chapter 7
Fate, Bernard, Stubbs, and Addy ate breakfast on the terrace overlooking the garden. Stubbs’ dogs, Winkie and Brutis, were taking turns looking at her like they hadn’t eaten in a week. They knew the only one at the table they had a chance of getting a bite from was her. She broke a piece of bacon in half and tossed it to them. Stubbs shook his head at her.
“What?” Addy gave him an innocent look. “They’re hungry.”
Oddly, none of them pressed her to talk about what happened the day before.
“Has anyone seen the guy Kim spotted at the beach around anymore?” Addy asked between bites of her cheese danish.
Stubbs shook his head. “It appears he was just a local young man looking at two pretty girls.” He gave her a reassuring smile as he poured himself and Fate more coffee.
“We’re not concerned about him,” Bernard said. “Elsegood checked the estate and surrounding area and didn’t find anything suspicious.”
Addy was relieved Tanner hadn’t been caught poking around after she didn’t show up the night before. A part of her hoped he felt better and headed back home, but she was a little bummed she might not get to talk to him again.
Addy caught up with Kim after breakfast. They sat on a bench in the garden and watched Matt’s uncle Josh preparing the pool to be opened.
“After you left last night Gage came back.”
“And what happened?” Kim stared at her impatiently.
Addy gave her a condensed version of what happened, being careful to exclude the part about Gage healing her.
“And he just left?”
“Shhh! Josh’s gonna hear you.” Addy spoke quietly. “Yes, he left, and I haven’t seen him since.”
“You will. He’s seen how hot you look with bed head, how can he stay away?”
“Right, hot like an unsheared sheep.”
Kim put her hand over her mouth to stifle her laugh.
Addy thought it was funny how Kim automatically assumed that she wanted Gage to come around. She wasn’t sure what to think about him actually. Practicing with him had been fun, but that was totally different than just being alone together. They didn’t even have anything to talk about and last night was painfully quiet.
Addy decided to get off the subject of Gage and told Kim that Bernard had given her a new driver’s license and would be putting new license plates on all of the cars. Addy noticed the time and had to run to meet Fate, but they made plans to meet up for dinner.
Addy ran her finger over the globe that sat next to the fireplace. She found a drawing of it in an old book one of the Akori sent to the estate. It said the symbols on it enabled the Akori to travel to any place on earth just by touching a finger to it. She showed the passage in the book to Fate, but he told her it didn’t really work.
The library was huge, with countless rows of books and several alcoves with tables and benches. Addy watched as her grandfather stood up from his seat at the head of the table. He motioned for her to follow him as he walked slowly down the main aisle. He led her over to a part of the library she never really spent much time in.
The section he was headed for was located next to an extremely creepy marble statue of a man holding a severed arm. His eyes were wide open and glassy. It was Akori art according to Fate and he told her not to stare at it too long with a little smile on his face. She wasn’t sure if he was serious, or just playing around because she looked so freaked out by the statue. Either way she was happy to comply.
Akori had countless stories and myths about objects and places. Addy and her friends always joked that it was probably to make their boring existence more interesting.
“Am I looking for something in particular?” she asked Fate when he stopped walking.
“Not really. You need to become familiar with the entire library. I’d like you to look through these rows and get acquainted with this section,” Fate said, taking a long look around. “I’ve read each and every book in here at one point or another.”
“I doubt I’ll ever be able to say that. Maybe we can have the ones written in Akori turned into audio books or something.”
He peered at her strangely and abruptly told her he was going to his room to rest.
As he kissed her cheek and walked away, she realized she was alone with the creepy statue. She spent the next hour flipping through books so old she was afraid they’d turn to dust in her hands. There were some interesting stories about events Akori were involved in, most of which she had never heard about.
Addy was trying not to think about Gage, but her thoughts kept going back to him. Even though they were both technically adults, it would’ve been awkward explaining why he was at her place first thing in the morning to Bernard. Obviously, Gage felt the same way and left through the patio door.
She still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that he’d healed her. He seemed genuinely shocked at what he’d done, which probably explained why he’d completely violated her personal space. He didn’t really know her well enough anymore to even be considered her friend. Still, after all the years they spent together as kids, it was nice having him around.
Running her fingers along the spines of the books, she walked up and down the rows of shelves. Most of them had names like Battle of this, and Plaque of that, with random dates. She realized the books in that section were all written before Oren Sanders became the Overseer. Unfortunately most of them were written in Ancient Akori.
It occurred to Addy that maybe she could find something about Akori possessing healing powers there. She’d never heard of them having any ability other than shifting events, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t possible. She began searching for books about the Akori powers or anything that detailed how to use them.
After looking for hours she came up empty. Addy was completely burned out from all of the tedious translating. As she carefully placed the books back onto their shelves, she decided maybe she should just ask Fate about the healing ability. He said he’d read every book in there, which looking around, she highly doubted. She’d have to make sure Gage was ok with it first though. She wasn’t clear if she was supposed to tell anyone about him healing her or not, so she decided to keep it to herself. She walked past the creepy statue without glancing at it on her way out. She decided if she became the Overseer she was putting a bag over that guy’s head.
The next few days were spent pretty much the same way. Addy and Kim were able to hit the beach a couple of times and finally take the car for a drive with the top down. They even stopped at a few stores and grabbed some new clothes.
She did combat training in the morning with Bernard, and library duty with Fate during the day. In her spare time, she continued to search for references to Akori healers. Addy didn’t see Tanner or hear from him again. She figured he must have started feeling better and moved on.
Addy and Kim went out to play pool one night with some of the others. Gage was there, but he and Addy didn’t talk. Things between them were back to the way it had been for the last few years. She figured it didn’t really matter, but at the same time she was disappointed. She never got a chance to ask him if she could tell Fate about the healing power. Just going off the fact he never talked to her about it again, she figured he’d say no anyway.
Like most evenings, Addy ate dinner with Kim and then went over to her place to hang out. On their way back to Kim’s villa after eating, they spotted a group of the guys at a table by the pool.
Matt, his Uncle Josh, Gage, and the Akori guard Malcolm were gathered with a few others playing poker and drinking.
“No one invited us to play,” Kim said as they passed the guys.
Matt laughed and tipped his head back to look at her. “You can play—if you bring lots of money.”
Kim was terrible at any game requiring cards and Addy always kept her away from poker with the guys.
Addy walked up behind Matt and leaned over his shoulder. “You should fold.”
“Thanks, high roller.” Matt smiled. “What am I gonna do in a hundred years when you’re not around to give me poker tips?”
“Lose,” Addy said, grabbing a beer from the cooler by the table.
Malcolm smirked at Matt. “Yeah, and every time we take your money we’ll ask if you wish Addy was there to bail you out.”
Matt reached up and poked her in the ribs. “And I’ll just be like, ‘Addy who?’”
“You don’t have to pretend, Mattie,” she said, putting her arms around his shoulders. “I know you’ll miss me when I’m gone.”
Kim let out an annoyed sigh and crossed her arms. “You guys shouldn’t talk like that.”
“She’s right, it’s messed up,” Gage said, not looking up from his cards.
“Oh relax, Captain Way Too Serious,” Matt said to Gage, folding his hand and making a shooing motion to the girls. “And you two move along, you’re distracting me.”
Kim hadn’t come to understand how the Akori and human relationships worked like Addy had. Being raised around Akori, Addy knew her lifetime was like the blink of an eye to Akori. They were immortal—they’d probably had countless human friends they’d lost to death from old age.
Fate said it was usually harder for the younger Akori to understand than the ones who’d been through it many times over the course of their lives. Addy knew eventually she’d just be a memory to the Akori friends she’d grown up with, but she didn’t dwell on it or pretend like it wasn’t gonna happen.
An hour later, Matt showed up at Kim’s place after losing his money. Addy decided to head home rather than sit there and listen to him whine about it. The guys were still playing cards by the pool when she passed them on her way back to her villa, but she noticed Gage was already gone.
According to Kim, Gage not speaking to her was making her melancholy. How she came to that conclusion was a mystery to Addy because she hadn’t mentioned Gage to Kim in days. Addy sat at the same table as Gage in the dining room a couple of times, but just like at the poker game, he didn’t even look at her. Realistically, that’s how he always was. He wasn’t acting any different than he had in the past. It’s just after he healed her, she thought he would act different, or at least wanna talk about it.
Pulling her screen door open, a note fell at her feet. She picked it up and unfolded it; pretty sure she already knew who it was from.
I’ll be around the bar next-door tonight—swing by.
-T
That answered her question—Tanner was still lurking around. She was surprisingly apprehensive about meeting him and she wasn’t really sure whether to go or not. After making her way into her villa and feeling bummed about spending another night sitting around with her video game, she began to get ready. Addy decided to wear a light yellow skirt with a thin white button down top—she also made sure to slip on her sandals. After a quick check in the mirror, she headed out the door to find Tanner.
Addy took the path down to the beach and then went over to the walkway that opened up to the resort next door. When she passed through the place she’d originally met Tanner, the resort was in full view. Every inch of it was absolutely beautiful. The palm trees were wrapped in white lights from top to bottom. There were cozy little spots with benches and café tables tucked back behind perfectly sculpted shrubs. It all surrounded a large patio and pool area.
Walking through a maze of trees, Addy came to a bench on the far side of the outdoor bar. She decided it was a good place to wait for Tanner.
A few minutes passed and a guy sat down beside her.
“I’m waiting for someone,” she said, not wanting to deal with being hit on.
“So am I.”
She recognized the voice and whipped her head around.
“Tanner?” She was stunned. “Oh my god, did you get run over by an extreme makeover show?”
“Yeah, total hit and run.” He looked at her seriously, but she could see a hint of a smile in his eyes. “I’m blending in—per your request.”
Tanner was dressed like he belonged at the beach, wearing shorts, a light button down shirt and sandals. His facial hair was trimmed into a five o’clock shadow look, and his hair was cut short into what she’d describe as a faux hawk. It was also very dark brown, much darker than she first thought. It was a completely different look and he could have been a totally different guy.
“At least you didn’t get your hair highlighted,” she said, trying not to laugh.
Tanner ran his fingers through his hair with a lopsided smile. “I thought about it but wasn’t sure if I was ready to commit to the upkeep.”
“Good call.”
“The guys in my band are gonna be pissed—rocking the long hair was kind of our thing.” He smiled and took a drink of the beer he was holding. “You never came back to meet me.”
“I’m sorry, I was busy,” she said, which was partly true. “How do you know where I live by the way?”
He said he was checking out the estate the night they met and he saw her go into her place. He also told her he checked into a suite at the resort since he needed a place to stay while he waited for his condition to clear up.
Addy looked around at their incredibly luxurious surroundings. “Isn’t that pretty expensive?”
He just looked around and shrugged. “It’s no big deal.”
“Oh.” She wanted to ask him some questions, especially about his family, but thought she might be overstepping.
“Wanna go walk on the beach? Now that you look like a boy band reject it won’t matter who sees us.”
Tanner laughed and stood up. “Keep piling it on girlie, I can take it.”
They headed over to the bar where everyone knew him by name and Tanner ordered a couple of drinks. Then they made their way over to the walkway leading down to the water.
The beach was empty, except for a few couples walking hand in hand. In the distance, she could see lightning flashes over the ocean. The sky above them was clear and full of stars.
They chatted while they walked down the shoreline.
Again, he was so great to talk to about anything. It was a nice escape from all the weirdness of the estate, even though Tanner brought his own kind of weirdness. She thought about the easy way she could talk to Tanner and how tough, almost painful, it was to think of something to say to Gage. It was such a huge difference.
She could tell he was becoming more and more uncomfortable as they traveled farther away from Tremain. They got about a mile away before she suggested they turn around.
When they got back to the beachfront at the resort, she realized they hadn’t discussed the issue of why he was there in the first place.
“Are you feeling any better at all?” Addy asked Tanner.
“Nope, if I could leave I’d have jetted; my band is playing without me tonight.” He took off his shoes and stepped into the edge of the water. “Are you gonna tell me what’s going on with me and how you moved that house there overnight?”
Addy slid her sandals off and dipped her toes in the water next to him. She was surprised the sand still felt slightly warm under her feet.
“I don’t know why you feel like you need to be near us.” She picked up a shell and fiddled with it nervously. “And I can’t tell you about our estate.”
“I’m gonna roll with my own theory then,” he said, raising his eyebrows at her. “You’re aliens and that giant house is your mother ship, which forces me to assume that I’m some type of alien hunter. Eventually I’m afraid I’ll have to turn on you.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Addy rolled her eyes. “You’re an alien like us. We’re just here to claim you because you were left here as a baby—kinda like a Changeling.”
“Finally, the truth.”
“You forced it out of me.”
Tanner lightly splashed her with his foot and she watched him shake his head, smiling at her.
She tossed the shell into the water feeling bad about his situation. “I’m sorry you’re stuck here and I can’t give you answers, Tanner.”
His smile faded. “Who can then?” He turned his palms up in frustration. “Should I just go up to your house and knock on the door? Hell, I doubt I even could, between the guy who watches your place and—“
“Wait, what guy?” She was alarmed at the thought of being watched and immediately thought of the humans who’d killed her parents. “What does he look like?”
“I saw him by the fire the first night we met, tall, blond.”
“You saw him outside my villa? When was this?”
Tanner said he’d been trying to catch her or just knock on her door for the last couple of nights, but couldn’t because the guy was around.
“I gotta go,” she said. “I promise I’ll try harder to find out what’s wrong with you. I’ll see you soon.”
Without giving him a chance to respond, Addy took off for the path leading back to Tremain. When she got to the top of the path, just down from her villa, she stopped.
“I know you’re out here—you may as well come out.” There was no response at first, but then she heard someone behind her. She turned her head and saw Gage standing there. “What are you doing?”
“You said come out,” he said as he jammed his phone in his back pocket.
“You know what I mean.”
“Like I said last week, Bernard told me to keep an eye on you. I’m not thrilled about sitting out here in the dark, but it’s what they want. Malcolm’s stuck out here during the day.” Gage looked around. “I thought you were home already—what’re you doing out so late?”
She really wanted to call him out on not even knowing she was gone, but since she didn’t wanna have to explain where she’d been, she let it go.
“I was told at breakfast four days ago that they weren’t concerned about the guy from the beach anymore. And regardless of what Bernard says, I don’t wanna be watched. I’ll talk to Fate tomorrow and have you relieved of stalker duty.”
Gage smiled, tilting his head.
Addy was annoyed and started to walk away.
“When did you become like this?”
“Like what?” she asked over her shoulder, continuing to walk.
She heard his footsteps behind her and he caught her by the shoulders, stopping her.
“Damn, Addy—just wait a minute.”
“What?” She didn’t turn around.
Gage didn’t say anything, but she heard him take a deep breath over the sound of the ocean. His hands were still on her shoulders; he slowly ran them down her arms and laced his fingers through hers. Pulling her arms with his, he wrapped them around her.
Her first thought was that she must have mistakenly put on a shirt that said Free Hugs because just like last time, she found herself wrapped up in his arms through no fault of her own.
Without thinking, she leaned her head back against him as she contemplated breaking free of his arms. Gage pulled her closer, making her feel dizzy. He shifted to rest his chin on her shoulder. He smelled incredible and his soft breath near her neck sent chills through her.
Standing with Gage’s arms around her wasn’t exactly the worst thing that could’ve happened, but it was still awkward. He wasn’t saying anything and she was just about to tear herself away when he finally spoke.
“When did you become like this?” he asked her again. He was speaking barely above a whisper. “You’re different than I remember—you’re not like I thought you’d be.”
Forcing her head to clear, she thought about his question.
“I grew up, Gage. You’d know that if you hadn’t stopped being my friend. I tried to stay your friend, but you forgot about me.”
He dropped his arms, turning her around to face him.
“That’s what you think happened? I’m five years older than you Addy; you were still a kid when I could drive. I never—” He broke off, sounding hurt.
She turned her head away from him, unable to stand the expression on his face.
He slid his hands up her neck, and turned her face back to look at him. “I never forgot about you, I just grew up first.”
Addy was overwhelmed with emotions when she realized how hurt she actually felt about how he’d turned his back on her when they were younger. She knew she had to get away from Gage before the tears welling in her eyes fell in front of him.
Reaching up, she wrapped her fingers around his wrists and tugged his hands from her cheeks.
“I gotta go.” She made a break for her door. Her eyes stung from burning tears.