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I’m noodling out a response when Trevor from the front desk calls.
“We have a problem,” Trevor whispers when I answer. “Wasn’t Sebastian supposed to be here when those Home Away from Home guys came?”
“Yes, he will be. He gets back from Chicago tomorrow.”
Trevor sighs and I can tell he’s pacing. “Elianna, the Home Away from Home guys are here now.”
“No. They’re supposed to come next Friday.” I almost laugh, wondering how they got it so wrong.
“Well, they’re here.”
A cool sensation coils itself through my middle, around my lungs, and out to my fingers and toes.
How can this be?
Did I get the date wrong?
I fling open my laptop and search The Calendar, seeing my mistake in seconds. For a mistake this colossal, you’d think it would have been harder to see. But no. It’s right there, plain as day.
I must have duplicated the event tab somehow when I’d been rearranging and cleaning things up the other day. Because there’s the exact same event on today’s schedule as there is on next Friday’s schedule:
“Home Away from Home visit. Location: Longdale Lake property. Date: September 30.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, the sick in my stomach threatening to hurl itself from me.
“I’ll be right down.”
Chapter 31
Sebastian
The second day of the conference in Chicago stretches on, long and tedious, and my knee won’t stop bouncing in my chair.
Gabriel notices, as is clear by his deep sighs every couple of minutes. Finally, he jams his palm down on it, hard.
“Ouch!” I whisper. “Not cool.”
“I couldn’t stand it another second, man.” Gabriel’s own whisper is harsh. “You need to go take a walk?”
I roll my eyes but stand anyway. “Watch my stuff,” I tell him.
People are staring as I leave, and I guess it’s rude of me since the speaker is only halfway through his presentation. But I do need to get out of here. And I don’t care what other people think. They don’t understand. Besides, my phone’s been buzzing off the hook, even though I’d asked Elianna to filter all the communications coming my way. I guess some are still slipping through.
Once I get in the hallway, I venture a look at my screen and my heart drops as I see I’ve missed calls from Rowena, Alec, Oliver, and Elianna.
What’s wrong? Is Elianna okay? I think of my brothers, Henry in particular. Did something happen? Are they safe? I call Elianna and try to swallow down the panic, but I can’t. My tongue is sandpaper.
Her voice is thick when she answers. “Sebastian? Did you get my voicemails? I’m really sorry.”
“What? No,” I breathe. “Sorry I didn’t take the time. What’s going on?”
“Don’t worry. It’s not life or death. Geez, Sebastian. You sound like you think it’s life or death. It’s not. But . . . I messed up.” She pauses. “First the T-shirts and then—I don’t want to explain it again.” She breathes heavily and there’s static that makes my ear hurt. “I’m sure Rowena wouldloveto fill you in if you want to call her about it. Or you can listen to my hysterical voicemails.” I hear a disturbance as it sounds like she’s covering the phone up and speaking to someone else. “On second thought, just call Rowena. I gotta go.”
The line goes dead. I’m relieved it’s not the magnitude of life or death, but my brain has a hard time distinguishing between serious stuff and not-so-serious stuff sometimes.
She picks up on the second ring. “Rowena? You better fill me in.”
She chuckles. “Things have been quite interesting, indeed, Sebastian. It’s a good thing that other temporary assistant I was telling you about came when he did.”
