Trailing Stars (Trailing Stars #1)

Chapter 6

"Right..." I draw out. I'm gonna assume she asked Nathan where I live.

She rubs her hands together. "Anyway, do you wanna hang out?"

I blink. "Right now?"

She exaggeratedly claps her hands together, her gloves making a muffled thudding sound. "And I'm taking that as a hard no."

She smiles as she says this, so I know there aren't hard feelings if it is a hard no. Which it's not. I just need to start over. I take a breath and offer her a smile. "Give me a second, and then we can head out."

I step back to let her walk in. She ducks inside and greets my family with a smile while I run up to my room to grab a jacket. I shove my phone, wallet, and keys into my pockets and head back downstairs. By the time I come back, everyone is gathered in the living room with Clara at the center of attention.

"...prefer not to," she's saying.

Kate makes a face. Her chin rests in her hands and her feet are tucked beneath her as she looks up at Clara. "What's the point of hanging out with Nathan if you don't like poetry?"

Clara shrugs. "He's interesting to be around."

Kate scrunches up her face. "Interesting how?"

"Just interesting." Clara starts listing things off her fingers. "He's really good with words. Talking with him about anything gives me an existential crisis. He's willing to try new things like ice skating yesterday."

Hannah sits up. "Oh, so you did go ice skating yesterday."

Clara blinks, lowering her hand. "Yeah. Mona didn't tell you?"

Hannah waves a hand in front of her. "No, she did. It's just—"

Mom cuts Hannah off with a pointed look. "Not all of us heard about what you guys were doing last night. She came home pretty late, and she just got up."

Mom shoots Hannah a look again, but I don't think Hannah deserves it. I don't blame her for wanting someone to confirm where I was, but I have to admit it still takes me off guard knowing she does. I thought she'd trust me by now considering she thinks I'm "just perfect," but I guess I have to do a lot more to gain that trust.

Clara shifts. "Oh, well, that was on me and Nathan. Not on Mona."

Mom smiles at Clara. "We're not mad. Just wondering."

Clara nods, her eyes flickering from my parents to Hannah. It looks like she's about to say something else, but she notices me and pushes herself off the couch. Her eyes are a little glazed over, but her tone is just as light as ever.

"Ready to go?" she asks.

I nod, keeping my eyes on Clara. "Yeah. Let's go."

We wave goodbye to my family. Hannah gives me a pointed look as she tells me not to stay out too late. I nod, forcing a smile on my face. My eyes flicker to my parents to see if they have instructions for me, but their attention is on Hannah. I don't really know what to read in their expressions, but I have a feeling there'll be an argument between my parents and Hannah at some point. And I can't say I'm not happy to be out of the house for it.

Once I shut the door, Clara turns to me. "Your sister doesn't seem to trust you."

Oh, so it's obvious... "She's protective, I guess."

Clara raises her eyebrows. "So much that she thinks you're lying all the time?" I don't respond, and I'm sure that tells Clara almost everything she needs to know. Hopefully, that doesn't include how much the thought bothers me. It really shouldn't, though. I know where the distrust comes from, but still. "At least she lets you out of the house. Where do you want to go?"