Chapter 7
Up to Something
(Olivia)
Walking up to Mason after my last class, I scan the crowd for Robin. Mason didn’t say much after lunch about how his conversation with her went. I’m curious to know if he got any more details out of her.
“So, you never really told me what Robin said,” I start. “You were pretty quiet this afternoon. Was everything okay?”
Mason looks over at me with a strange expression. “Things are fine with Robin. I just apologized for making her feel bad. She said it was okay. We went our separate ways.”
“So what’s wrong?”
His shrug doesn’t say much, but he is clearly upset about something. I try not to be obnoxious and pry it out of him. It’s not easy. With everything he’s been going through lately, I worry that it will become too much at some point.
When we get to the Jeep, I try again. “Are you worried that Robin will cause problems for you?”
Like she apparently did for Eliana.
“Why were you talking to Hayden?” Mason asks, dodging my question.
The strange sense of embarrassment that spreads through my chest catches me off guard. “I don’t know,” I say with a shrug.
“What did he want?”
“He asked me if I wanted to see a movie sometime.”
I look over at Mason and am surprised by his sour expression. I didn’t even realize he had seen me with Hayden. I know he doesn’t like him much, but the way his fingers curl into fists seems a little intense. What is going on with him?
“What did you tell him?” Mason demands.
Shaking my head, I say, “I said maybe.”
Mason’s shoulders drop. I don’t know what I expect him to do, but I’m startled when he jumps out of the Jeep and announces he’s going to walk home. The door slams shut before I can say anything. That doesn’t stop me from jumping back out of the Jeep and trying to get his attention without looking like a total wacko in front of the whole school. Mason knows I’m limited on what I can do without drawing too much attention and keeps walking.
I intend to get back in the Jeep and follow him home, but Robin catches me when I turn around.
“Where’s Mason going?” she asks.
All I can do is shrug. “I don’t know. He’s in a weird mood.”
I start to brush past Robin, but a thought occurs to me. I’m still not convinced Robin isn’t bad news, but I’m leaning toward her not being a direct threat to Mason’s safety. She’s got such a big mouth and no social filter to stop her from saying whatever’s on her mind, so I doubt she could really carry out a complicated, underhanded mission without giving herself away. I’m hoping, though, that her big mouth can be put to use in a more helpful way.
“Hey, do you want to come over and hang out?” I ask Robin.
Surprised by my offer, it doesn’t stop her from accepting. “Sure! I can’t wait to meet the rest of your family.”
Her enthusiasm gives me a moment’s hesitation, but I figure Mom and Dad will both be at work for a while still, so it shouldn’t be a problem. “Hop in,” I say with a smile I’m not sure is completely honest.
The ride to my house is short and filled with Robin talking nonstop about her day. I’m glad when we finally pull into the driveway and I have an excuse to jump out. Robin goes right back to her story about the guy who sits behind her in French when she comes around the Jeep and I have to stop myself from groaning.
“Hey,” Robin says, grabbing my arm as I reach for the front door, “what’s with the creepy car over there?”
My eyebrows scrunch together in confusion. “What creepy …?”
My words trail off as I turn toward the street and spot a black sedan. The guy sitting in the front seat looks to be intently checking email on his phone, or maybe playing Angry Birds. He’s got a t-shirt and sunglasses on, which seems normal enough. But I think that’s what he was trying for.
I live on a street where it’s fairly rare to see a For Sale sign. Most of my neighbors have been here my whole life. The newest family moved in five years ago. This guy, I’ve never seen him before. His car doesn’t look familiar, either. Even more suspicious is the fact that the house he’s parked in front of belongs to an elderly couple whose only family is her middle-aged daughter.
“Uh, let’s go inside.” I grab Robin’s arm and shove her into the house.
Both of our backpacks get ditched next to the door and we move in concert over to the window where we push back the curtains just enough to peek through. Mr. Casual’s phone has disappeared. His eyes are now focused on the house, watching, clearly waiting for something to happen. Or someone to show up. Immediately, I think of Mason, but that doesn’t make sense, does it?
“Can Sentinels see Aerlings?” I blurt out before thinking.
“What?” Robin asks. “No, of course not. Only Caretakers can see Aerlings.”
I notice that she doesn’t brush off my concern about who might be in the sedan. In fact, her lip is tucked firmly between her teeth to keep it from trembling and her hands are clenched into fists. She’s thinking the same thing I am.
“Is it one of them?” I ask quietly.
“I… I don’t know. It’s not like they look any different than normal people.”
My eyes narrow at her. “Normal people don’t sit around in parked cars watching people’s houses.”
Before Robin can respond, Evie plops onto the couch next to us. “What’re we looking at?”
“The creeper watching our house,” I say without looking away from the window.
Evie crowds in next to me. “What?”
I don’t relish the idea of taking my eyes off this weirdo, but Evie shoves me out of the way. With her eyes peeking just over the window sill, she glares at the guy in the car. “What’s he waiting for? He’s giving me the creeps.”
My thoughts exactly.
“Maybe his car broke down,” Robin says weakly. She cringes when Evie and I both pierce her with a fierce glare.
“Is this guy looking for Mason?” Evie demands. “One of those Sentinel nutjobs you told Olivia about? Did you bring them here?”
Robin’s eyes fly wide in a panic. “What? No! Of course not! Why would you even think that?”
“We never had fishy looking guys staring at our house before you showed up,” Evie counters with her usual sassy flare. “We really don’t know that much about you. How are we supposed to know what you’re really after?”
“After?” Robin asks. “Who says I’m after anything?”
As Evie stands, hands on hips, Robin hops up and stumbles back. Evie matches her step for step. Usually, my little sister’s knack for speaking her mind and getting in people’s faces makes me want to disown her, but I’m perfectly happy to let her back Robin into a corner.
“Is that guy a Sentinel?” Evie demands.
“I don’t know!” Robin counters, finding her footing and stopping her retreat.
I step forward, eyeing Robin. “Take your best guess.”
“Probably,” she mutters. “He looks the type.”
“Why would he be here? How did he find Mason?” Evie demands.
Robin shakes her head. “He may not be here for Mason. Did either of you think he might be watching me? The Sentinels know my family. They tend to pop up every once in a while to make sure we’re not up to something.”
“So it is your fault he’s here,” Evie says with narrowed eyes.
The beginnings of panic start showing in Robin’s eyes and I decide to step in and give her a break. After all, she might be right about why the Sentinels are here. If it even is a Sentinel. It’s not too farfetched to think we may not have noticed it following us and parking before we got to the front door.
“Robin may be right,” I say, mainly to Evie so she’ll back down, “but even if she is, Sentinels poking around still puts Mason in danger.”
“Where is Ma
son?” Evie asks.
For the first time, I wonder the same thing. With him walking and me driving, it wouldn’t be surprising for us to get home first, but I never saw Mason walking on the way. Earlier, I assumed he had wanted to go hole himself up in his room and ran home like he usually did when he was upset. Clearly, that didn’t happen.
“He isn’t here?”
Evie shakes her head. “He usually rides home with you. You didn’t see him after school?”
“Well, yeah, but he said he was walking home. He was in a bad mood.”
Robin takes a hesitant step forward. “You didn’t see him come home?” she asks Evie.
“See him?” Evie asks. She gives Robin one of those “you’re so stupid” looks that Robin is always giving me. “No. I didn’t hear the door either. He isn’t here.”
Anxiety blossoms on Robin’s pale face. My thoughts are heading down the same path. Where could Mason be? Surely the Sentinels don’t have a clue about him. Robin has to be right that they’re only here for her, checking up. They wouldn’t be sitting around watching the house if they already had him, right?
“Where’s Mason?” Evie demands.
“Is there somewhere he might have gone?” Robin asks.
The concern in her expression seems genuine, but part of me still fears that she isn’t the innocent girl she appears to be. Regardless, I try to focus on her question. Where else would Mason have gone? We live in the middle of a big subdivision. Escaping would mean driving somewhere a good distance away. Mason has no way of getting that far on his own.
“Robin, please,” I beg, “you have to be honest. Could the Sentinels possibly know about Mason?”
Dropping back down to the couch, Robin presses her hands to her face. “Of course it’s possible, but you guys have been cut off for so long, who would want to betray Mason?”
Robin’s words actually calm me down a tiny bit. What did the other Caretakers think had happened to Mason? Did they think he was dead with the rest of his foster family? Did anyone even know he still existed? There was no way to know for sure, but surely it was a slim chance anyone would know enough to tell anyone anything about Mason.
Evie opens her mouth to say something, and judging by the scowl on her face it won’t be pretty. I slip my hand over her arm and pull her out of Robin’s face. After reigning Evie in, I turn back to Robin.
“Look, whether this guy is here for you or Mason, he’s bad news. We need to find Mason and tell him what’s going on.”
“Tell me what?” Mason demands as he walks into the room.
Immediately, I spin around and sigh in relief to see him whole and unharmed. I can’t seem to say or do anything for a moment. The huge dose of fear I had been holding at bay slithers off me and I want nothing more than to wrap my arms around him and not let go. Robin seems to be having a similar reaction, which kind of irritates me. Evie seems to be the only one still at a loss.
“What’s going on?” she asks worriedly.
Robin glances over at Evie with another one of those looks. She seems dumbfounded that Evie would ask such a stupid question when Mason was standing right in front of her. Her expression and her earlier question about whether or not Evie had “seen” Mason makes my mind whirl.
I stand back as Mason touches Evie’s shoulder and tells her that he’s home and everything is okay. Knowing where he is now, Evie throws herself around him in a hug. I don’t miss how Robin’s curious eyes follow the both of them. Something isn’t right here. She can sense that. Realization that Robin wasn’t the only one in her family that could see her Aerling hits me square in the face.
Of course her parents had to be able to see Eliana! Robin was a baby when Eliana arrived. She couldn’t have taken care of an infant when she was one herself. Mason’s Caretakers could see him as well. All of them.
If Robin realizes that I’m the only one who can see Mason, the jig will be up. I don’t know what that will mean. Will she tell someone? Will they try to take Mason away from me and give him to a real Caretaker family? I can’t let that happen. I refuse to let that happen.
Invisible Page 10
