Within The Families

4: Enemy Unknown

"Who are they and why did their name sound so familiar?" I ask Liam for the eighth consecutive time and yet again he ignores my question and maintains his focus on the road.

"You know I'm not going to stop asking, until you answer my question, right?" I persist with a stubborn pursuit, crossing my arms across my chest.

He sighs. "They are no one you need to concern yourself about. It's been a tough enough week, spot making it even more difficult," he snaps, his tone catching me off guard.

This is the first time since the blast that Liam has spoken to me in that tone. But the visible stress lines creasing his forehead and frustration cast in his eyes, draws a string of guilt within me tugging at my mind to spot being the cause of his distress more than I already am.

Yet another part of my mind cannot dismiss the fact that the news Seb broke to us earlier in Jason's hospital room--moments before kicking us out and demanding we head home and rest--continues to bug and nudge at the walls of my mind.

'There has to be something I'm missing here'

Something in my gut is telling me that that news has some kind of connection with the blast at our place. But if I want to find this connection, I first need to figure out who the Sánchez family are and what it is that connects them to us. I need to find a common link.

"We're here," Liam declares, bringing the car to a halt and pulling me out of my thoughts.

I glace outside my window, only to find us pulled over at Seb's place--where we have been staying since our place had been carbonized by the blast--and nod. "Are you not coming in?" I ask when I realize he isn't parking the car, but instead waiting for me to exit it.

"No, I have places to be," he replies vaguely, only adding to my curiosity.

"Okay," I mumble uncertainty as I exit the car of which I reach five feet away before he pulls the car in reverse and zooms past the gates going well over the speed limit.

"Please don't get yourself killed," I find myself muttering, staring at the spot his cars just zoom past momentarily with worry churning my insides.

With nothing better to distract myself with, I ascend the stairs heading for my room only to bump into an expeditiously moving person. "Shit, my bad," a familiar voice apologizes.

"Fallon?" I frown. 'Why does she look to be in such a hurry?'

"Is everything okay?" I ask and she nods promptly, her eyes instinctively gazing back towards the hallway she just walked down from.

"How are you doing?" She inquires being polite as always, now appearing a bit calmer.

"I'm good, but you look like you've just seen a ghost," I remark taking in her disheveled clothes and unruly hair that's framing her flustered face.

"Uh-um...it's nothing," she waves it off, but by the way, her eyes keep flicking to the hallway behind her I can say otherwise.

She has this particular look in her eyes, that I find oddly familiar...it's the kind of look Lindsey has when she's around Nate--her boyfriend of two years now...or like me when I find myself staring at a mirror after an hour-long video call with Sandro...that's when it strikes me.

My eyebrows shoot up in realization as I visually scrutinize her every move, 'Did she and Xavier finally take off their glasses of oblivion and realize their feelings for each other?'

My internal monologue is interrupted when I spot Xavier striding down the same hallway Fallon keeps gazing back at and almost instantly as their eyes meet for a fleeting moment I notice something flash in Xavier's eyes as Fallon's cheeks blush a deeper red than they already are.