Time's Daughter (25 page)

“
Sorry.”

My eyebrows lifted at his annoyed sigh because he’d
seemed happy seconds earlier. “For what?”

“
I was going to meet you at your
class and walk with you but the teacher held me late to complain
about my absence.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Aww, how sweet.”

He flicked my nose then tugged me over to where the
others were congregated.

“
Hey, you’re back. Was starting to
think you’d moved away.” Tyler smacked Alex on the shoulder. He
lifted his chin in my direction. “Hey, Aeon.”

Tyler knew my name?

I merely nodded back.

Tyler’s attention switched to Alex. “Summer is
having a party at her place tonight. You guys should come.”

It seemed odd that a girl with a camera crew would
hold a party and invite other people with camera crews. How much
fun could the party be if it were being recorded from four
different angles? I supposed it didn’t really matter. Summer’s
parties were the ones everyone wanted to go to.

Alex answered for us both. “Thanks for the invite
but I think I’ll take a rain check. I’m still getting over whatever
I had for the past few days.”

“
Cool, dude. I’ll let you know next
time.”

Alex reluctantly let go of my hand so he could play
the game. I pretended to wait for the ball as usual and was
relieved when another student arrived to take my place on the
court. It gave me the chance to watch Alex and Tyler at work. Their
rivalry extended to basketball even though it wasn’t Alex’s best
sport. I covered my smile with a hand every time he missed a
basket. I loved that he wasn’t afraid to fail.

“
You were staring at me throughout
that whole game,” Alex chided playfully after we’d met up outside
the locker rooms.

“
Should I stare at Tyler
instead?”

“
No!” He pulled me into the crook of
his arm while we walked. “You’re going to let me give you a ride to
work, right?”

I felt myself smiling stupidly. He was so sweet. “If
you insist.”

“
I insist.”

My cheeks colored a little at the firm answer. “Then
I guess I’m letting you.”

“
What time do you get a
break?”

“
Most nights I don’t get
one.”

Alex grunted. “Why is that?”

“
I’m not going to tell
you.”

He leaned over, lowering his voice. “I already know
why. So you might as well tell me.”

I remained mum on the subject. Another grunt was the
only argument he gave.

Alex sighed. “All right then. What time would you
like me to bring you something?”

“
Something?”

He unlocked the passenger side door on his car and
held the door open for me. “Dinner.”

I groused playfully because I was a little
embarrassed. “When did you turn into my mother?”

“
When has your mother brought you
dinner?”

The question made me jerk. He had no right insulting
my mother like that. He didn’t know us. “Last time she had a day
off when I didn’t. We try to work the same nights so that we have
our days off together.”

He didn’t say anything until he slid down into his
seat beside me in the car. “I’m sorry.” He sounded legitimately
contrite. “I shouldn’t have assumed the last few weeks were
routine.”

“
They were routine. For the most
part. But I’ll be fine with the snack I brought. Don’t worry about
it.”

Alex concentrated on getting out of the parking lot
without hitting anyone instead of debating with me further. I
settled back in the seat, conscious that Guy and Peter were behind
us recording everything. Once we’d gotten a half-mile from the
school traffic Alex relaxed again.

He glanced over at me. “You didn’t want to go to
that party tonight, did you?”

I turned in surprise at the subject change.
“No.”

Summer’s parties were the event of the season and
I’d always been curious but I knew better than to want to actually
go. It wasn’t my scene. They weren’t my people. I would only be
uncomfortable.

“
Because we could go if you wanted.
I have his number…”

“
No, it’s fine.”

But the fact that he had Tyler’s phone number seemed
proof he’d gotten in good with the popular clique after all.

“
Good. I didn’t want to share you
with anyone.”

I blushed. “Besides I have to work,” I said and then
spoke a complete lie. “And after that I’m going home to study for a
test in English.”

His profile swiveled toward me. I hoped he’d realize
his error and keep quiet about my lie.

Alex grunted yet again. “At least I’ll have you
tomorrow.”

“
Yes.”

He’d gotten the hint. I’d known he would. He
was
smart.

The Cobalt pulled to a stop at the curb in front of
Burning Idea. I lifted my heavy bag from the floorboards, put my
hand on the handle then faced him. The expectant expression on his
face made me blush.

“
Thanks for the ride.”

“
There was a price,” Alex said with
a smirk. “A kiss.”

I chuckled lightly even as my cheeks flushed. “Of
course, always a price.”

He sat still and refused to help me at all. I
awkwardly leaned over the armrest until my face was inches from
his. The cheeky grin he gave me did nothing for my
self-consciousness.

What if I were a poor kisser?
What if he
laughed at me because I slobbered him too much? I would be
devastated. Already I’d let myself get too attached to the handsome
new kid.

Alex impatiently closed the remaining distance and
kissed me himself.

I smiled against his lips. “See you tomorrow.”

“
I’ll miss you until
then.”

I pretended not to hear him.

* * * *

Having to work on Friday nights had never bothered
me until now. It was especially irritating that my boss left me
alone at the store and that we’d had all of two customers. Even
more so was that one of those customers had demanded to see the
owner because the triple extra large shirt she’d bought didn’t fit
her husband. I managed to persuade her to come back Sunday when I
was certain Felix would be there. But I was smart enough to
apologize profusely for his absence tonight.

Reaching the apartment after work without incident
was a minor win. But explaining to my mom about why I was about to
disappear without my cameraman for who knew how long would require
a bigger win. We’d never discussed curfew or being alone with boys
before because it hadn’t been an issue. I hoped to avoid the
discussion for a bit longer.

“
Eliza from the salon wants to see a
movie tonight but her boyfriend has to work an extra shift. Do you
have any interest in seeing a chick flick with us?”

I pulled my head out of the refrigerator and sent a
look her way. “I need to get through some of the mounds of homework
I have.”

Mom gave me a crooked frown. “On a Friday night?
Come with us, hon.”

“
Studying on a Friday night is no
worse than being seen with my mother at the movies.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, I guess.”

“
Besides, I have another date
tomorrow night so I need to do my Saturday evening studying
tonight…oh!” I stepped out of the fridge with an excited hop. “I
almost forgot!”

Mom’s eyes widened at my sudden animation.

I could barely hide my happiness. “The Chattan
family has invited us apple picking on Sunday. Alex had been sick
and I wasn’t sure he’d be well enough to go so I didn’t ask you.
But he’s better now.”

She slid over to the sink and ran her freshly
painted nails under the cold water. “Apple picking? That might be
fun. We haven’t done that in years. Brigit asked me to work at the
last minute but I’ll see if I can get out of it.” She glanced over
her shoulder with a sly smile. “He’s really cute.”

My eyes bugged out, illustrating my disbelief over
having a boyfriend as amazing as Alex. “I know.”

“
I’d hug the stuffin’ out of you but
I just did my nails.”

“
You can owe me one.”

“
Deal.” She smiled then glanced at
the clock. “All righty. I’m going to go get ready.”

She left me to scrounge for food alone. I ate a ham
sandwich then gnawed on my fingernails for a half hour until my mom
emerged from her bedroom looking stunning. She kissed me goodnight,
told me not to wait up and then headed out for girls’ night
out.

For the cameras’ benefit I pretended to ready for
bed by brushing my teeth, combing my hair and gathering clothes to
wear. After a forced yawn I shut off all the lights and sat on my
bed for several minutes.

This sneaking out thing was both exhilarating and
frightening. But it was well worth it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Alex was already
waiting for me on the front step when I walked out of the front
door ten minutes later.

He lifted himself to his full height. Alex folded
his arms in front of his chest and fixed me with a dark eye. “You
owe me a kiss.”

“
I do?”

“
Yes.” He gave a firm nod of his
dark head. “For that ride to work. I got tired of waiting for you
and didn’t want you to be late. Remember?”

Curiously enough, with the cameras absent I was
brave enough to admit what the problem had been. “You don’t want me
to kiss you. You might find out I suck at it.”

He chuckled lightly. “I’m willing to take the
chance.”

“
But it would be forced now,” I
complained in a last ditch effort to avoid the inevitable
awkwardness. “I’m not feeling it. Wouldn’t you much rather I kiss
you when the fancy strikes me?”

Alex shook his head in slow disbelief. An amused
smile spread his lips. “You’re good.”

“
I try.” I grinned at him then
flounced a few steps passed him. “So why did you want to meet me
sans camera?”

“
I thought you might want to
talk…about what happened the other day.”

I glanced around us. I did want to talk about it but
not there, not on the sidewalk in front of the apartment.

Alex must have recognized my unease. “We could go
someplace. My car is parked on the next street over.”

“
Where would we go that would be
safe to talk?”

“
Um,” he shrugged. “You know the
area better than I do.”

“
I guess if we’re in your car then
just about any place is safe.”

Alex held out his hand to me. As soon as I’d reached
him he pulled me into the crook of his arm. There he guided me to
the car. The small action made a big impact on me. I felt wanted
and protected. It was such a nice feeling that I almost protested
when he helped me into the passenger’s seat of his car and pulled
away.

I waited until he’d closed himself in the car before
making a suggestion. “There’s a factory down on third that has
swing shifts. They won’t notice an extra car parked in their
lot.”

“
Third it is.” Alex nodded while
starting the engine.

I settled back to watch him stealthily. Occasionally
he’d glance over at me with an odd expression on his face. It was
almost as if he couldn’t believe I was in his car anymore than I
could believe it. But that couldn’t be right.

He turned the car off again in the parking lot.

I turned enough in my seat to see him. There was no
hesitation in my first question. “What’s a wendigo?”

He lifted his forearm onto the armrest while he
adjusted his pose so he saw me better. “If I had to compare it to
something, I’d compare it to zombies. The flesh-eating
brain-craving kind we see in the movies. That’s what a wendigo
is.”

My nose crinkled in disgust because that sounded
simply awful. “What did your family mean that the madness was
spread through the fluids?”

“
The natives thought people turned
into wendigo if they succumbed to starvation enough that they
resorted to cannibalism. Most people think it’s just an old wives
tale meant to scare them into other alternatives. But it wasn’t
really.” He adopted a grim tone. “The creatures are real. From what
we can tell, a wendigo was a person at one time. A virus
transmitted through the fluids—saliva, blood, that sort of
thing—turned it into that thing.”

My stomach threatened to turn at the thought of it
being human once. “But you didn’t catch it?”

“
No.” He shook his head. “My
grandfather thinks maybe we’re immune in our animal
form.”

The mention of his grandfather reminded me of their
behavior that night. “I can’t believe they didn’t help you. I was
so furious.”

“
Yeah, that pissed me off too. But
they were right to try to protect the others.” He was firm as if he
believed it now. “And you shouldn’t have come back for me. You
should have stayed where it was safe.”

“
It wanted me anyway—”

“
It wanted you because you were the
only human around.”

“
And I was worried about
you
.”

He grinned broadly. “That’s sweet. But I can hold my
own.”

I glanced out the windshield. “I know that now.”

“
I still freak you out, don’t
I?”

“
I don’t know. I think it’s the
situation more than anything.” I considered what about the
situation freaked me out. “I mean if I were that close to a wild
animal attack I’d probably be just as freaked out.”

“
I’m not a wild animal,” Alex said
in a grave tone. “When I’m like that I’m completely in control of
my faculties. I still think like a human.”