âThatâs my job.â
Ares twisted the cap off of the bottle and took a drink before leaning back in his seat and holding it in his mouth for a moment. He swallowed before placing the bottle back down on the table and looked up at his sister with his hazel-blue eyes. Something that he would imagine he had gotten from his sperm donor.
Ares gave her a look before he flipped the lid open to the wrap that he had and picked up one half of the wrap. âDonât worry, that comes later,â Ares told her before he took a bite out of it. He wasnât going to lie about it. He was going to get drunk later, because that was the only way that he could possibly sleep without nightmares.
He put the food down, chewed and swallowed before he looked to his baby sisterâs face, really seeing her expression, and frowned. The walls he put up around himself were sturdy, but once in a while, heâd peek over them for the sake of someone else. Serenity had been his most recent person he was doing that with, but Fell, Enobaria, Nolie, his sisters⌠he wasnât sure if he was ready to do that quite yet with them. However, Leta, in this moment, deserved a little crack in the foundation.
He reached his hand across the table, palm up, offering it to her.
âYouâre really not talking to Mom, are you?â Ares asked her. After a short pause, he swallowed the lump in his throat. âYou donât have to do that for me.â
She looked to him, face guarded as she ran her hand through her hair. At that moment, she didnât exactly trust him not to pull the rug out from under her feet. âCommendable job effort, really,â she muttered. There was no use in pretending they were a typical big brother and little sister duo. Theyâd grown up with their bedrooms only feet apart but they might as well have grown up on different ends of the continent. You could be a stranger to the person whoâd been there to see you grow and so they were.Â
So she paused before reaching out to take his hand. Her peacekeeper gloves were resting on the table so she felt his callouses against hers. Weapon training from childhood hadnât left space for softness, at least not on the outside.Â
âIâm not doing it for you,â she told Ares. âWeâve been heading for a break for years Ares, this was just -â she paused. âIâd had enough of her bullshit, enough of her hatred. Iâm nothing but a project to her, useful only if I fit in the space sheâs carved out for me.â
She squeezed Aresâs hand. âDonât believe what she said for an instant okay?â



















