Blue Violet by Abigail Owen Page B

eyes.
    He didn’t know
what he was going to do about it. But he’d decided to do something . It
wouldn’t be long until she went to college…a few months. He could wait for her
until then. And hopefully by then he could figure out exactly what he wanted.
Alex just prayed that he hadn’t already blown his chances.
     

Chapter 17
     
    Griffin
arrived just as Ellie pulled into the driveway. She saw him fly inside and
quickly followed.
    “Well?” she demanded,
hands on her hips.
    Griffin paced
back and forth. “Nothing.” If possible, he looked even grimmer than before.
    “What do you
mean ‘nothing’?”
    “I mean nothing .
I couldn’t find a single thing. Not a track, not a scent, no trace. Are you
sure…?” He turned to face her, trailing off as Ellie was already shaking her
head.
    “I know what I
saw.”  Ellie blew out a heavy breath. She’d been so sure that something was
coming today. She’d been a crazy nut, focused only on her worry.
     “The Jenners
and Pierces suspect something’s up with you, by the way,” Griffin said, as he
pulled his sweatshirt over his head and tossed it on the back of a chair.
    “Oh?” Ellie
eyed her brother through narrowed eyes and sat on the couch.
    “It’s partly
why Alex tried to talk you.”
    Ellie’s
suspicious look turned furious. She glared at her brother as she tried to
decide which made her angrier… the fact that Griffin listened to the Jenners
and Pierces or that the kiss Alex gave her apparently was just some kind of ploy
or ruse.
     “Sorry about
listening in on them. But I was concerned about you, and the Jenners and
Pierces happen to think of you more than any others at the school.” He jumped
up, headed into the kitchen and started pulling out stuff to make dinner.
    “Why not just
ask me directly?” she asked through gritted teeth as she followed him.
    “You were a
bit… spacey all day. It seemed like a good idea to see how others were seeing
you.”
    Ellie grimaced
and shrugged. She supposed she could understand that.
     “Look on it
as good news that none of them seemed to notice my poking around in their
heads,” he added, opening the refrigerator.
    Ellie made a
face. “I guess.”
    “And I don’t
think he kissed you to use or delay you.”
    ”Thanks for
the insight, but it’s none of your business.” Ellie knew Griffin wouldn’t
approve of her feelings for Alex and she wasn’t in the mood for an argument
right now.
    He looked over
his shoulder at her. “From what I could tell, he was worried about you.”
    “Worried?”
Ellie’s eyebrows knitted together. “About what?”
    “A couple of
things. He seems to think he put you in danger. And he’s worried about me.”
    “Why would he
worry about you?”
    “He doesn’t
know I’m your brother.” He reached for a green pepper, washed it, and started chopping.
    Ellie picked
up a strip and munched on it. “Yeah. But why would that worry him?”
    “He thinks I’m
some sort of boyfriend or something.”
    “Oh.”  Ellie
frowned. Sure they’d kept Griffin hidden initially. And he still didn’t spend
much time with any of her friends except Brian and Juliette. Adelaide and Nate
knew her relationship to Griffin by now; she’d just figured Alex would, too.
And it hadn’t occurred to her to say anything to him on their runs.
    A delighted
smile spread across her face. “So he’s jealous ? That’s so…great!”
    Griffin
groaned. “I don’t pretend to understand you, Ellie. How about we get back to
the bigger problem?”
    “Oh yeah!”
Ellie pulled her thoughts back to the more immediate issue. “I’ll take watch
tonight. You just spent all day out tracking.”
    “Alright,”
Griffin agreed, tossing the chopped veggies into a sizzling pan. “I’m pretty
beat. It takes a lot of concentration to use your power continuously like
that.”
    Ellie walked
over and wrapped her arms around her brother giving him a big bear hug. “Thank
you. I know you didn’t want to get