“I realize this is last minute, but Nate has taken a few personal days and wants to take me to his cabin up north. He’s picking me up from the library.
There’s food here and I’ll leave you money for take-out, but promise you and Brynn won’t order out every night.”
“You say that like she and I will be spending time together.”
“Well, we’re not going to leave you two alone. Besides, this is a perfect opportunity for you two to learn how to get along.”
My mouth hung open, yet she continued to race around the kitchen as if the house were on fire. Then, just as quickly, she stopped.
“You’ll be fine. It’s only two days.”
I responded with a blank stare.
“Teagan, please, I don’t have time for this. I’m running late as it is already.”
“Fine. Go,” I murmured.
“That’s my girl,” and she patted my shoulder like a puppy.
“Just don’t expect me to be alive when you come back.” I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. A part of me wanted her to feel bad for leaving me here.
“Teagan, don’t be ridiculous. Now, I have to go. Promise you’ll keep an eye on things and that you’ll try to get along? For me?”
Everything inside me shouted No! but I nodded, knowing it was what she wanted me to give her. She kissed my cheek, then grabbed her purse and a small suitcase and suddenly I was alone.
I thought about what she had just said, about not being ridiculous. “My life is ridiculous,” I said out loud as I grabbed my backpack and locked the door behind me.
The plan was that I would follow Brynn home after school. Sitting in my car, I watched the other kids crossing the parking lot, making their way to their cars. Brynn was late, as usual, which was fine by me. I was in no hurry to see her, speak to her or step foot inside her house again.
Especially after Friday night.
I told Ryan about my mother’s last minute plans at lunch, just so someone would know my whereabouts, should something foul happen. He stared at me sort of zombie-like, then said, “whoa, good luck.” But today was definitely not lucky. Garreth had finally returned to school and the few times our paths crossed were wordless and uncomfortable. It seemed he was purposely avoiding me since the football field incident, choosing not to speak to me. At all.
Maybe he was embarrassed? He certainly had lost his grip on his emotional control that afternoon. I saw him from a distance a few times during the course of the day, but that was the extent of it.
“Screw it,” I said out loud and started the car. “Sorry Mom, but Brynn can fend for herself.” For all I knew, she was sitting in her car a few rows back laughing her butt off.
Just as I was about to back up, I looked up and my breath caught in my throat. Garreth was standing in front of my car, staring at me. I turned the key, killing the engine, and slowly stepped out of the car. For some reason, I felt if I moved too quickly he would turn and leave.
He didn’t appear angry, on the surface at least, but I couldn’t tell. An entire week without him had made him feel like a stranger.
“Hey,” I said apprehensively.
“Hi, Teagan,” he said back and my heart leaped wildly at the sound of his voice. I missed him so much, but something told me not to let it show.
I walked toward the hood of the car, then stopped and leaned against it. I couldn’t help remembering the other night in the bathtub, when I had seen a ghastly vision of Garreth in pain. He looked perfectly fine now—well not completely. His eyes didn’t sparkle like they used to. He wasn’t looking at me like he used to—but it was better that he wasn’t in any physical sort of pain.
“Garreth, what happened?”
He looked away for a moment.
“I’m not talking about the drinking or the suspension. I’m talking about … you.”
Warily, he met my eyes. “Everything happened.”
“I don’t understand.” Was he blaming me for his own actions?
“I never expected to feel like this. I can’t keep up with it all.”
“Maybe it just takes time?”
“Watching the human race as an outsider is completely different from experiencing it firsthand. It’s thrilling and everything I do makes me crave this unexplainable rush.” Garreth had been toying with the zipper-pull on his black jacket, but now he was clenching his fists, grinding one hand into the other.
“Did you ever realize that it was also making you act like a jerk?”
As soon as I said that, he looked up, confused.
“I thought you wanted this for me?”
“I did. I didn’t know it would change you so much.”
Silence fell between us.
“So you brought Hadrian back?”
My eyes narrowed, feeling a defensive edginess creep over me. I already made my mind up that Garreth was just going to have to accept and deal with the fact that I had two angels.
“Seems that way,” I said back, trying to sound indifferent.
“And you trust him? After everything he’s done?” It was his turn to give me a hard look.
I looked him straight on and felt the tension between us rise again. I was riding on instinct here and was beginning to pick up vibes telling me to be on guard, but not about Hadrian. How could I admit an unexplainable trust was building between Hadrian and I? I centered myself and drew in a deep breath.
“I guess I do.”
A shadow passed over his blue eyes and then something caught his attention across the lot.
I followed his gaze and saw Brynn slowly making her way over.
“Your hands are full,” he muttered.
With a strong shrug, I squared my shoulders and replied, “I can handle her.”
“I wasn’t just talking about Brynn.”
My mouth hung open as he ended the conversation by walking away toward his Jeep.