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Why would Pietro have gone to that part of town if not to look for Aussen?
She had posed the question to Cody but he didn’t have an answer for her, either. “You still see him, don’t you?” she’d said almost accusingly.
“Sure. I like him.”
“Does he ever ask about me?”
“No. And he never asks about Aussen.”
“What does he want from you?”
“Friendship, I think. Do you want me to drop him? I will if you say so.”
“I don’t want anyone to do anything just because I asked it,” she said quickly, which made him laugh. Which made her angry. “Anyway, it’sAussenI’m worried about,” she said huffily. “I don’t want him to know where she is.”
“Jayla. I’m not going to tell him.”
It was so hard to think it through. “Maybe it’s better if you stay in touch with him. Maybe it’s best if we know what’s going on with him.”
“That’s what I always say. I like to keep track of people.”
So Cody kept track of Pietro and Jayla kept track of Aussen. And Cody and Jayla kept track of each other.
It annoyed her, how much she liked Cody. And he knew it annoyed her, which amused him. He told her once she was like a feral cat sitting on top of a shattered brick wall, hissing at anyone who came too close. “Well, you’re one of those big friendly dogs who runs up to total strangers and slobbers all over them,” she shot back.
“That’s exactly what I am,” he replied enthusiastically. “I’m glad it’s so obvious.”
She wasn’t sure exactly what he wanted of her. Maybe just friendship, as he claimed he wanted from Pietro. He never sat too close, never surprised her with a hug, never embarrassed her with compliments or declarations. But she’d met a couple of the women who shared his house with him, and she’d seen how he joked and roughhoused with them, and it was clear he treated her differently. She couldn’t describe that difference exactly. But she had to admit it pleased her.
When it didn’t annoy her.
But she still found herself including him any time she had a day off.
One unexpectedly cool and rainy afternoon, they decided it would be too miserable for them to enjoy their planned excursion to Chrission Lake. Cody suggested they return to his house, where Jayla could practice walking the cable, so they caught a chugger back to the warehouse district. The skies opened up and soaked them just as they disembarked, so they sprinted the last few blocks to his place. The lower level of the big building was almost deserted, since couriers were in high demand during bad weather when no one wanted to run their own errands. Cody waved at someone sitting on the far side of the large open space, but didn’t pause to talk.
“I think we all need dry clothes,” he said. “Will you wear one of my shirts or sweaters just to get warm?”
Jayla’s instinctive reaction was to say no, because that seemed oddly intimate, but she was freezing, and Aussen was shivering. “Sure,” she said casually. “That would be nice.”
She tried not to be too interested in the small room that he had to himself on the third floor, but she couldn’t stop herself from looking around. There was a mattress on the floor, covered with a rumpled quilt in shades of blue and green. Shelves that displayed a variety of objects, from books to small figurines to a sizable collection of antique clocks. An enormous wooden chest held shut by a padlock. And an assortment of crates that seemed to hold his clothing.
He pointed. “Clean. Dirty. Not so dirty I wouldn’t wear them again. Let’s see what’s in the clean box.”
He found a sweater for Jayla and a heavy long-sleeved shirt that would do for Aussen if they rolled up the sleeves five times and allowed the hem to hang past her knees. But she seemed more interested in another item hanging from a hook on the wall—his red courier’s vest.
“You want to wear it while you’re here?” he asked. When she nodded, he carefully fitted it over her shoulders and snugged it tight. It was almost as long as the shirt and practically obliterated her in a weave of scarlet.
“She isnotgoing to be a courier,” Jayla said again.
He paused to admire Aussen and spoke an approving word in Zessin before turning back to Jayla. “Why not? It’s a respectable profession.”
“Because her mother’s going to find her and take her home, that’s why.”
“But if she doesn’t?”
Jayla shook her head. “Don’t say that. She has to.”
Cody shrugged and let it go. “Come on. Let’s go downstairs.”
