Point Of No Return

Chapter 4: Nebulous

𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐫.

Monday morning, I barely made it to my locker before Tessa cornered me. Her eyes lit up with mischief, a telltale sign that I was about to be interrogated.

"Okay, so spill."

I blinked at her, still half-asleep. "Spill what?"

Tessa crossed her arms, giving me a look. "You know what."

I sighed, opening my locker. "You're going to have to be more specific."

Tessa huffed. "The new family. The ones who are suddenly, magically, a part of all your Sunday dinners now. What's the deal?"

I grabbed my books and shut the locker, leaning against it. "There's no deal."

She narrowed her eyes. "That's a very non-answer answer."

I sighed. "They're just... the Reeds. Four brothers. Very loud. Kind of chaotic. That's it."

Tessa raised an eyebrow. "And yet, that's not it at all."

I rolled my eyes. "You're being dramatic."

"Me?" She scoffed. "I'm always dramatic. But you? You're acting weird."

"I am not acting weird."

Tessa stared at me for another beat before crossing her arms. "So. Which one?"

I frowned. "Which one what?"

"Which one's messing with your head?"

My mouth opened, then immediately closed. Betrayed by my own hesitation.

Tessa smirked. "Yeah. Thought so."

I groaned, covering my face with my hands. "You are so annoying."

"It's a talent." She nudged me, grinning. "Now spill."

I sighed, dropping my hands. "It's not like that."

Tessa hummed, clearly unimpressed with my vagueness. "And yet you're blushing."

I shoved my books into my bag, ignoring her. "Drop it."

"Fine, fine." She held up her hands. "But if I hear you mention a certain Reed more than once, I will be circling back."

I rolled my eyes, but my heart was pounding. Because I had a feeling she'd be circling back soon.

Tessa didn't bring up the Reeds again that day, but I felt her watching me. She had this annoyingly perceptive way of picking up on things I wasn't ready to admit, and I could tell she was just waiting for me to slip.

But I wasn't going to slip. Because there was nothing to admit. I barely even knew Hudson Reed. I'd spoken to him twice. I'd been in his house once.

So why was he still stuck in my head?

Nope. Not going there. Not entertaining it.

I spent the rest of the day throwing myself into distractions—schoolwork, small talk, anything to keep my mind occupied. If I caught myself thinking about the Reeds, I redirected. It wasn't that hard.

At least, that's what I told myself.

✺✺✺✺✺✺✺✺✺✺

By the time Friday rolled around, I was feeling more like myself. With enough mental effort, I had convinced myself that the whole thing with Hudson had been blown out of proportion in my own head. The Reeds were just another family we'd be seeing more often. That was it.