Perhaps it was dramatic to ask her to put her phone in the other room. But if she was forcing his whole hand like this, precautions were necessary. He should take her to a secluded spot in a crowded park, midday on today to tell her all of this. But here was- relatively fine. The phone was the only factor worrying him (again, the house wasnât bugged, heâd swept it, twice, the day before). Sam wondered if he would regret just not smashing it. Or having her send it through a portal it to the sanctum. Now that was an idea-
And she was back. Where was he? âIâve got the three sisters. Artemis didnât know about me until- a couple of years ago. Jade, youâve met her, I believe.â Briefly, a pre-prison, sheâd broken into his and Sofiaâs apartment one night while he was on a job. Of course, given that Jade did not know Sofiaâs status as the future sorcerer supreme, the odds had been incredibly unfair for her. âand then- Lila-,â his twin, another fairly new development for Sofia. âshe goes by Aspen now, like I go by Sam instead of Lyle.â Lyle, a name that increasingly felt distant to him. The one he felt less attached to as the day went on.Â
He paused by eating another spoon full of peanut butter. He told her that heâd be honest with her. From now on, but starting with the beginning. Sam met her eyes as he snacked. What was she going to think when she knew everything? He knew. Sheâd want nothing to do with him. Which was a shame, because he wanted everything to do with her. He wanted to be her call when something particularly gross happened at work. He wanted to be the person she was excited to rush home to after a long shift. And he wanted her head on his chest at night, when he couldnât sleep but she was doing it all to well.
And Sam could process this now. He had been fond, attached. But now he could list off those things. She had long since become more than just a central place holder in his fronted life. Sofia was Sofia. Really, the only person who had mattered to him in this particular way. And he- felt that he couldnât lose her. The truth would scare her off, âRight. I spent my childhood sparring. Training. Learning basic weapons tech, assembly, disassembly. I did a few months sniper training, I was twelve then. Itâs like, some kids go to camp in the Summer? Every few months I would get sent somewhere and learn a new skill, and then come back to Lawrence.â She may ask questions about that, so he paused, more than willing to take the time to talk about that rather than what came after.Â
âi have?â she asked, her brows furrowing in confusion. she easily could have met his sister and not have known, his other sister was her god damn mentor, and then he had another sister, aspen. she heard the name before, at least it sounded familiar. âaspen, sheâs...isnât she a med studentâ it wasnât really a question, though she was sure it would be answered easily she was really more so just working it out in her head - the face to the name and all. ânew names is a trend i guessâ she said it slightly under her breath, but she knew he probably heard it.
this was just a lot of information to take in, he had this whole family that she didnât even know about ...yet he was practically adopted into hers. granted, her father was never really the biggest fan of sam, but they both put on a show for her and she appreciated that. niko and sam seemed to hit it off, and that should have been a warning sign but those were simpler times.
she listened as he talked, and it didnât really surprise her. she spent her childhood doing similar things, learning, training. hell when she was 7 years old she could make her own breakfast from across the room. but she didnât see combat until she was at least 16, her father not wanting to expose her to that part of the world so young. she wasnât training to kill, she was training to protect. âsniping? at 12?â he was so young, he was so incredibly young and his father forced him into a weapon. she had questions, but she didnât know how he would take them so she spoke softly, âdid you know that wasnât right? did you ever try to get out? run away or ...leave?âshe didn't want to accuse him or blame him for his father's actions. clearly his father wasn't a good man or a good father. but it hurt her heart to know that little sam was spending his time playing real life cops and robbers at age 10.