Chapter 225
Before I could spout off the argument I had poised on the edge of my lips, Cadence’s arm shot out in front of me, like she was trying to protect me when she hit the brakes too fast. “However, I disagreed.”
“What’s that?” I asked, slowly turning to look at my sister. I couldn’t help but notice she had used past tense. What was she implying?
Cadence turned and looked me in the eyes as she continued. “I disagreed. I found out about the portal because Elliott left me a letter at Grandma’s. When I read the letter, Grandma told me about the portal. I didn’t think that the risk was too great to take the chance.” At that moment, Aaron removed his arm from around my sister and folded his arms across his chest. I suddenly realized what all of the secrets were about. Cadence had gone behind Aaron’s back to test the portal! That’s where she’d been, and that’s why he was so upset that she was gone.
Cadence continued, turning her head to look at my parents for a second and then back at me and Brandon. “So… I ran the theory by some people that I trusted, including Christian who was there the first time the portal was used. And I concluded it was worth a try.”
“Is that where you went?” Brandon asked, thinking the same thing I was “Were you trying to contact my dad?”
“Yes,” Cadence nodded.
Goosebumps raised all over my arms. The thought of Cadence having a conversation with Elliott, the idea that I might be able to see him again someday, too, made my stomach start to restrict. With an unsteady breath, I asked, “And? Did it work? Could you talk to him?” I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer.
I wouldn’t get to. There was a knock at the door, which made me jump. My head swiveled around in the direction the sound had come from. Cadence placed her hand gently on my leg and said, “Why don’t you go answer that, Cassidy?”
I turned and looked at Cadence, trying to read her expression. I thought I saw a smile forming at the corners of her eyes, but I didn’t dare to hope that what I was seeing was real. With a deep inhale, I pulled myself up off the couch.
I felt like I was walking in a dream. The air seemed thicker, charged, and I knew as I approached the door that one of two realities was about to set in around me. Either this would be the day I learned a new meaning for the word disappointment, and this was just someone selling cookies or looking for their lost dog. Or… this was the day I awoke from the nightmare I’d been living in for over half a year.
My hand fell on the doorknob, but I didn’t pull it open just yet. I tried to imagine what it would be like to see Elliott standing there in front of me, like nothing had changed, like he’d just been on a trip or hadn’t been able to stop by for too long. It seemed impossible to me. I had no idea what anyone else in the room was doing. The world consisted of me, the door, and whomever happened to be standing on the other side of it.
Drawing a decent breath was impossible, so there was no point in taking a gulp of air to brace myself. I pulled the door open and stared in utter disbelief as the door swung loudly into the wall behind it, both of my hands flying to cover my mouth.
“How’s my favorite teenager?”
My vision was clouded through my tears, and I knew I hadn’t taken a breath in far too long. There he was, standing there, dressed in exactly the same outfit I’d pictured him in a million times in his absence. Jeans, white T-shirt, black leather jacket, mop of hair askew, big goofy grin on his stupid, wonderful face. Not a mark on his forehead anywhere that I could tell.
I flew at him, and he caught me just as I began to sob. The smell of leather and his aftershave filled my lungs, and suddenly I could breathe again, even through the tears. He was home. I was home.
Elliott held me for a long moment, stroking my hair as I tried my best to put myself back together again. It was hard to believe it was actually him and not some alien version of him, someone from another dimension. But I knew in my heart this was the same man I’d thought of as a brother, the same one I’d thought I’d never see again. Life just kept getting stranger and stranger, but if this was the outcome, I’d take it. And I didn’t care if the devil himself was out there waiting for us. I’d find him and send him back to hell. Anything to have Elliott back.
“Are you okay?” Elliott whispered in my ear.
I looked up at him, stared into those twinkling green eyes, and nodded. “I am now.”
He smiled that crooked grin at me. “It’s nice to see you, lil girl.”
I beamed at him, not wanting to tear my eyes away from his face. But then I heard voices behind me and realized I was being extremely selfish. There were other people here who wanted to see him. And then I turned to look at Brandon.
He was sitting on the arm of the couch, only having taken a few steps this whole time while the rest of my family and Aaron were all just behind me. Brandon looked confused, a bit dazed, like he wasn’t sure what to do or what to think. We cleared out of the way as Elliott slowly began to walk toward him, and I assumed Cadence had already told Elliott about his son.
Elliott stopped a good three feet from where Brandon was sitting. “Did that portal open to 1967?” he asked, “’cause I swear I’m lookin’ in a mirror.”
Brandon let out a soft chuckle, but he didn’t move yet. Cadence had her arm around him, and I watched him reason through this situation. Not sure what to do, I stayed where I was, letting them process each other.
“Hi. I’m Elliott,” he said, extending his massive hand. “You must be Brandon.”
Slowly Brandon stood staring at Elliott’s hand like he thought his own might pass right through his father’s as he took it and they shook. After a moment, Brandon managed, “I’m sorry. I just… I never thought I’d have the chance to meet you.” I couldn’t imagine how he must feel.
Elliott nodded. “I know. And I never thought I’d have the opportunity to be a father again. But it’s really great to meet you. You take as much time as you need. You’ll find out soon enough what a great guy I am.” I couldn’t see Elliott’s expression, but I thought he was just joking around, and Cadence must’ve thought so, too, as she playfully punched him in the arm.
After a moment, my mom stepped over. “Elliott, it is absolutely incredible to see you.” She wrapped her arms around him. “When Cadence said she had good news, I never would have even dared to dream this is what she was talking about.” I felt the same way—especially when they started talking about how dangerous the portal could be.
“It’s nice to see you, Mrs. Findley,” Elliott replied, patting Mom on the back. “Mr. Findley,” he continued after releasing her and extending his hand to Dad. “I’m so very sorry for your loss. Janette was an amazing woman.”
“Thank you,” Dad said. Once again, I could see tears forming in his eyes. “While I’m still shocked to hear about Mom, it’s nice to know that you are back. And I guess you can vouch for how wonderful things are for my parents now?”
Elliott nodded. “Though I can’t say that I remember everything exactly, I can definitely say that I have an overall impression of peace and joy whenever I think about the place I’ve been for the last eight or so months.”
Dad nodded. “That’s very comforting to hear.” I agreed. It was nice to think that Grandma and Grandpa were finally together again. Dad offered a weak smile to Elliott, and then turning to address the rest of us, he said, “Well, I think I need to drive over to Lorraine’s house and let her and Ralph know what has happened. I’m sure that Jacob and Ella will take it very hard since they don’t know about all of this yet.”
Cadence stepped forward to hug Dad. I couldn’t imagine how hard this would be on our little cousins. Losing your grandma is never easy, but they didn’t know anything about the Ternion, so they’d have no way of processing this the same way that we were. To them, she’d just be dead, and they’d have no confirmation of how wonderful the place she’d gone to is the way that we did. “I love you, Dad,” Cadence said, kissing Dad on the cheek.
“I’m proud of you, Cadence. So was your grandmother,” Dad replied, kissing the top of my sister’s head like she was still his little girl. He said his goodbyes to Mom and then stepped over to me. “Grandma was very proud of you, too, Cass.”
I smiled at him, wondering if that was true, and he kissed my cheek before stepping away, swiping at tears as he picked up his keys and headed out the door. I hoped he was safe to drive.
Cadence stepped over in front of me, and with a big goofy grin on her face, she shouted, “Surprise!”
My sister can be such a weirdo sometimes. Just to mess with her, I replied over the IAC, “God, you’re such a dork. I thought you were going to tell all of us you were pregnant.” I tried not to laugh as I watched her face contort.
“Shut up!” Cadence fired back. Then, almost as an afterthought, she asked, “Would that have been the good news or the bad news?”
I had no answer for that, so I only shrugged. Realizing there were at least a million things I needed to talk to Elliott about, and thinking my sister would leave soon and take him with her, I stepped over and grabbed his sleeve, still unable to believe he was standing in my foyer. “Come on, Elliott. Come upstairs. There’s so much we need to tell you.” I stepped past Aaron and almost felt chilly air blowing off of him. Clearly, he was not as happy to see his best friend as the rest of us were, which I thought odd, but I decided not to dwell on that aspect of this situation just then.
“Well, okay then,” Elliott replied, looking at my mom like he needed permission to go upstairs with me. Mom laughed, and I grabbed Brandon’s hand with my other one, pushing Elliott toward the stairs as I pulled Brandon behind me, not that he needed much prodding. My goal was to keep Elliott to myself—except for Brandon—for as long as possible. A million questions flooded my mind as we made it up the stairs.
I heard Cadence ask, “Do you let her take Brandon to her room?”
My mom replied, “I let you take boys to your room.”
My sister said something in response I didn’t quite catch before my mom said “Cassidy is a good girl,” which I appreciated. It was nice to know that my Vampirism hadn’t changed my mother’s opinion of me.
We reached the top of the stairs, and I could no longer hear their conversation, but I didn’t want to anyway. Elliott was here. For once in my life, something good had finally happened.
