Chapter 34
My dad always dropped me off at school on his way to work, and my mom picked me up. It was nice that she worked at home, or whatever the proper phrasing was these days, so that I didn’t have to walk or ride the bus. I felt like it was the next best thing to having my own driver’s license, which I wouldn’t get until after all of my friends were driving, thanks to my late birthday. Still, that would be next year. For now, I was content to be sitting in my mother’s minivan so long as she didn’t play any embarrassing music too loudly.
I didn’t say much of anything on the way home, only answered my mom’s usual questions like, “Did you have a nice day?” and, “What did you eat for lunch?” I did not mention Dr. Joplin, nor did I ask about Dr. Sanderson.
Turns out I didn’t need to. As we approached the house, I saw a rider-less motorcycle parked out front. It seems my mother had no problem letting this strange man hang out in our house while we were gone. A sickening feeling landed in the pit of my stomach. What if he’d seen my notebook?
“Are you okay, Cassidy?” my mother asked as she pulled into the garage next to Cadence’s car. I hoped that meant my sister was still here but realized it meant nothing; Eliza could’ve picked her up.
“I’m fine,” I managed. I forced a smile. “Just a little nervous. That’s Dr. Sanderson’s bike, isn’t it?”
“It is,” my mom nodded, returning my smile. “Elliott is a very nice young man, though, Cassidy. You have nothing to worry about.”
I swallowed and shoved the van door open, hoping she was right. If he really was a vampire, and he found my notebook, would he do something to make sure I didn’t tell anyone else?
My mom came around the van, and I let her open the door to the house. I suddenly felt incapable of speech. She pushed the door open and I followed. As she stepped out of the way, I saw him standing in our living room in front of the sofa, his hands shoved deep down in his faded blue jeans. He was wearing a green T-shirt beneath his black jacket that made his eyes stand out, and his hair looked slightly more ruly than last time. The smile on his face did a little to ease my nerves, but I still hesitated to step forward.
“Hey, there, Cassidy,” Dr. Sanderson called as my mom gestured for me to give her my backpack so she could hang it up for me. I did, taking very small steps toward the living room. “How was school?”
I shrugged. It took some effort, but I pressed out a squeaky, “Fine.”
“I’ll go get you a bottle of water, dear,” my mother said, clearly aware of my cottonmouth.
I was almost to the living room now. There was no turning back. He didn’t seem to know about my notebook; either that or he was waiting for my mother to leave to destroy me. “Have a seat,” he said, gesturing at the couch.
Looking at it as if I’d never sat on one before, I sidled up to the piece of furniture before slowly lowering myself down, leaving a good foot or two between us. He raised a dark eyebrow but then pulled up his jeans at the thigh and sank back down himself, slightly amused.
My mom returned with two bottles of water. We both accepted them, and I began to drink mine while Elliott sat his on a coaster on the coffee table. I wondered if he wasn’t able to drink liquids that weren’t red and sticky.
“Your parents said you wanted to talk to me again,” he explained, turning slightly to face me.
Readjusting so that I was now basically in the corner of the couch, I nodded. “I had some questions about what happened to Drew, and I thought you were the best one to answer them for me.”
He looked surprised. Perhaps he was of the opinion that his brainwashing should’ve lasted longer. Maybe I should’ve continued to believe everything he said without question, but I really thought he was my best hope for getting any sort of answers at all. Now, sitting across from the hulk of a man, I thought better of it. Maybe I shouldn’t have asked him here at all, especially now that we had evidence that one of his associates was about a hundred and fifty years old.
“You have questions?” He asked it as if no one had ever had any further inquiries after he’d originally spoken to them. “It’s fine that you do, but I already assured you that you don’t need to worry about what happened with Drew.” He looked deeply into my eyes, and I noticed that his seemed to be sparking just a bit, like there was movement within his irises. It was slightly unsettling. “Drew died, Cassidy. It’s a shame, but these things happen. We just need to let it go and move on.”
I stared at him for a long time, and then realized I was nodding along with what he had said. “Right. It’s just one of those things.” I felt my mind starting to slip away from me. It was as if I didn’t know what I’d been thinking all along. Of course, it was fine that Drew had died. It wasn’t a big deal. I needed to let it go and move on.
He continued. “Your sister has to go away for her job for a little while, but everything will be fine with that, too. Just go on with your life. You don’t need to worry about Cadence.”
My head continued to bob up and down. “I don’t need to worry about Cadence. She’s fine. She’s just working.”
He inhaled deeply and held my gaze for a moment, as if surveying his work before he gave a sharp nod. “I think that should answer your questions.”
Feeling relieved, I let a wide smile break across my face. “I feel so much better,” I said. “Thank you so much for coming over.”
“Anytime,” he replied. Elliott also looked reassured. He looked around the room for a moment, like he wasn’t sure what to do with himself now that his work was done.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. With a sigh I pulled it out and glanced at it. It was a text from Lucy. I almost put my phone back in my pocket without even reading it, but something about the fact that the message was in all caps caught my attention. I slid to read the entire text as Dr. Sanderson pulled himself up off of the sofa.
