Upon hearing a male voice, Bunny immediately sat up, dropped her fingernail file, and leaned forward.
“I’m Bunny?” she batted her eyelashes at Lucas, totally ignoring me.
Apparently, today Bunny was channeling her inner cowgirl. She had on a plaid button down shirt with the ends tied together so that her midriff was exposed. It was so low cut, she might as well have not bothered to button it at all.
She stood up and walked around the desk to stand by Lucas. I’d thought my denim shorts were short but her cut offs practically exposed her butt cheeks! How can they let her come to work looking like that?
As a finishing touch to her ridiculous ensemble, Bunny was wearing her long blond hair in two annoying pigtails. Her outfit was so over the top, I couldn’t help but think that it almost looked like a slutty cowgirl Halloween costume.
“I’m Lucas,” he was introducing himself to Bunny now.
“I’m Aurora,” I cut in. “Remember? We met last night.”
Bunny stared at me, looking confused. Finally, she snapped her fingers. “That’s right? How are you darling,” she said in a sugary sweet voice.
I looked at Lucas. Surely he wasn’t buying this garbage. But then again, I would have thought Henry was smarter than that, and he’d obviously been enamored!
But to my relief, Lucas looked like he was trying desperately not to laugh. Surely he’d had centuries of women throwing themselves at him and had stopped being fooled by this kind of behavior ages ago.
Bunny had pulled out a sheet of paper with pricing information and floor layouts. She was standing next to Lucas, her arm touching his, going over each option as though he wasn’t capable of reading by himself.
I could feel my anger rising again. Bunny really knew how to push my buttons.
What nerve! How can she throw herself at him like that? Shouldn’t she assume we’re a couple? After all, we are out apartment hunting together!
“Can I see?” I interjected, not even caring if I sounded rude. “I plan on helping my boyfriend with the decision.”
For the first time, Bunny actually focused her attention on me. “Boyfriend,” she questioned. “I thought you were there last night with Henry.” Bunny looked at me triumphantly.
So she’s not as dumb as she acts – or looks. I tried to think of a good comeback. I had said Henry was my date! How could I have forgotten that?
I looked at Lucas, hoping he would help me out. He seemed to get my silent message.
“Aurora is my girlfriend,” he confirmed. “It’s a new development. We haven’t really announced it to anyone yet.”
“Oh?” Bunny looked disappointed.
Ha! Serves you right, you stupid cow.
“Well, you can’t rent an apartment together?” she said. “You have to be eighteen to sign a lease?” She looked at me triumphantly.
“I’m old enough,” Lucas said quickly. “My girlfriend is just helping me make the decision.”
Annoyance registered on Bunny’s face but she didn’t comment further. Still with the same flirty demeanor towards Lucas (I had a feeling hearing some guy already had a girlfriend didn’t do much to deter Bunny) we walked around and looked at the different apartment options.
Lucas decided to rent a one-bedroom apartment. It was small; it looked more like the suite we stayed at when my family went to Florida for a week than an apartment! But as Lucas pointed out, he didn’t need or want much space.
And he can’t risk the twins showing up, hiding here and ambushing him. You would pretty much know immediately if someone was in the apartment, which was a good thing.
I wasn’t too keen on him being so close to Bunny, but once school started back who knew if she’d even keep working here. And besides, it wasn’t like she was going to cast a spell and suddenly make Lucas attracted to her.
Lucas finished filling out the paperwork and we left. After the credit and background check cleared, he’d be free to move in.
“You can stay with us until then,” I told him as we got back into the car.
“No, we know for sure that the twins are here, looking for me. It will be safer for everyone if I rent a hotel room.”
“But you said they won’t come after you if you’re around people. It’s why you’re renting this place!” I argued.
“Aurora, it’s not responsible of me to put your entire family in that kind of danger! I don’t care if it’s probably safe. This is what I’m talking about; we can’t take any risks!”
“Okay,” I said reluctantly, knowing Lucas was right. But I was still going to suggest we figure out how to get to the twins before they tried to attack Lucas again. I just had to think of a foolproof plan first.
Chapter 17
Lucas had dropped me off back at home. I invited him to come inside but he declined, saying he had to find a hotel and also wanted to get in touch with Nicholas. I wished he’d invited me to go with him, but the truth was I’d been ignoring my phone almost the entire day and I needed to touch base with Henry.
“You should invite your friend to dinner,” my mom said when I got home.
I stifled a laugh. “He decided to drive back home,” I told her. “He said to tell you thanks for your hospitality.”
“So where did you two go today?” my mom asked me.
“Uh, just the mall,” I fibbed.
“Well, you might want to call Henry; he texted me earlier and asked if everything was okay. He’s been trying to get in touch with you all day,” my mom said lightly.
“You didn’t tell him I was out with Lucas, did you?” I asked shrilly.
“Calm down.” My mom laughed. “I was your age once, too, you know. I’m not stupid.”
“What did you say then?”
“Just that I’d try to get a message to you to call him. I guess you didn’t read my text, either, huh?”
I laughed guiltily. “I must have accidentally turned the ringer off.” Truth was, I had purposely put my phone in silent mode.
“I’ve got to go call Henry back,” I said, heading for the stairs. “I hope I didn’t cause you guys too much worry.”
“After what Lucas has done to help you, I didn’t expect you’d get into any trouble,” my mom said.
Only because you’ve got no idea what’s really going on with Bartholomew and Thomas and Henry’s father. I just smiled, glad that someone wasn’t worried 24/7.
“But please check your phone when you’re out,” she continued. “I’ve always trusted you, and I know you’re technically supposed to be seventeen now, but I still want to know where you are, and that you’re okay.” Mom paused. “And, please, Rory, be careful.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean,” she said, “that both Henry and Lucas seem like nice boys and I’d hate for either of them to get hurt.”
“They won’t!” I said a little more harshly than I meant to. I turned and kept walking up the stairs. Secretly, I wasn’t so sure.
Chapter 18
I plopped down on my bed and finally looked at my phone. Six unread text messages and three missed calls. Sorry, Henry.
Without reading the messages, I called Henry back. He answered on the first ring.
“Hey, I’m glad it’s you! I was starting to get worried.”
“Yeah, sorry I didn’t call you back yet, Henry,” I said apologetically. “It’s been a really weird day.”
I was planning to omit the part about spending most of it with Lucas and just tell him that Thomas and Bartholomew had trashed Lucas’ house, but Henry started speaking again.
“So Bunny called me,” Henry started.
Uh-oh. No way I could lie to Henry now.
“Oh, I was just going to tell you about running into her,” I said.
“She said you were apartment hunting with your boyfriend. I was kind of confused. I didn’t realize you and the vampire were an item.”
“We’re not! She was all over Lucas and he needed a reason to get her to back off,” I lied. That
was close enough to the truth.
“All over Lucas?” Henry echoed. “I know Bunny is a friendly girl, but I find that hard to believe.”
Well, believe it! Why was Henry defending her?
“Anyway,” I said, hoping to avoid an argument, “maybe he misread her signals. It was just a stupid excuse. It’s not true or anything,” I added quickly.
“Hmm,” was all Henry said.
“Lucas can’t go back to his house,” I said morosely. “The twins completely wrecked it; they were coming for him and trashed the place instead.”
“That’s right,” Henry said. “I forgot Lucas was planning on staying at your house. Enjoy your sleepover?” he asked sarcastically.
“It was uneventful,” I fibbed.
“You didn’t catch up with your old pal?” Henry pressed.
“We barely spoke until today. He was on my parent’s couch for heaven’s sake! And Kayla kept finding reasons to bug him,” I added. I wanted to make it absolutely clear that there had not been a chance for anything romantic to happen.
“So is Lucas running from those guys? What’s he going to do? Rent month to month? Leave town?” Henry sounded skeptical.
“He’s going to have to stop them,” I said. “But Lucas doesn’t know how yet, and he’s refused our help. Says it’s too dangerous.”
“Maybe Emmett can help us,” Henry suggested.
“I didn’t know you talked to him on a regular basis!” I exclaimed.
“Didn’t you read my texts? He wants us to meet him!”
“I called you back before checking any of the messages,” I admitted. “When?”
“He would have met us today but you were MIA for hours,” Henry said.
“I didn’t realize my ringer was off,” I said defensively. Why do I keep lying to Henry?
Henry sighed. “It doesn’t matter. I’m just glad nothing bad happened.”
“Me, too. What time tomorrow?” I asked.
“He said at noon sharp. He wants to meet in the mall food court.”
I rolled my eyes, glad that Henry couldn’t see me. Emmett was so damn paranoid. The one time I’d met him before he’d insisted we convene at a Starbucks. He never wanted to talk about anything over the phone.
“Hey, how is summer school going?” I asked Henry, changing the subject.
“This is the last week of it,” he answered. “I’m sure I’m going to pass calculus this time. It was easy. I was just distracted at the end of the last school year.”
End of the last school year. I couldn’t believe I’d really missed hearing about almost two months of Henry’s life, all because of his stupid father.
I shuddered. I had managed to put the fact that his dad was actually a warlock, and not gay, out of my head, at least temporarily. It was all too much to take in.
Henry and I chatted for a few minutes more, catching up on what we’d missed about each other’s lives this summer. It felt like everything was almost back to normal. It was funny; he’d been out of my life for such a long time, yet things had slipped back into the same comfortable groove as though we hadn’t missed a beat.
I guess that was something you could appreciate with someone who knew you almost as well – if not better – than you knew yourself. Even if I had eternity with Lucas, would it ever be like that? I truly didn’t know.
Henry invited me to come over the next day before we met Emmett. I agreed, only because I knew David Matthews would be at work. I still couldn’t face seeing him. I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to.
Chapter 19
Henry pulled the front door open before I could even knock.
“Were you watching for me out the window?” I asked teasingly.
“No.” Henry stuck his tongue out. “I thought I heard someone walking up the driveway.”
“Come on in.” He held open the door. I walked inside the house where I had spent so much time just a couple of months ago.
“It’s weird to be able to walk around freely,” I commented as we headed into the family room. “I was always listening for any little sound, terrified I was about to get caught.”
“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing,” Henry said. “Just so you know, my dad’s working from home today,” he said in a low voice. “I wouldn’t want him to hear us talking about that. I still can’t believe my parents had no idea.”
“Your dad’s here?” I hoped I sounded normal. Why isn’t he at the office?
“Well, hello, Aurora!” Mr. Matthews said as he walked up behind me.
I turned around. ”Hi,” I replied, forcing a smile. Was it just my imagination, or was David studying me, trying to figure out what it would take to get rid of me – for good?
“I didn’t get much of a chance to talk to you at the party last night,” he continued. “I’ve never met anyone who was in a coma for over a year. You don’t remember anything from that time?”
I shook my head. “Nothing.”
“And there’s no ongoing issues? No permanent head injury?” he pressed.
“No, the doctors gave me a clean bill of health.” Why is he pushing me like this?
Henry looked as uncomfortable as me. Of course, he thought his dad’s questions were innocent enough; he had no idea Mr. Matthews was taunting me, purposefully trying to trip me up.
“Dad, we’ve got a lot to catch up on,” Henry interjected.
“Yes, I’ve got to get back to work as well,” David said. He was still staring at me, even though his words were directed at Henry.
I turned and we headed up the stairs to Henry’s room.
“Sorry about Dad’s questions,” he said apologetically once we were in his room with the door safely closed behind us.
“I understand people are curious,” I replied, trying to reassure Henry. It was true.
“Yeah, what are you going to do when school starts back in two weeks?” Henry looked worried.
I shrugged. “I guess I’ll just field the questions as best as possible. I’ll have you there for backup.” I grinned. For the first time since I’d been back, I was looking forward to something normal.
“Do you think you’ll pass the test so you can start back as a senior?” Henry asked.
“It shouldn’t be a problem. But I do have to buckle down for the next week. I’ve got study sessions with Meg each night for seven days straight. Then I have to take the test,” I said nervously.
“I guess you won’t be able to hang out with me much,” Henry said.
“Probably not.” I wish we hadn’t wasted all of the good months in a fight. But the past was the past, and mentioning it wasn’t going to make it any different.
“What do you think Emmett wants to talk to us about?” I asked, changing the subject.
“I don’t know, but I hope it’s good news for a change.”
“No kidding.” It seemed like Emmett was the only person who might be able to help us. But I really wanted to talk to him alone. He’d known about my blackouts without me having to tell him, but I needed info on what had happened last night. And fast. Because if I had another blackout, who knew where I might wake up?
Chapter 20
Emmett was waiting for us when we arrived at the mall food court, even though we were ten minutes early.
“Where is he?” he asked as soon as we sat down across from him.
I looked at Henry in confusion.
“Lucas,” Emmett clarified.
“I didn’t know you wanted him to come,” I said, still looking at Henry. But he wouldn’t meet my gaze.
“Yes.” Emmett waved his hands. “Never mind. It doesn’t matter.”
“I guess I forgot,” Henry mumbled.
Yeah right.
“I had wanted Lucas here to ask him something, but you’ll have to give him the message for me,” Emmett said.
“Okay,” I replied. “What did you want to ask him?”
“Henry mentioned Lucas had a contact – another hunter. I wanted to see if Lucas or Nicholas
could find out something.” Emmett paused.
Henry and I were both looking at him expectantly.
“I told you before that something was blocking my mind. It’s still fuzzy, but I’m starting to get more images, more thoughts,” he continued. “At first all I could see was a gathering. I could tell there were tons of people there, but nothing else about it was clear.”
“Then a few days later I realized someone was at the center of it,” Emmett continued. “A short, weasel-y man who seemed to be calling all of the shots.”
“What do you mean?” Henry asked. “Was it some kind of meeting?”
Emmett nodded. “This man – I don’t know what he was saying – but it was like everyone there was in a trance.”
“How can you not know what he was saying?” I asked impatiently. It was so frustrating that Emmett could know everything but one of the most important details!
Emmett sighed. “I don’t know, Aurora. Usually I don’t have this much trouble when I’m consulting on someone’s case. It’s literally made me exhausted. I barely sleep at night. I’m tossing and turning, haunted by images I can’t understand.”
Come to think of it, Emmett’s eyes did have huge dark gray circles under them. Ugh, here I am being snotty and poor Emmett is just trying to help us – to help me.
“I didn’t know it was taking this kind of toll on you,” I said guiltily. In fact, I hadn’t even realized that Henry and Emmett had been talking for the whole of the summer!
“It’s okay,” Emmett said quickly. “This is my passion. I want to help you. I just wish I could break through what’s blocking my mind.”
“Please finish what you were telling us,” Henry interjected. “I’m dying to hear what you know about this secret meeting.”
“What I did figure out is that the guy running the show is getting as many, um, participants as possible.”
“What do you mean, participants?” I asked.
Emmett pushed his glasses up on his nose. He looked perplexed. “I don’t know if everyone at this meeting is actually human. It’s one of the things I can’t see clearly.”
Immortal After All (Vampire Hunter Book 3) Page 6
