Time's Daughter (20 page)

His steel blue eyes sparkled like a thousand lights
lit them from within. In that moment I believed perhaps those
lights were lit for me. My gaze lowered to the mouth that was the
most remarkable part about him just then. I saw the intent seconds
before he acted. His lips parted slightly. He took a single
breath.

My eyelids slid shut as Alex’s lips glided forward.
I sighed into him, exhaling the breath I’d been holding through my
nose. We could have been anywhere then. It didn’t matter. I only
wanted him to kiss me like that until the universe crashed down
around us.

A girlish voice broke into the lovely moment we’d
been sharing. “I’m coming out!”

Alex groaned against my mouth then pulled back.
“Abby,” he said as if I’d know the name. “She’s been dying to meet
you. I guess we kept her waiting too long.”

He dropped one of his hands to his side while the
other grasped mine. We emerged from the dark garage and find a girl
who looked to be about thirteen waiting on the deck.

She had lovely long platinum blonde hair and
startling blue eyes that fixed on me. The girl, Abby, gave an
impatient tap of her purple Keds. While I searched her face for
signs of familial resemblance, she scanned mine every bit as
critically. A moment later she bounded off the stairs, raced to us
and snatched my hand away from Alex. She tugged me after her.

“
He’s going too
slow
,” she
said. “And I need a partner for Wii bowling. No one else will play
with me.”

Alex chuckled from behind us. “That’s because you
always beat us.”

The girl shot a look over her shoulder. “It isn’t my
fault you all suck and are such sore losers.”

“
You might want to introduce
yourself, Abs,” he said.

“
Ugh, I hate when you call me that.”
She yanked me up the stairs but paused long enough at the top to
greet me. “I’m Abby, his only sister and way cooler than
him.”

I glanced back to a very amused Alex. “Way cooler?
Really?”

“
Yup,” she said with a triumphant
nod of her head.

“
Well, dang.” I feigned dismay. “Too
bad I’m not a boy.”

“
I know.” She rolled her eyes. “It
sucks, right?”

“
Yeah, I mean, he’s the coolest
person I know.” I pointed at him. “So that must mean you’re ‘the
awesome’.”

Without batting an eyelash, the girl said, “I am.” A
moment later she burst into laughter. “‘The awesome’? I like that.
Can I use it?”

“
Knock yourself out.”

As quickly as she’d burst, the mirth was gone and
she was back to business. “Okay. Wii bowling. Let’s go.” Abby
tugged me through the door. “It’s going to take forever for you to
make a Mii so we better hurry if we want to get in a game before
dinner.”

As far as I was concerned she was speaking a foreign
language. But I had caught the part about dinner. I hadn’t realized
I’d be staying that long. Could I eat dinner with the people who
had kidnapped me?

We passed through the room with the fireplace and
furniture, through the empty stone room that I recalled vividly and
into a third room that was as large as all the others but had far
more in it. It was warmly lit with broad windows all around and
thick beige carpet. The space had a homey modern yet homey feel
thanks to the many cushioned seats and a massive television
displaying an odd picture of a Weeble with platinum blonde hair and
blue eyes.

We hadn’t come across any other family members yet.
If I could go the whole night with only seeing Alex and his little
sister, I would count it as a resounding success.

Abby shoved two white plastic things into my hands.
She pointed to the large sectional sofa behind us and then to the
screen. “Okay. Make a Mii.”

“
A what?” I looked at the things in
my hands then sent a helpless look at Alex.

He took up the spot beside me. “I don’t think Aeon
has used a Wii before, Abs. We’re gonna have to help her out.”

“
Okay. You help her. I’m going to
get us juice.”

The girl ran out of the room with energy I didn’t
think I ever had even after chocolate and a can of soda.

He laughed. “We better get this Mii made or she’s
gonna flip.”

Several minutes passed as Alex attempted to explain
the theory behind the game console, the creature we were “making”
and what I was about to be subjected to. I was starting to think I
should have had some advance warning about this portion of the
evening and maybe some practice. I didn’t need a game’s help to
make me look stupid.

Abby returned with three kinds of juice, a package
of short bread cookies, two apples and a banana. She dropped it all
onto the table in front of us then picked up her own set of white
thingies. A few buttons were pushed. The picture on the screen
changed. Abby turned to me. “You’ve been bowling, right?”

“
Yeah.”

Bowling was one of the few things we had for
entertainment in Junction Hill.

“
This is like that but without the
heavy ball.” She demonstrated with her platinum blonde
character.

Then it was my turn to emulate her movements with
the brown-haired character that Alex had made for me. Twenty
minutes and a game later I was actually getting into it. Alex
joined in with his black haired Mii on the second game. While I
wasn’t as good as Abby, I beat Alex’s score by two strikes.

He leaned over as Abby carefully lined up a shot.
“We’ll have to try bowling for real sometime and see if you can
still beat me, mute girl.”

“
You’re on, le chat.”

Abby halted in mid motion. Her ball went into the
gutter but she didn’t seem to notice as she stared at us in shock.
“Does she know?”

Alex’s throat worked noticeably on his next swallow.
He glanced at the cameras on the walls then back to his sister.
“Yes.”

The girl’s attention switched to me. Her mouth moved
as though she wanted badly to say something but was keeping quiet
because of the remote audience. What else had the family neglected
to tell her?

It proved too much for her. Abby closed the distance
so she could whisper to her brother. “Is she…like
us
?”

“
Not exactly.”

She pressed further. “Mutt or teddy?”

“
Neither,” he said. “It’s not like
that.”

They were speaking in yet another language I didn’t
understand.

Alex leaned forward, speaking directly into her
ear.

“
What?” Abby exclaimed in a loud
enough volume that I jumped a little. “Seriously? That’s freakin’
cool!”

“
Mom would swat you for that,” he
said.

The girl eyed me with slight suspicion. I attempted
a smile but I was as nervous as she was. No doubt I grimaced
instead.

How could this adorable platinum blond girl
transform into a black panther? It didn’t seem possible.

She jerked toward the television. “Dangit! Gutter
ball. I want a rematch.”

“
You’re going to win anyway,
Abs.”

“
But there’s no chance I’ll beat my
old score now,” she said in dismay.

“
You’d need to be hopped up on
Redbull and Pixie Sticks again to beat your old score,” said a
gravelly male voice from behind us.

Abby turned, sticking her tongue out. “Got any,
gramps?”

The new addition chuckled as he came around the sofa
closest to Alex. He winked a thick black brow me. “I’m still paying
for the last time I gave you that cocktail.”

“
Play with us,” she said and tossed
him another set of white plastic contraptions.

The eldest Chattan settled down into the cushions.
“I’m content to watch, munchkin.”

“
Ugh.” She gave an overly dramatic
roll of her eyes.

“
Aren’t you going to introduce me to
your lovely friend?”

“
It’s Alex’s
girlfriend
,”
Abby said with a shake of her head and hips to emphasize her
mocking tone.

I blushed and dropped my gaze. Technically I’d met
most of the family but the cameras didn’t know that. We had to go
through the introductions all over again. I also hadn’t met them as
Alex’s “girlfriend”.

“
Thank you, Abs,” Alex said
sarcastically. “Allow me to introduce the lovely Miss Aeon Still.
And yes, I have asked if it would be all right for me to refer to
her as my girlfriend and she’s accepted.”

My cheeks reddened further. I forced myself to look
up.

Alex gestured beside us. “This is my wizened
grandfather Mr. Arnold Chattan.”

“
How do you do, sir?”

Arnold burst into laughter. “You two are priceless.
I haven’t heard such a fine introduction since the fifties.”

The laughter made me a little less uneasy but I was
more embarrassed now.

“
No need for ‘sir’ or ‘Mr. Arnold
Chattan’. Arnie works just fine.”

Abby poked her brother in the stomach with the
plastic paddle. “It’s your turn.”

“
Oh, right.” He lined up his shot
then made the gesture to send the bowling ball down the alley. It
knocked down all of three pins.

When it was my turn I did little better. I blamed
the poor performance on stage fright now that we had an audience.
By the time the game had finished, Abby had convinced her
grandfather that it was integral to her happiness that he join in.
We were halfway through the third game when the next family member
arrived.

“
Oh, no,” a female spoke from the
doorway. “She managed to con you all into playing?”

“
Con?” Abby set a hand to her chest
in mock distress. “There is no
conning
involved in
fun.”

I glanced back. A beautiful woman with long-black
hair stood within the entrance to the room. Alex’s mother?

“
Hello.” Her smile tonight made her
look prettier than the frown of the last time we’d met. She
stretched a finger out toward the kids. “I’m Anna and I’m
responsible for those two.”

“
Then I guess I should thank you
because they’re both wonderful.”

“
I am, thank you,” Arnie said.
“‘Bout time someone recognized my worth.”

Anna crossed the room and rested against the back of
the sofa. She swat him on the head. “I was talking about my
children.”

“
This is Aeon Still,” Alex said,
halting an extended argument. “And this is my mother.”

We spoke at the same time. “Nice to meet you.”

Anna glanced at her son before relaying some
information I hadn’t expected. “Alex hasn’t stopped yapping about
you since…well, since he started school.” She cast him a brief
glance. “We knew something was up the moment he mentioned any
girl.”

“
I don’t
yap
.” Alex sounded
distinctly petulant. “You asked me about my day and I told
you.”

She pushed off the sofa with a small chuckle. “I’m
going to start dinner so it’s ready when the men get home. You have
an hour left to play, Abby. Then you need to set the table.”

“
Fine,” the girl grumbled. As soon
as Anna had left, Abby was gesturing wildly at the television for
her grandfather to play his turn.

A touch on my hand had me looking over. Alex looked
adorable with an expectant smile. He squeezed my hand until Abby
exclaimed that it was his turn. Alex reluctantly released me and
stood.

So far I’d met three of the eight Chattan clan
members. One of those three had been one I’d had concerns about.
But Anna had seemingly thawed since I’d seen her last. Had she
changed her opinion on how they should have handled my
situation?

The hour went quickly. We changed games to tennis.
Abby still beat us but Alex excelled at it more than bowling. In
the end Arnie and I were tied for being the worst players.

Abby was called away to set the table, effectively
ending our time with the games. Her grandfather followed her out.
It gave me a few moments alone with Alex.

He grabbed my hands in his, leveling a grin at me.
“See? Not so bad.”

“
Three out of eight, we’re not even
halfway through,” I whispered.

“
There’s only two more who
matter.”

“
You said family was
important—”

“
They are.” He frowned at the wall
as if he could see something beyond it. “But some are more
important than others.”

“
Okay.”

He glanced behind us. Alex looked mischievous when
his attention returned to me. “I’d kiss you for being such a good
sport but then someone would walk in.”

“
I’d be too embarrassed to enjoy
it.”

“
Then I’ll just have to count the
times I want to and make them up later.” He looked to the ceiling
as though counting. “Wait—that could take a while.”

My laugh was little more than a breath. “Should we
go help?”

He shook his head and held onto my hand tighter.
“Nah, she’d gripe at us for being in the way. Besides, you’re the
guest. Guests aren’t supposed to help.”

Several male voices echoed in the corridor. There
were so many speaking over one another than I couldn’t make out how
many distinct sounds there were. My back stiffened. Alex’s hand
squeezed mine.

“
Alex,” the leader called from
outside the room. “She made it through Wii bowling with your
sister?”

“
Yup,” Alex said.

Footsteps tramped closer. The intimidating figure of
Alex’s father appeared in the living room.

“
She’s just as lovely as you said.”
He smiled broadly.