Aaron caught a few wondering glances from the others, particularly Hannah and Laney, but did not address their concerns. He walked across the room and sat down in a chair adjacent to Christian and rubbed his face in exhaustion.
"Girl problems?" Christian asked quietly, leaning forward in his chair.
"Oh, my God!" Aaron whispered back, looking at Eliza who was sitting on the corner of Laura's
Cadence had feared Elliott might baulk at having to drive the minivan. She even offered to let him ride in the back. But he was not only a good sport about it, he actually took it a little too far, insisting on jamming to what he called "mom music," which happened to be Lionel Richie, and even took them through a drive-thru for ice cream, despite the cold weather. Cadence wondered why he had "mom music" on his phone but the only answer she got was, "Because I'm a groovy mom," in his best impression of their own mother's voice.They had arrived home only a few minutes before her parents got bac
"Dad, your truck is parked behind my car, and I can't get it out of the garage. Where are your keys?" Cadence asked. It was 8:15, and she was getting ready to go to Kash's house for movie night, despite the fact that sitting around reminiscing with her friends, minus the two recently deceased, was the last thing that she wanted to do."Oh, honey, sorry about that. Why don't you just take my truck? I'm not sure your Challenger has any gas in it anyway," Eli replied, only temporarily looking up from the sports section he was reading in his comfy recliner.
"You're late," Sydney said as she whipped Kash's front door open. Seeing Aaron standing behind Cadence, she quickly added, "You're forgiven.""I'm sorry," Cadence said as they entered the living room. "I lost track of time and there was a little bit of traffic...""And your lipstick is smudged," Sydney replied, watching Cadence swipe at her mouth, embarrassed. "Okay, it's not really, but tha
Before Cadence could respond, Taylor chimed in. "I've seen that one! Oh, yeah, what if that happens? See, Cadence, you are going to end up with Elliott!""Oh, my God, people! Can we please just get back to the Grizwolds? I need to know if anyone catches the squirrel!""You've seen this a million times. You know that Elaine Benes catches the squirrel," Jon chimed in.
The conversation with Laura had been long, exhausting, and ultimately ended in a rather intense disagreement, which was no surprise to Aaron going in. Why would 15 years of silence change the fact that the two of them were unable to talk about much of anything without getting into an argument?She had started off with sweet sentiment, thanking him for helping her escape the situation with Giovani and allowing Jamie to heal her. He had said it was no big deal, of course. He was just glad that she was okay. They had spent a few minutes exchanging pleasantries, discussing other team members, mutu
As soon as Aaron walked in the door, Eliza was there, blocking his way. "How did it go?" she asked, a look of concern on her face. He noted it looked forced."Wonderful," he said sarcastically. She was standing between him and everyone else, notably Cadence, and it seemed evident this was on purpose. While she appeared to want to ask him something else, he had no patience left and simply stepped around her.
Eventually, Aaron pulled the car to a stop in front of her house. All of the lights were out, and Cadence glanced at the clock on the dash. She'd had no idea it was 11:30. Despite her vow of silence, she decided she would have to speak eventually. She wasn't ready to get out of the car just yet, not as long as he was holding her hand. "Thanks for driving me home," she said quietly."Of course," he replied, obviously still lost in thought. He looked at her briefly but then directed his gaze back out the windshield.
Cadence made it through the door almost as quickly as she had at Barbarosa's house. Once it was shut tightly behind her, she leaned back against it for a second, catching her breath. It took her a second to realize that she wasn't alone. "Mom?" she said, peering into the dim light of the living room.Liz was sitting in her husband's chair, curled up under a blanket, the only light the soft glow of her Kindle reader. "Hi, honey. How was the party?" she asked, setting the Kindle down as Cadence entered the room.