Apparently, not even a matcha latte can cheer me up. It's been about a month since Leo kicked me off the team and I handed over my morpher, and two weeks since we lost Loyax. Since then, the others haven't had time to "sneak" over to my place, but I have been able to get them their favorite drinks from Starlight, the cafe I work at. Maya, Kendrix, Damon, Kai, and even Mike have dropped by to chat, and it's always nice to see them.
Leo still refuses to talk to me, and while this is disappointing (to say the least), it makes sense. I'd pissed him off even more when I'd joined the others in the fight against Loyax, and if I hadn't gone home when he told me to… Yikes. I take a long sip of my latte, and go to open the door, but in my haste, I don't see the person standing on the other side. The very familiar person.
"Ouch," Chris mumbles, rubbing at his forehead, and I gape. Oh God. The funk I've been in hasn't gotten me into any majorly embarrassing moments, but the universe must have been saving up for this. "Kara?" Somehow, impossibly, he looks even better than he did all those months ago, when I'd met him at the skating rink. His hair is bright orange now, and even though the color is odd, he makes it work. And are his muscles even bigger-
"Oh my god, Chris, I'm so sorry, did I hit you with the door?"
"Nah, it's more like I hit it with my face," He jokes, and I chuckle, "Um… how have you been?" Right. Since he'd given me his number and I'd proceeded to chuck it in the trash. "Did you get my letter?"
"The letter? Oh, yeah. My roommate threw it out before I could memorize your number to put it in my phone. I would have contacted you, if she wasn't such a ditz." Chris laughs, and soon, I follow suit. "But I've been…" Being vulnerable has never helped me. "I've seen better days." He frowns, concern filling his gaze.
"Wanna talk about it?"
"Your own best friend doesn't understand that you miss your mates back on Earth?" The Aussie is absolutely shocked, and I shrug as we walk through the park. "Can I be honest with you?"
"Ex-best friend," I correct gently, and Chris nods, "And yeah, I mean. I'd appreciate it if you didn't lie." He rolls his eyes at my lame joke.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd think he doesn't just see you as a friend." Hit it right on the nose. But as it appears, if Leo still likes me, he sure as hell isn't showing it. Chris' words of advice are light, but his tone is tinged darker, jealous. "And honestly-" A shout from up ahead sends me on high alert, and I glance towards the source: a girl about to ride her bike straight into me and Chris. Before she can, though, she swerves, and Chris pulls me to the side into his arms. Then- oh, fuck me.
Leo leaps into action, catching the girl before she can hit the park bench she'd been riding towards.
"Are you okay?" Chris asks me worriedly, and I nod. At least, in the physical sense, I'm fine. But as Leo helps the girl up, I see the look in his eyes. It's the way he used to look at me.
And the way I look at Chris. The orange-haired boy leans down, voice lowered. "Is that who I think it is?"
"My ex-best friend? Yeah, let's-" My heartbeat picks up as Leo's tossed into the air by a newcomer, and I look on to see that it's the girl's brother. An overprotective one, at that. (Takes having one to notice one.) When he falls, Leo's gaze lands on me and Chris, specifically the distance between us (or lack thereof), and a flash of jealousy zooms down the bond.
The first clear emotion he's sent in this past month. It's gone as quickly as it started, though, and as he gets to his feet, I turn away.
"Can we go?"
"Yeah," Chris mutters, "Yeah, we can."
"Hannah, Lucas!" Chris calls to his siblings, and they look up from where they sit doing their homework in Starlight. Hannah's just as gorgeous as her older brother, light brown hair pulled up into a bun and hazel eyes glancing over at us curiously. Lucas is adorable, too. The middle and youngest, I assume. "This is Kara. I met her a while ago, but haven't gotten in touch with her since now."
"He's told us about you," Hannah begins as I shake her hand, and Chris looks mildly traumatized, "I mean, not to throw my big brother under the bus, but…" Her voice trails off, and when she and Lucas start to giggle, I can't help but join in.
"It's nice to meet you. And if you guys ever want a discount here, just let me know," I joke, and Lucas gasps.
"Really? You work here? That means I get free coffee!" Instantly, both Hannah and Chris shake their heads madly.
"No," the eldest states, "Please, no. You already have enough energy as it is."
"For once, I agree with Chris," Hannah adds, and I can't help but smile. When we first met, Chris told me that it was just him and his siblings up on Terra Venture. Their parents had decided to stay back on Earth, and I still marvel at that. It's true that I had done the same, but I don't have younger siblings to take care of.
"Um," Chris turns to me and I gulp, already knowing where this is going, "if you'd like to, uh, hang out, I'm free tomorrow. I'd love to see you again." For the shortest of seconds, I think of Leo. The jealousy I'd felt from him. But when I consider the gorgeous girl he'd saved, the way he looked at her…
"That sounds great. See you then?" Chris' eyes light up, that dimpled smile passing over his face, and I can't help but grin.
"See you then."
He's dressed casually the next morning, just a white oversized shirt and black jeans, but he still looks absolutely stunning. "Hi there," Chris greets, and I wave to him, pulling out two miniature bags from my purse.
"I come bearing gifts," I joke, handing him one of the warm chocolate croissants. "Had extras from work that they let me take home."
"You are a blessing, I hope you know that," Chris replies, taking a bite of the pastry, and to my utter delight, he jumps up and down excitedly. "A blessing I say."
"Did you just do a happy dance because of food?" I ask, biting into my own croissant. Ugh. So good.
"Yeah, it's a habit at this point." He sounds almost sheepish as we start to walk along the park path, and I can't help but laugh, nudging him gently.
"You're hilarious." As we stroll along the walkway, we catch up, me sparing him the details of my escapades as a Power Ranger (obviously), but changing up the stories when I can. I've already lied to enough people, I don't want to continue that with Chris. Later, we head down to the river, and when I lose our rock skipping contest, I shove him in the shallow end playfully. He gets me back for it, though, pulling me in with him, and I'm grateful that I decided to wear shorts, since I manage to not get too wet. He lets me take photos of him on my film camera, as long as I promise him that I won't procrastinate to get the pictures developed, and I joke that just for him saying that, I'll wait a day too long.
It's only when we're saying our goodbyes that I realize something's not right. Spending time with Chris feels exactly what it's like to hang out with Damon, watching him work his mechanic magic. Or when I've tried to teach Mike how to cook, and when he's failed on multiple occasions.
This feels like a friendship. Not… not anything like I'd had with Zayne, or anything I had with-
With Leo.
Shouts ring out from somewhere to the right of me, and I frown. Those are familiar, and I know that with or without my morpher, I need to figure out what's going on. Dashing towards the sounds of panic, I almost don't spot Leo heading the same way from the other direction. Ugh, I really can't deal with him. Not now. So, I duck my head as I run, and when I arrive at the scene, my heart sinks. Chris is tangled in a purple thread, along with the girl from yesterday, the one Leo had saved. The monster, a masked feminine looking creature, stands before them, and I guess that she must have been the one to do this to them.
Before I can do so much as shout a threat, though, Leo sends a flying kick into the monster, leaving just enough time for me to rush over to Chris. Another thing to owe the Red Ranger for. I'm not liking this list I'm constantly adding to. The Aussie struggles with all his might against the snake-like rope, and I try my best to tug it off of him, but nothing works.
This is just cruel, honestly. A reminder of when Leo and I had been captured by Sincerax, its power cords of truth leading to, well, this point.
"Kara, what are you doing here?" Chris asks. Damn. All those muscles, and we're not getting anywhere.
"Saving your ass," I mutter, and as his eyes widen, I brace myself for what's going to happen. As fast as I can, I push Chris to the side and shut my eyes as the monster tosses me into the air. I hit the concrete, the air whooshing out of me, and I groan.
"Now to take you two as part of my collection." Hell no.
"Let him go!" I shout.
"Let her go!" Leo demands, and for the first time since we jumped into combat, he glances over at me. For a moment, the bond opens wide, but his emotions are too complex for me to decipher now, especially since I'm panicking. Regardless of my feelings for Chris, I can't let him get hurt.
"Never," the creature hisses, and with a wave of her hand, she absorbs both the girl and Chris into an amulet around her neck.
"Screw you, you stupid monster!" Chris' voice is soft, muffled as he throws his entire body against the walls of his prison. "I'll get out of here, Kara. Just get to safety!"
"You lose." Just the two words I absolutely hate to hear.
Spurred on by our anger, for the first time in a month, Leo and I rush into combat together. He kicks high, and I go low, but before either of us can make contact, the monster's gone. "Ginger," Leo whispers, voice quickly filling with panic, and I stumble, leaning against a pillar.
Chris is gone.
And it's my fault. Well.
"If I had my morpher, I could have gotten them both back," I hiss, and Leo flinches away from me, hurt replacing the fear in his eyes. And when I try to decipher his emotions, the main one I can sense is confusion. Seeing me must have thrown a wrench into all of this, and as hard as I try to not care… he's my friend.
And I promised him that I'd always have his back. Didn't I? But the pain is gone in the next moment, and Leo narrows his eyes at me.
"It's not my fault that you don't have it in the first place." It would hurt less if he'd punched me in the stomach. Because he's right, whether or not I want to admit it. The truths I told him all those weeks ago were just not right, and as hard as I tried to deny them, that I'd even believed them…
No. No, wait. Leo's voice in my head. Clear as day for the first time in a month. This isn't the right time, we're both not in a sound mind-
"Save it, Leo. I have to go."
Hannah and Lucas are at their usual table in Starlight, and I'd even given the youngest sibling some coffee. (Not that Chris knew about it.) "Hey, Kara," Hannah greets, but her voice trails off the second she sees the look on my face. "Where's Chris?" I couldn't save him. Now his siblings are alone on a fucking colony drifting through space. A tear drips down my cheek, and the cup of strawberry tea she was drinking clatters to the ground.
"Kara?" Lucas asks, voice rising in panic, and I gesture to him to try to be quiet. The last thing we need is to create mass hysteria, especially at my workplace. "What happened?"
"There was… there was a monster in the plaza. I tried, I really tried to protect Chris, but…" The guilt is like nothing I've felt before. The knowledge that I failed to protect someone who leaves so much behind…
That's a lie. I felt this exact guilt when Deviot captured Leo. When he fought Trakeena, and I wasn't there to bring him back, let alone help in some way.
I don't need to say any more. Hannah and Lucas both stand up, exchange a single glance, and push past me. They're going to try to save their brother. The danger is evident to me, but not to the siblings. So I rush after them, heart breaking as they collapse to the ground, cradling a chain necklace. That was the one he was wearing. It must have fallen off when he was taken. Next to us, Leo stands facing the man who must be Ginger's brother.
"You abandoned our brother!" Hannah screams, and I want to argue. There's things she just doesn't understand, that she never will. That I'm a Power Ranger, that if I'd just had my morpher, if I'd just kept my damn mouth shut, Chris would be okay. My eyes flutter closed for a moment. If I hadn't told Leo my thoughts, if I'd somehow managed to fight the truth serum… we'd still be best friends.
Or maybe more. The invitation had been open, and I'd just shoved it to the side like it meant absolutely nothing. In reality, though, it means the world. And maybe, just maybe, I'm only interested in Chris so I don't have to face my true feelings.
"Why would you leave him behind?" Lucas demands, and my eyes open to see the siblings visibly shaking, tears streaming down Hannah's face. "Why couldn't you escape with him?" So many questions, and so many answers I can't give without giving away even more secrets. "You left him. You ran away."
"You're a coward."
"Hannah, Lucas-" The siblings shove my hands away, the hands I was going to rest comfortingly on their shoulders. Wordlessly, they slip past me, heading to God knows where, and I turn, running after them.
"He would have protected you," Hannah spits, "You should have done the same for him."
"I'm so, so sorry. There are reasons-"
"No," she pauses, drawing in a deep but shaky breath, "Chris had dreams. He wanted to be a music producer, y'know. And he wanted us to pursue our dreams, too. He made us promise that we'd always stick together, and it's because of you that we can't keep that promise."
A promise. It always comes back to that stupid concept. Isn't that what led here in the first place? I promised Leo to remember our friendship, even when I revealed my thoughts to him. I promised Chris that I'll find him. Both promises I've broken. I can do nothing but watch as Hannah, Lucas, and Ginger's brother walk away, determined to do what we couldn't. To save the ones they love.
"This is all my fault." I've started the discussion, so there's no going back. "If I'd just… if I'd just kept my fucking mouth shut back then, we could have ended this whole thing. Hell, who even knows if it would have happened?"
"Kara-"
"I know I don't deserve my place on the team for the things I've said, the truths I've believed. But thanks to this past month…" I sniffle, wiping at the fresh tears that fall onto my cheeks, "I realized that I'm willing to atone for as long as I need to. I've been atoning since I moved out. But I can't keep being alone. I need you guys, and I need to be able to come clean to the rest of the team. So that people don't keep getting hurt like this. Are you willing to give me that chance, Leo?"
I'm scared. If he says no, if he remains adamant about keeping me away from the others… "I've missed you so, so much." His voice wobbles, and I want to reach out for him, to comfort him like I would in the past. "The others do, too. I still haven't told them what you said, and maybe it's because I knew I'd overreacted, overreached, that the team can't be a team without you. Trust me," he pauses, scoffs as tears fill his eyes, "I'm still hurt. But the others have been so understanding about everything. There's no doubt in my mind that they'll understand about this, too."
Silence settles between us, and I'm honestly shocked that we're not at each other's throats. "Do you remember the promise we made?" Tears escape from Leo's eyes, and I reach up, brushing one of them away.
"Couldn't forget it." He unclasps my morpher from his belt, and in a mirror image of what I'd done a month ago, he presses it back into my hands. "I have your back, K."
"And I yours, L."
Despite the Closed sign atop Colby's- Ginger's brother?- garage door, Leo still knocks at it. Desperate. Aren't we all, though? A beep sounds from our morphers, and I nearly jump for joy. Fighting side-by-side with my best friend has absolutely never felt better.
"Go ahead," Leo replies.
"Welcome back, Aqua Ranger," Alpha greets.
"Good to be back, Al. What's the sitch?"
"I'm detecting a disturbance in the warehouse district. Shall I alert the others?" Leo and I exchange a single, knowing glance, and cringe in unison. We won't be hearing the end of it from the others, so we might as well finish this up before they give us earfuls.
"No. We can check it out ourselves first."
Newfound motivation, not only to get Chris back, but to fight evil alongside Leo once more, adds speed to my stride. Soon, we're at the warehouse where Maronda's cornered Colby, Hannah, and Lucas, and Leo sends a kick into the monster. I rush over to the others, helping them up and taking a defensive stance in front of them.
"Get away from me!" Hannah growls, and when she pushes me away from her, the emotional pain is worse than the physical.
"We'll get Chris back ourselves!" Lucas adds, and the two dash forward, hefting up pieces of scrap metal they must've gotten from Colby. They don't understand. And the lack of understanding is going to put them in danger. So when Maronda fires off lasers from her hands, Leo and I dive forward, intercepting them. This is most definitely something I don't miss, I realize as I struggle to my feet, the whole getting seriously injured part of the job.
"Are you two okay?" Hannah's eyes are even wider than usual as she gazes up at me, and Lucas looks like he's about to burst into tears. "Stay here. I'll be right back."
"Who's this dude?" Lucas asks, voice nearly a whisper, and I glance at Leo, "Is he going to help get my brother back?" Leo bends down, patting Lucas' head gently.
"Yes. You can count on us. Just stay put, alright?" The two siblings nod silently, and Leo and I are off once more. As we follow Maronda's trail, the Red Ranger glances at me, and I can't help but smile. This situation sucks ass. Not only are our "dates" ruined, but they're ruined by a monster who sucks people into her necklace. Oh well. "Ready?"
"More than I've ever been before." Leo grins, and I nearly trip over my own feet. He's just as gorgeous as before, if not even more. Being apart from him made me feel off, like the world was tilted the wrong way or something. But now… everything's back to how it should be.
"Go, Galactic!" Maronda leaps out of her hiding spot, and as Leo sweeps a leg out to trip her, I kick high. Landing a solid blow on her head, she falls forward, stumbling over Leo. She's not down yet, though, since as she falls, she grabs onto our ankles, tossing us over the staircase behind us.
The pain doesn't last, though.
"Kara!" My gaze jolts up from the ground, and soon, my teammates are surrounding me. Damon helps me up, enveloping me in a rare hug, and Kai pats my head. Kendrix and Maya shove the Green Ranger away so they can get their hugs in, too, and I seriously hope there's somewhere for my tears to drain out of my helmet.
"Welcome back, little sister," Kai murmurs, and I smile (because if I don't smile, I'll break down.)
"I missed you, Kai. But for now, we've got a monster to take down." Said monster stalks down the staircase towards us, and I brace myself for the fight.
"How nice of you to show up," Maronda hisses, "Stingwingers!" I also didn't miss these guys. I mean, I fought them unmorphed back when Maya had gone missing, but yeah. I could go the rest of my life without seeing another Stinger, and I'd be a happy camper. "Destroy them!" They really don't waste time, though. One of them dives right for me, and I block its punch with my upper arm. Using all my strength, I shove it away and watch as it flies through the air, hitting the railing with a thud. Another comes up behind me, and I spin, flinging out a hand and sending it reeling away with a telekinetic push. A third kicks low, but I jump up and send a kick into its head, knocking it to the ground.
"Like you never left, huh?" Damon jokes and I shrug as he dispatches more Stingwingers. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot Leo and Maronda facing off, and I rush over with the others. In a few quick moments, we grab her amulet from her neck.
"You're nothing without your amulet," Leo announces.
"Give that back to me."
"You've gotta take it from us if you want it that badly," I retort, narrowing my eyes at her.
"Fine, have it your way." Oddly enough, Maronda leaps onto a motorcycle with a snake for a head (LEAVE MY GALACTABEAST ALONE), and I glance at Leo.
"Do I have your permission?"
"Go for it."
Sweet. "Lights of Orion, activate!" As the extra boost of power washes over me, it's like my limbs turn to jelly (in a good way). All the exhaustion is cleansed from my system, and I lift my saber as we charge into battle. "Power-Up Mode-" Unlike before, we don't pass clean through our opponent. Instead, as we come into contact with Maronda and her motorcycle, we're knocked out of our pure energy state, hitting the ground hard.
"Heads up, guys. She's coming around again," Leo warns, and I close my eyes. The distance between us and her is decreasing way, way too fast for me to move her, but at least I can still do this. Being in my Lights of Orion form makes gathering the energy I need a lot faster and easier, and so I hold my arms in front of me, generating a shield around us. It holds the first time she tries to hit us, sending her careening the opposite way, but when Maronda tries again, the forcefield shatters.
Okay, now there's nothing I can do. The creepy creature rushes toward us, and I dig down deep, searching for any hint of my telekinesis remaining- Suddenly, another bike zooms in from the other direction, its rider launching an attack straight at Maronda. The element of surprise is very much in their favor, since despite their lack of abilities like ours, they send her crashing into a stack of crates. As the boxes fall, Hannah and Lucas emerge, whacking at Maronda and her bike with their scrap metal swords.
And when the biker pulls to a stop, glancing over at us to check if we're okay-
"Holy crap."
"I don't believe it," Leo whispers, "Hey, Colby! What are you doing here?" Yikes. Maybe not the best thing to call him by his first name when we're not supposed to have met him-
"Leo, where's Leo?"
"And where's Kara?" Hannah asks.
"Um… uh... "
"Leo and Kara called us to try and get your siblings back," Kai explains, and I breathe a sigh of relief. My dear brother, always covering our asses. Kind of like how I would as-
"They did?" Colby, Hannah, and Lucas echo, and I nod.
"Of course they did," Kendrix replies.
"Power Rangers. You'll regret trying to stop me," Maronda snarls, and I frown. Oh, right. She's still a thing.
"And you'll give us back our siblings!" Hannah shouts back defiantly, resting a hand on her hip.
"Make me!" With that, the monster revs her bike and takes off. Colby does the same, Hannah hopping onto the back and Lucas into the sidecar that I hadn't noticed before.
"Let us take care of this," Leo insists, but something tells me that those three crazies won't allow it.
"They're our siblings," Lucas reminds, "we got this." As I'd said: a pure lack of understanding, and too much bravado will get you into some pretty dangerous situations. Like this one.
"No, don't!" I call after them, but they've already left us in the dust.
"While you were, uh, away," Leo begins, and I glance at him. What in the hell does he have up his sleeve now? "I got something that can even up the score. Red Astro Cycle!" Didn't he already have that, though- "Red Capsular Cycle!" Whoa. "How's it look?"
"Insane. Makes you even more of a badass than you already are," I joke, nodding towards the trail of dust left by the two bikers, "Go get them, Red." Warmth floods down the bond between us, and I take the briefest moment to revel in it. Just like curling up next to the fire with a cup of tea and a good book. Like I'm finally home. When he races off, Damon pats a hand onto my shoulder, and I jump.
"Head over heels, Kar. Head over freaking heels." Ugh.
"I hate you, mechanic."
Leave it to the Red Ranger to finish the job faster than any of us could. With a single command, he releases the people Maronda had trapped within her amulet, and the joy that emulates from Colby, Hannah, and Lucas is palpable. They step forward, and I almost expect Leo to run towards Ginger as well, but he hesitates. And for the first time ever since our bond developed, I can sense his actual heartbeat. It's still thrumming fairly quickly thanks to the adrenaline from the fight, but… there's no infatuation. Nothing like that. At least, not for Ginger.
And I know I don't feel any of that for Chris, either.
As it always is, though, this isn't over yet. Maronda grows to her giant size, and I groan. Add this to the list of stuff I really, really didn't miss.
"Quickly, get out of here, everyone, move!" Kai instructs the civilians, and when Leo and I exchange a glance, I know we're thinking the same thing. We don't even need to send our thoughts through the link to know that.
"Let's do it! Galactabeasts, arise!"
"Galactazords, transform!" I order, "Galaxy Megazord!" Forget what I said about not missing this. The Snake Zord is something like a friend to me, so to once again be at its helm is comforting. "I've missed you, friend." And even though I can't understand its hiss, I know it's welcoming me back.
"Galaxy Megazord, Power Up!" Before we can attack, though, Maronda lets out an evil cackle, spraying us with some sort of sickly sweet perfume. Then, before our very eyes, we're transported into another dimension.
"This place gives me the creeps. Let's get out of here, guys."
"You don't need to tell me twice," Kendrix confirms, but when she sends the Galaxy Saber slashing down, Maronda simply teleports out of the way over and over. Then, when our back is turned, she sprays out an icy breath (reminding me way too much of Icy Angel, ugh), knocking us back into our dimension.
"Centaurus, online!" Leo commands, and in a few moments, Maronda is defeated.
When Leo and I arrive at Colby and Ginger's garage, we're shocked to see Chris, Hannah, and Lucas there as well. Looks like a good amount of trauma has let them bond. Really unfortunate, but kinda endearing at the same time.
"Hannah and Lucas told me that you tried to save me," Chris begins, "I seriously can't thank you enough. Especially since you kept them safe while I was, uh. Gone."
"No need to thank me. You would have done the exact same thing, had it been me." He smiles gently, but it just doesn't evoke the same feelings as… as Leo's smile does. (Well, I'm screwed). "Bye guys." Colby barely looks up from where he's showing Hannah and Lucas some of his repair work, and the two siblings don't even bother. Yikes. Screwed in more ways than one. "Um, Chris. I've had the greatest time with you, even though our two hangouts were terribly interrupted." We chuckle softly, and despite my nervousness, my instincts tell me that he knows what I'm going to say. That he has news, too. "But I'm still trying to figure out how I feel for… well. Y'know."
"It's funny you say that," he replies softly, and when his gaze wanders over to Ginger, and hers to him, my jaw nearly hits the floor, "because I'm in the same boat, too."
"You're kidding." Chris shakes his head, orange hair flopping around. "Well, good luck," I reply, a cheeky grin on my face, and he rolls his eyes.
"Could say the same to you, Kar. We'll stay in touch, though. As friends?"
"Of course."
"It's just wild how Ginger and Chris," I break off to laugh, "literally ended up together because they were dating us." Leo chuckles as we walk down the street back towards my place. The others are there too, ready to help me move back into the apartment. I'd already suggested he summon the Capsular Cycle, and he just looked at me like I was an idiot. Nothing new.
"No kidding. Funny how those things work out, huh?"
"Not funnier than the time you tried to cook for Kai and I and- ow!" I grab at the spot where Leo flicked my forehead, and when I look up at him, he's blushing. (Please be still my heart. There's nothing cute about that. Absolutely nothing. Not at all. Nada. Zip-)
I can hear your thoughts, K.
Well, stop hearing them then-
Before we can get into yet another of our telepathic arguments, the familiar sound of a dirt bike revving behind us makes us turn, and Hannah, Lucas, and Colby are there.
"You guys don't have a car?" is the first thing Lucas asks, and Hannah hits him upside the head. Glad to know violence is also a first resort in this sibling pair, too.
"Not at the moment, no," I reply with a smile. "Did I forget something at the garage?"
Hannah shakes her head, fidgeting with her hands, a habit I've noticed all three siblings share. "No. We came to apologize. You're not a coward. What matters is that you tried to get our brother back."
"We were acting like you didn't try at all," Lucas continues, "even though we know now that you fought your hardest to get Chris back. Thanks, Kara."
"Of course."
"Are we still okay to go to Starlight Cafe? You aren't mad at us, right?" Hannah blurts out, and I can't help but giggle. Of course they would be worried about that, those two over caffeinated kids.
"Of course not."