Evelyn
It has been a month since we left. We have been staying at Thaddeus’ parents’ house. Orion is right; without Thaddeus, I feel his absence deeply, even though I still have them. I miss him; the first week was fine, the second was harder, and now it is agony.
Orion and Ryland try to cheer me up. They have even been letting me see Lana every week. We meet in the city every Friday. Tomorrow, I will see her again, and I look forward to it. It is my favorite day of the week because I get to see her.
April hasn’t said anything since the first day I saw her, and we have been getting along fine. Though, I sometimes catch her staring, and the look on her face is a little off sometimes when I catch her watching. Ryland and Orion don’t trust her and say there is something off about her that makes them not trust her. She has given me no reason to distrust her, so I just put it down to the fact they don’t like her because of what she said that one time.
Amara lets us have her room, and she stays inside with her parents. His parents are always welcoming and nice, but I often catch his fathers watching me. Not in a bad way, but like they want to ask me something but don’t know how, or maybe they blame me for their son taking off; I’m not sure.
Walking into the kitchen, I see Ryland talking to Tobias at the counter. Amara is talking to her other father while making coffee. I’m about to see if they want help, but Imogen pulls me toward her, pulling a stool out. I sit down, and Tobias has that look on his face again, like he wants me to answer something.
Imogen nudges him with her elbow. “Don’t stare; you scare her when you do that,” she tells him, and he looks away. “Don’t mind him, dear. Guilt is eating at him,” she says, making me furrow my eyebrows.
“I don’t understand,” I tell her. Theo places a coffee in front of me, messing my hair as he goes and retrieves another. Tobias says nothing, but Theo answers.
“Amara told us what happened to you. Tobias, and even Bianca, blame themselves for what happened. They think they should have just kept you,” Theo says.
Well, that’s not what I thought he was going to say.
I shake my head. “You told them?” I ask, shocked; I haven’t even told her, but I know she snooped into my past.
“I know I shouldn’t have shown them, but dad kept pestering me, thinking he destroyed your life,” Amara says, and my face flushes with humiliation.
It is one thing for Thaddeus and Orion to know exactly what had happened down to the last detail, and quite another to know that it is now public knowledge.
“Don’t be ashamed; you did nothing wrong. Evelyn, you were a child,” Imogen tells me.
“So, do you hate me?” Amara asks,
I shake my head. “Please don’t do that again; some things I like to keep to myself,” I tell her, and she nods.
“It was never your responsibility, and like I said to Thaddeus, chances are I would have ended up in foster care anyway. Thaddeus said my parents didn’t exactly have the best lifestyle.” Tobias looks relieved, letting out a breath. “You really thought I would blame you and Bianca?”
“Yes. Can I ask you something else?” he asks, but Amara stops him, waving her arms and shaking her head.
“What’s wrong?” I ask her.
“Nothing, but I know that conversation is best between you and your mates,” she answers, and I look at them. They both shrug, not understanding what she is talking about.
“Believe me, when Thaddeus comes back, you will have that discussion.”
“Thaddeus will come back?” I ask; even Ryland and Orion look up at her.
“Yes, my idiot brother will come back soon; he won’t stay away, but I am not sure when.”
“You can’t dig into the future?” I ask, wanting to know.
“No, I can’t. I let things come to me. Me, peeking can change things and manipulate the future, which is never a good idea, so I try not to pry. The past has already been, so I can snoop as much as I want into people’s past, but the future, if I slip up and tell you the wrong thing, could alter it,” she explains.
Kind of makes sense, although I really want to see him.
The rest of the day is spent with Imogen. She shows me where she works, which is Kane and Madden enterprises. She is Tobias and Theo’s secretary, and I go with her today to kill the boredom. She shows me around the building and explains the different departments. It all goes over my head. She also introduces me to one of her best friends, Merida. Orion and Ryland stay at home and figure I am safe enough with Imogen. It feels good being out of the house without their lingering, concerned eyes all the time.
I am never alone; one of them is always by my side because my heat has been more frequent. Amara says it is because Thaddeus is gone, that my soul is calling out to him in a way, the body’s natural reaction to missing their mate. I don’t understand and gave up trying. To be honest, their world, which is my world now, is strange, and I just can’t wrap my head around some things.
After a few hours of helping Imogen with the new file system, Theo walks out, telling us it is time for lunch. I lost track of time, engrossed in the headache task Imogen and I were trying to complete.
“I have a few more to do still. Evelyn can go down for us, can’t you, Evelyn?”
Theo gives her a worried look, glancing at me.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? Thaddeus will have our heads if something happens to her,” Theo questions.
“Well, if he wants her watched 24/7, he should be watching her. She is quite capable of going to the café, Theo. She isn’t a child, and I am sure she is sick of being babysat,” Imogen tells him, leaving no room for argument.
Theo sighs but nods as he hands me his card. Imogen gives me their coffee and lunch orders, and I take the elevator down to the ground floor before walking to the café at the end of the street.