Cadence took a drink of her soda and then asked, “So, Orlando, huh? Did you go to Disney a lot?”
“Oh, yeah. All the time,” Ashley nodded. Cadence had never been, but she’d always wanted to. She let Ashley talk about all of her favorite rides as she finished up her sandwich and cut into her fries. She noticed that most of the salad was still in the bowl and figured that was because Ashley was doing most of the talking. Cadence practiced her listening skills and learned that Ashley had two sisters and a brother, all older, none of which were interested in Transforming and only one sister was still within the window of being able to. Her mom hadn’t Transformed either, but her grandmother was a Hunter. Her dad was a human and wasn’t capable of changing into anything other than, as she put it, a “grumpy, balding full-time fisherman.”
“I feel like I’ve been talking forever,” Ashley finally proclaimed as Cadence pushed her tray away. “What about you? What was it like growing up in Des Moines?”
“Actually, I grew up in a little town called Shenandoah,” Cadence replied.
“Oh, I just assumed you lived near your grandmother. Janette—right?”
“Right,” Cadence nodded, beginning to feel uneasy. Sitting and listening to Ashley recount the story of her life was one thing, but sharing her own was something else. “I, uh, it was fun. I had a lot of friends.” She smiled, hoping that was enough.
It wasn’t. “And how did you end up Transforming? You didn’t know anything at all until you went to some party and one of your friends got killed or something?”
Even though it had been over a year, almost a year and a half, memories from the night Drew had died were all vivid images in her mind. “Uh, yeah,” Cadence said, trying to be nonchalant. Sharing this part of her life with a stranger wasn’t comfortable in the least. She was beginning to realize why Jamie didn’t want to talk about Ellie.
“And then Aaron just showed up out of nowhere to rescue you?” she asked, a sort of gleam in her eye Cadence hadn’t noticed before she’d said his name. “That must’ve been sort of like a fairy tale, huh? Prince Charming there to sweep you away from the evil beast?”
Ashley looked sincere in her imagining of what had taken place. “Is that what you heard?” Cadence asked, her mouth hanging agape by the time she’d finished the sentence. “Cause, no that’s not what happened. At all.”
“Oh, I didn’t know,” Ashley shrugged. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean….” She swallowed hard, like she realized she’d offended Cadence. “He was there, though, right?”
“Yeah, he was there. But he didn’t help me. And when I left, it was with Jamie,” Cadence corrected, thinking back to how horrified she’d been speeding off into the night on the back of a motorcycle, her arms wrapped around a man she didn’t know. She had no idea if the rest of her friends were in danger or not. Cadence ran a hand through her hair.
“Cadence, are you okay?” Ashley asked, leaning forward slightly, her forehead crinkled. “I’m really sorry; I just assumed Aaron had come to the rescue. I guess I just have that impression of him, you know? Like, he’s the one who looks out for you.”
Cadence swept the bangs off of her forehead. “Actually, Ashley, we all look out for each other. Aaron was there, and he helped out a lot afterward, but he didn’t do it all. He’s not a superhero, you know?”
She looked slightly confused. “I know,” she replied, slowly.
“Do you?” Cadence wasn’t sure why she had chosen to go down this path, but now that they were on the topic, she couldn’t stop herself. Keeping her tone as even as possible, she added, “I see the way you look at him.”
Ashley’s eyes widened. “I’m not sure I know what you mean….”
“I think you do. And I can’t blame you, really. He’s… stunning. I remember the first time I saw him. I couldn’t believe he was a real person and not some airbrushed supermodel. I totally get it. And then, when you get to know him… there are a lot of qualities to make him even more endearing.”
“Cadence, I assure you… I’m not… I don’t… have feelings for… Aaron.”
The girl seemed to want to believe what she was saying, but Cadence knew better. Like stills in a photo album images from that night continued to play through her mind, and then other pictures joined them, all in random order. An image of herself in the mirror, so excited that Aaron had finally asked her out. Shopping with Eliza. Coffee with Christian that morning. Jack Cook carrying Drew’s body. Elliott trying to get her thrown off of the team and then congratulating her at Barbarosa’s. They marched on, like time itself. She kept coming back to the conversation she’d had with Eliza, though, the day she’d driven her back to Shenandoah after her Transformation and how upset the other woman had been when Cadence had talked about Aaron training her. Eliza was her friend; she had been sure of it. That didn’t last.
“Ashley, I’m sorry,” Cadence began, gathering up her trash. “I’m… I can’t be your friend. Believe me, it’s not you.”
Stunned, Ashley asked, “What do you mean? Why not?”
Cadence let out a long sigh, afraid she might say something she regretted, but all of the cards were out there on the table now. She may as well be honest. “Look, I’m not sure what you know and what you only think you do, but Eliza Wrath and I were friends, good friends, I thought. And that didn’t work out because she tried to take Aaron from me. Now, don’t get me wrong, I know there is nothing in the world that can ever make him fall out of love with me. Nothing. That being said, I can’t be friends with someone who wants my fiancé more than she wants to be friends with me.”
Gathering her stuff, Cadence stood and approached the trash, leaving Ashley sputtering like an engine on a cold day, not quite capable of starting. Cadence glanced over her shoulder and saw a wounded look on the young woman’s face, but she was certain she’d done the right thing. If Ashley wanted to keep trying to hide her own feelings until she imploded, that was fine with Cadence, but she wasn’t going to put herself into position to be the one who got hurt the next time one of her so-called friends decided she was willing to do whatever it took to be with Aaron, and it was clear to Cadence that, given the opportunity, with Ashley, it was just a matter of time.
