Destiny

17.

Chapter 17

I stared at the ceiling for a long time, not sure of what to do or think. Brayden and I kissed and he instantly regretted it. Lucy told me she was my mother then told me that Kellan is my father.

It was too much to think about at once. Too much to take in at all.

Though I knew I needed to know.

I pushed the covers back and walked into the bathroom. The wallpaper was tan with a white trim and the counter top was marble. It was beautiful.

I took my clothes off then ripped the hospital bracelet from my wrist. I tossed it in the trash, never wanting to see it again.

I ran the hot water and dumped some soap into the water. The hospital only let us take showers. I'd always dreamed of taking a bath. Especially with bubbles.

I was in the tub for only a minute before the door opened and Lucy barged in.

I glared at her, pulling bubbles against my chest to cover up. "Do you mind?"

"I have seen you naked, Julia."

"I look a lot different than I did seventeen years ago."

"You do."

"I hope you didn't just come in here to talk about my naked body."

"No. I came to apologize to you about last night. I didn't mean to scare or upset you."

"What did you think would happen?"

She sighed. "I just thought that you should know.. I don't like having you in the dark."

"Is there anything else I should know?"

"There's nothing wrong with you. Nothing mentally wrong."

"Why was I stuck at the hospital then?"

"I wanted you to be safe."

"Did you know Kellan was there?"

She nodded.

"How long?"

"Only a few months. That's when we started communicating with you through your dreams. We wanted to see that you were alive."

"So what would you have done if I was dead?"

She sat down on the toilet lid. "I never said we had a great plan, okay? Besides, the place was so heavily secured. There's no way Kellan could have got to you."

"Did you forget how I found you? I got out and never got caught. I bet you didn't see that coming."

She smiled. "Oh, we did. We were just waiting for the moment you decided to try it."

I sighed. "If you knew all that, couldn't you just tell when Kellan planned to kill me?"

"I don't know what he's going to do to stop it from happening. Only what you do."

"Why? Why... is it just me?"

"Because you're my daughter."

I groaned and put my face in my hands. "I'm not mad about this, okay? It's just... a lot to take in right now."

A knock came at the door then Aryan peaked his head in. "Looks like it's a party in here."

I tried splashing water at him to no avail. "Um, hello! I'm naked here."

He laughed. "I can tell."

Lucy got up and pushed Aryan out of the room. "Come on. Let's give her some privacy."

I rolled my eyes. The definition of privacy was a lot different than it had been just a day before. But at the same time... nothing had changed.

"Oh," Lucy stuck her head in the door just as Aryan had done minutes before. "I think Brayden really likes you. Despite how it may seem."

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"Have you seen Brayden?" I asked, standing on the opposite side of the island that Aryan was at. It looked like he was making some big dish but I had no clue what it was. He was cutting a head of lettuce first, tomatoes and cucumbers sitting off to the side.

He was wearing a black muscle shirt and his hair was pinned back. His glasses sat on the top of his head.

"Last I saw him, he was in his room."

I sighed. "I'm betting he doesn't want to talk to me."

"What, are you two fighting?" He asked, a hint of a smile on his face.

My face turned beat red. "No, nothing like that."

He finished the head of lettuce then moved on to the tomatoes. "You're really bad at hiding your emotions, Julia."

I didn't know what to say to him because he was right. Back at the hospital, the nurses knew when I was upset or scared. I was good at lying but my face gave me away. When I saw Kellan for the first time after seeing him in one of my dreams, I freaked out and it was very clear how I felt.

I put my elbows on the counter top and rested my chin on my hands. "You'd think I'd be better at it, considering what I tried to get away with back at the hospital."

He laughed. "I can imagine."

I watched him put the lettuce then tomatoes into a large bowl before starting to peel the cucumbers. "What are you making?"

"Can't have lasagna without a salad."

I made a face, thinking of the lasagna we had back at the hospital.

He laughed. "I promise it won't taste bad. I'm a great chef."

"I have a hard time believing that."

"Why?"

"Well, you're..."

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm not gay."

"That's not... I didn't mean..."

"I could've told you that."

I jumped and turned around to see Brayden standing behind me, a black sweatshirt and matching sweatpants on.

"Brayden, I-we need to talk." I said, my heart pounding in my chest.

He glanced at Aryan. "Somewhere private."

Aryan was cutting up carrots now, not watching us. "I'm not leaving."

I grabbed Brayden's arm and pulled him out of the kitchen. I walked us down the hall and into the living room. It had no TV but instead had a fireplace with a mantle and all.

I sat down on one of the couches and pulled my legs under me. "We need to talk about that kiss."

"What about it?" He asked, his voice calm. I could tell he was nervous and didn't want to talk about it.

"Why did you... Do you... do you like me? In that kind of way?"

He stared at the couch, running his fingers over the seam in the cushion. "I don't know. I've never... thought of you like that."

I put my hand over his, forcing him to look at me. "I'm not mad that you did it."

"You should be."

"Why would I be mad?"

"Because I had no right to do that to you."

"Do I sound mad?"

"Julia-"

I leaned closer to him and kissed him.

"Dinner's ready." Aryan called from the kitchen.

I pulled back and got to my feet. "We can talk later."

I left Brayden sitting on the couch, his eyebrows raised in surprise. He didn't join us for dinner.