Ember Toretto-O'Connor is forbidden from street-racing and watching it. She sneaks out and watches anyway, sticking to the shadows and not talking to anyone to avoid people founding out who she is. She starts falling for one of the top racers in t...
"Nothing really matters unless you have a code."~Brian O'Connor, Fast and Furious_______________________________________
Chapter 23
Brandon
I stared out over the balcony, taking in the scenery of the city below me. We were in a safe house in the middle of the city. Our floors were at the top of the building with our own private elevators. It was great. All us 'kids' had an apartment to ourselves. The adults had one below us. It would've been better had we all been getting along, but the tension was so thick that you could've cut it with a knife. Jace rarely came out of his room unless to it was to grab some food or use the bathroom. Ember was much the same, but I felt her reasoning was more because of the fact that she believed we needed space from her. I began to worry about her. I knew she was beating herself up about what had happened just over a week ago. As mad as I was that we weren't let in on the secret, after talking a bit to Jackson, I understood why Hobbs was so hell-bent on us being out of the loop on the plan.
Speaking of Jackson, he seemed to spend all his time with Ember. If she wasn't around, he went to seek her out. The two of them had become extremely close, causing a slight twinge of jealousy to arise within me. I had no reason to be jealous because I was a brother to Ember, and she was a sister to me. But still...
Deciding to put a stop in this behavior of hers, I headed to the room she'd taken as hers. I knocked lightly on the door, knowing she'd be in. I heard some shuffling on the other side before it opened, revealing a disheveled looking Ember, but she was awake and alert.
"Did I interrupt something?" I asked.
"No, I've just been binge-watching NCIS in my bed," she answered, pulling the sleeves down over her hands. I recognized the sign of nervousness all too well. "What's up? Are you okay?"
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"Yeah, I was wondering if you wanted to watch a movie with me in the living room."
"Aren't the others using it?"
"Nah, they're all holed up in their rooms. Besides, I thought we could hang out. It's been a while, and I missed my sister when she was gone," I told her gently. Ember smiled at me as nodded, shutting her door and following me into the living room.
"All right, what do you want to watch? Avengers? Captain America? Monty Python?"
She snorted. "I think you know the answer to that."
"Chris Evans it is," I decided, knowing about the massive crush Ember had on him. I hooked up my computer to the TV and sat down on the couch next to her. She'd taken up resident next to one of the arms, stretching her legs out. I took position on the opposite end, like we used to do when we were kids. It was harder now because we both had long legs, but we made it work. Ember seemed much more relaxed, which I was glad to see. She needed to stop beating herself up over all this. It was done and over with, and with the exception of Jace, none of us were mad at her. We understood now. And seeing her behave the way she was, keeping quiet and to herself, that was nothing like the Ember we all knew. I missed my bubbly, outgoing, lively sister. I wanted her back.
