"My girlfriend, really?" Aaron replied, switching to IAC. "Real mature. Should I say the same thing about your Prince Charming who ducked out of the woods to save you without being ordered to do so?"
Cadence had no idea that Christian hadn't been ordered to protect her. She stopped for a second, glancing at him over her shoulder. He was with the rest of the team, attending to Laura. "Well, you didn't do it," she spat back angrily, walking away from him, back through the park toward Uncle Mike's house.
"I didn't do it?" Aaron shot back, hoping his face didn't show how incredibly angry he was now. "I was trying to coordinate a battlefield, with people I didn't even know were here, and idiots who wouldn't turn on their goddamn IAC!"
"Perhaps if you had better intel," she suggested, a blow she knew would hit him hard.
It did. "You're right," he agreed. "If I had been out gathering information instead of making out with you, we probably would have had better intelligence. Good call. I'll be sure not to make that mistake again."
"Good!" she shot back, as she began to cross out of the park.
"Great!" he replied. A few moments later, still steaming, he added, "By the way, if you'd been in any real danger, I would've given an order to cover you or done it myself. I believe I'm the one who took the bullet for you, not Christian."
"I didn't ask you to!" she replied, walking into Mike and Patricia's yard.
"I'll keep that in mind next time someone is shooting at you," he assured her.
"Fine," she replied. Other people were arriving. It was just past 5:30, and she plastered a friendly smile on her face, wondering how in the world she was going to make it through this reception without having an emotional breakdown. Before Aaron could say anything else, she flipped her IAC to Full Off. Due to a glitch in either her IAC or her brain, he wouldn't be able to turn it back on the way he could everyone else's.
As she approached the front steps, several people greeting her and nodding hello, she heard heavy footsteps behind her. "Hey," Elliott said, not quite out of breath, as if he had run a short distance.
"Hey," she said, a puzzled looking on her face. "What are you doing here?"
"I didn't want you to be alone," he replied, smiling shyly at her.
"Thanks," she said, stepping out from in front of the doorway where several people were entering the mid-sized ranch style house. "Does Aaron know you're here? He might be pissy."
"He knows," Elliott assured her. He reached into his pocket and produced the keys to the Lamborghini. "I had to swap him keys."
She nodded, wondering why on earth he would let his best friend accompany her to the reception after the conversation they had just had. "Well, I don't know how long I'll be able to stay. I feel like punching someone in the nose."
"In that case," Elliott replied, stepping backward and throwing his hands over his face, "I'll just assume this position."
Despite her foul mood, she couldn't help but laugh. "Why is he such a jerk?" she asked, slamming her head into Elliott's shoulder.
He wrapped his arms around her, nodding politely to a few people who were walking past, likely assuming Cadence was crying over Jack. "All I can say is, it's a very difficult job, one intended for two people, and none of us can fully understand exactly how much pressure he's under. Every minute of every day."
Cadence understood what he was saying, and she agreed. She couldn't relate to how difficult Aaron's job was. Nevertheless, in her opinion, it didn't excuse what he had done. "He shot Jack! For no reason!" she whispered sharply, making sure none of the people attending Jack's funeral reception could hear.
Elliott didn't think there was much he could say to convince her that there was a good reason to shoot Jack, and he hadn't come to the reception to defend Aaron. "I'm sorry, kid," he said, peering down at her. "I'm sure you will talk about it and get it sorted out."
Cadence wasn't so sure, but she couldn't delay entering the home any longer. "I guess we should go in and get this over with," she said letting go of him and giving him a sharp pat on the shoulder.
"Let's roll," he agreed, taking her arm and following her into the house.
There were already quite a few people there. Most of them were familiar to Cadence, and all of them seemed to know her, particularly since she had spoken at the funeral. She saw her own parents across the room and waved. Her mother looked confused, expecting to see her with Aaron and not Elliott, no doubt, since she had sent a text letting them know she'd gotten a ride to the reception with Aaron.
"Cadence!" Sydney said, coming up from behind her. "Hey, glad you're here. Where's Aaron?" she asked, glancing up at Elliott, whom she thought she had known for years, and looking rather disappointed.
"Hey," Cadence replied, hugging her friend. "He couldn't make it after all. His ex-girlfriend just happened to be in town, and he thought it would be a good time to get caught up with her."
"Oh," Sydney grimaced. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"Well, you know," Cadence said as nonchalantly as she could muster. "There's been some speculation that, perhaps, I'm too, umm, girly for him anyhow. If you know what I mean, so it probably wouldn't have worked out anyway." She felt a sharp nudge in her back, as Elliott implied she should stop before she said something she might regret.
"Really?" Sydney asked, pondering the comment. "He seemed all man to me," she replied. "Dr. Sanderson, Elliott, it's nice to see you again," she said, offering Elliott her hand.
"It's nice to see you as well," he replied taking her tiny hand in his giant one.
Taylor and Jon approached them now, Kash behind them talking to one of the coaches from the high school. "Where's Aaron?" Taylor asked, embracing Cadence.
"Gay and with his ex-girlfriend," Sydney summed up succinctly.
"What?" Jon asked, his forehead wrinkling in confusion.
"He couldn't make it," Cadence explained. "You remember Elliott?"
"Yes, of course, hello," Taylor said shaking his hand. Jon did the same. "So I guess Aaron won't be joining us for movie night tonight either?"
"Probably not," Cadence confirmed.
"Well, you better still be coming," Sydney warned. "We can't have movie night without you."
"I am planning on coming," Cadence assured her. "But I don't think I'm going to be staying here very long. This has been a very tough day."
The rest of her friends agreed, and Cadence made the rounds, shaking hands and hugging the other visitors. She went to say hello to Jack's family and saw that his mother was still an emotional wreck. If only she knew the truth….
After about twenty minutes, Cadence went to talk to her parents, Elliott staying behind to talk to Jon and Kash. "Well, where is he?" her mother asked in a sharp whisper.
Cadence pondered her previous answers for a moment. If she ever wanted her parents to like Aaron, she couldn't use the same explanation. "We ran into some trouble in the park across the street. One of the Hunters got hurt, and he's checking on her."
"See, Eli, I told you I heard gunfire," Liz said, swatting at her husband. "Everything okay? Why are their Vampires in Shenandoah again?"
Now was probably not the time to go into all of the details so she said, "I think everyone will be okay. It's . . . complicated. I'll tell you about it later, okay? I'm going to ask Elliott to take me home now."
"We'll be home soon," her father assured her. He glanced around the room, looking for Cassidy, who was standing off to the side with a group of her friends.
"Okay," Cadence nodded, hugging her mom and then her dad. "I'm going to go say bye to Cass and get Elliott."
"Be careful, dear," her mother warned, smoothing her hair.
Cadence walked the short distance across the room to her sister. She was talking to her friends, Milo and Wes, but she looked both bored and nervous. "Hey, sis," she said, putting her hand on her shoulder. "I'm going to head back to the homestead. How you doing?"
"Not so good," Cassidy admitted. "I hate funerals."
"Me, too," Cadence agreed. "Hopefully, we won't have any more for a while." She glanced across the room to see Elliott still talking to her friends. And then turned back to her sister. "Mom said you guys were leaving pretty soon, too," she confirmed.
"That's good," Cassidy admitted. "I wish I could just ride back with you."
Cadence frowned. "I'm sorry, Cass. But Elliott drove Aaron's Lamborghini, and it's just a two-seater."
"Lamborghini?" Milo chimed in. "That's so cool."
Cassidy looked disappointed. "Okay," she said, her eyes dropping to the floor.
"Wait a second," Cadence suggested, bounding off toward Elliott. She talked to him quickly and then to her dad before coming back to Cassidy. "Okay," she said, "Elliott's going to drive Mom's car, and Dad's gonna drive the Lamborghini. So, you can ride with us."
"Seriously?" Cassidy grinned, imagining her dad driving the ultra-expensive sports car. "That's hilarious."
"I know, right?" Cadence agreed. "I didn't tell Elliott he'd be driving a Honda Odyssey, but I'm sure he will look cool driving anything."
Cassidy hugged her sister. "I miss you, Cade," she said sweetly.
"I miss you, too, Sis," she replied. Someday, hopefully before too much longer, Cassidy could join them at LIGHTS, and then the sisters could be together all the time, just as they used to be before Cadence became a Vampire Hunter.
