Chapter 354
Cadence didn’t wake up until something like three o’clock in the morning. By then, I was sound asleep in my bed. Heaven forbid I stay up past midnight to see if my sister made it through her procedure alive. I was still stunned that my parents had only visited her the one time. Even Aurora had stopped by twice in the afternoon to make sure Cadence was okay, and she wasn’t even family. But when I woke up the next morning, I had a message from my big sis assuring me she was okay. I breathed a sigh of relief and got ready for training.
My mom was banging around in the kitchen when I came out to grab a protein drink to down on the way over. Having missed the day before, the last thing I wanted was to be late. Chances were someone would have a snide comment waiting for me either way. “Oh, you’re up,” my mom said, glancing at the clock on the stove. “Can I fix you some breakfast?”
Something seemed weird, and I wondered if my mother had been replaced by a droid that looked like her. “No, thank you. I’ll just grab my usual protein shake and be out the door.”
“Oh, okay.” She smiled at me, and it seemed like for a few moments perhaps the Liz Findley I’d known before Philly was back. “How did you sleep?”
“Okay.” I went about getting the ingredients I needed out of the fridge and dumped them into the blender, realizing she was staring at me like she expected me to say more. “And you?”
“I was up until I heard your sister was okay.” She sighed, and I noticed for the first time she looked exhausted. “Aaron sent me a text around three.”
“Wow—it took her a really long time to wake up.” I hit the button on the blender, whirring it to life, but my mom kept talking, even though I had no idea what she was saying.
“Seems to be okay,” she concluded. I figured anything I missed could be gathered through a quick conversation with my sister later, so I pretended I’d heard her. “I hope it was worth it.”
“I’m sure it was.” I poured my shake into its proper container, resisting the urge to drink a big gulp from the blender itself as I’ve been known to do when my mother isn’t standing in the kitchen, and then set the dirty appliance in the sink. She looked at it, looked at me, and then I turned on the water and rinsed it off, biting the word, “Happy?” as it attempted to exit my throat. It wasn’t like she had anything else to do....
“Have fun at the gym.” She sounded like she was doing her best to force enthusiasm into her voice.
“Thanks.” I took my breakfast and headed into the living room, ready to get out of there before she wanted to say more.
Training was about as exciting as usual. Aurora kept us busy for an hour or so, and then we went to Shane for target practice. I was a little disappointed that Alex wasn’t there to give us a few pointers, but it was probably for the better. I knew there wasn’t anything to the teasing—if it was a crush I had on Alexander Hamilton it was harmless—but the more time I spent with him, the more fuel it seemed to add to Tara and Dax’s fire.
On my way back home, Brandon let me know that there was a big algebra test coming up the next day, which made my stomach twist into knots. I didn’t feel prepared at all. I wished I could sit with him and take it, but he moved through the problems so much faster than me, I didn’t want to drag him down. Not to mention that would be cheating. I decided to ask my mom if I could at least go over to his place for a couple of hours to study, crossing my fingers that she’d say yes.
Our apartment was oddly quiet when I first walked in, but I found my mom in her closet, reorganizing a shelf. “Hey, Mom? Is it all right if I go to Brandon’s for a little while to study for our algebra test tomorrow? I just found out about it, and I’m a little nervous. He’s so much better at math than I am.”
She turned to look at me, brushing her hair back out of her eyes. “Oh. I didn’t know you had an algebra test.”
I didn’t bother to remind her that I’d just said I only found out about it a few minutes ago and kept my snarky comments to myself. “Yeah, it’s tomorrow. We’ll just be studying—no other friends or anything.”
My mom rested her hands on her hips for a moment, and I prayed she’d say yes. I could really use an ounce of freedom. “All right,” she finally nodded. “But be back by three. You have other subjects to work on.”
“Thanks, Mom!” I bounded out of the room before she could change her mind, only pausing for a second to toss my gym bag in my room, thinking my dirty clothes could wait until later. I had taken a few steps before I realized I needed my laptop and ducked in for it, shoving my algebra book into my backpack on top of it.
I didn’t even have to knock on Brandon’s door. He was waiting with it open when I stepped off the elevator, like he could tell I was almost there. Either that, or he stands there for hours every day just hoping I’ll show up. I gave him a quick hug and took a seat on the couch.
Brandon’s apartment was as quiet as mine had been, which told me Elliott wasn’t home. Only the hum from the refrigerator in the adjoining kitchen and a slight buzz from Brandon’s open laptop caught my attention as he settled in next to me.
