Chapter 165
The air was chilly outside, and once again, I wished I’d brought a coat. “So… I’m in the other building, the one across the street, for now. They’re… they’re going to give me Elliott’s apartment, once they’re done with a few things.”
I wondered if all of his stuff was still in there, if they hadn’t yet touched it. I couldn’t imagine it had been sitting the way he’d left it for months. It seems like Aaron wouldn’t like that, but then, it was possible. “That’s… cool.” I wondered what it looked like, but I didn’t want to walk into it and see all of Elliott’s stuff, smell him, miss him even more. I was twisting the ring on my finger without even thinking about it.
“Where’d you get that?” Brandon asked as we crossed the street.
“Oh, from your… from Elliott.”
He nodded. “It’s pretty.”
“Yeah, thanks.”
The other building was across the street from this one. It wasn’t as tall, but it was wider. I hadn’t been in there but my understanding was that was where people who came here to train lived until they were sent back out to other teams. Brandon didn’t belong there. Without a doubt, he’d be a member of the KC team.
“Do you want me to walk you up?” he asked as we reached the door to my building.
“Oh, no, that’s okay. You better hurry or you won’t have time.”
“Right. Okay. See you in a bit.” Brandon gave me a sort-of smile and then headed across the street. I took a few steps toward my building when I heard him call me. “Cass?” I turned to look at him. “Thanks for staying with me. It was nice to see you… when I woke up. To know I wasn’t alone.”
I couldn’t help but smile at him. He seemed so sincere. Brandon put on a good show, but I saw the vulnerability beneath it. “I don’t think there’s much chance of you ever being alone again,” I replied with a shrug. He nodded, understanding what I meant. He looked relieved to hear that, and once again I found myself wondering about his mother. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
I turned and headed for the building again, trying to focus on what we’d find out in the meeting and not on Brandon’s green eyes, but it was hard. There was something special about that guy, and I don’t think it was just because he was Elliott’s son that I felt this way.
Taking a shower was a big gamble, but after Brandon’s comment, I couldn’t be sure he wasn’t talking about me. So… I hurriedly jumped into the still-cold water and washed off really quickly, which meant I had to redo my makeup, not to mention my hair was now wet. By the time I was somewhat presentable, I knew there was no way I was going to make it downstairs on time.
Miraculously, I made it to the lobby just as Brandon was walking into the building. Jamie was visiting with the lady behind the front desk, whom I thought must be some sort of a concierge or something, though I had no idea. My hair was still damp, but I thought it wasn’t too noticeable. I expected Jamie to check his watch or tell us we were late or something, but he only smiled and said, “Are we ready?”
“Uh, yeah,” Brandon said, and I noticed his eyes drop down to my sneakers and then back up to my face. I had on jeans and an emerald sweater with a black leather jacket I’d picked up a few months ago, to insinuate I was one of them, and while I wasn’t dressed to the nines, I thought I looked okay. He also looked pretty nice in jeans with a red and blue plaid shirt and a jean jacket.
I smiled at him, and as Jamie led us out of the apartment building, I fell in step next to him.
“We’re going to Aaron’s office,” Jamie exclaimed as we walked back the way we came. We passed his building and went to another, taller one, down the street. I wondered how hard it was for Brandon to walk like a human. I wanted to ask, but something told me it would be good practice to not say anything if I could help it.
“There will be a lot of Hunters and Guardians from other regions on the IAC. Some stuff went down with Gibbon last night,” Jamie continued, “so this will be a pretty serious discussion.” He had his hand on the door and turned to look at us. “Seriously—don’t say anything during the meeting. Okay?”
“Yes, sir,” I replied, and I didn’t mean it sarcastically at all, but he still shook his head at me, like I was trying to be snide or he thought I was ridiculous.
We headed for an elevator, and I realized my hands were shaking a little bit, so I stuffed them in my pocket. My phone was a reminder that Lucy had called earlier, and I hadn’t called her back yet, but she’d definitely have to wait. Brandon took a step closer to me so that his arm was bumped up against mine, and I appreciated the contact. It made me feel slightly less nervous.
We exited the elevator and walked through a glass door. Brandon looked suspiciously at the first chair beyond the entrance, and I thought there must be something to that, but before I could ask, the older woman behind the front desk startled me with an overly loud, “Good morning, Jamie! Kids!”
“Good morning, Mrs. Carminati,” he said. “Have you met Cassidy, Cadence’s sister?”
“I believe we met at the… memorial,” she said, smiling at me. I didn’t remember her at all, but I would take her word for it. “Nice to see you again, sweetheart.”
“You, too,” I said, smiling. She looked very nice and friendly and possibly about as old as Jamie actually was.
“And you remember Brandon?” Jamie continued.
“Oh, yes. I remember Mr. Keen. Nice to see you again as well, darling.”
“You, too, Mrs. Carminati,” he replied, smiling and reaching out to take her ancient hand in his. She held his hand in hers and patted the back of it like they were old friends. I wondered what that was all about.
“Aaron and Cadence are in the office. You can go on in,” she said to Jamie. I thought she had to be human; she looked too old to be anything else, but I wondered if she had an IAC.
