Chapter 308
Cale was still looking from one of us to the next, trying to figure out what was happening. He finally returned his attention to Cadence. “What did you do?”
She folded her arms and let out a deep breath. “Transformation serum.”
His blue eyes widened. “Cadence!”
“Hey, I didn’t do it on my own this time,” she reasoned. “It was a team effort.”
He didn’t seem to care. “Yeah, and I’m sure the one person who was not chosen to play by the team captain was the guy who can fire me or send me to Siberia.”
“If it’s any consolation, I hear it’s lovely this time of year,” Elliott joked.
Cale wasn’t amused. Neither was Cadence. She looked at Elliott hard but then returned her attention to the doctor. “You aren’t doing anything. You’re just here to… keep an eye on her while Jamie’s out. That’s all.”
“So if she happens to reanimate I can, what?” Cale asked, still shaking his head. “Explain to her that she died, but now she’s alive again?”
“No, don’t tell her that.” Cadence jumped in quickly. “She won’t know she died.” For a moment, I let my mind wander to what the conversation had been like between Aaron and Cadence when she tried to convince him he had been dead. “Just make sure she’s not in any pain.”
Cale still wasn’t convinced. “I think I’d rather wake Jamie up and let him deal with this.”
“Can you do that?” I asked. I had no idea it worked that way. “Like, recharge his battery with yours?” I liked Cale, but I’d definitely rather have Jamie with us, given the choice.
“I don’t know,” Cale admitted, shattering my hopes. He had his hands on his hips and let out another loud sigh. “I’d be willing to try before I’d voluntarily deal with this mess.” I thought he must be under the impression Aaron was really mad at him for his role in the Blue Moon Portal scheme if he felt that way, but I didn’t think the Guardian Leader was mad at anyone about it anymore, not even Cadence.
My sister wanted to argue with him, but she was distracted again. She said, “Elliott and I have to go,” and he popped out of his chair as well, crumpling his Cheeto bag and shooting it into a trashcan across the room.
“Cadence… I’m not sure I can be a part of it this time,” Cale said as Cadence headed toward the door.
“You don’t have to do anything, I promise.” She turned to face him, her voice reassuring. “If Aaron comes in, tell him she just died. I’ll take it from there. But something tells me we’re going to be busy for a while. There’s a big mess in Australia.
My gut tightened as if I could somehow feel what she was talking about. A glance at Jamie told me he’d heard it too. Then, in a muffled voice, he asked, “Where?” and I wished I would’ve asked it for him so he didn’t have to try so hard to speak.
Cadence didn’t say anything, only wrinkled her forehead, so I clarified. “He asked where.”
“Uh, Melbourne,” Cadence said. She had been in a hurry but her confusion gave her pause, so she and Elliott lingered on their way to the door.
“Did you hear that, Jamie?” I asked, waiting to see if there was any recognition on his face. “Not Perth. She’s okay.”
I saw his eyes move a little, and he seemed to relax. I didn’t quite understand why my sister still looked confused until she asked, “Who’s okay?”
The sigh that came out of me rivaled anything Lucy Burk could’ve produced, and that’s saying a lot. “Margie, Cadence. He’s worried about Margie.” How it hadn’t occurred to her to think about that was beyond me. As much as she worried about her sister—me--I would’ve thought she’d get it.
“Oh.” She nodded, but her expression didn’t change, and then I realized she still didn’t know what that meant. She didn’t know that Jamie’s sister was in Australia. I wondered if she even knew who I meant when I said Margie.
Elliott was shaking his head at her. “It’s like you’re the new kid,” he said to Cadence before turning his attention to Dax. “If you don’t know everyone’s name yet, kid, don’t worry about it. Cadence still hasn’t got a clue who anyone is, and she’s the bosslady.”
Clearly irritated, Cadence shot back, “Hey, that’s not true! I know who Margie is. She’s the Guardian Leader in Perth.”
Did she know that already or check her IAC, I wondered. Then Elliott asked, “And… Jamie cares about this because…?”
“Because he’s a nice guy. And she’s a person. That he knows,” Cadence stuttered, her arms folded again. I wish she’d just leave and stop embarrassing herself, but I couldn’t control my tongue anymore.
“Cadence! Seriously? That’s really sad. I mean… I know you’re not good with names and stuff, but really?”
“Even I know who Margie is,” Brandon chimed in. “And I don’t ever pay attention to anything.” That wasn’t quite true, but Cadence should’ve had an idea who Margie was to Jamie if Brandon did. Brandon knew about her because I had told him all about her after my conversation with Jamie, and Brandon listens to people when they talk to him. Apparently, Cadence does not.
“Good for you!” my sister shouted. “Good for all of you.” She spun around like she was leaving again but then stopped dead in her tracks. “Oh! I didn’t know Jamie was married.”
The way the statement came out of her mouth, I couldn’t hold back my laughter. Why in the world would she think that Jamie was married? I guess she just checked her IAC and saw they had the same last name and made a huge, ridiculous assumption. Even Dax was chuckling, and I assumed he was completely lost.
“Lord A’might, Cadence Josephine. You made a sleeping doctor laugh,” Elliott teased, heading out the door. Cadence was on his heels. I figured he’d straighten her out eventually.
She must’ve gotten it then, though. As he stepped into the hallway, she stopped and shouted back, “Sister! I meant sister!”
I heard Elliott say something to her once they were in the hall, but I don’t know what it was, and I was still shaking my head when she disappeared from hearing range. Cale was still standing by Tara’s bed, looking confused and conflicted. Tara was still dead, and the other three of us still didn’t know what to do about it.
