Forbidden Law (An Alien Love #1)

Chapter Seven

"We are Mr. and Mrs. Smith," the man replied in a faint European accent, chortling softly in an attempt to break tension while getting up and offering a hand. I stared at it and then back at his face. His eyes had me doing a double take; they were pitch black, so dark no pupil could be visible. The left had a gray line cutting down the middle while the right seemed slightly larger than its counterpart.

"Great. What do you want?" I repeated. The hand slowly went to his side, awkwardly fidgeting his jacket hem. He glanced back at his wife. Then cleared his throat. She in turn twisted her wedding ring in continuous circlets about her knuckle.

"We noticed this gentleman was new to the neighborhood, so we thought we'd stop by on our way back home from a work dinner to welcome him. But we didn't realize we would be intruding, or that someone else was here. Please excuse our rudeness."

I caught onto the odd mention of "someone else was here." And this late of all times? I don't think so. The apologetic undertone in his meaning was an obvious attempt to let them stay longer and smooth what damage they'd already caused. If I were a dog, I'd have my hackles up.

"Okay, well, I'm Skyler and this is Jace. Thanks for stopping by and all, but it's late and we have school tomorrow. Nor do we want strangers in our home in this dark hour."

I motioned to the door. Mrs. Smith was noticeably offended, but didn't budge. Mr. Smith shrugged and grabbed his wife's arm to haul her up. I noticed her eyes had the same peculiar traits as her husbands'. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I could practically feel the crackle of energy prickling through the room, but from where it came, I didn't know.

"Skyler, we'll be checking up on your progress to see how you like the house. You two are awfully young to be renting a house on your own. Congratulations. If Jace would be so kind as to contact us..." The flat, deadpan way his voice fell threw me temporarily, in the way he was directly addressing Jace in such a strange manner. He handed Jace a business card. Mrs. Smith finally rose, yanking her leather purse onto her shoulder and stepping past us to the door. A wave of intoxicating perfume attacked my nose and I sneezed. She cringed away from me, glaring. They left.

"What was that about and what did they ask you?" Jace let a breath out and sat on the bottom stair. I turned to him, my shoulders relaxing. At least they'd left quickly with hardly a fuss.

"They drove up...and knocked. They said they wanted to welcome me...and then they wanted to come in. They started to talk about things I did not know or understand, asking about where I came from and...my ancestry? And I did not want to do anything with out you. I am sorry for interrupting your time with your brother."

I just shook my head, contemplating the odds of two individuals having the same eye effects.

"No, you're fine. You did the right thing. I'm glad you did. If they come by again, get me immediately."

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I left him at his house and ran back to my house. The Smiths' car was gone, leaving no trace it'd ever been there. When I arrived home, I found Riley sitting in the living room, his posture tense while trying hard to look relaxed. It wasn't working.

"Hey. What's up?" I asked. He stood up and smiled. From the kitchen, I heard food cooking in pans, so that meant my parents were making dinner. I looked at the clock-it was late, but I was starving. 

"Nothing. I was just waiting for you. Just bored." I raised an eyebrow at his obvious curiosity.

"Don't ask. Everything's good. He just had...family issues. Just needed a friend." I shrugged and put on an innocent smile. He in turn slumped in petulant response.