Cadence made her way to the apartment Brandon shared with Elliott and was about to knock on the door when she remembered she’d said she’d speak to her mother. Since Liz Findley didn’t have one of those “eye computers” as she put it, Cadence decided to take the elevator one floor down and speak to her mother herself, in person. It might actually be faster than her cell phone.
“Hey!” Brandon shouted after her as she was about to board the elevator. “What’s up?”
“Sorry!” Cadence stopped and turned back, taking a few steps in his direction. “Cass and I were going to chat in your apartment, but I remembered I need to go talk to Mom first. I’ll be back.”
“Okay. Where is Cass? Still talking to Aaron Burr’s side project?” He snickered like the fact that he hadn’t been killed by a friend and brought back from the dead somehow made him a better catch than the other Guardian.
“Nah, in the showers now,” Cadence said, glad to see Brandon didn’t seem in the least bit jealous of Cassidy’s newfound fascination. “I’ll be back.”
“I’ll be Beethoven. Unless he’s already hanging out with my girlfriend.” He laughed again, but this time Cadence picked up something she hadn’t the first time, a tinge of jealousy, and she thought maybe she was wrong with her first assessment. Maybe Brandon didn’t like Cass spending so much time with Alex after all. She gave his attempt at humor a small chuckle before heading into the elevator.
It stopped a few doors down from the apartment her parents had recently moved into. Her father was now working at one of the other buildings with some other engineers on weaponry, something he’d become fascinated with once Christian introduced him to the possibilities. The other engineers were mostly Hunters and Guardians who preferred not to go out into the field, though Eli Findley wasn’t the only human, and whenever he came home in the evening, he was always excited to share what they’d accomplished. Cadence didn’t hear much of it because she was rarely at her parents’ place. She’d been so busy of late. And when she was there, her mind was usually so preoccupied, she didn’t hear much of anything. But then… that was anywhere.
She opened the door slowly. Since Liz still hadn’t become accustomed to living so close to her daughters so she wasn’t always prepared to suddenly have guests. It had also been difficult for her to transition to apartment living, and Cadence was contemplating the possibility of actually building a replica of her parents’ house somewhere on campus, but that would have to wait.
“Mom?” The living room was immaculate, just like it always was at home, and she heard her mother humming from somewhere in the back of the apartment. “Mom?”
“Oh, hello, dear,” Liz Findley said with a smile on her face that beamed down the hallway before her as she approached. “What brings you by in the middle of the day?”
Her mom kissed her cheek, and Cadence gave her a quick hug. As much as she loved having her parents here, part of her missed the independence she’d experienced in the time between her arrival and her parents decision to move to campus. “I just wanted to tell you I need to meet with Cass for a few minutes at Brandon’s before she comes back here to finish her homework. It shouldn’t take too long.”
Her mom’s forehead crinkled. “Cadence, you know I want your sister to keep school a priority. She still has an entire year to finish after this one before she can graduate.”
“I know, Mom. It’s important to me, too.” She thought back to the freedom she’d given her sister in the few months that Cass had lived with her and Aaron while her parents were still trying to finish up some things at home. She hadn’t been nearly as tough on her sister as her mom was now, and she guessed maybe that was because she wasn’t Cassidy’s parent. But her sister was smart, and there was no doubt she’d graduate from high school with a high GPA, on time, even if she was left to her own devices. Still, Liz seemed to think neither of her daughters were putting enough emphasis on Cassidy’s education. “It will only be a half hour or so.”
“Okay,” Liz said, though her puckered expression said otherwise.
“Thanks.” Cadence took a step back toward the door. “Once she’s done with her schoolwork, I’ll need her again, but I haven’t told her that.”
Liz nodded, like it was to be expected. “She’ll have less time to play with her friends then.”
Catching a giggle that almost slipped free at her mother’s use of the word “play,” Cadence said, “I know. She’ll understand. School and work first. Then friends.”
“How is Lucy?” Liz asked, her tone changing. “I haven’t seen her since she moved in with Tara. I told her mother I’d keep an eye on her.”
“She’s about as well as can be expected,” Cadence said, thinking back to the short-lived experiment of Lucy living under her parents’ roof and how that hadn’t worked out at all. Lucy’s parents had a totally different style than her own, and when Liz had insisted on checking on Lucy’s homework, etc., there had been some conflict. Things were probably better now, though Cadence hadn’t seen the girl in a few days.
“I feel so terrible for them. Your father was good friends with her dad.”
“I know, Mom.” Cadence realized her mom just needed someone to talk to. “Hey, I had a thought. Why don’t you ask Hannah if she wants to grab lunch sometime? The two of you would probably get along really well.”
“Hannah?” Liz repeated like the thought had never entered her mind. “Why do you think that?”
“I don’t know,” Cadence admitted with a shrug. “But she’s very motherly despite not actually being a mother. She takes care of all of us when you’re not around. Give her a call. Her number’s in that notebook I gave you.” Since her mom didn’t have an IAC it was necessary for her to have everyone’s cell phone numbers.
“I’ll think on it,” Liz said with a half-smile.
“All right. I gotta go. See you later.” Like a dutiful daughter, Cadence crossed back to her mom and gave her another hug and a peck on the cheek before heading toward Brandon’s apartment. She wondered if her mother was counting the time she spent speaking with her against Cassidy’s play time.
