It’s time to wake up, so I slowly open my eyes and try to look a little confused.

“Hey,” I say, looking up at him.

“Hey,” he says back.

“Hey,” Lizzy echoes and then giggles. “Hey, hey, hey!”

The movie is over and now they’re playing Ferris Beuller’s Day Off.

“Sorry for falling asleep,” I say, sitting up and combing my fingers through my hair.

“It’s okay,” Sylas says, rubbing his thumb across my cheek.

We watch the rest of the movie and Lizzy gets so excited during the scene where Ferris sings at the parade that she stands up on the bed and starts dancing along with the movie. That’s probably not allowed, but she’s so happy Sylas and I only hesitate for a moment before joining her.

“We’re going to break the bed,” I say, a little breathless.

“It’s worth it,” Sylas says and I’ve never, ever, seen him be this silly and goofy. I didn’t even know he could. He and Lizzy hop down to the floor and start dancing with each other. I can tell they’ve done this many, many times.

I’ve never asked Sylas what his mother was like. I only have the information from Dad about her, and I’ve seen pictures. She was stunningly beautiful. A lot like Lizzy in that way. Blonde hair. Eyes like polished blue stones. A wide smile that lit up her face. And she loved to sing. Sylas told me once he was tone-deaf, but I didn’t believe that for a second.

Sylas and Lizzy waltz around the room and I sit and watch. I want to take a video of this so I can play it later.

He’s happy. He’s happy and smiling and it’s so beautiful it makes my heart hurt. Even after losing his mother at the hand of his father, he’s still able to smile.

Sometimes I’m afraid that because I haven’t been through something like he has, we can’t really connect on a deep level. It’s why he and Cash are so tight. They both know what it’s like to lose parents. I don’t. My mother may be a cold-hearted bitch, but at least she’s still alive.

But then Sylas lets go of Lizzy and grabs my arm and we’re dancing together. He wasn’t bragging about his skills; he moves like someone who’s had training.

Lizzy goes back to jumping on the bed as Sylas whirls me around the room. I start laughing and can’t stop.

Sylas and I are both so light when we leave the Center we decide to take it slow as we drive back to my apartment. He takes a turn and I realize we’re heading toward the beach. Last time we were here, it was nighttime and I was freezing my ass off, even though I denied it.

The sand is littered with people and large umbrellas and bright rectangles of towels and blankets. I wish I’d known we were going to make this little detour so I could have brought my suit and a towel.

Sylas parks and turns to me.

“Want to take a walk?”

I nod and he comes around to open my door. It makes me smile that we’re back to him doing that. I like it. I hold my hand out and he takes it as we walk down the rickety wooden stairs to the sand. We both lean down and take our shoes off and roll up our pants. Sylas stashes the shoes under the stairs so no one steals them and then takes my hand again.

“You were so happy today,” I say as we make our way down to the water’s edge. It’s still going to be chilly, but not nearly as bad as it was before.

“It was a good day,” he says.

“I’ve never seen you be so goofy before. So silly.” He chuckles and rubs the back of his neck.

“Lizzy brings it out in me, I guess.” She brings out the best in everyone. I wish Dad could see it. I know she’d bring out the best in him, too. But it’s not time yet to bring him into her life.

“She’s wonderful. I couldn’t have wished for a better sister,” I say and I truly mean it.

“And she could say the same,” he says, looking at me with a smile. I roll my eyes.

“I don’t know about that. But thank you anyway.” We walk on in silence for a while until it’s broken by my phone ringing. Should have left the damn thing in the car.

It’s Dad. I can’t ignore him, so I answer it.

“Hey, Dad,” I say, giving Sylas a look. He nods and we keep walking.

“Saige, where have you been? I’ve been calling and calling you.” He’s freaking out. My father never gets freaked out.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been swamped with finals and studying like crazy. I’ve been turning my phone off so I’m not distracted.” The lie slides out of my mouth easily.

“You shouldn’t turn your phone off, Saige. It’s not good when I can’t get in touch with you,” he says, his voice terse.

“I know, I know, I’m sorry,” I say, looking at Sylas. His jaw is tight. He doesn’t like me talking to my father. Well, I’m not a fan of it right now either.

“Well, we need to talk, Saige. We really need to talk.” Uh-oh. This is bad.

“Okay, about what?” Now I’m scared. If my father is so stressed, something is really wrong.

“We need to do this in person. How soon can you be at the house?” We’re nearly an hour away, and obviously Sylas can’t drive me, so I’ll have to go back to my place and get my car.

“I can be there in about two hours,” I say.

“Two hours? Where the hell are you, Saige?” If he wanted to, he could track my phone in a few minutes.

“I’m at the beach. I just needed a break from studying, so I drove out here to clear my head.” He sighs heavily.

“Well, get back here as soon as you can.” He hangs up and I feel like I’m thirteen again and he just caught me drinking for the first time.

“What’s wrong?” Sylas says, keeping his voice mild.

“I have no idea, but something is going down and we need to go back ASAP. You’ll have to drop me off and then I can take my car to the house.” Our lovely day is now ruined. I knew it was too good to be true.

We walk a hell of a lot faster back to our shoes and I make sure to dust my feet off before I put them on.

“I’m sorry about this,” I say and Sylas waves me off.

“It must be important. Your father doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who panics.” No, he’s not. He wasn’t panicking, exactly, but I won’t really know what’s going on until I get there.

Sylas says he’s going back to his place for a little bit after he drops me off. He hardly said anything to me on the way back, and I hate that the distance is back between us, but I don’t have time to think about it as I grab my keys and throw myself into my car.

I pull into the driveway and see only Dad’s car is here. Mom’s home, but she’s been going out even more lately. It’s nice not to have to worry about seeing her when I come to talk to Dad.

Martha lets me in and I head right back to the office.

“What is it?” I say, opening the door and then locking it behind me. He looks up at me, eyes full of an anger I’ve never seen before.

“He’s alive. That mother fucker is alive.” I sit down, confused.

“Who is?”

“Andrew Carter. Sylas’ father.” I gasp, bringing my hand to my mouth.

“How do you know?” The man was killed in prison years ago. Or so we thought.

Instead of answering me, he just throws a stack of grainy surveillance photos at me. I pick them up and see a man who looks like looking at an older version of Sylas, but without all the muscles and tattoos. This man is thin and wasted, his face hollow, but it’s undeniable that this is Sylas’ father.

Dad starts pacing the room, muttering to himself.

“Where is he?” I ask, keeping my voice level.

“Texas,” he spits out and then starts throwing things off the bookshelves. At first I don’t know what to do. Never have I seen my father act like this. He doesn’t lose his cool. Ever.

I sit and wait as the storm blows itself out and he starts to cool down, his chest heaving and his eyes red and wild.

He looks like a feral animal and I’m glad Mom’s not here. She’d be even more at a loss than I am.