Stay by Alyssa Rose Ivy

“I wasn’t actually offering. We are distantly related.”
    “Yeah.” I really had a much bigger and weirder family than I could have imagined. Georgina and Robert were intense, but these people were just plain old quirky. I wondered what else would be waiting for me when the boat reached the shore.

Chapter Eleven
Toby
    Watching the boat disappear across the lake was painful. I’d promised Casey I’d always be there for her, and yet somehow here I was sending her away to face who knew what all alone. It took every ounce of strength I had to let her go. Casey needed help, and unfortunately I wasn’t the one who could give it to her.
    “Depressing, huh?”
    I spun around coming face to face with Hailey. “Very, but what are you doing here?”
    “Georgina suggested I head this way.” She stuffed her hands in the back pockets of her jean shorts. “How is she?”
    “She’s freaked out, overwhelmed, but unbelievably brave.”
    “Sounds about right.”
    “How did Georgina know where we were?”
    “What doesn’t Georgina know? She’s already pacing the floors waiting for you guys.”
    “I bet. We probably should have told her everything—”
    “She already knows.”
    “Really?” I’d assumed she did, but if she was openly telling Hailey… well, then she really knew.
    “Uh huh. She figured it out.”
    “Is she pissed?”
    “That you guys didn’t tell her?” She sat down on a rock.
    I sat down beside her. I wasn’t tired, but standing was getting old. “Yeah.”
    “No. She thinks it’s a sign of your protective instinct.”
    “That I know I have.”
    “So what now? What are your plans while you wait?”
    “Plans? You mean other than staring at the water?”
    “Yes.” She tossed a small stone into the lake. “I mean you can’t stay here for days.”
    “You think this is going to take days?”
    She shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know.”
    “You want me to do something.” I turned to look at her. “Just spit it out.”
    “I’m worried.”
    “About?”
    “Allie.”
    “Why? I’m sure she’s having a good time with Levi.” I really was happy for them. I had Casey. I was completely over Allie.
    “A good time?” Hailey raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, you’d think, but I have a bad feeling.”
    “A bad feeling how?” My stomach turned. Hailey didn’t strike me as the type to make something out of nothing. She also wouldn’t have come to me unless she really felt she needed help. We barely knew each other, and I represented a rival family to the one she’d spend her whole life loyal to.
    “I don’t know. She’s my best friend, and something feels off.”
    “But you don’t know how to find them, do you?” From what I understood only Jared knew.
    “No. But I wish I did.” She buried her face in her hands. “Maybe I’m crazy, but I’m usually right about these things.”
    “Do you think Levi told anyone else? Wouldn’t he have told Owen?” Her brother was Levi’s chief advisor. One would think he’d have been in the know.
    “Owen’s claiming he didn’t.”
    “Did you tell your brother your concerns?” Maybe Owen was just keeping quiet out of loyalty to Levi. I’m sure if he did know he’d been sworn to secrecy. Just as Jared was.
    “Yes, and he told me Jared would be back soon. Why he has so much faith in Jared I don’t know.”
    “If Jared’s not back soon, it might also mean Vera won’t be. That’s going to be a problem too.”
    “Casey’s real close to her, huh?”
    “Yes, and the two have a lot to talk about.”
    “What’s really going on with Casey? Georgina only said ‘something was off’ and she’s looking for her mom’s family.”
    “That’s pretty much it.” Hmm. I wondered how much Georgina had told her.
    “But what does off mean?”
    “Weird dreams, sleeping a lot.”
    “Do you know what they did to her?” Hailey never beat around the bush. “Georgina said something about a weird kind of magic that works on Pterons. Do you know