Last Female Sypher and Her Brother's Friends novel Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Liam

I shouldn’t be this relieved.

62

626

That thought repeats in my head as I pull the truck to a stop at the curb across from our childhood house.

The engine ticks as it cools, the late afternoon light casting long shadows across the lawn that used to be perfectly trimmed when Mom still cared about appearances.

Now the grass is too long. The siding looks dull. And the yellow police tape tied around the porch railing flutters lazily in the wind.

Two days.

Aria has ignored me for two damn days.

When the lawyer called and said the police cleared us to go to the house and look through Mom’s things,

my first thought was, now she can’t ignore me.

How shit is that?

I glance sideways at her in the passenger seat. She’s staring straight ahead at the house like it might bite her if she blinks. Her dark hair falls forward as she leans slightly toward the window, eyes narrowed.

My chest tightens.

I missed years of her life. Years I can never get back.

But damn, my sister can hold a grudge.

You expected hugs? My wolf rumbles in the back of my mind.

I rub my jaw. Didn’t expect a cold war.

She’s hurt, he replies simply.

1/5

16:22 Tue, Sep 1

Chapter 21

Yeah.

I know.

36?

62

It was a choice I made, even though it killed me.

Aria finally opens the door and steps out before I can say anything. Gravel crunches under her boots as she

starts toward the front yard.

“So,” I mutter, climbing out after her, “still not talking to me?”

She pauses halfway up the cracked walkway but doesn’t turn around.

“I didn’t realize what I had to say mattered,” she says flatly.

Well.

At least that’s something.

Progress, my wolf chuckles.

I shoot him a mental glare and follow her up the steps.

The front door still hangs slightly crooked on its hinges from when the police forced it open. The smell hits me immediately when I push it inward.

Dust. Old wood.

And faint copper.

Blood.

Aria steps inside first, her boots crunching on something.

Glass.

“Wow,” she murmurs, looking around slowly. “The investigators really rolled out the red carpet.”

2/5

16:22 Tue, Sep 1

Chapter 21

The living room looks like a hurricane tore through it. Couch cushions tossed aside. A lamp on its side.

Broken glass glittering across the floor from the back windows.

My stomach twists.

This used to be the safest place in the world.

Now it feels like a crime scene because… it was.

Aria walks farther in, careful with her steps.

“They didn’t even pretend to clear some of this out after they got their evidence, huh?” she says.

“No,” I reply quietly. “Looks like they just collected what they needed and left the rest.”

The broken back windows gape like missing teeth. Cold air slips through them, stirring the old curtains.

My wolf shifts uneasily. Something feels wrong.

I inhale slowly, letting my senses stretch.

Old scents. Police. Dust.

Nothing fresh.

But the feeling lingers.

Aria drifts toward the kitchen, and I follow. Every step echoes with ghosts.

The kitchen table is still here.

62

My throat tightens.

Aria runs her fingers along the scratched surface.

“Mom used to make pancakes here every Sunday,” she says quietly. ” She would use the cut–up fruit to make the ugliest faces.”

3/5

16:22 Tue, Sep 1

Chapter 21

There is almost a smile at the end of the sentence.

“You used to drown them in syrup.”

“You used to steal half of them.”

“Masochist,” I tease.

“Cannibal.” She snorts softly.

It’s the first almost–laugh I’ve heard from her since she came back.

Then her shoulders stiffen.

“And then you left. She stopped making pancakes. Got busy with more work hours and other things.”

The air goes heavy again.

Yeah.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify