I turned twenty-five was gone.
Not reduced.
Not eased.
Gone.
I felt nothing.
For the first time in years, there was no familiar ache sitting beneath my ribs, no pressure slowly spreading through my chest.
Nothing.
I stared at the girl again.
Why?
What had just happened?
“Cassian.”
Sloane's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
The girl beside her gave me a small smile.
“Hi.”
I looked at her for another second before finally finding my voice.
“Elara.”
Her name left my lips almost automatically.
I was still trying to understand what was happening. How could years of pain simply disappear because I had looked at someone?
I studied her again.
She was probably around the same age as Sloane.
Sloane had talked about her countless times whenever I called to check on her. Her best friend this. Her best friend that.
I had heard the name Elara more times than I could count.
Yet this was the first time I was seeing her.
And somehow, the first thing that happened when I did was the one thing I had spent years wishing for.
The pain stopped.
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