“You alright?” I ask him, and as he lifts his head, I watch in fascination as his expression shifts from a distant sadness to contentment and ease within the span of a breath.
“Yeah, man. I’m great,” he tells me.
“Oh. Okay.”
An uncomfortable silence unfurls around us, and as I’m trying to find an excuse to leave so I can wallow alone, Cassie clears her throat.
“Julian, how are things at Chastain Castle? Kimberly said that Susie told her it was a blast.” She’s stirring her coffee, not meeting my gaze as she asks, and I can feel my eyes start to sting.
“Um, I don’t… I don’t work there anymore.”
“What?”she gasps.
“What happened?” Cameron questions at the same time.
“Nothing important,” I rush out. “Just… it didn’t work out.”
“You look really sad about it,” he observes, and when our eyes connect, that contentment he was forcing is tinged with the sadness I saw before.
“I am,” I answer honestly. “I wasn’t able to say goodbye properly.”
Cameron swallows roughly, his brow furrowing as he turns away to stare out the window behind me.
“Yeah,” he says. “I know the feeling.”
What is that supposed to mean?
“If you’re that sad, why don’t you say goodbye?” Cassie asks.
“It’s not that simple. I probably… they won’t let me back inside.” It makes me sound suspicious; it’s an incriminating phrase, but it’s true.
Cassie just shrugs. “So sneak in. The person you want to say goodbye to—would they be happy to see you?”
I think of Atlas, of his sweet face and his big eyes full of tears. I know he’s trying to protect me, that he’s following orders. But would he be happy to see me, or angry that I allowed myself inside?
“He might be,” I mumble.
“Then do it. In fact, if you do, we want to go!”
“Cassie,” Cameron warns, his face stern as he stares down at his coffee.
“What? I’m just saying. We’ve always wanted to see Chastain Castle, and it might be easier with two extra sets of hands.” Cassie wiggles her brows at me, smiling brightly.
“I don’t know…” I look between the two of them, considering the idea.
Breaking into Chastain Castle could very well end in a lawsuit, and Atlas could end up upset with me. And bringing Cassie and Cameron? Would that be the brightest move?
But at the same time… is it technically considered breaking and entering if I still have the key?
The piece of metal that allows entry through the delivery room is burning a hole through my pocket. I’ve been carrying it as a token, something to comfort myself with, but now… now it just might be my literal key to seeing Atlas again. To making sure he’s truly safe and saying goodbye.
“We could help you stay undercover, and at the same time, we’d be able to see the estate. Come on, Cam. I know you want this just as badly as I do.” Cassie’s voice is coated in a layer of persuasion, her hand reaching out to rest on Cameron’s shoulder.
But Cameron looks tense, his eyes unfocused as he floats off to somewhere far away from here.
After a moment or two, as if I’m not even sitting here, Cameron comes back to the present and turns his gaze onto Cassie.
“Yeah,” he whispers. “I do want it.”
