Lily saw us
off the next evening after wrapping my arms in bandages. She had cleaned them
when we first arrived, she informed me, but was wrapping them so I wouldn't
have to look at them. She hadn't changed at all from how I remembered her. Still
smiley and bubbly with bobbed, curly blond hair.
“Thank you for
everything,” I said, embracing her.
“Aw,
sweetie, it really is nothing to thank me about;” she hugged me back before
holding me at arm’s length. Even if it was dangerous, looking at her, she
really was good for Nick. He needed her, and she needed him. Who knew for how
long? But did that really matter?
“It is. Nick's
lucky to have you.” Taking her hands in mine, holding them between us, I stared
into her topaz eyes. “Really.”
A smile
broke across her lips as she said, “Thank you for that. You really are unique,
Abriel.” Shaking her head, she added, “Stop thanking me. If you can pull it
off, it will all be worth it.” She squeezed my hands before letting go. Sashaying
to where Drei waited a few yards away, she poked a finger at his chest. “Take
care of her. Nick and I can’t always be around to help you find her.”
Drei
nodded, a bemused smile curling his lips and crinkling his eyes. “I would have
figured it out eventually.”
She burst
out laughing. “Of course. Before she was old and wrinkled or after?”
“Thank you,
Lily,” Drei said, still smiling. “You saved me a few years.”
“And saved
her in time to do her part, in case you forgot.”
“I'm right
here;” I was a little embarrassed they were talking so openly about me but disappointed
they still managed not to reveal anything I wanted to know.
“Your ride
should be here shortly,” Lily reminded Drei, turning to face me. She hugged me
again, whispering, “Take care, now.” Glancing over her shoulder at Drei, she added,
“Of both of you.”
He held a
hand out to me, then, saying, “Yes, our ride should arrive shortly.”
Outside,
the last rays of sun were still fading behind the horizon, casting long shadows
across the earth.
“It's so
beautiful out here,” I whispered, taking in the view. Lily's home was on a
hillside, surrounded by trees and a fabulous view of the hills falling away in
the distance. Everything was cast into varying degrees of gold and black; everything
seemed to shimmer in the dying light.
“It is.”
“So who's
our ride?” I asked, tearing my gaze away from the landscape to face him again. Since
waking up, I was considerably calmer—still torn from the news of my mom, but holding
together well enough.
“Caroline said
she would send someone, so I presume it would be Ian or another of her
drivers,” he said, trying not to seem obvious about craning his neck to see
further down the road.
“There's a
car on its way up, so you can relax a little.”
“You are
improving,” he said distantly, slipping his hand from mine and tucking it into
his coat pocket.
“What do
you think I was doing the whole time? Goofing off?” I questioned playfully,
hoping I was doing a decent job of hiding the sudden jab of pain in my heart.
“You?” he
teased in his awkward way. “I would never assume such a position.”
“Sure you
wouldn't.”
Our burgeoning
banter was interrupted at the sight of the black car rolling up the drive. We walked
towards it, prepared to see Ian hop out wearing some crazy cap but were
treated, instead, to the sight of Caroline slipping from the driver's seat. She
was dressed down in a pair of blue skinny jeans, a black band tee, and black
flats with hardware accents.
“What,
didn't know I could drive?” Caroline questioned, a huge smile lighting up her
face.
No comments:
Post a Comment