**
He checked up on CJ a few times after he woke up from his surprisingly refreshing nap, but she was still asleep. Knowing the girl’s proclivity for eating, he decided to try again at noon the next day.
He saw that his guess had been right when he stepped through the portal to find CJ sitting cross-legged on her mattress, pushing the wild hair he’d disturbed with his portal out of her eyes. She smiled at him, but the expression was considerably duller than usual.
Hugo’s chest tightened. “Hi CJ,” he greeted, unable to keep the uncertainty out of his voice. He wanted to ask how she was feeling, but the words dried up in his mouth. It wasn’t encouraging when her only response was to raise her hand and execute a half-hearted wave. “Uh…” He was casting about, looking for the words that would fix everything, when a different word spilled out unexpectedly, “Waffles?”
The smile brightened an encouraging amount as the girl unfolded her legs to stand in a graceful movement. However she continued her silent streak and only confirmed the offer with a nod. He opened a portal to the Original House of Pancakes, and they stepped through. Her silence made it hard for him to speak, so they sat quietly while they ate their crepes and waffles; CJ had even gone as far as pointing to what she wanted on the menu when they’d ordered.
He finally risked words again when CJ’s plate was clean and he was left with his cream and sugar saturated coffee, “I’m sorry.”
CJ looked up at him, dropping her fork to her plate. “For what?” Her tone was curious.
Hugo glanced to the side, nervous. This was awkward. He didn’t want to be having this conversation, but he needed to. CJ needed to talk to someone, and while he’d screw it up, he needed to look after her the way she looked after him, “You shouldn’t have had to do that. I’m sorry.”
CJ shrugged, dragging a finger through the syrup on her plate. She stuck the digit in her mouth. “It’s ok, he was a bad guy. He was going to kill that lady and he’d killed other people, and even before then he was a jerk. I wanted to be the one who…” She nodded to herself, finishing the sentence in the privacy of her thoughts.
“I know, but I’m sure it was still hard. He was your….” Father was too generous a term for him, “You knew him.”
CJ seemed to consider this concept for a long time, eyes on her plate. She dragged her finger across the surface again, making small swirls in the liquid. “I guess it was,” she eventually addressed the plate, “but it turned out the way it should have, I think.” She sounded a little confused at her statement. Hugo just wanted to apologize, for everything, including how much this world seemed to suck now that they had abilities, had joined Gideon Enterprises, but soon they’d have their own company where they could finally do things the right way. Mr. Gideon was no longer a threat and he hadn’t had the explosion dream in weeks. Everything was going to be fine now.
The Sound of Wind Page 87
