As time passes our friends start to filter out until it’s finally just the core family here – my family, Jesse’s family, and the new addition of my mates and Ben and Daphne. Our parents dig into the more complicated questions now, asking us about the details of getting me into the Academy and keeping me alive there, and we all happily fill them in on the delicious details.
As we do, mom pulls Luca aside for a moment, fussing over him and patching up his black eye and his busted lip. When he comes back I can tell by his smile that Luca’s likewise under mom’s spell now, and that he no longer has any ridiculous ideas about mom having a favorite between my two mates.
Mom curls up at dad’s side on the couch, where he moved after his last refill, probably so that she would come and sit with
