Griffon takes my hand and grips it tightly. “But you do now? You believe me?” The desperation in his eyes makes me feel guilty and hopeful all at the same time. “I wasn’t Akhet back then. I didn’t know what else to do.”
I shake my head. “I don’t want to talk about then. It’s over. We’re not those people anymore. All I want is now. And tomorrow. And the tomorrow after that.”
“There’s just one thing.” Griffon stops just before opening the door to the hallway. “I let you down again.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I was supposed to save you, and instead you saved me.”
“Maybe it was my turn this time,” I say, pulling him down into a desperate kiss. “Next time it’s yours.”
Twenty~Five
I grab my bag off the hallway table. “I’m going now,” I call to Mom, just as she hangs up the phone.
“Do you need a ride?” she asks, meeting me at the door.
“Yes. Thanks.” I lean over and give her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Griffon’s mom invited me to dinner too. Can I stay?”
Mom’s lips flatten into a straight line, and I can tell she’s trying to come up with a reason to say no. “Sure,” she finally says. “But call me when you need a ride back.”
“I’m heading that way. I’ll take you,” Kat says, walking down the hall. “I’m probably going to be hanging out with you guys a little more—Owen’s coming out in June to stay with Griffon for a couple of weeks.”
“That’s great,” I say, wondering how weird it will be to double-date with my own sister.
“Did you ever find your phone?” Mom asks.
“Um, no,” I say, hoping she’s not going to ask any more questions. Knowing that it’s in a million pieces from being tossed off a three-story building isn’t exactly the same as finding it. The past week has been a nightmare, trying to act normal at home and at school with all that’s happened. I keep worrying I’m going to slip and give myself away.
She sighs. “We’ll see about getting you another one,” she says. “Be careful.”
I smile at that. If she ever had a clue what happened on the roof, maybe she wouldn’t worry so much about a simple trip to Berkeley. Or maybe she’d worry more.
“I might be out later, though,” she says, not quite as an afterthought. “If I’m not here, just call me to tell me you got home okay.”
I give Kat a look, but she just shrugs. Out? Mom never goes out, especially on Saturday night. “Out as in, on a date?”
Mom’s face gets surprisingly red in a very short time. “No. I’m going out with your father. Just to dinner and a play at the Orpheum.”
“Really?” I say. I’ve noticed that they’ve been spending more time together since the window accident, but I didn’t think it meant anything. Maybe they really are working through something in their distant past.
“It’s just dinner, guys. I know that look. Don’t get your hopes up.”
I put my hands up. “No hopes. I promise. Just glad that you’re going to do something fun. Maybe you should call me and tell me you got home okay.”
We’re barely through the door before Janine surrounds me with a giant hug. “Girl! Just look at you!” She pulls back and holds me at arm’s length. “Things could have turned out badly if it hadn’t been for you.”
I can feel my face flush. “If it hadn’t been for me, it wouldn’t have happened in the first place,” I say, still not totally understanding everything that went on. “I’m sorry I got Griffon mixed up with Veronique,” I add, not wanting to think about anything beyond today.
“I don’t know what the two of you are on about. I had everything completely under control,” Griffon says with a laugh. The black eye where the bullet grazed him is starting to fade, but he still has a bandage over the stitches on his cheek.
“Yeah,” Janine says. She swats him with a kitchen towel. “That’s exactly what it looks like.”
“I did,” he insists. “Veronique might be a good shot, but my reflexes are even better.”
I remember what she said about never missing with the gun, and I breathe in sharply. I thought that she just meant to score him with the bullet. “So she meant to hit you?”
“I’m sure she did. Luckily I was able to get out of the way.” Griffon puts a hand to his cheek. “Well, mostly.”
Janine folds her arms in front of her chest. “And ending up dangling off the edge of a roof, three stories up?”
Griffon grins. “Yeah. That was a little miscalculation.”
Janine reaches over and squeezes my hand. “All I’m saying is that things could have turned out much differently if Cole hadn’t been there. As it is, you’re going to have a nice scar on your cheek.”
“Oh, I have something for you,” I say, pulling a jar out of my bag and handing it to Griffon. I want to stop thinking about what might have happened if things had turned out differently. “It’s from Rayne.”
He opens it and sniffs the cream inside. “Smells good.”
“It’s some kind of honey-lavender thing that’s supposedly good for scarring. She says you need to put it on your cheek twice a day. I swear, she must have been a healer in a past life, because she’s always coming up with this stuff.”
“Then I’d better do it,” he says. “Tell her thanks.”
It’s nice to be somewhere that I can stop monitoring everything that comes out of my mouth. The past several days at home have been rough, with so much going on in my life that I’m required to keep from Mom and Dad.
“How’s the arm?” Janine asks. “Any more damage?”
I look at the splint. “I don’t think so,” I say. “It doesn’t hurt like it did. I have another appointment next week, so we’ll see. Although I might have to come up with a different story about what happened.”
Janine puts one arm around me. “Griffon tells me that my pathetic empathic skills have nothing on yours. Were you really able to transfer your images and emotions to Veronique?”
“I guess. I was just concentrating really hard on the truth and what I knew. When she grabbed me, there was a strange energy between us. For some reason, she was able to see my memories. I’m just glad that convinced her, because it didn’t seem like anything else would.”
Janine shakes her head in amazement. “Akhet have talked about telempathy for generations, but as far as I know, nobody has ever seen it work. The Sekhem have been wanting to develop emotional intelligence for some time. A new Akhet who has natural abilities like yours will be a valuable addition.”
“The Sekhem?” I ask. “Really? I thought that wouldn’t happen for a long time.”
“We don’t discriminate against newbies.” Janine smiles. “For right now, just learn to trust your abilities and nurture them. They are your true gift. There will be time for the rest later.”
“What’s going to happen to Veronique?”
“She’s on the Sekhem’s radar now,” Griffon says. “They’ll be able to keep more of an eye on her. She’s so focused on finding Alessandra’s essence that she can’t see anything past that one goal. Everything she does in every lifetime is about finding her.”
I think about how I felt when I thought Griffon might die. It’s hard to believe, but I actually feel sorry for her. “I think I almost get that,” I say, knowing they can see me tearing up.
“One great advantage to being Akhet is that we remember everything. Unfortunately, we are also unable to forget anything,” Janine says. “Are you alright?” She gives me a quick hug.
“I’m fine,” I say, feeling overwhelmed. “It’s just … it’s just been a really long week.”