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“You know we’re friends, and you can always count on me.”
“Thanks, but I’m okay. I should go. Ty’s parents came by earlier to pick up his stuff. They left behind a few things they figured might mean something to us. So me, Ethan, and Vicky are packing up what’s left.”
Max looks at Ethan, who’s still standing beside Ayden, and gives him a friendly smile.
“You’re not a hunter, right? I mean, I haven’t seen you around before. It’s nice that Ty had friends outside of school too. His death really affected me. He was such a good guy. We talk about Ty a lot, right Teresa?” She turns to me.
I frown, unsure where she’s going with this.
“Well anyway, Teresa hasn’t been doing too well lately. We’ve been trying to help her out as much as we can, doing stuff together to take her mind off it. I figured maybe that could do you some good too.” She bats her eyelashes at Ayden.
He looks at me instead. I feel hot and cold, and my stomach clenches. My eyes wander automatically to his gorgeous lips, and there it is again: the image of him with his hands on Vicky’s back, pulling her in close, their lips pressed together and melting into a fiery kiss. I have to look away to fight back the anger, the disappointment.
“Thanks, but like I said, I don’t have much time right now,” hereplied.
Max won’t let him brush her off so easily. “My brother’s in town. He has a small boat, and we could go sailing in the bay. You’d love it. You forget about everything when you’re out on the water. It’s pure freedom.”
“Thanks for the offer but...”
It’s only for a split second, but his eyes unmistakably dart toward me again.
Max looks at me and says, “If it’s because of Teresa, we’ve already discussed that. She has nothing against us being friends. Right, Teresa?”
The situation is starting to get really uncomfortable, and I don’t know what to say. Of course Max can be friends with him. I just wish she wouldn’t drag me into it every time. So I nod and say, “Sure, why would I have a problem?”
I can’t be sure, but I sense a change in Ayden’s expression. It seems colder, sullener. Then he nods and says, “Now that I think about it, a day on the water sounds great. Let’s do it.” With that, he turns around.
Max calls after him, “Okay, great. I’ll ask my brother if we can take the boat out this weekend.”
Ayden raises his hand in acknowledgement as he disappears into the stairwell.
“Okay,” says Ethan, who’s observed the entire exchange. “That was kind of weird.”
I have to agree with him.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Max says with a broad grin.
“Uh, so, anyway,” Ethan continues, turning to me. “I was on my way to see you.”
I frown and look at him inquiringly. “Oh?”
He holds out the little box and says, “We found this when we were clearing out Ty’s room. There’s a letter in it for you. I guessTy meant to give you this before he died.”
I swallow hard and stare at the box in my hands. I’m overwhelmed and don’t know what to say. It’s a final message from him. A last note from a friend. What could it be about?
“Feel free to read it in private. If you need me, I’ll be here a while longer.”
He reaches into his pocket and takes out another object: a keyring. It’s made of thick, clear glass with a tiny leaf and some sand inside it.
“Ayden told me that you and Ty were close,” he says to Kate.
Surprised, she nods and looks at him expectantly.
“This keyring belonged to Ty. He had it made when he became a hunter. The leaf and the sand inside it are from the place in the Odyss where he found Gray. They had a special bond, and Gray was always really important to him.” He glances at the snake coiled beside Kate, and a faint smile plays across his lips. “I think he’s found the perfect successor.”
Kate takes the keyring and runs her finger over the thick glass. “Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
Ethan nods. “Ayden and I figured you should have it.”
