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I went over to Xochil and hugged her, and then we all walked inside one of the conference rooms to hear her story. I turned to Evie, who looked unsure if she should follow.
“Come on. I’m sure there are spots only you can fill in,” I told her. Despite the hurt I kept feeling every time she showed me how little I meant to her, I couldn’t help but need to have her close. I wanted her near me, to keep her safe, to see her smile. She walked up to my side, and we followed behind everyone, happy when she sat down next to me.
“What happened?” Uncle Sebastian asked Xochil once we were all seated.
“When I got to Sydney, there was someone waiting for me there. He smelled kind of like us and said he just hadn’t been home in a while, that he’d been on some secret mission. We were going to have dinner, but on the way there, he tried to kidnap me. I only just managed to get away, but I dropped my purse and phone, and I...” She looked flustered suddenly. “I don’t know anyone’s information by memory,” she said, making most of us laugh.
“This new generation needs to learn a little more about surviving without cell phones,” Uncle Theo laughed.
“Well, I couldn’t get back to the airport. I knew it wouldn’t be safe, and I didn’t have any way to contact you or try to get back. I managed to sneak into a boat that took me to Thailand, and from there, I started making my way home by sneaking into trains. In a small town outside of Indore in India, I was eating at a small diner after they let me wash dishes in exchange for dinner when they handed me the phone. It was Evie. She directed me to someone who gave me money, a phone, and a fake passport. From there, I followed her instructions and got home. I was going to ask for her phone to call when she picked me up, but she was waiting for me at the airport. I was too happy to see a friendly face and forgot until she told me to call during the drive.”
“How did you find her, Evie?” Uncle Helios asked.
“I was worried and frustrated. Worried about Xochil and frustrated with my code, so I took a few hours from my work and thought I’d take a look. Dad’s software was going strong, but I tried to think about where I would go if I was in her shoes, and I directed the software to look there. I found her after a few hours in some old footage near Bangladesh, and followed her path until I finally came across real-time footage of her in India. I just had to call in a few favors from there to get her home. I’m sorry I didn’t tell anyone. It all happened a little fast and I knew you would worry the whole way through until she was here.”
“I could kiss you,” Aunt Nat said, her emotions all over the place.
“Hey! This means we can have our Loteria night this Saturday, so I’m all for it! Come on Xochil, I’ll escort you to your room. You smell a little, cousin,” Miguel joked, but as her closest cousin and future beta, I knew how much he loved her was happy to have her home.
“I had been traveling by train for days, you asshole,” Xochil answered back, and we all started going our own ways.
“Cory,” Evie called out to me as I walked home.
“Hi,” I answered quietly.
“Are you mad at me?” she asked, looking up into my eyes. I could see the worry in them. I tried to smile and shook my head.
“I’m not mad, Evie. You brought her home. That’s all that matters.” I continued to walk and then turned when she didn’t follow. “Are you coming?” I asked and caught sight of Paolo walking toward the pack house. “Right, you probably want to see Paolo,” I said, trying to sound like it was no big deal, when I could feel my heart fracturing at the thought.
“I don’t think you’re being honest with me,” she said, looking over and noticing Paolo for the first time before catching up with me.
“I’m not mad, Evie. I meant it.”
“But you’re not happy with me,” she said.
“I am...” I was going to lie, but I didn’t want to. Not to Evie. “I am hurt that you didn’t reach out. I don’t know how many ways to tell you that you can count on me and hope that you believe me this time. That’s all,” I said and then added, “But I’m a big boy. I know we’re not children anymore. You’ve made your life away from us and are used to doing things your way. I just have to keep remembering that.” She frowned at my answer, but I changed the subject. “Are you going back to work?”
“Yeah. I need to get the code to work.”
“Let me know if you need anything. Even if it’s just lunch or dinner,” I mentioned and parted ways once we got back onto Crescent Moon lands. Evie didn’t reach out again the rest of the day, and I was in a foul mood by the end of it. I went up to my room without bothering with dinner and sulked.
James was on a double date with Zi, Jo and Meli, and I was fucking lonely.
‘I can feel your mood all the way over here. What’s wrong, brother?’ Bells’ mind-link came through.
‘Nothing,’ I lied.
‘That works on others, but not on me. What’s going on?’ she prodded.
‘We found Xochil,’ I said, trying to change the subject.
‘Is she alive?’ she asked, alarmed.
‘She’s fine. Sorry. I should have led with that,’ I rushed out, feeling like an idiot.
‘No kidding. So if she’s found and safe, why are you sulking?’ she asked again.
‘I’m not sulking!’
