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Why did we always end up with more questions, and no answers?
TWENTY-FOUR
Christmas came and went without incident. Alstone Holdings closed down from Christmas Eve until January 2nd, and Arlo and Christine had flown away to some luxury ski resort, leaving us to spend Christmas alone, which was actually the best thing for us. I couldn’t think of anything that would ruin Christmas faster than being forced to spend it with my mother.
Me, Cade, and West spent the day lazing around, watching TV, and we ordered Chinese food rather than cook anything. We’d decided not to give gifts to each other, either—to be honest, none of us felt all that much like celebrating. I was missing my dad even more, and we were all feeling kind of discouraged by the fact we had just as many questions as answers when it came to my mother.
Z was spending the day with his dad, and Cass was with his family, so the house was kind of quiet and subdued. In the evening, West shut himself in his computer room, talking all things computery and gadgety with Mercury and his other dodgy web contacts, so Cade and I reacquainted ourselves with the hot tub. Twice.
Now it was New Year’s Eve, and we were going to what was apparently the traditional New Year’s Eve party, hosted by Cassius’ family. They had a sprawling mansion, very different to Arlo’s. It was nestled into the cliffside, all shiny and modern with floor-to-ceiling windows and several different levels, starting at the clifftop and gradually moving down the side. If I could compare it to anything, it reminded me a bit of Tony Stark’s Iron Man mansion.
According to Caiden, when it had been built, the locals had petitioned against it, saying it spoiled the scenery and general feel of the area, which was predominantly Georgian and Victorian buildings. Unlucky for the locals, since the Drummonds were a founding family of Alstone Holdings and therefore controlled the land, there was nothing they could do about it. I could see both sides of the argument, but there was no denying this mansion was bloody beautiful. All sleek lines and sparkling glass. I bet it would look amazing from the sea.
Speaking of the sea…I’d arrived at the mansion early since the boys were off doing some male-bonding shit, paintballing, and Lena had asked Cassius to ask me if I wanted to come over. Pretty starved for some female company after a week of testosterone with no Kinslee, I’d jumped at the chance.
Time to kick off the New Year’s Eve celebrations, Lena-style.
Lena and I were standing at the foot of the cliff on a tiny pebble beach, the mansion high above us. You know what this mansion had? An outdoor lift. I had no idea such things existed until that moment in time.
The beach had a little jetty with a motorboat moored to it. Lena skipped down the jetty, pulled the cover off the boat, and climbed inside.
“Coming?” She cocked her head at me, the ends of her formerly blonde hair, now a shade of pastel pink, tumbling from under her beanie hat and blowing in the breeze.
I nodded slowly, tugging my own hat further down over my ears. “Are you sure you know how to drive one of these? Or is it sail? Whatever it is, we’re not going to die, are we?”
A loud laugh burst from her, her thin shoulders shaking under her down-filled winter coat. “You should see your face right now. You look fucking terrified.” Fumbling around in the boat, she grabbed an orange life jacket and threw it to me, clipping one on herself, then spun around, stretching her arms out. “See? We’re safe.”
I stayed rooted to the spot, and she sighed, rolling her eyes. “Winter. I promise we’ll be fine. I’ve grown up by the sea. I’ve been hanging out on boats since I was a baby. I know everything there is to know about this boat and the coastline.”
“Okay. I guess.” I took a hesitant step forwards, then another.
“Come on! It’ll be fun. The view of the house from the sea is amazing,” she said coaxingly. “You don’t want to miss it.”
Finally, I was in the boat, life jacket on, holding tightly to the rail that ran around the side. Lena unhooked us, or whatever the nautical term was, and started the motor with a roar, a huge excited grin on her face.
I squeaked but tried to play it cool, although my hands were shaking. I’d barely met Lena, hence my coming here earlier, but she came across as the tiniest bit crazy. Flying us across the water at full throttle, she was clearly in her element, standing, legs braced, hands on the wheel, her pink hair whipping around in the breeze.
When I got used to the motion and the speed, I realised I was actually enjoying myself, and I sat back in my seat with a smile on my face.
“You alright?” she shouted to me over the noise of the engine, glancing back at me, and I stuck my thumb up at her. We got a good distance away from the coastline, and she cut the engine.
Then suddenly, everything was calm and still. The first rays of the setting sun danced across the water, and the only sounds around us were the waves lapping at the hull of the boat, and the distant sound of seagulls back by the cliffs.
“Turn around,” Lena instructed, and I spun to face the cliffs.
“You were right,” I said breathlessly. The house looked like it glowed. The setting sun was reflected all over, from the glass front to the roof. We stayed, just watching the colour change from gold to a burnished orange, and then Lena announced it was time to go back.
“We don’t want to be out here in the dark. You want a go at steering on the way back?”
Why not? “Okay. Thanks. I have no idea what I’m doing, though.”
“You’ll be fine,” she assured me, starting the motor back up. “I’ll do most of it; all you need to do is worry about steering.”
We headed back at a slightly slower pace, and once I got a feel for the responsiveness of the wheel, I steered us back in a gently curving S shape, until we neared the jetty and Lena once again took over. She expertly brought us to a stop, tying the boat up and pulling the cover over it. “That was great, I’m glad you came over. It’s fun hanging out with someone older. My brother doesn’t normally let his girlfriends anywhere near me.”
I laughed. “Thanks for inviting me. But FYI, Cass is not my boyfriend. A close friend, sure. I love him. But not in that way.”
We entered the metal cage housing the lift, and she pressed the button that would take us back up the side of the cliff to the house. “I know you’re Cade’s girlfriend. But you’d have made a cool sister-in-law. Just saying.”
