Chapter 11

After using the expensive soaps, toothbrush, and toothpaste, Ree felt like she had been to a spa. Everything in this place was luxurious and rich. Putting her washcloth back on the towel bar, she wondered who did the shopping for such a large house. It must be difficult to carry everything back to the island, but everything looked well-maintained and cared for. She slipped out of the bathroom, threw on her shoes, and headed to find her friends.

They were in the kitchen, standing around the large island. Paden stopped talking when she walked in, and, from their serious expressions, she figured he had been telling them what he knew about being the tie-breaker. Weylin was positively green, and Mel's normal, happy expression had been replaced by one of trepidation. For some reason, she felt like it was her fault they were all being sucked into this horror story. Maybe if they hadn't been friends with her, they wouldn't be about to face their possible death.

Bryce was leaning against the counter by the sink. His arms were crossed, and his expression was gloomy. Juliette was staring out the window over the sink. Her lips were pursed; she was obviously thinking about something intently.

“Well, I guess we should go get our stuff. We have almost a week before school starts, so we can try to learn as much as possible. I don't know how any of this will work once the semester starts,” Paden said. No one moved.

“Really? We're going back to school? There’s a giant battle going on that makes everything in our history class look ridiculous, but we're going to go back and study trig?” Weylin snorted. “Nah, I don't think so.”

“Get a grip, Wey. You're immortal. Or going to be immortal. You might as well get an education so you can take care of yourself forever.” Melanie piped in. She walked over to where Paden stood at the door. “I mean, I'm not going to support your lazy butt forever.”

Ree grinned. “She’s right, Weylin. You know how you like gadgets. How are you going to buy all the cool things a hundred years from now if you don't have any money?”

Weylin sighed, defeated. “Fine. Use my love of electronics against me. If we live to next week, then I will go to school. But I won't like it.”

Bryce slapped him on the back. “Yeah, yeah. You’re so tortured. No one ever does anything for poor Weylin. Let’s go, buddy, and I’ll listen to all of your complaints.”

The dock wasn't as far as Ree remembered. That was probably because she didn’t feel like she was about to pass out from exhaustion. There were several more boats tied up at the dock than she remembered seeing last night. She recognized the large boat captain that had whisked them away to safety.

Eric waved and motioned for them to jump on. “So, headed back to the mainland?”

“We need to get some things together,” Jules said.

He grunted and, once everyone was on, took them back to their car. The house that had been dark and mysterious the night before was a dilapidated Victorian in the daylight. Some of the shutters were hanging at odd angles, and the yellow paint was cracked and chipping. A few of the windows were shattered, with shards of wicked-looking glass sticking out of the trim at odd angles. The yard was overrun by weeds and dead plants. Even the trees had vines growing up into their branches. All in all, it was a rather pathetic sight.

“Wow, if I could have seen that house better last night I might not have gotten out of the car.” Bryce whispered.

Paden snorted but didn't disagree. Once they were in the car, they discussed what to tell their parents. Ree didn't have a cell phone, and doubted they even noticed she was missing. Bryce, on the other hand, had over twenty voicemails from his mother, frantic that he hadn't come home from the concert. Jules also had several angry messages from her father, threatening to disown her if she wasn’t back this morning. Weylin and Paden’s parents were on a cruise together, so they had nothing to worry about.

Bryce dropped Paden and Ree off downtown. Thankfully, street parking was free on the weekends so there was no ticket. They didn't say much on the ride to Ree’s house, and she wondered what Paden was thinking about, but was too scared to ask. His features vacillated between anger, worry, and sadness. Whatever he was thinking was taking a toll on his normally chipper personality.

When he pulled up in front of her house, he turned to look at her while the car idled. “Do you want me to go in with you? Maybe your parents will feel better knowing I was with you last night.”

“Or they’ll think you whisked me away for dastardly reasons.” She tried to make a joke, but couldn't stop the blush that ran up her cheeks. What on Earth prompted her to say that? “Besides they probably didn't even notice I wasn't home.”

“I doubt that.” He motioned toward the front door where her mother stood watching them. “I guess I need to go up there now. Say hello and all.” He reached for the door handle before saying, “And, if I was going to take you away to for dastardly reasons, I would have had an excuse planned ahead of time.” He winked at her, and the blush seemed to consume her whole body.

“Oh,” was the only thing  she could mumble. He chuckled and hopped out of the car.

She climbed out after him and followed him up to her mother.

“Hi, Paden! I didn't expect to see you bringing home Ree! I thought her boss, what’s her name? Sophia? Anyway, I thought she said she would bring her home after they finished inventory.”

Paden barely hesitated before going along with the story. “Well, I felt like it was my responsibility since I was the one that took her out last night.” He kissed Ree’s mother’s cheek before letting her usher them in. “When did you hear from Ms. Diakos?”

“Oh she called me from the concert. Said she had taken her nephew and run into you guys there and wanted to check with me to see if Ree would be free to help with inventory this morning. Said  thatshe offered to call since you guys were having such a good time.”

Paden grabbed a gingerbread cookie from the plate she set on the counter. “Well, apparently she said it all! I didn’t hear her say she was going to call. The concert was really loud.”

Ree hadn't said anything and took a seat on the bar stool next to Paden. He held the plate of cookies out to her. She grabbed one and took a giant bite. She was a terrible liar, and figured it would just be best to let Paden handle it from here.

Her mother didn't seem to notice her daughter’s silence and started working on cleaning the kitchen. Ever since Tristan had died, she baked nonstop. There was always a cake, cookies, or some new concoction being whipped up. Ree guessed that in the coping department this wasn't too bad. Her father on the other hand was hardly ever home. He was always working, or doing some PR assignment out of town. He couldn't seem to stand being at home, as if the memories there haunted him. And her mother was always too busy baking to go anywhere with him. As for Ree, she just did her thing, and occasionally they would ask how her day was, or if she had homework. She had to admit they never really seemed to listen to her response.

“So, the inventory is finished? She said she wanted you to stay overnight so you guys could do it before the store opened today.” She was looking at Ree with more interest than she had shown in two years. It was as if something had woken her mother from a long sleep. Ree thought that it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Ree swallowed the cookie in her mouth and tried to not choke. “Actually, I just came back to pick up some things. She underestimated how long it’s going to take. So, I'm going to stay there for a few nights and help out.” She looked away from her mother and hoped that she didn't see the lie.

“I see.” She didn't say anything for a moment, but then swung her gaze over to Paden. “And what about you, Paden? Are you going to be staying there as well?” Ree looked up at her mother. She could almost swear there was suspicion in her tone. Paden obviously heard it as well, because his cheeks colored just a little.

“No, ma'am. I think it’s just employees. The guys and I are going to do a horror movie marathon tonight. But I’d be happy to give Ree a ride back since you have a cake in the oven.”

“Is that okay, Mom?” Ree hopped down from her bar stool and started to head to her room.

“I suppose so. I'm going with your father to Atlanta for a few days. This way I don't have to worry about you being at home alone.” She said it nonchalantly, but they both heard the tremor of fear underneath the words.

“You're what?” Ree asked stunned.

“Going to Atlanta with your father. It's time for me to get out of this kitchen.” She swiped at the counter with her rag. “If you guys wait a little while, the cake will be finished and you can take it with you.”

“You're leaving? You're actually going somewhere with Dad?” Ree felt like the Earth had moved off its axis. Everything was changing. She hadn't realized how accustomed she had grown to having her Mother at home all of the time. But it was great that she was getting out of the house.

“Yes, yes. Now go pack, and I’ll get this ready for you. Paden, grab that cake box off the top of the fridge, will you?” And with that, she turned her back on Ree and went about tidying the kitchen with Paden’s help.