A Devious Scheme
Cadence hung up her phone in frustration. Her mother really didn't seem to understand how serious her feelings for Aaron were, or perhaps she just didn't want to accept them. Nevertheless, Liz had cried when Cadence said she wasn't going to make it home that evening for the Christmas Eve service at church. Now, Cadence felt bad. But nothing was going to stop her from going out with Aaron tonight--nothing.
She hadn't spent a lot of time watching television since her Transformation, but she flipped it on now, hoping to distract herself from anger at her mother and excitement for that evening. The awful program choices made her remember why she didn't watch. She paused on the news, her jaw dropping at the scene unfolding on the other end of the camera. A small woman with a dark complexion and a thick Spanish accent was explaining, "The body count now, including those found in the alleyway and those in the rainforest just east of town, brings our total to fourteen victims."
"Interesting," the news anchor back at the station said, her face showing the fake concern most news anchors seemed to have mastered. "And all fourteen victims seem to have had their throats slashed; is that correct, Juliana?"
"That is correct," the original woman confirmed.
"We will certainly continue to update you on the situation in Cabo San Lucas..." Cadence flipped the television off. She had a sickening feeling in her stomach. She was no longer naïve enough to think that those people had actually had their throats slashed. Whether or not it was significant to her own situation at the present time, she didn't know, but the Vampire Hunter inside of her was ready to pounce.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
It was Christian. He had been trying to talk to her for the last few days, and she had spent so much time with Laney and Laura, or in the gun range, that she had kept putting him off. She needed a distraction now, though, more than ever, since she was still upset at her mother and her looming date with Aaron had butterflies taking flight in her stomach, so she replied, "Not much. What's up?"
"Want to grab some coffee?"
There was a coffee shop at LIGHTS, but Cadence preferred the real thing so she met Christian at a Starbucks a few blocks away. And she had chosen to walk. So, by the time she got there, she was a bit chilly, despite the fact that she generally didn't have that problem anymore. Maybe it was just her anxiety making her shake. She sat across from him in a booth, sipping a venti hot chocolate.
"Thanks for coming," Christian said, smiling.
"Sure," Cadence replied, feeling the warmth from her drink coursing through her body. "How's it going?" she asked, feeling a bit awkward but glad to be finally addressing this situation at last.
"Good," he replied between sips of coffee. "I just wanted to catch up, see how you're doing. Haven't gotten much of a chance to talk lately," he added.
Cadence nodded. "I know. It's been crazy. I'm good. Just...trying to figure out what to do about Jack," she added staring off into the distance a bit, her eyes focusing on nothing.
Christian agreed. "I bet that's got to be a really odd feeling, knowing he's alive but not the same, huh?"
"Very much so," Cadence replied. "And knowing they want me to bring him in. I have no way to get ahold of him, really. It's just.... I don't know. Weird."
"Yeah," Christian nodded. Then, he abruptly changed the subject, something he had a habit of doing. "Well, I know you're going out with Aaron tonight," he continued, spinning his coffee cup around and not meeting her gaze.
Cadence was relieved that he knew that. "Yeah," she said, trying to contain her excitement. "We're going... somewhere. Not sure where yet," she laughed nervously.
"That's cool," he added, not looking at her yet. "I just wanted to make sure that you and I are... okay. I don't want things to be awkward between us."
Cadence's eyes widened. That wasn't necessarily what she was expecting. "Oh, yeah, we're fine," she said smiling. "For sure."
He finally looked up at her. "Good," he smiled back at her. "I mean, obviously, I like you, but if you're with Aaron, then, you know...that's cool."
Cadence thought there was an awful lot that was cool that day, apparently. "Well, I don't know exactly what's going on, yet," she admitted. "But, you know, I definitely like him." Christian couldn’t possibly know that she’d slept with Aaron—did he? He didn’t seem to.
"Cool," Christian nodded. "Well, I hope everything works out," he said shrugging.
"That's sweet of you," she said, a look of relief and gratitude on her face.
He sipped his coffee again, setting his cup back down before adding, "And, you know, if it doesn't work out, or whatever, then..."
"You'll be the first to know," she replied, taking a chug of her hot chocolate and pushing the thought out of her mind.
* * *
The plane wasn't supposed to leave Phoenix until 2:30, but Aaron was able to get it pushed up significantly, and they were in the air before 10:00 with an anticipated Kansas City arrival of 12:30. Since there were only two of them on the flight, he had opted for a smaller, but equally fast plane. Though Eliza was sitting right beside him, they made the flight in complete silence. He had not said another word to her since thanking her for getting him the footage he had requested. She had attempted to start a conversation several times, but he had not even acknowledged she was speaking. However, when she slipped her hand into his about halfway home, he didn't pull away. The familiarity of her touch was the only reassuring thing he could hold onto right now, and even though he knew it was not a good idea to let her think she was sliding her way back in, her hand just might have been the only thing holding him together.
He waited until they were almost to Kansas City before contacting Cadence. He wanted to keep the discussion brief, not saying too much before he was able to confront her face to face. "Cadence, I need to see you in my office at 1:00," he shot across the IAC. She acknowledged that she had received the message, and he promptly turned her feed off before answering any of her questions.
Thoughts of how Christian had continued to ask him questions about her, the way he looked at Cadence… all of those clues came back to him. He just didn’t realize she’d fucked him.
It made sense now…. Maybe Cadence didn’t enjoy it or had just had a fling with Christian, so she wasn’t really in to him, and that’s why she was avoiding Christian. But… she’d lied to him, and Aaron couldn’t tolerate that.
On more than one occasion he had asked her if something was going on, and she had denied it every single time. Even the other night when she was sitting with Christian on the sofa at the hotel room, he had thought there was something odd about the situation. He had not liked it when she had patted his knee before standing. Watching her kiss Christian in a such an aggressive manor literally made Aaron want to vomit. He felt anger and betrayal, but also an overwhelming sense of sadness. Ever since his wife had died, he’d had an unhealable hole in his heart. While he’d dated a few girls, and even slept with a couple before Cadence, nothing had replaced Aislyn.
How foolish had he been to think that Cadence might actually restore him to the man he used to be—one that knew how to enjoy life and appreciate the simple things because he had a beautiful, loving, intelligent woman at his side?
As the plane touched down, Eliza leaned toward him. Her voice was soft and full of the same sort of pain he was feeling in his heart. "I'm so sorry, Aaron. I never should have told you. All I’ve done is upset you."
Finally acknowledging her presence, he said, "No, Eliza, you did the right thing. Thank you for being honest with me."
"Of course," Eliza said quietly. "There's nothing more important than complete honesty."
