Chapter 55
I must’ve drifted off because when a noise by the window caught my attention, I opened my eyes to a dark room. Startled, I sat up and probably would’ve wet my pants if I hadn’t realized the large frame by the window had to be Elliott’s. I mumbled one of the words my dad says when he hurts himself fixing something around the house and flipped the lights on. “What are you doing here?”
“Sorry, lil girl,” he said, making himself comfortable on the foot of my bed. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Perhaps next time you try the door then?”
He laughed at me. “I didn’t think your parents needed to know I was here.”
That made sense. They didn’t. Especially if this meant he’d come to answer questions. “Where did Cadence go?”
“To one of her friend’s houses.” He adjusted on the bed, bouncing me up into the air a little bit.
“Why is Aaron with her?”
He exhaled really loudly, like he was flabbergasted. “I’m not sure,” he admitted. “I think… maybe…she’s a little fond of him.”
I remembered what Cadence had said earlier about her new boss. I also remembered how mad she’d seemed when she came into Uncle Mike’s house. I wasn’t sure what to say at first, but then I asked, “How does he feel about her?”
Elliott folded his hands together between his knees. “Aaron is a complex fellow. It’s hard to say.”
I nodded, but I wasn’t sure what that meant. It didn’t sound promising for Cadence, though. Realizing I shouldn’t be wasting this time to ask about my sister’s potential boyfriends, I asked, “How was Paris? Did everything go okay?”
“In the end, yeah. We accomplished what we went over there to do.”
“That’s good,” I said, nodding. “What was that?”
He grinned at me. “Wish I could say.”
I sighed, wondering why he had even come here if he wasn’t going to say anything. “What if I guessed? Then could you tell me?”
While he said no, he was nodding his head. I was confused for a few seconds, but then I supposed it wouldn’t hurt to try. “Did you go to Paris to kill a… vampire?”
He did the same thing. Nodded at me while saying no. My eyes widened. I realized I was finally getting some answers. Before I could stop to process what he was not telling me, I put my hand on his arm and scooted closer to him. “So, vampires are real?”
“No,” he said, his head bobbing up and down. “And you need to stop asking about them.”
“Why would I need to do that if they’re not real?”
He smirked at me and rolled his eyes. “Because no good can come of it.”
I folded my legs and wrapped my arms around them. “Elliott, can you just tell me.” The next question came out of my mouth like a confession at church. “Is Cadence a vampire?”
His mouth was a tight line. “I think we’ve been over this. We’re not vampires.”
“But you just climbed into my second story window! And when you leave, you’ll jump down. And I bet I’ll hear a motorcycle rev up several blocks away a second later!”
Elliott turned so that he was slightly facing me. He put his hand on mine, on top of my knee, the girth of his palm making my knee disappear. “There are alternative explanations for that.”
Both of my eyebrows arched. I remembered Emma’s initial argument. “Drugs?”
He laughed. “No.”
“Superheroes?”
Another chuckle. “Not exactly.”
I was confused, more confused than I’d been before. “Why can’t you just tell me what you are?”
“I’m not allowed to.” His voice was slow and even. “I honestly wish I could, but I can’t. Cassidy, you have no idea, no idea, how important you are to me, how important you have always been to me. And I want to let you know because I hate lying to you. But… it’s not my decision.”
His words brought a fog of confusion to my already puzzled brain. How could I be so important to someone I’d just met? What did he mean I’d always been so important to him? I leaned forward, staring into his eyes, and then, suddenly, it was as if the sun had come out and the fog rolled away. “You… you have always been here, haven’t you?” I asked. Hundreds of memories came back to me all at once, some from when I was a very small child, others more recent. A face in a crowd, the man who’d handed me back the money I’d lost at the mall, even seeing him on a motorcycle one day when my mom was driving me home from school. I had no idea if I was pulling these memories out of the recesses of my mind all by myself or if he was gathering them for me, but I knew they were mine, and I knew they were real.
I had no words. I couldn’t figure out how to let him know what I was feeling. His arm slipped around my shoulders, and I melted into his shoulder like a little girl hugging a long-lost father for the first time. Quietly, he said into my hair, “It’s always been one of my responsibilities to keep you safe, Cass. I promise you, as long as there’s air in my lungs, you have nothing to worry about.”
Tears filled my eyes again, but this time they were not of sadness, but joy and relief. “You’re not a vampire.” I was certain that my words were the truth as I sat back, my arm still around him, his still protectively draped around me. “You really are one of the good guys.”
“We are,” he assured me. “And so is your sister now. Just trust us, okay?”
I nodded, no longer feeling like it mattered exactly what they were. Knowing that vampires are real should’ve terrified me. Instead, having the knowledge that Elliott, my sister, and all of her new friends were out there keeping us safe, made me feel at peace.
Nevertheless, Elliott continued. “I’ve never seen anything like your sister before. She is incredible. And someday, when you’re older, you’ll take your spot alongside her. You’ll be just as amazing. I’m sure of it. But you’ll have to wait. So, go on about being a kid. Worry about Christmas, and winter dances, cheerleading, that kinda stuff. Leave the rest to us, okay?”
“Okay,” I said, pulling myself away so I could look him in the eye.
“And I’ll come see you as often as I can, like I always have. I’ll call you. Most importantly, we’ll all be working to keep you safe. And you will be.”
He kissed me on the top of my head, and I squeezed him tightly. After a few moments, he pulled away. “I’ve gotta go. But we’ll talk soon.” I nodded and watched him approach the window. “Take it easy, lil girl.”
“Bye,” I said, watching him go. Before I could even comprehend what had happened, the window was open and then shut again, and Elliott was gone.
I swiped at my eyes with the back of my hand, thinking about everything he’d said, everything I’d remembered. Elliott wasn’t a vampire, and neither was my sister. I was certain of it now. I felt more at ease than I had for weeks because now I knew what my sister was, and that someday, in a couple of years when I turned seventeen, I would be one, too. Being patient, however, would be difficult because I couldn’t wait to be Cassidy Findley, vampire hunter.
