~SAFFRON~A sharp, clear click sounds from the top of the big staircase, cutting through the heavy, quiet kitchen like a gunshot.Heavy, familiar footsteps start coming down the marble steps. It’s Fred.My throat closes up and my eyes widen as I look quickly from the stairs back to the boy standing over me. The dim light under the cabinets is still casting long shadows across the floor, but if Fred walks into this kitchen right now, there is no way to explain this. Jason is standing there with no shirt on, his shoulders broad and making a huge shadow over me, and he smells clearly of alcohol. I am pinned flat against the edge of the counter, breathing hard, with my hair completely messy from tossing on my bed.If Fred catches us like this, the fragile illusion of our perfectly blended family will be completely destroyed before the night ends.I open my mouth to whisper something—a warning, a plea, anything—but before I can say a single word, Jason moves. Without saying anything, his b
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