Chapter 149
My sister was already headed toward the door. I remembered the remark Aaron had made in the airplane about Cadence having no clue what was going on with me and decided to mess with my sister a little bit. “Which one is Jamie?”
Cadence held the door for me and said, “He’s the Healer.”
“The one with the spiky hair?” I asked. Not, “The one that took me to visit Grandma?”
“That’s him.” We waited for the elevator to reach the penthouse level, and she didn’t even seem to think it strange I wouldn’t know who Jamie was. So, I continued to have my fun.
“I remember Meagan and Aurora. What’s that other guy’s name? The one with the weird accent?”
“That’s Christian,” Cadence replied as we stepped into the elevator. “He’s not here right now, though.”
“Oh, where’s he at?” I found that surprising as I was under the impression Christian had been there the night before when Jamie asked him to send us access to the cameras, but I guess he didn’t need to be. I also thought it was weird that Cadence didn’t think I’d know who Christian was since he’d installed the software on my computer. Aaron was right; my sister had no clue what was going on with me. I sort of wondered if she’d even notice if I disappeared.
“Christian is working on a special project with some doctor in one of the Guardian settlements. He’s trying to figure out a way that Guardians can turn back into humans if they want to,” Cadence attempted to explain to me as the elevator reached the bottom floor.
This was intriguing. I hadn’t heard anything at all about this and didn’t realize there was a Guardian settlement. “Why would they want to do that?” The elevator reached the bottom floor, and we both got out.
My sister was walking super fast, and I had to almost jog to keep up. “Well, it’s kind of exhausting living forever,” she explained. “Some of them have been around for thousands of years, and they don’t have a lot of options. If they could turn back into people, then they would die, eventually. As Guardians, they’ll just keep on going forever.”
“Unless a Hunter kills them, right?” I asked, truly seeking clarification this time.
“Right. But we hope that doesn’t happen, for obvious reasons,” Cadence noticed me having trouble keeping up and slowed just a tad. “So, this will make it easier for them to be… normal again.”
I was glad I had on a jacket since it was a little chilly out with a brisk autumn breeze. The cold weather didn't seem to bother my sister at all now that she had Transformed. That was something I’d never asked about. My mind flickered to the hat I’d bought Elliott, and I glanced down at my ring for just a second, almost running into the back of my sister who was stopped on the sidewalk, staring into the parking lot. Cadence grabbed my arm and squealed, “Oh. My. Gosh,” almost as well as Lucy.
“What? What is it?” I asked, not sure if I should be scared of a Vampire, or a monster, or something else entirely. Possibly my sister’s brute force on my arm.
Cadence broke out in a fit of laughter, smiling with glee. “He’s here! He actually came! Come on!” She took off running so fast, I was left staring after her with my mouth open, still standing several yards behind.
Cadence must have realized there was no way I could keep up with her because she stopped and backtracked, grabbing me by the arm, and slowing her pace to a more manageable, human speed. I continued to stare at her like she was nuts having no idea who was here. For a moment I thought she might mean Christian, but I didn’t think she was that fond of him.
“But where are we going?” I asked, sprinting again to keep up with my sister who was jogging but still making it hard on me.
Cadence must have been too excited to answer. She burst through the office building door, letting go of me, and the door flung back, almost smacking me in the face. It took me a moment to get my bearings and catch up with her. Luckily, Jamie’s office was close to the front entrance, and his door was open, so I could see the doctor, Aaron, and another person in there, but since my sister had flung herself at him, I couldn’t tell who it was. Yet.
“Brandon!” Mystery solved. I didn’t quite understand why my sister was so thrilled to see him. I supposed he must remind her of Elliott so much that she was a little confused about who he was “You came! You’re here.”
“Surprise! It’s me!” Brandon said, less than enthusiastically. He hugged my sister back, but even as he was making his next remark, I could tell he was no longer paying attention to her. His eyes had fallen on me. I lingered in the doorway, just staring at him, wondering how it was I could be looking into the oh so familiar eyes of a stranger. “Hope you weren’t expecting the pizza guy.”
Cadence didn’t seem to notice how his last sentence trailed off. I was barely paying attention to her either, but I thought she said, “No, some of us don’t like pizza,” before she asked, “Why are you here?”
He let go of my sister, and without answering her, he smiled at me, a sort of unassuming, friendly smile, and said “Hey,” quietly.
I took a small step into the room, not sure how to approach him. It was as if crossing this threshold was opening an entire new reality for me, one where a piece of Elliott was still alive. Not one for being rude, I replied, “Hello,” and tried not to stare. It wasn’t working. He wasn’t quite as tall as Elliott, and his hair was shorter, better controlled. Of course, he looked about five or ten years younger than his dad, too, and he was dressed like a kid in jeans and a sweatshirt, something I’d never seen Elliott wear. I dropped my eyes, not wanting to stare.
I looked up in time to see my sister’s expression change. She glanced from Jamie to Aaron with her forehead crinkled, and I realized Aaron was smiling at her. That’s when Cadence tipped her face up and her shoulders relaxed a little bit. I wasn’t quite sure what puzzle she had just solved.
