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“Come on.” He started for the hallway.
“What?”
“There used to be an Italian restaurant not far from here. Let’s go, sweetheart.”
“I can’t.” I gestured to the house. “Heidi and Lacey warded the house. I shouldn’t leave.”
“Right.” He raised a finger. “I’ll be right back.”
He walked outside to the shed. He disappeared inside it for a couple of minutes, then he came back, holding a necklace with a thin silver chain and a small circular pendant.
“What is that?”
“Heidi put the same ward on the necklace. It should hold for a couple of hours.”
I reached for it, stunned. “Just for a couple of hours? Couldn’t she do it permanently?”
It would be amazing to wear a necklace that could hide my aura, instead of drinking a potion every couple of days.
Levi tsked. “If she could, I’m sure she would have told us, sweetheart.” He gestured to the door. “Coming or not?”
11
Levi drove us to the heart of the neighborhood and parked the car at a strip shopping center, a few spots from the Italian restaurant. We barely said anything as we ordered our food and ate—a shrimp alfredo pasta for me, and fettuccine with steak in red wine sauce for Levi.
We had also ordered a lasagna to take back, so Lacey and Heidi would have dinner once they were done with the potion.
Levi carried the paper bag, and, when we exited, I headed to the car.
“Not yet,” Levi said. “This way.”
We rounded the corner, walked by a narrow street that led to the back of the shopping center, flanked by snowbanks, and followed a little stone path into a bunch of leafless trees. After a few steps, the trees were gone and we entered what seemed like a small park. Despite the cold and the snow, people sat on benches feeding birds, walking their dogs or riding bikes along the concrete paths, and kids played on the playground. In an open area, a large pavilion stood with open sides, but for one wall with a big white screen. Lots of people sat on the picnic tables under the pavilion, and in the parking lot beside it were three food trucks.
“It’s still the same,” Levi mused, stopping at the edge of the stone path.
“What is?”
“Every Friday, they still have movie night here. But they used to put everything under tents. Now, they have that structure.”
I frowned and glanced at the time on my phone. “There’s still thirty minutes or so to dusk.”
“People always came early to eat, let the kids play, talk with friends.”
“It’s so damn cold.” Thankfully, Heidi's coat closet had plenty of Lacey’s jackets and coats, and I grabbed a black one before Levi and I left the house.
“When you’re born and raised in a cold town, you get used to it.”
Kids ran from blanket to blanket. Some had frisbees and nerf guns, others played tag or hide-and-seek or were having a snowball fight. The adults gathered in groups and talked, laughed, and drank together.
It seemed like a perfect Friday evening for friends and family.
A pang of jealousy cut through my chest.
My family hadn’t been that amazing, but I had had one.
Now, I had no idea what was going on with them, if they ever wondered what happened to me. Did they believe the rumors? Was it a rumor up there, or was it a fact? It really looked like it, the way the angels were hunting me.
I forced those thoughts out of my mind and turned my gaze to Levi, who watched the humans intently.
