Chapter 151
My sister and Aaron were pretty far behind us, I noticed, and a quick glance behind me let me know they were carrying on an IAC conversation. I turned back around and wondered, for the hundredth time, what that would be like. “So, you from Iowa?” Brandon asked me as we walked along.
“Uh, yeah,” I replied, assuming he probably already knew that. “And you’re from Oklahoma?”
“Born and raised,” he replied. I glanced up at him, and he smiled down at me. There was something about him that immediately set me at ease, like we had been friends for years, sort of like the vibe I’d gotten from his dad, though he was definitely different than Elliott. While they looked the same, and their voices had the same gravely quality, as well as a similar accent, when I looked at Brandon, I didn’t see his dad. “You a senior?”
“No, I’m a junior,” I replied. “Are you a senior?”
“Yep. Well, I mean, I’m not planning on going back.”
I wasn’t sure what to say to that. I wanted to ask him about the hunt, what it was that had made him decide after one Vampire that this was the life for him. I could only imagine how thrilling it must’ve been to be out in the field with my sister and Aaron, but we were almost at the gym, and I didn’t want my sister eavesdropping on that conversation anyway.
Once we were almost at the gym, Aaron dropped Cadence’s hand and easily went around us to get the closest door. I hadn’t been in here before and was impressed from the second we walked in at all of the equipment. Everything was top of the line and in great condition. The walls were painted red, white, and blue, and everything was meticulously clean. It shouldn’t have surprised me, since Aaron had been in charge of running this place by himself for so long, but it was just one more reason to wish I could join the team now.
When we reached the room with all of the cardio equipment in it, I was glad to see some familiar faces. Aurora and Meagan were working out on the treadmills, along with Shane who I didn’t know as well. All three of them came to a stop, and Aurora smiled in recognition in my direction before her eyes shifted and her mouth dropped open.
“Oh, wow,” she said, walking over while drying her forehead off with a hand towel. “You’ve got to be Brandon. We’ve heard so much about you.” She offered him her hand, which he shook. “I’m Aurora.”
Brandon smiled at her and gave a little nod, like he wasn’t sure what to think of the extra-tall redhead. “It’s nice to meet you.”
She wrapped her arms around me loosely and said, “Hey Cassidy! I’m all sweaty, but it’s nice to see you!”
It was nice to see her in person again. “You, too.” I didn’t even mind the perspiration.
Cadence gestured at the other two. “Brandon, this is Meagan, and this is Shane.”
“Shane will likely be doing most of your training,” Aaron explained to Brandon
Shane reached out and grabbed Brandon’s hand, and I watched my new friend’s face morph a little bit, imagining the Guardian must be squeezing a little too hard. “Hey, man. How’s it going? Are you going through the Transformation process then?”
Once Shane released his hand, Brandon shook it out for a second, inconspicuously, though I obviously noticed. “Uh, yeah. Tonight, actually.”
“That’s cool!” Meagan exclaimed as she patted him on the shoulder. She is a pretty brunette, a little shorter than my sister, and I imagined Brandon would blush when she touched him, but he didn’t. He didn’t even seem to notice how pretty she is. “It will be great to have you on the team.”
“It’s great to be here,” Brandon replied. Something in his voice sounded less enthusiastic than I expected, and I couldn’t help but stare at him for a second. Was he having second thoughts?
My mental gymnastics were interrupted by Meagan’s embrace. “It’s nice to see you, too, Cassidy,” she said. “How are you doing?”
“Good,” I replied, forcing a smile but still looking at Brandon. I really hoped he understood the magnitude of what he was about to do tonight and appreciated it.
“What’s up?” Shane asked me, giving a little wave, and I acknowledged him the best I could considering we were probably equally suspicious of each other. He was such a hulk—he made me nervous, and I didn’t think there was quite as much going on upstairs as maybe there should be.
Once all the greetings were over with, Cadence said, “So, this is one of the workout rooms. There are a couple of other rooms, but they are much smaller.”
Brandon and I both looked around for a moment before he said, “It’s pretty nice.” I concurred. He took a few steps forward and started checking out the equipment, and I followed, thinking it might be a good idea to look interested even though I’d never been a huge fan of exercise. I figured I’d have to develop different feelings about it to be a Hunter. While I wandered around, I kept an ear tuned in to the conversation going on behind me.
“Are you not going tonight?” Aurora was asking Cadence.
Cadence sighed. “No, I’m going to stay here. I want to spend some time with my sister before she has to go back home. But you guys will be just fine without me. He’s just a baby.” I wondered if the sigh was on my account.
“What?” Meagan asked. At the shocked tone of her voice, I turned to see a matching expression on her face.
My sister almost rolled her eyes. “Not literally.” I got the impression my sister thought she was a little bit of a ditz. It was no wonder she got along so well with Shane. “It’s just a few weeks past his Resurrection.”
“Oh, right,” Meagan laughed. “It would be hard to kill a baby.”
I noticed my sister turn and look at Aaron, like she wanted to see if that statement bothered him, but he didn’t react, and I had no idea what that was all about. Cadence concluded, “Right.” Then, turning back to Aurora, she said, “So, I’ll leave it to you to coordinate.”
“Me?” Aurora asked. “You think I can do that?”
“Sure.” Cadence shrugged her shoulders. “Aaron is planning on being there. You just need to make sure the Hunters are in position.”
Resting a finger against her chin, Aurora seemed to think about the situation. “Well, I guess there’s a first time for everything.”
I was fiddling around with an elliptical machine, trying to look like I wasn’t paying attention, but I couldn’t help but mutter, “Some people’s first times take a lot longer to come around than other people’s.”
“What was that?”
Startled, I looked up to see Brandon was right behind me. Apparently, he was already pretty stealthy. Maybe he’d be good at this job after all. “Nothing,” I shrugged. “I’m just pouting again, that’s all.” I was a little embarrassed that he’d seen my outburst earlier so I tried to keep my feelings in check.
If it bothered him, he didn’t say. He smiled at me. “Don’t worry. It’ll happen sooner than you think.”
“I guess,” I said, glancing back over my shoulder at my sister and her friends. “Looks like the grownups are talking now.” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.
