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Using one of the candles,Calax guided us back into the house. I heard harsh whispers coming from the kitchen. Though most of the house were already asleep, the few that were awake had convened around the table.
“What happened?” Calax asked as soon as we entered the room. He placed his candle on the table, illuminated the faces around us.
Ryder and Fallon were sitting on one side, identical scowls on their faces. Asher was leaning against the marble countertop.
Tam, Declan, and Ronan must’ve already gone to sleep. An irrational part of me hoped that they went to bed alone.
Tommy also was noticeably absent, and for that, I was grateful. After his emotional breakdown, the boy needed his beauty sleep.
And I may or may not have missed the “curfew” he had enacted. I would not put it past him to shoot Calax in the nutsack for keeping me out late.
“The generator ran out of batteries,” Elena answered. She was sitting on the opposite side of the table, golden flames accentuating the bags under her eyes.
“Well, shit,” Ryder said dryly. “There goes my hot shower.”
“Addie?” Asher said calmly. In response, I walked towards Ryder and hit him on the back of the head.
“Ow,” he whined dramatically. “So abusive.”
Snorting, I said, “You know you love me.”
Even in the darkness, I saw the heat in his eyes at my words.
What the hell was that all about? I was ninety percent positive that I hadn’t said something with a sexual innuendo.
“So, do you guys need a new battery?” Fallon asked Elena. Elena shook her head slowly, answering Fallon’s question despite her attention fixated on me and Ryder.
“We’re probably going to leave this house soon. Head east.”
“Is that safe?” Asher asked, concerned. I myself felt slightly anxious at her proclamation. We hadn’t been able to get into contact with anyone; we were not able to see what was happening outside of where we traveled. The phone lines were down; the internet was down; the television showed nothing but static. The disconnection felt like a repeated kick to the gut. I didn’t like feeling so alone, so disassociated. Anything could be happening.
Elena shrugged, finally turning her attention away from me and Ryder to face Asher.
“Lilly and Sam are planning on going, regardless if we come with them or not. We’re a team. We could never leave them alone.”
The boys nodded as if that answer was completely acceptable. I supposed, to them, it was.
“Why are they even heading east?” Calax asked. “Do they have family out there or something?”
“Lance,” I answered for Elena. “Their boyfriend lives out there.”
“And they love him.” Elena’s voice took on an odd quality. “You would go anywhere for someone you love. But, of course, you guys already know this.” She gave Calax, Ryder, Fallon, and Asher a pointed look. “You would even go across the country.”
Asher shifted uncomfortably, though I didn’t fully understand what Elena was attempting to imply.
“Well, we’ll be out of your hair by tomorrow at the latest,” Fallon said, changing the subject briskly.
“To go to Atlanta?” she questioned, amused.
Fallon gave her a penetrating glare.
“Yes.”
Her smirk grew as Fallon’s scowl deepened. I glanced back and forth between the two of them, unsure what had caused their intense standoff.
“Well...” I drawled, stretching my arms. “I’m going to head to bed. I’m tired.”
