periphery. Whatever it was, I would figure it
out.
**********
“We are going to go to the mother’s
house. Would you care to accompany us, Izzy?” Conall asked with a wink. At
least I thought it was a wink. His only having the one eye kind of threw me
off. For all I knew he could have been blinking.
“If it isn’t a problem for me to
come along, I’d like to. I have a feeling her mom knows something that may help
us.”
“Alright, we will take the extra
car. Ian, are you coming or staying?” Conall asked.
“What do you think?” Ian asked,
rushing over.
“Don’t you think the ninja suit was
a bit much for this outing?” I whispered.
“A ninja suit is perfect for every
occasion,” he replied indignantly.
“Maybe, if it wasn’t the quality of
a cheap Halloween costume,” I said before stepping into the protection of
Kennan’s arm.
We loaded into the car. Conall was
in the driver’s seat and I couldn’t take such an open opportunity to annoy him
for granted.
“You sure you’re allowed to drive
there, one eye?” I asked as Kennan pulled me back against the seat.
“From what I hear you are not
permitted to drive. Therefore, you have no room to talk,” he replied with a hint
of laughter in his voice. I was glad I was finally breaking down that whole
serious exterior a little. Yes, he had joked with me, but I think that had been
more to annoy Kennan than anything else. He was more like Ian than I had
originally thought.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just drive,”
I groused, snuggling into Kennan’s side. It felt good to be in a car full of
people I trusted. Well, a car with two people I trusted and one that I was not
quite sure about.
We made our way to the other side
of the city and pulled into a parking structure. As one, we exited the car and
made our way into the towering building. Conall flashed some sort of badge to
the doorman and we were let in with no fuss.
As we approached the elevators, I
was struck by a paralyzing fear. It wasn’t something that happened every time I
got in one. Normally, I was able to tone down the paranoia. But when I was
worn, or tired, which I happened to be, it became harder to ignore. I reached
out to grip Kennan’s hand tightly and closed my eyes in the process. Maybe if I
envisioned wide open spaces, I would feel better.
“What’s going on?” Conall voice was
laced with concern.
“She has a thing about tight
spaces,” Kennan replied quickly, trying to get them to drop it. While Ian and
Conall talked, Kennan bent his head to whisper in my ear. “If I could distract
you, trust me I would.” He pulled back with a sly grin and I caught a flash of
our last elevator ride together. Distraction indeed. Just as I let my mind
fully submerge in the memory, the elevator came to a stop. We climbed out and
headed to Isabelle’s apartment. Her mother was waiting for the news that no
parent wanted.
“Come in,” we heard from behind the
door before we were even able to knock. “Don’t just stand out in the hallway,
get in here,” she yelled again.
Conall opened the door and held it
for us to get inside. Ian and Kennan entered on either side of me so that I
became the filling in a Guardian sandwich. We arrived to find a simply
decorated apartment and were greeted by a woman that could easily rival Isadora
in class and eccentricity. She sat on a multicolored chair as though she had
been waiting for us all afternoon.
“So it is done, I presume? And you
must be Izzy. It is a pleasure to meet you, although I would have preferred
happier circumstances. I am Eleanor,” she said, motioning for us to sit down. I
must’ve had a shocked, or perhaps confused, expression on my face. I never
could hide what I was feeling. “You seem disturbed by my lack of emotions.”
“Well, to be honest, I am a bit confused.
Isabelle was your daughter, right?” I asked, staring at the woman.
“Yes. You see, I saw this day come
weeks ago. I knew she was going to die. I
out.
**********
“We are going to go to the mother’s
house. Would you care to accompany us, Izzy?” Conall asked with a wink. At
least I thought it was a wink. His only having the one eye kind of threw me
off. For all I knew he could have been blinking.
“If it isn’t a problem for me to
come along, I’d like to. I have a feeling her mom knows something that may help
us.”
“Alright, we will take the extra
car. Ian, are you coming or staying?” Conall asked.
“What do you think?” Ian asked,
rushing over.
“Don’t you think the ninja suit was
a bit much for this outing?” I whispered.
“A ninja suit is perfect for every
occasion,” he replied indignantly.
“Maybe, if it wasn’t the quality of
a cheap Halloween costume,” I said before stepping into the protection of
Kennan’s arm.
We loaded into the car. Conall was
in the driver’s seat and I couldn’t take such an open opportunity to annoy him
for granted.
“You sure you’re allowed to drive
there, one eye?” I asked as Kennan pulled me back against the seat.
“From what I hear you are not
permitted to drive. Therefore, you have no room to talk,” he replied with a hint
of laughter in his voice. I was glad I was finally breaking down that whole
serious exterior a little. Yes, he had joked with me, but I think that had been
more to annoy Kennan than anything else. He was more like Ian than I had
originally thought.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just drive,”
I groused, snuggling into Kennan’s side. It felt good to be in a car full of
people I trusted. Well, a car with two people I trusted and one that I was not
quite sure about.
We made our way to the other side
of the city and pulled into a parking structure. As one, we exited the car and
made our way into the towering building. Conall flashed some sort of badge to
the doorman and we were let in with no fuss.
As we approached the elevators, I
was struck by a paralyzing fear. It wasn’t something that happened every time I
got in one. Normally, I was able to tone down the paranoia. But when I was
worn, or tired, which I happened to be, it became harder to ignore. I reached
out to grip Kennan’s hand tightly and closed my eyes in the process. Maybe if I
envisioned wide open spaces, I would feel better.
“What’s going on?” Conall voice was
laced with concern.
“She has a thing about tight
spaces,” Kennan replied quickly, trying to get them to drop it. While Ian and
Conall talked, Kennan bent his head to whisper in my ear. “If I could distract
you, trust me I would.” He pulled back with a sly grin and I caught a flash of
our last elevator ride together. Distraction indeed. Just as I let my mind
fully submerge in the memory, the elevator came to a stop. We climbed out and
headed to Isabelle’s apartment. Her mother was waiting for the news that no
parent wanted.
“Come in,” we heard from behind the
door before we were even able to knock. “Don’t just stand out in the hallway,
get in here,” she yelled again.
Conall opened the door and held it
for us to get inside. Ian and Kennan entered on either side of me so that I
became the filling in a Guardian sandwich. We arrived to find a simply
decorated apartment and were greeted by a woman that could easily rival Isadora
in class and eccentricity. She sat on a multicolored chair as though she had
been waiting for us all afternoon.
“So it is done, I presume? And you
must be Izzy. It is a pleasure to meet you, although I would have preferred
happier circumstances. I am Eleanor,” she said, motioning for us to sit down. I
must’ve had a shocked, or perhaps confused, expression on my face. I never
could hide what I was feeling. “You seem disturbed by my lack of emotions.”
“Well, to be honest, I am a bit confused.
Isabelle was your daughter, right?” I asked, staring at the woman.
“Yes. You see, I saw this day come
weeks ago. I knew she was going to die. I
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