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I nod because there’s no reason to keep any of this from him. He reads the letter, looks at the photos, and then says to Ethan, “You told her about you and Vicky?”
“Yeah, I did. And the fact that I’m over Vicky. It was a long time ago, and it’s pointless to dwell in the past.”
Ayden’s eyes flash, and I can see that he’s brooding over something. He almost looks angry, but I don’t understand why.
“It’s not always easy to just let things go and move on as ifnothing happened.”
Ethan frowns and looks at him questioningly but says nothing. Ayden hands the letter back to me. I haven’t been this close to him in a while. His scent fills my nostrils; his fingers are only inches away from mine. But all I feel is pain.
“I hope this helped answer a few questions.” He turns around. “I’ll come back later for the rest of the stuff.”
He leaves, and I stare after him, speechless.
Chapter 11
Istretch and look up from my homework. The math is really challenging. But I’ve gotten through most of it. I bend down and pet Yoru, who’s curled up on the floor beside me enjoying his favorite pastime: sleeping.
I’m about to focus on my homework again when my phone rings. Is it Noah? Is he finally back from his mission? Is he okay? Did he have to fight the Tempes? One question after another, and I hope to finally get some answers. But when I see the caller’s name, I’m surprised.
“Mom, hi!”
“Hey, Teresa, I was just wondering how things are going? How was the charity dinner with Kate?”
“Actually, it was better than I expected,” I begin. “Her mom was so busy coordinating with the other committee members, keeping an eye on the staff, and taking care of the guests that she left us alone.”
“What about her father? Did he look after you?”
“Yeah, sure. He’s really nice – so different from her mom. He was really chatty over dinner. It was hilarious.”
“Did you get to mingle with the other guests?”
“Yeah, I guess you could call it that,” I reply.
I’m reminded of Ayden and Vicky. Will I ever get that image out of my mind? Thanks to Ethan, I now understand that they have a really strong connection.
“Did you see Charles? He told me he would be there.”
“Yeah, he was there. When did he tell you that?” I ask a little irritably.
“Oh, he came to see me at work the other day. When he visited us at home, I told him about my work and mentioned the fact that my breaks are kind of boring now that Chloe’s gone. So he said he’d come visit me there. And he did. It was nice. We had coffee in the cafeteria and got talking, and I told him about the dinner Kate invited you to. And he said he was going too.”
I nod, although I know Mom can’t see me. “He knew lots of people there. And our school principal was there too. And a few of our classmates.”
“Sounds like a big event. It doesn’t surprise me that Charles knew a lot of people there. He’s seems really extroverted and outgoing. When he visited me at work, he managed to draw three of my colleagues into a conversation.” She laughs at the memory. “He actually waved them over to us to tell them about a time when he came to the hospital to have a sprained ankle examined a couple of years ago... what a story! You should have heard him.”
I’m genuinely happy that Charles can make Mom laugh. I haven’t heard her sound this cheerful since Chloe’s death.
“We talked about taking a day trip together soon. I haven’t gotten out much since we moved here, and there’s so much of the city I haven’t seen. Charles wants to show me around. I’m sure it’ll be loads of fun.”
“Sounds great,” I say. “Let me know how it goes.”
“I will,” she promises. “Come visit me again soon.”
“Sure, maybe a weekend sometime soon.”
“I’d love that. Anyway, I shouldn’t keep you from your school work. Have a great day.”
I end the call and look down at my homework again. But my mind wanders, and I decide to take a short break. I reach for my phone again and write another message to Noah.
