Chapter 70
“Why do you have to leave?” I asked, jumping up off the bed and following Elliott as he headed toward the stairs.
“I told you. We’ve got work to do.” He paused in front of the stairwell.
“But… seriously, it’s Christmas break.”
“You know, you should turn on a television sometime, lil girl. There are things happening in this world you may want to be aware of.” He started down the stairs, and I followed.
Puzzled over what in the world he might be talking about, I continued to follow him until he reached the foyer. “What kinds of things?”
He shook his head at me, yet again, and turned to look at me. “Something tells me you’ll know it when you see it.”
Elliott was giving me a clue. I could find out more about what they were doing from the news. I wondered what in the world I could’ve been missing this whole time. Were there news stories about vampires?
My sister was putting on her coat as she walked into the foyer from the adjoining living room, pulling her long hair out of her collar. She had a few presents in her arms, and Elliott took them from her when she caught up to him. My parents were trailing her. “Sorry we have to go back so soon. Hopefully, I’ll be able to come visit soon.”
“Hope so,” I said, stepping forward and wrapping my arms around her. Somehow, I felt like I had something to do now, a new road to explore, and I thought it might be easier to do it if she wasn’t there. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about being spied on, at least I assumed not, although I supposed it was possible one of them planted something in my room.
“Are you okay, Cass?” Cadence asked, and I realized I’d gone down a rabbit hole and my expression must have shown it.
Nodding, I said, “Yeah. Just really gonna miss you.”
She gave me a sympathetic smile. “I’ll miss you, too. I love you, Sis.” She kissed my cheek, and I tried not to focus on the fact that I was truly going to miss, her, too. Who knows when she might actually find time to come back and visit?
Elliott was shaking my dad’s hand, and then he hugged my mom, balancing Cadence’s gifts in one arm. “Thanks again for letting me intrude on your holiday,” he said.
“You are welcome any time,” my dad replied.
“Absolutely not an intrusion. We were glad to have you.” My mom smiled at Elliott, and I wondered if she was considering going up to her craft room to make some “Team Elliott” T-shirts.
He looked at me for a second before his eyes crinkled at the corners. “Miss Cassidy,” he said, offering his hand and bowing a little.
Not quite sure what he was up to, I stuck my hand out, and he turned it so that my fingers were folded down and then gently kissed the ring he’d given me. I couldn’t help but giggle like a little girl. He pulled me over and wrapped me up in his strong arms so that I was actually inside of his black jacket. The scent of leather and aftershave was soothing; it was like a hug from my dad or a favorite uncle, and despite all of the craziness going on in my mind, I was thankful for the security of this cocoon, even if it didn’t last.
He released me and gave me a reassuring smile before he followed Cadence out the door. Pausing in the doorway, he pulled the hat I’d given him out of his back pocket and stuck it on his head. It fit perfectly, and I was proud to see him wear it, like I’d somehow contributed to the good fight, and at least he’d be warm while he was hunting vampires.
The three of us stood in the foyer for a few minutes even after the sound of the SUV Elliott had driven faded from the driveway. “Well, he certainly is a nice young man,” my mom finally breathed.
“Yes, he is,” my dad agreed. He looked at me. “He sure is fond of you, Cass.”
“Yep,” I agreed. “That’s cool. I needed another big brother.” I hoped my voice didn’t sound as solemn to them as it did to me. I still missed Jack, and Elliott was totally different than him, but not in a bad way.
“That Aaron though….” My mom seemed to realize she was headed down a path she had already predetermined I wasn’t bound to go.
I decided to offer her a carrot. “I know. Can you believe that he decided to go out with Eliza instead of Cadence? Especially after Eliza and Cadence had been such good friends. They even went shopping together when they were in Paris. Of course, that’s nothing compared to the rest of what they did when they were in Paris. But still, I think Aaron should stop dating the people he manages. It’s really not good leadership.”
Both of my parents were gawking at me. “You’ve been having some interesting conversations. With your sister?”
They were feeling me out, trying to decide if it was Cadence giving me information or Elliott. I had to protect my source. “Yeah, Cadence was telling me all about her. I mean, it’s hard to imagine the same friend who drove her to Grandma’s house in the middle of the night would turn her back on her just a month later.” I crossed my arms and shook my head.
“I don’t know that Eliza very well, but I didn’t really care for her when I met her at the funeral,” my dad offered. “There’s just something shady about her. And I don’t typically trust anyone who has such weird hair.”
I almost laughed at that because I wasn’t sure what her hair had to do with anything, and my dad sounded like an old man, but I needed to be on his side. “I totally agree,” I said. “You know, Christian seemed a little odd to me, too,” I continued. “I know he does all the website maintenance and whatnot for their business, but he just seemed a little… creepy. Is he a lot older than he looks, too, like Aaron?”
“Probably,” my dad said, but my mother made a clicking noise with her tongue, a signal for him to shush. “I mean… I don’t know. I hadn’t met Christian before either.”
“Hmmm,” I said, shrugging like it didn’t matter. “I wonder why Grandma even hired him.”
“What?” my mom asked as I turned to walk back to the stairs. “What makes you think your grandma hired Christian, honey? Or anyone, for that matter?”
I was hoping one of them would confirm or deny my assessment, though I didn’t really even know why I’d picked that particular bluff. I had my hand on the stairs and turned to face them. “I don’t know,” I said. “I guess… Grandma used to be the boss, right? I just assumed she’d hired him.”
“Your sister was talking to you about all of this?” Mom asked, her eyes narrow.
“Nah,” I said nonchalantly. I realized by then I had overstepped. I headed up the stairs. “I must have misunderstood what she was saying. It doesn’t really make any sense to think that Grandma would’ve been the boss. I mean, she’s so old.”
“Right,” my mom said. I couldn’t see them, but I thought she must’ve been doing that thing where she gestures at my dad with her head to get him to talk.
“Cassidy,” he called after me. I was almost at the top of the stairs, but I turned and faced him for a moment, “I know all of this is… confusing… but when you get a little older, we’ll tell you more about it, okay, honey? There’s no reason for you to worry about any of this right now.”
“Okay.” I made sure to sound like I didn’t really care. I smiled at them.
My mom needed to insert one more idea. “And don’t worry about your sister either, sweetie. I know she was upset about Aaron when she first got here, but I’m pretty sure she’s already got it all straightened out. She knows that she’s there to do a job and nothing more.”
“Okay,” I repeated, still smiling sappily, like an idiot who had been brainwashed. “I’m going to go watch a movie on my laptop.”
“Have fun, dear,” my mom called, and I could tell I’d fooled her. Luckily, I had had enough practice being brainwashed that I was now able to sound like a victim when Elliott wasn’t even in the house.
