On the treadmills at the gym, Cadence often let her frustration out by pounding the hell out of the track. She could now easily maintain 40 miles per hour for about two hours. There were times, however, when she wished she could just go outside and run, even though it would have to be slower so as not to draw attention to herself, because often Eliza would end up working out at the same time, and even looking at her ex-friend made her sick to her stomach.
"God, look at her over there," Aurora said, stomping it out next to Cadence as Eliza came in and made herself comfortable on the elliptical machine across the room. "I could just go punch her in that smug little face."
"I could literally kill her," Meagan agreed. "No really--and she couldn't kill me back. Has that occurred to you Cadence?"
Cadence wanted to play the bigger person but chose honesty instead. "Of course it has occurred to me. But, I'd have to make it look like an accident and that would be too difficult..." she joked.
"True. It's not very often that a Hunter kills a Guardian anyway," Aurora added. Realizing Cadence had a personal connection to such an incident, she quickly said, "Oh, sorry, Cadence. I didn't mean to offend you."
"It's okay. No offense taken. I didn't know my grandfather," Cadence replied, knowing her friend meant no harm. "I think I've had all I can take of this situation," she added, turning the treadmill off and waiting for it to slow down before jumping to the sides of the machine so her feet were off of the tread as it came to a stop. She took a long drink from her water bottle as her friends also stopped their machines, and grabbing her towel, she turned to walk out of the room, almost colliding with Aaron.
"Sorry," he muttered, taking a step back. "I didn't mean to.... I need to talk to you about Jack."
She was momentarily paralyzed, temporarily forgetting that she was not speaking to him. However, it did not take her long to remember the situation, despite the fact that she was caught in those blue eyes. "I think you mean you need to talk to Elliott about Jack, don't you?"
He ran his hand through his hair the way he always did when he was nervous. "No, I need to talk to you."
Cadence stepped around him, not waiting for her friends who were watching with open mouths. "But I'm not talking to you," she replied over her shoulder. She saw him glance over in Eliza's direction and pushed open the door that led to the small hallway between the room where the treadmills were housed and the main gym. Of course, he followed.
"Cadence, the body count is increasing every day. We've got to do something."
"So, do something," she replied not looking back this time, making her way to the nearest exit.
Once again, Aaron was following. "You know we can't get him without your help."
"Why don't you give the little temptress a try? She's pretty good at leading men to their demise," she quipped, pushing open the door that led out into the cold January wind.
Aaron ignored her remark. "Cadence, please, just talk to me. We need to come up with a plan. You know you have to be part of this. It has nothing to do with me..."
She turned to look at him, not at all bothered by the two inches of snow she was standing in, or the icy breeze, despite her shorts and sleeveless tank. "I don't talk to you anymore. If you want to devise a plan, talk to Elliott. He'll get the information to me. Now, leave me the hell alone."
Before he could reply, Elliott stepped out of the door behind him and put his hand on his friend's shoulder. At his approach, Cadence took the opportunity to escape and took off toward her apartment faster than any human could ever move. "You tried, man. Come on, leave her alone. Just give it some time."
Aaron sighed and watched her disappear. "We don't have time. The body count is over 60 now, and it's just getting higher every day. She's got to do something. She's the only one that can."
"I'll talk to her," Elliott promised. "But I don't think she's going to listen to you until you..."
"What's going on?" Eliza asked, pushing open the door, a confrontational tone in her voice.
Elliott shook his head, no longer needing to finish his sentence. "And that's my cue to exit," he said, taking the widest possible path around the pouting red head and walking back into the workout facility.
"I need her to help us get Jack," Aaron replied, an exhausted tone in his voice.
Eliza crossed her arms. "I told you, we can get him without her. If she doesn't want to be part of this team, then screw her."
Aaron didn't miss the irony in her choice of words but chose to ignore the phrase. "It's not that simple, Eliza, you know that. She's got to do it herself." He took a step toward the door as well, assuming she would follow.
"Why? Because she's the Vampire Hunter extraordinaire, and the rest of us are just her little minions who do whatever she wants? We used to operate just fine without her, you know? Remember?"
"Eliza," Aaron sighed, his hand on the doorknob. "I don't want to argue with you about this. Cadence can get Jack back within our reach easier than anyone else can, so we need to come up with a plan to help facilitate that. Maybe she'll be okay with your involvement as well. Now, would you please stop being so defensive?"
Eliza threw her arms down to her side and her head back at the same time, taking on the stance of a whiney teenager who wasn't getting her way. "I'm sorry, baby. I'm just super cranky. Do you have any idea how hard it is to be with you and not be with you?"
Looking at the ground instead of at her, Aaron said, "I told you--I want to take this slow and make sure we're doing the right thing before we just jump in and make the same mistakes we did last time."
"I know," Eliza said, stepping toward him and resting her hand on his arm, "but we already went there--can't we just do it again; just once? Let me remind you why you chose me."
As tempted as Aaron was to explain that he didn't feel that he had chosen her at all, he decided against it and said instead, "Eliza, please--not now." He could feel her attempting to sway his emotions; however, he had asked both Elliott and Hannah to help him out a few weeks ago, not by changing his opinion against Eliza, but allowing him to at least stay true to himself. Elliott had absolutely no problem with it, but it had taken Hannah a bit of time to come around to the idea, as she preferred to stay out of matters of the heart. Once she was assured that she wouldn't have to make anyone feel any differently than they would have on their own, she had agreed to help. Armed with these new weapons, Aaron was able to thwart Eliza's advances. Though he hadn't completely broken it off yet, at least he was no longer confused about how he actually felt as opposed to the persuasion she was constantly thrusting in his direction. Elliott had asked him at least twice a day when he was going to dump her for good, and he didn't have an answer. Leaving too soon made it seem like a one-night stand, and that just wasn't his style.
"Fine," Eliza finally said, defeated. "I'm going to go finish my workout. If you talk to her again, though, I want to know."
As tempting as it was to let her draw him into an argument, he said nothing. He pulled the door open for her, and she went back into the facility, leaving him standing alone in the cold.
