Chapter 67
I was in my room trying to decide what to use the gift cards on that my grandma had given me for Christmas when my sister came in. She did a little half-knock but didn’t really wait for me to say anything, which was fine, just not like her. I set my laptop aside when I saw her face, and she plopped down next to me on the bed, wrapping her arm around my waist and slumping against my shoulder.
A little caught off guard, I said, “Hi,” but it came out more like a question. One of my favorite songs was playing on Spotify, but I leaned over and turned it down, thinking she must have something she wanted to say.
“Hi,” Cadence said quietly. The room grew silent again, and I debated asking her all of the questions that were dancing in my head, the ones Elliott had answered and the ones he’d evaded. I knew my sister had a secret life now, one she wasn’t able to talk about, and it was increasingly frustrating to be around her but not be able to ask her anything.
Her hand was resting on my midsection, and as I stared down at it, I began to wonder exactly what she may have done with those hands recently. If my sister really was a vampire hunter, as I’d begun to suspect, then was it possible she had actually killed vampires with those same bare hands that were embracing me right now? It seemed like the most ridiculous thing in the world to talk about, but I couldn’t help but wonder what she’d seen. I thought there was a possibility I could get her talking, like I did my parents sometimes, and she might say more than she intended, but I also wanted to respect what Elliott told me about not prying. It was a really difficult position to be in, and I just became more and more frustrated the more I thought about it.
“How was Sid?” I asked once I could no longer stand the silence around us.
“She’s good,” Cadence replied, her voice slightly muffled since the side of her face was pressed into my shoulder. “She met some dude at the mall last week and has a date tonight.”
I could hear the disgust in my sister’s voice and couldn’t blame her for being upset, or jealous, or whatever that was. “I’m sorry,” I managed, readjusting so that her head wasn’t pressed against my neck.
“Why?” she asked, shrugging but not sitting up. “I’m happy for her.”
Considering the tone she’d used, I didn’t think that was the case, but I didn’t know if going there would be worth upsetting her further. “You know, Cadence, Elliott is a really nice guy.” I decided to take another path, just to see where this one might lead.
“Oh, yeah. He’s great. He’s like a brother to me. I think he is to you, too, isn’t he? Or getting there anyway?”
Not the answer I was hoping for, but then I wasn’t too surprised either. “Yeah. He gave me this ring for Christmas.” I held up my hand for her to see.
That caught Cadence’s attention, and she finally moved her head a little bit to look at it, taking my hand in hers. “Wow, Cass. That’s really pretty.”
“I know. He said it was his grandma’s.”
“Better take good care of that.” She didn’t say it in an accusatory tone, like she thought I wouldn’t take care of it, but it was good advice, and I planned to follow it. Cadence stuck her head back in the space between my shoulder and neck. If I still thought she was a vampire, I might’ve been concerned, but I was pretty sure I was safe, even though I imagined she might be able to crush my skull if she really wanted to.
“Did you like Paris?” I asked. I had spoken to her a few times, mostly on the phone, since she’d come back, but with Jack’s funeral, I hadn’t gotten too much of a chance to speak to her in person, and even though I was pretty sure I’d already asked that question, I thought she might be willing to talk more about it now that she’d had some time to reflect on whatever had happened there.
“The city was really pretty,” Cadence said, “but I didn’t get to see as much of it as I thought. I spent most of my time there being hauled around stupid shopping centers and malls.”
I could tell by her tone she was bitter about that, and even though I know my sister isn’t much of a shopper, there was something about the way she said it that made me think it wasn’t just the experience that had her upset. I took a deep breath and pondered why she might be angry about shopping centers. Then, a thought occurred to me. “With Eliza?” I asked quietly.
Her response was more of a cross between a groan and a growl. “Yeah.”
With a sigh, I pressed on. “I know you probably don’t want to talk about it, but I thought you guys were friends. Isn’t she the one that drove you to Grandma’s house and dropped you off back home?”
Cadence sat up. “How do you know she’s the one that drove me to Grandma’s house?”
Her face was just an inch away from mine, and I wondered if I could see her IAC if I really looked, since it was freshly installed, but I didn’t peer into her eye, thinking that might be weird. I wondered if she was talking to someone else right now, too, or if someone was listening. “Mom and Dad say things sometimes. I think they don’t realize they’re saying them.” That wasn’t how I knew Eliza had taken her to Grandma’s house; I’d seen her out the window, but I didn’t think Cadence needed to know about my covert operations.
The answer seemed legitimate enough. “Yeah, she took me.” She made that noise again that sounded sort of like a dying goat, and flung herself backward into the headboard. “I did think she was my friend, Cass. More importantly… I thought Aaron was my friend. I mean… I can be mad at Eliza—and I am—but he is just as much to blame for this stupid… whatever it is as she is. He’s the one who chose to be with her instead of me.”
