Cadence didn’t awake from her medicated slumber in twenty-four hours as Jamie had initially predicted. In fact, it had taken over thirty-six hours for her to finally start to come around, and even with that it took another two hours before she could fully open her eyes or communicate. When she found out that it was Saturday afternoon, rather than Friday evening, she was stunned. But Jamie assured her that she was fine, everything had gone according to plan, and she was just unlike any patient he had ever Transformed, so she reacted slightly differently.
She had stayed at her grandmother’s that Saturday night, Jamie and Eliza both keeping an eye on her to ensure everything was going as expected. She hadn’t seen Aaron since he injected her with the medication, and she was hesitant to ask where he might be. She was aware that he was extremely busy and knew he would likely show up when she least expected it. Still, she soon realized that she was beginning to miss him.
Aaron had been checking on her, however, even though she didn’t know it. It wasn’t necessary for him to question his team as to her progress; he could simply observe through their eyes when they were in her room attending to her. He noted that Jamie tended to spend a considerable amount of time in her room watching her sleep, which he found a bit odd, but at the same time, he didn’t mind, because if Jamie was there, he was virtually there himself. Still, he intended to leave some distance between himself and Cadence and allowed her to heal without his interference. He knew that he would be seeing her quite a bit once she began her formal training in the weeks to come.
Early Sunday morning, Janette walked Cadence to the Lamborghini, which Eliza had already loaded and started up. She sat in the driver’s seat, waiting patiently.
Cadence hugged her grandmother goodbye. “Thank you so much for everything,” she said, holding back tears.
Janette squeezed her granddaughter tightly. “You be careful, now. I am excited for your adventure, but this is a dangerous path you’ve chosen, sweetheart.”
“I’ll be careful, Grandma,” Cadence said, wiping away her grandma’s tears. “Don’t worry about me.”
“I’ll try not to,” Janette nodded. It would be difficult. “Cadence, I have just one piece of advice for you. Listen carefully; When you are conflicted, listen first to that still, small voice inside you, the one that led you straight to Drew. If you put that voice first, beyond any voice in your head, you can’t go wrong.”
Cadence pondered this advice, nodding, but not quite sure she understood. When her grandmother said “any” voice inside of her head, did she mean her own conscience or chatter on the eye implant she would soon receive? Though she wasn’t certain, she was pretty sure she actually meant both.
“All right,” she replied. Giving her one last quick hug, Cadence slid into the Aventador, she waved goodbye one last time, and Eliza pulled out of the driveway and began her fast and furious drive back to Shenandoah.
Once her grandmother’s house was out of view, Cadence was determined to focus on other things. Eliza hit the gas and seamlessly merged onto the freeway. “How is it that you can drive so quickly? Aren’t you worried about tickets?” Cadence asked.
Eliza smiled. “Nope. IAC catches police chatter, too. I know exactly where every police vehicle is within at least a 100-mile radius.”
“What about other cars?” Cadence asked as they flew up on a much slower going vehicle.
“My reflexes are at least ten times faster than the highest performing human’s,” she explained. “And, I’m trained to anticipate exactly what a human will do under specific traffic conditions—or any conditions for that matter—ninety-nine percent of the time. You’ll see,” she added.
Cadence nodded. She was beginning to see what Eliza was talking about. It seemed to her that the other cars were moving much differently than the Aventador was. While their movement was extremely precise and accurate, the other cars seemed to meander. Drivers in the other cars made turns and corrections much slower than Eliza’s. As her view of the world began to change, Cadence became fascinated with her new perspective. It was almost as if she could slow down or speed up movement on demand, depending upon how much attention she gave the item or person in motion. It was really quite exhilarating.
“How are you feeling?” Eliza asked as she continued to weave in and out of traffic. Most of the other drivers didn’t even seem to notice she had been there as she made her way by. No one seemed angry; no one flipped her the bird. They just kept on driving without truly taking notice of the blur flying past their windows.
Cadence considered the question for a moment. “Honestly, I feel about the same,” she admitted. “I mean, other than this weird sense of perspective, you know, like motion looking different than before, I really don’t feel like much has changed.”
Eliza nodded. “That’s good. Considering that we didn’t change anything in your body, we just activated something that was already there, you really wouldn’t expect to feel too different. Just wait until you run for the first time, though. Or swim. Or have sex.” The last one made Cadence’s eyebrows go up. “Trust me,” Eliza said. “You don’t know what you don’t know.”
“Okay,” Cadence said, letting it go at that. “When will I start my training?” Cadence asked.
“Well, Aaron wanted you to have some time with your family, and do you realize that Drew’s funeral is tomorrow?”
She nodded her head. Jamie had mentioned it.
“So, he thought you would want tomorrow off as well. Training might start on Tuesday, although it could be Wednesday. You know you’re going to need to go shopping, right?”
The thought honestly had not occurred to her. “Where? Black Leather Is Us?”
Eliza chuckled, “Oh, girl. Don’t you worry. I’ve got this covered. Besides, you’re not a Guardian. You’re not required to wear black. Though I don’t know why anyone would ever choose to wear any other color.”
Cadence was a bit nervous as black had never been her color. Perhaps there was some other hue she could wrap her mind around that Eliza would feel would be appropriate. “All right then,” she said, going back over the calendar in her mind. “So, how many weeks of training will it take before I am ready to kick Holland’s ass?”
Eliza pondered the question for a moment. “Well, everyone is different. Aaron usually doesn’t want anyone to go out into the field actively until they’ve had at least a month’s worth of intense training. He has some pretty rigorous requirements and assessments you will have to pass. I’m not sure who has assigned to train you either,” she added.
Cadence looked at her inquisitively. “What do you mean?” she asked. “I thought Aaron was training me.”
Eliza laughed again and this time it came out as a snort. “Aaron doesn’t actually train anyone,” she said.
“He doesn’t?” Cadence asked, surprised. “But I asked him specifically if he would be training me, and he said yes.”
“Well, he used to train people, but that was a long time ago. He usually just checks in with the training supervisors. He’s so busy; I don’t know how he even has time to do that. And as much time as he spent not working this past week, well, he’s probably got a shitload to get caught up on, that’s for sure.”
Cadence crossed her arms and sat back in her seat, feeling a bit betrayed again. She had asked specific questions before her Transformation in hopes to alleviate any of these surprises. “Well, can you just ask him who he is planning on having train me?”
“I can,” Eliza replied, her nonchalance indicating she didn’t know why Cadence was making such a big deal out of who her trainer would be. “I will, if you want.”
“Okay,” Cadence nodded. “Are you?”
“Now? Oh, no. My IAC’s not even on right now,” Eliza explained.
“What?” Cadence was really shocked now. “What do you mean? You can turn that thing off?”
“Well, yeah,” Eliza said, taking her eyes off of the road for a second to glance across the seat at her friend. “How else are we going to do, you know, bodily functions? We do still have to go to the bathroom occasionally, you know?”
“Oh,” Cadence hadn’t realized there was a way to turn it off. She just assumed everyone got used to seeing what everyone else was doing all the time.
“Christian will go over all of that with you when you get to LIGHTS,” she continued.
She didn’t know who Christian was but she figured she’d find out soon enough. Her head was beginning to spin again. “And what does LIGHTS stand for again?”
“Lincoln International Guardian and Hunter Training Station.”
Cadence found herself confused once more. “But I thought it was in Missouri, not Nebraska?”
“It is, princess. It’s named after Abraham Lincoln. For obvious reasons.”
At first, Cadence didn’t understand what the obvious reason was, but then she remembered a book and a movie that had come out a while back. Something about Lincoln and Vampires. Stunned, she exclaimed, “What? Sweet Baby Jesus, you’ve got to be kidding me?” The revelation that one of the most respected presidents ever was really a Vampire Hunter seemed too much to take in.
“Nope. Sometimes fact is stranger than fiction,” Eliza assured her.
“Unbelievable,” Cadence muttered. “Who would have thought it? Abraham Lincoln really was a Vampire Hunter. Next thing you know, I’ll be seeing flying monkeys and horses that change color.”
“Possibly,” Eliza nodded. “Possibly.”
They were almost to her house now, and Cadence was growing anxious to see her parents and her younger sister. She had originally planned on a nice relaxing week with her family. She had no idea the twists and turns her journey would take all at the same time, and something told her, based on this conversation, the surprises were not yet over.
As Eliza brought the car to a stop in front of her house, Cadence could hardly keep herself from leaping out of the vehicle and sprinting to the door. She wanted to be polite and thank Eliza for all she had done, but she also could not wait to see her parents.
As if reading her mind, Eliza said simply, “Go! Get out of here! I’ll see you soon!”
Cadence nodded. She gave Eliza’s arm a little squeeze before pulling her overnight bag out of the back and running to the door. She was not used to this speed, however, that was for sure, and she had so much trouble stopping, she almost ran into the door. “Whoa!” she said aloud. “Got to get these brakes checked!”
Her parents must have heard the car out front because her father flung the door open. “Cadence!” he exclaimed, giving her a hug. She heard her mom yell for Cassidy to come downstairs before she, too, embraced their first born.
“Oh, Cadence! We are so glad you’re home,” her mother exclaimed, leading her into the living room. “How are you, honey?” she asked, motioning for her to join her on the couch. “Do you need anything, darling? Water? Soda?”
“No, I’m fine,” Cadence assured them. “I’m really fine, Mom, I promise.”
“Well, you look good, kiddo,” her dad exclaimed, sitting down in a recliner next to the couch. “You look like you’ve had a nice long nap. You look refreshed.”
Cadence couldn’t help but smile at her father’s attempt at humor. “I guess you could call it a nap,” she said, “but I don’t think it was that refreshing. More like recovering from surgery, I guess.”
“Now, was it painful?” her mother asked. “Because, we had always heard that Transformation was extremely painful, but now I guess they have some new method or something, and it’s not so bad? Is that right, or was Aaron just trying to make us feel better?”
Just then, Cadence’s sister Cassidy walked down the stairs and entered the room, preventing Cadence from asking the question burning in her mind—when had her parents talked to Aaron?
Cassidy was fifteen and looked very much like her sister, though she wasn’t as tall, and she was a bit less muscular. The girls had always been close, and seeing Cadence go off to college had been hard on her younger sister. Cadence stood and threw her arms around her. “Hey, Cass! How are you?”
“Good,” she said in her shy and reserved manner. “Are you feeling okay?”
Cadence wasn’t sure what Cassidy had been told, but this remark made her think, perhaps, she knew everything. She looked questioningly at her parents.
Her mother spoke up, “Cadence is feeling much better, Cass. You’re so sweet to ask. Cadence, we explained that you needed some time away from town to process your friend’s passing, so you went to stay with Grandma for a few days.”
Cadence was nodding along. “Yes, that’s right. I just needed some time. But I’ll be fine. Thanks, Sis.”
As much as Cadence wanted to spend time with her sister, the questions she wanted to ask her parents were mounting, and she needed time without Cassidy in the room so that she could do so. Her father seemed to realize this as well, and he said quietly, “Cass, honey, we’re going to talk to Cadence a little more about what happened that night when she was out with her friends. I really think it’s best if you just join us for dinner in a bit; all right, honey?”
Cassidy was always extremely obedient. She nodded her head in understanding. “All right. I’ll see you later, Sis,” she said to Cadence.
“For sure," she replied, sitting back down on the couch next to her mother.
As soon as Cassidy was out of earshot, her mother continued. “Well, honey, we hope it wasn’t too terribly painful.”
“No, it was fine,” she lied. They didn’t need to know that the pain had been so intense that just the slightest bit of concentration could bring back that sensation, though a much milder version, in her extremities. “Jamie’s system is great. It worked really well.”
“That’s a relief,” her mother said, sighing and leaning back on the couch a bit. “We were so worried that you had gone through a traumatic experience. When we heard that you had decided to go through with it, well, it was just too frightening for me to think about, honestly,” she continued.
“Your mother has a wild imagination,” her father concluded. “She had visions of you screaming in pain, writhing around on a hospital bed, you know, the type of thing you see on horror films.”
“Well, I didn’t know,” Liz chimed in defensively. “I just didn’t know. That Aaron is a nice boy, but for all I knew he was telling us what he thought we wanted to hear.”
Cadence had to stifle a laugh at her mother’s word choice. The idea of referring to someone at least three times your age as a “boy” seemed humorous to her. “When was Aaron here?” she asked, attempting to be nonchalant.
“Oh, when was that?” her mom said, thinking back. “I think it was Friday afternoon, maybe. Or was it Saturday? Could it have been yesterday?”
“Yesterday I think,” Eli agreed. “Yes, Saturday.”
“No, I think it was actually Friday,” her mother stated, correcting herself. “Because Becky had just stopped by, and she wanted me to look at the deals she had gotten on Black Friday shopping. I’m fairly certain it was Friday.”
Cadence was sorry she had asked. When Aaron had been there was actually irrelevant; she just wanted to know why he was there, and what he had said, and if he had seen any embarrassing pictures of her from junior high. “Mom, it doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t matter. I just wanted to know if… if he, uh, what he had to say. That’s all.”
“Oh, well, let me think.” Her mom took a moment to recollect the conversation. “He just told us that you had spoken to Grandma, that she had explained everything to you, or most everything, I mean, you really can’t know everything about the Clandestine Ternion in just a few days. Or really even a few years for that matter…”
“Mom?”
“Right, well, he just told us that you understood everything and that you wanted to go through the Transformation process so that you could help catch the Vampires that had killed your friend. That’s all, really dear. Isn’t it?”
Her father nodded his head in agreement. “Yes, now that’s what he said when he stopped by Thursday morning, Liz, because it wasn’t until after that conversation that Cadence actually went through with the procedure, right honey?” he asked Cadence.
“So, he came by twice?” she asked, completely confused at this point.
“Yes, yes, that’s right. You’re right Eli. It was Thursday morning when I was working on the turkey. Oh, honey, it’s such a shame that you missed such a lovely turkey this year. It really was something else. And then he came by, uh, Saturday morning and told us everything had gone well. They were just waiting for you to wake up. And now, here you are! All Transformed and ready to start your training. Oh, honey, we’re so proud of you!” She reached her arm out and gave her daughter’s leg a squeeze.
“And a bit scared, too, you know, Cadence, to be honest,” her father added. “We’re proud of you for choosing a path neither of us was ever willing to follow, but we would be lying if we said we weren’t a little, uh, circumspect.”
“Oh, circumspect, yes, I like that word.”
“It’s a good one, isn’t it?”
“Mom, Dad, can we try to focus here, please?” Cadence begged, their typical banter growing increasingly frustrating under the circumstances.
“Sorry, honey,” her dad apologized. “We just want you to know that we will always be here for you, no matter what you decide to do.”
“And please be careful, darling,” her mother added. “We understand that you’re some kind of super-Hunter or something, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t get hurt. Please, just make sure you always listen to your commander and do exactly as you are told, okay, honey?”
Though this appeal seemed to go against what her grandmother had requested earlier, Cadence agreed, knowing it would do no good to needlessly worry her mother. “Okay, Mom; you know I’ll be careful.”
Cadence spent the rest of the day hanging out with her little sister, listening to music, and attempting to elicit whether or not Cassidy currently had a boyfriend. By the time 9:00 hit, she was exhausted. She told her sister good night and went in to her own room, excited to have the opportunity to sleep in her own bed again for a change. Though she was tired, she decided it might be a good idea to take a shower before she went to bed. The possibility of using her own soaps and shampoos made her happy. As she approached her bathroom, the pink bean bag chair on the floor next to her window caught her attention. She stared at it for a moment, contemplating whether it would be easier to keep the things that reminded her of Drew or get rid of them. She sighed, knowing this was just the first of many instances where she would suddenly be reminded that Drew was no longer here, and nothing would bring her back.
She took her time in the shower, letting the hot water wash away as many worries as she could flush down the drain. Though it was difficult to be home with so many reminders of Drew, at least she knew for sure her family was safe. She hadn’t spotted any Guardians in the area when she made the drive in, but she had been assured that they were nearby, and she felt confident that her presence had not placed her family in any danger.
She turned the water off, wrapped her hair in a towel, and began to dry off. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror and noted that she looked even more muscular than usual. Not “bodybuilder” muscular but definitely more chiseled than she had remembered. She wondered, if a simple Transformation could do this, what would a few weeks of training produce? She was looking forward to grabbing a fresh pair of pajamas out of her drawer as she had been wearing the same ones at her grandma’s house for the last several days. Since she was in her own room, she didn’t usually find it necessary to cover up before she went out to get her pajamas. However, since her house was under surveillance, and she wasn’t exactly sure whether or not the curtains had been drawn, she decided to wrap another towel around her body before she walked out the door.
Cadence opened the door and exited the restroom. Glancing up, something very unexpected caught her eye, and she literally jumped back, into the doorjamb, the towel around her head the only cushion she had from what would have otherwise been a ridiculous blow to the head. “What are you doing in my bedroom again?” she demanded.
“Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!” Aaron began. “I just climbed in the window…. I had no idea you were in the shower. If I had known, I wouldn’t have come in.”
“That doesn’t excuse the fact that you keep climbing in my bedroom window!” she exclaimed, adjusting the towel around her body to make sure everything was covered and suddenly fully aware that she had a large turban like fixture wrapped around her head.
“I know; you’re right. It doesn’t. I just needed to talk to you. And I didn’t want to bother your parents. And you don’t have the IAC yet….” Piling on excuses seemed to make it worse, so he finally stopped. He was staring at her; she raised an eyebrow to alert him of this fact, and once he realized she had noticed, he turned his eyes away, his hand automatically flying to his hair as he did so.
“Have you ever heard of a cell phone?” she asked, picking her iPhone up off of the nightstand and shaking it at him. “Or perhaps an email? Surely your people can get their hands on any phone number or email address they need.” She was beginning to calm down now, even though she was still upset that he had almost walked in on her completely naked.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again, I promise,” he said, still refusing to look at her.
“All right then,” she said, walking around her bed toward her dresser, having to squeeze by him in the process. He took a few steps back, giving her a wide berth. She grabbed her cutest pajamas out of the drawer, slid by, made her way back to the bathroom, and slammed the door.
Now that her initial shock was over, she was actually quite enjoying watching him turn from pink to red to some sort of maroon color as he became more and more embarrassed. “I’ll be out in a second,” she shouted, hoping he didn’t disappear while she was in the bathroom. She took a moment to run a brush through her hair and tie it back before she came out. She couldn’t hear him, so she was wondering if he might have ducked back out the window
When she opened the door, he was still there, though he was sitting in one of her chairs across the room now. Despite the fact that it was almost winter, she was wearing a camisole top and boy cut shorts in a light pink that she felt really complimented her skin tone. Since the Transformation, she hadn’t been affected by the weather the same way she was as a human. In fact, she almost felt as if she were generating her own source of body heat.
He seemed to notice what she was wearing, but he didn’t make any remarks. She sat down in the chair next to him, picking up a throw pillow and hugging it to her chest. “So, what brings you by?” she asked.
He still hesitated to look at her, even though she was somewhat clothed now. He glanced in her direction and then back at the floor. “Well, I wanted to see how you were feeling,” he began, cautiously. “I haven’t seen you since the procedure, and I wanted to check in with you.”
“I’m good,” she said, nodding her head. “It took me a while to come around, you know, after the process,” she explained, and he nodded that he was aware of that situation. “But now I’m good. I’m getting used to things, changes. I think that will take a little time, but I’ll get there.”
“That’s good. So, what have you noticed so far?” he asked, finally becoming a little more capable of looking in her direction.
“Oh, just the way things move, mostly. It’s almost like I can control it, you know? Like speed it up or down. It’s weird. That’s going to take some adjustment.”
“It does,” he said as if remembering having similar experiences early after his own Transformation. “You will get used to it, and it will really help you when you are in battle,” he added.
“Right, battle,” she said widening her eyes. “Not exactly something I do every day.”
“That is part of the job description, you know?” he said smiling.
“Oh, I know. Trust me, I know. Just not sure I’m ready for that yet.”
“No, you’re not,” he agreed. “But we’ll get you over to LIGHTS in the next couple of days, and within a few weeks you’ll be ready to go.”
That statement opened the door for her question of earlier that day regarding who exactly would be training her. Now, with the topic hanging between them, she was hesitant to ask.
He seemed to know what she was thinking, however, so he broached the topic himself. “I spoke to Eliza earlier today,” he said, clearly choosing his words carefully.
“Did you?” she asked. She kind of had a feeling Eliza would be asking if he was planning on training her or not, wanting to know for her own purposes. Something seemed to be going on there, but she wasn’t quite sure what it was. Eliza just seemed very protective of Aaron, like she didn’t want Cadence to get too close.
“Yes, I did,” he reiterated. “She told me the two of you had had a conversation about your training and that you had some questions. That’s really why I decided to just come over and meet with you, though you’re right a phone call would have been nice.”
She smiled. She was over it now. “Well, yes,” she began. “I felt like, when we talked about its few days ago, that you had indicated that you would be doing my training, or at least the majority of it. But then, after speaking to Eliza, I was confused. She said that you don’t really train anymore, and it would probably be someone else. So, I just wasn’t sure what your plan was, or if you had a plan yet, or what was going on.”
He seemed to consider her question carefully before he responded. “Okay, so, first of all, you need to know that, she is right. I don’t usually do training anymore, unless something comes up, there’s an emergency, that sort of things.” Cadence’s face fell. He could tell that she was not happy with his response so far, so he started talking faster. “However, I am planning on making an exception for you.” She took a deep breath and began to calm down a little bit. “Reason being, I don’t think we have any trainers who will be able to keep up with you for one, and also because I know that we had talked about that as part of our agreement. So, yes, I will be doing the majority of your training. Although, I can’t guarantee that no one else will ever be involved.”
“Sure,” she said, nodding along.
“You know, there might be times when I just can’t make a session, that sort of thing, and then someone else may have to fill in. But, my intentions are to train you myself.”
“Okay, good,” she felt much better now and was glad that he had come even though things could’ve been very embarrassing for her.
“Now, that being said,” he continued, “you should also realize that I’m going to be a lot harder on you than anyone else would be. You do realize that, right?”
Cadence wasn’t sure if the thought had occurred to her before or not, but she nodded her head. She realized it now.
“If I’m responsible for training you, and I’m responsible for keeping you safe, you’d better be damn sure that I’m going to whip your ass into shape well before you come into contact with any more Vampires. That’s a guarantee.”
Even though what he was proposing did not sound like a lot of fun, it did make sense, and she was relieved to hear it in a way. At least, she should be as prepared as possible before she ever had to face the enemy.
“There is one more thing I wanted to mention to you,” he said, avoiding eye contact with her again, and staring at the floor in front of him.
“What’s that?” Cadence asked cautiously.
“Well, it has to do with Eliza,” he said folding his arms across his chest.
Cadence cocked her head to the side a bit. “Go on,” she requested.
“Eliza really likes you,” he began. “So does Jamie for that matter, and everyone who has met you. But, um, well, Eliza has some areas we are working on, and getting along with other female members of our team is one of those areas.”
Cadence was a little surprised. “Really? I think she’s been super nice and supportive.”
“Oh, yeah, I agree. Absolutely. So far, she has really gotten along with you extremely well. And I am hopeful that things will stay that way. But I wanted to let you know so that, in situations like today when you see her get a little defensive, you can come directly to me and ask me yourself instead of going through her. Do you know what I mean?”
Cadence was nodding. “You mean when I was asking her about my training?”
“Yes,” he confirmed.
“And she was adamant that you wouldn’t be doing it?”
“That would be a prime example.”
“Okay,” Cadence said slowly. “Sorry. I had no idea that would be something she wouldn’t want to answer for me.”
“Oh, no, that’s okay. And here’s the deal, Cadence, you may not know when you’re going to cause her to become a little hot-tempered. But once you recognize that it has happened, just slowly back away, and then let me know, and I’ll address it.”
She was nodding, but she really wasn’t sure she fully understood what he was requesting. Cadence had realized, however, that Eliza only started acting funny when she mentioned Aaron. “Maybe, in the future, I should just… not talk about you to her at all then?”
“That might be one solution,” he admitted.
She started to ask another question but then hesitated. It really wasn’t her business, and yet she really wanted to know. Finally, she decided to ask, and if he wanted to tell her he could, and if not, he could tell her it was inappropriate. “I’m sorry for prying, but did you guys used to date or something?”
His expression changed completely, and Cadence almost wished she hadn’t asked. He pressed his lips together, as if he were searching for an answer. Eventually, he began to slowly nod his head, and Cadence gave him a look that said, “That explains it.” He said nothing more, though it almost seemed to her that he wanted to clarify. He glanced at her and then back at the floor several times, his hands rubbing together where they were folded in front of him.
She had about twenty follow-up questions but decided not to ask them since he didn’t volunteer any more information. She knew she would be arriving at LIGHTS soon, and if there were other girls present, chances were she would find out anyway. Then another thought occurred to her. “Wait, are you still?”
“Oh, no,” Aaron said, almost too quickly. “I mean, I love Eliza, don’t get me wrong. Well, I mean, I don’t love her, but I… you know what I mean. The answer is no, we are no longer dating and have not been dating for quite some time.”
Cadence held back a giggle that threatened to escape her lips. Clearly, Aaron was no longer interested in Eliza, though Eliza was certainly interested in him. “Okay, then,” she said. An awkward silence settled upon them, and though Cadence was exhausted, and Aaron probably had more work to do than he could possibly ever finish, he didn’t really seem to want to go, and she didn’t really want him to leave.
Eventually, a yawn escaped Cadence, despite her attempts at stifling it, prompting him to say, “I guess I should let you go. I know you have an important event tomorrow.”
Cadence had honestly been trying not to think about the funeral. She had asked her mother to locate her favorite black dress and hang it in the front of her closet so that she could just grab it in the morning without thinking and throw it on. She resolved herself against crying again while Aaron was here, however, so she concentrated instead on thinking about something that made her happy. Luckily for her, she was able to fix her attention back on his face and see his smile. His expression was one of concern and understanding, but his face still fit into the category of “things that made her happy,” and she was able to force a small smile back in return.
He leaned in a little closer to her, cautiously. “Do you want me to call you tomorrow afternoon when it’s over?” he asked quietly.
“Yes, please,” she said without hesitation.
“Okay,” he said nodding. Just then, his demeanor abruptly changed, and she assumed an alert came across his IAC.
“Everything all right?” she asked.
“Oh yeah. Just something I need to take care of.” It was enough to break the spell they had fallen under. “Well, I better go,” he said standing.
“Yeah, I’m pretty tired,” she replied, also standing and gesturing toward her bed.
“Right,” he said, understanding. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow then.” He took a step back toward the window.
“Okay,” she nodded, also taking a step backward, hoping some distance would make this less awkward. “Bye,” she added.
“Bye,” he said giving her one last glance. This time, however, when he climbed out the window, Cadence was able to track his every movement, unlike the time before when he had moved so quickly she couldn’t even see him at all. Now, she had another reason to smile.