Eleos (Book two in The Empaths series)

Chapter Eighteen

Tristan chuckled. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little jealous of how much she loves you now." He took a sip of his tea before placing it on the bench beside Lucy, where he rested his hands on either side of her. "Now, it's still really early, and we don't have to leave for a while," he grinned and bent his head down to whisper in her ear. "I think we should go back to bed."

Lucy giggled and was about to respond when the sound of footsteps stopped her.

Jared rounded the corner and stopped, smacking his hands over his face. "Oh gross... no, that's not ok. Yuk."

Lucy rolled her eyes and Tristan stepped away quickly – returning to his tea.

"Oh, grow up, Jared," Lucy said. "Why are you even up so early anyway?"

Jared peaked through is fingers before dropping his hands. "I'm going to meet Pa." He crossed the room and grabbed a cup out of the cupboard, proceeding to make himself a cup of coffee – which he had managed to convince Scarlett to get for him from back home. "We're going fishing," he finished with a grin.

Lucy smiled. "Sounds like fun."

"Why don't you guys come along?" He said as he inhaled the contents of his cup. "Oh yeah, that's good," he added with a look of euphoria.

"You're so weird," Lucy replied, shaking her head. "Thanks for the invite, but we're actually going to head into the city today."

Jared's eyes brightened with interest. "Really? Why?"

"I just want to see Cora," Lucy replied.

Jared looked confused for a second. "Why don't you just call? I mean, it's probably a lot quicker. She'll be here in a flash."

Lucy shook her head right away. "She has more important things to worry about than dropping everything to come here every time one of us calls her. And besides, I want to go."

Jared shrugged. "Fair enough. What do you want to see Cora about anyway?"

Lucy looked at Tristan before answering. She didn't want to make her brother feel bad. He was having so much fun. The last thing she wanted was for him to start feeling like he needed to do more too. This was her issue. "Nothing exciting. I just want to help out a bit, that's all."

"Okay, and?" Jared added – his brows creasing together.

Sometimes Lucy forgot that he could read her like a book.

"Honestly, Jared. That's it. I just want to do more."

Jared looked at her for a moment, weighing up if it was worth the fight – she could see it all over his face. "Alright," he finally replied. "But, you'd tell me if you needed me to be there, right?"

Lucy waved him off. "Don't be silly. Go have some fun with Pa. This is just a visit, I promise. Whatever I find out or decide, I'll let you guys know."

"What are you deciding exactly?" Jared pressed, putting down his cup.

"I just mean that if there's something I, or we can do to help out more, or maybe learn, I'll tell you guys before going ahead with it. Is that okay?"

Jared's brows pinched together deeper. "Fine, but don't make any rash decisions without the rest of us."

"I would never do that," Lucy replied, a little hurt. "You should know that by now."

Jared shook his head. "Of course, I was just saying."

Lucy nodded. "I promise not to commit to anything until I've spoken to the rest of you."