wide, as if he’s just now considering this.
“Seventeen, almost eighteen. Why?” What could my age have to do with what he’s about to tell me?
Ares blows out a heavy breath. “Could be worse.”
“Can someone please just tell me what’s going on?” I’m getting frustrated again. Dante shakes his head but doesn’t add anything. It’s clear he thinks it’s a bad idea.
“Well, usually—always, actually —Infinities are together,” Ares finally says like that’s some huge revelation.
“I already knew that,” I say, looking between the two of them. Ares stands and begins pacing. His long legs eat up the space in the room with just a few strides.
“It’s not usually that big of a deal when there’s only three in an Infinity, but we have five.”
“Yes, they told me our group is unusual. Does that make it harder or something, because there’s only one of me and I’m the battery?” Ares snorts, putting his hand on the back of his neck.
“It is harder that there’s only one of you and four of us, but not because you’re a battery. If anything, you’re like adding gasoline to a fire, we don’t take anything from you. It’s the other way around. You’ll take from us. But make us stronger because it filters back like a loop.” Ares stops mid stride. “I don’t think I’m explaining this right, but that’s not really important right now. What’s important is that you understand that we,” he makes a circle with his hand between himself and Dante, “will always be together.”
“You’ve said that, so what are you really trying to tell me? Am I supposed to tag along with you guys all the time like some fifth wheel?”
Ares turns to face Dante and deadpans, “I get it.”
“I told you, and you thought it would be easy.”
“Well I was wrong,” Ares responds, completely leaving me out of the conversation.
I throw my hands up in the air. “How am I supposed to understand any of this if you won’t tell me?”
Ollie walks through the open doorway, taking a long look at Ares who has resumed his pacing, and Dante sitting at the end of the bed. “What’d I miss?”
“Not a whole hell of a lot,” Ares mutters acerbically.
Ollie wastes no time walking over to the head of the bed and sits down next to me. I scoot over, tugging the sheet with me to give him more room. Taking advantage, he slides even closer and brings his legs up, stretching them out.
“Where’s Milo?” Dante questions, narrowing his eyes on Ollie. “And why did you give her the room next to yours?”
Ollie crosses his arms over his chest, peering at Dante with one raised brow. “Your room is two doors down Dante.”
“She should be downstairs,” Ares pipes in.
“You have the only room downstairs,” Dante snorts.
“Exactly,” Ares counters.
“Why don’t you just hide me away in the attic, or better yet, in the basement?” I argue as Milo finally comes in, catching the tail end of my snarky comment.
“Off to a good start I see,” Milo mumbles, pulling out the chair to the vanity.
Ares ignores his comment. “Now that we’re all finally here. Laura, ask us what you want to know.” That’s a loaded question. I want to know everything.
I swallow, unsure of what to ask first. I scan the four of them. Ollie relaxes next to me, his blond hair hanging loose around his shoulders. Dante is rigid, sitting at the end of the bed with his amber eyes trained on me. Milo is aloof as ever. He’s sitting in the chair across the room, he couldn’t make it more obvious if he tried that he’s keeping himself apart from us. And finally, Ares, he’s stopped pacing, but he’s still clearly agitated. His movements are short and jerky, his voice is tight.
“I guess the most important thing I need to know is what you all expect from me.” I place my hands in my lap waiting for a response.
Ares, the most vocal, opens his mouth, but Ollie beats him to it. “Expect from you? This isn’t a job interview Laura. You are part of us, part of our Infinity.”
“Yeah, but I don’t know what that means. You guys are together most of the time, what does that mean for me? I have to work, I have my mom…” I stop short of saying that I have to take care of her. Ares already knows that’s not true anymore.
“We don’t always have to be together, like physically.”
“Really Oliver?” Ares comments in a flat tone.
Ollie’s