Edge of the Veil

Two

The aroma of frying bacon and coffee brewing stirred Lexie from her sleep. Her eyelids fluttered open, and she immediately winced at the bright rays of sunlight drifting in through her blinds. Today was her first day of college, and she had barely slept at all. The vast majority of the night was spent tossing and turning; she could not stop thinking about Declan. The entire way home, she had kicked herself for freaking out on him after he kissed her. He was the most attractive guy to ever hit on her—and she screwed it up—spectacularly.

It was easy to get caught up in his physical appearance, but it was more than that. He was the only guy to ever spend that much time trying to get to know her, to show any interest past a flirtatious comment. As cliché as it might sound, there was a connection between her and Declan. But of course, she flipped out and severed any chance she had of exploring it. Chicago was a big city; there was no way she'd ever run into him again. Yet another missed opportunity—there had been many of those in her eighteen years.

Throwing the covers aside, Lexie sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, staring at the floor. She finally found it in her to drag herself up, and after slipping into her robe and sliding on slippers, she padded down the hall toward the kitchen.

The open floor plan of the apartment was flooded in the early morning sunlight, adding a touch of radiance to the simple earth-tone decor. As she passed the side table next to the couch, she tapped a weary finger on the corner of the silver frame holding a picture of her parents—silently wishing them good morning from a thousand miles away—and shuffled into the kitchen.

Caleb lifted his green eyes from the pancakes he flipped over on a hotplate. "Good morning, little sister. You're looking especially haggard today. I take it you had a busy night at the diner."

Lexie glared at him as she opened the refrigerator and poured herself a glass of orange juice. "Why, thank you, Caleb. I really appreciate that," she quipped, running a hand through her tangled hair.

"You're welcome," he grunted as he stretched his lanky body and grabbed two plates out of the cupboard next to him. After stacking them with food, he handed one to Lexie and followed her to the dining room table. He sat across from her and flipped through a textbook. "Listen to this: there's this rapidly growing religion in Africa where they believe a female deity kidnaps people while they're swimming. She forces them to make an oath of sexual fidelity to her before she releases them on dry land and in better health than they were before she first took them."

"You never grow tired of theology," Lexie mumbled.

"Well, no, it is my job." He glanced up at the sound of her fork scraping against her plate. Lexie aimlessly scooted her food around as she stared at it. Closing his book, he pushed it away and asked, "Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?"

She didn't meet her brother's eyes as she started to eat. "I don't think you'd want to hear about this." She smiled weakly. "Thank you for breakfast, though. That was very sweet of you."

"The first day of your adult life, you have to start it off with a proper breakfast." He flashed his sister a smile, causing the clusters of freckles on his cheeks to bunch together. "Are you excited at least?"

Lexie couldn't help but smile back at him; Caleb's smile had always been contagious. "Yes. I'm excited." She took another bite of her pancakes after dipping it in the pool of syrup on her plate. "But I have to admit I'm a little nervous," she said, dropping her voice to a whisper. Lexie hated to admit when she was feeling less than confident, and that seemed to be happening more often lately.

Placing his fork on his plate, Caleb folded his hands on the table, leaning forward so that his sandy hair fell in waves over his eyes. "This is a big change for you, Lex, but it's also a new start. Take advantage of it and shape it into what you want it to be."