She might be clumsy, but at least she’s educated.
Standing here, in the middle of Greece, talking to this girl I just met is refreshing. She has an easygoing smile, and the sparkle in her eyes proves to me we’re probably not that different from one another.
Curiosity gets the best of me. “If you don’t mind me asking, what are you doing here?” I ask her.
“I’m just visiting some family before I go back home.” She fiddles with a chain around her neck.
Weird … she’s not meeting my gaze. A sign that she’s lying. I won’t press like a creep, so I just nod like I understand.
Lily suddenly gasps. I follow where her gaze lands. The store window I’m leaning on gives us a clear vision of a TV. A news reporter explains the shooting that happened at X3’s concert. They show clips of people running, crying, and hugging. Someone also caught the triplets running offstage. I wince when I see Amelia trip and land on the floor roughly right before she disappears behind the curtains. A hand drags her the rest of the way to safety.
Rodrigo’s and Diego’s pictures are displayed on the screen as the shooters. It says they’ve already been taken to a jail in Canada by an airplane.
Good riddance.
I find Lily frowning as she watches the terrible news. She staggers back from the glass suddenly while stuffing her hands in the pockets of her jean shorts.
“It was really nice meeting you, but I have somewhere to be.” With a forced smile, she walks away with her head turned down.
What the heck was that?
I said nothing to make her suddenly closed off. The moment X3’s story finished, she ran off in distress. Maybe there’s more to her story than I know.
After all, everyone has their own story to tell …
* * *
I should have thought this through. My stupid brain that’s the size of a fruit fly didn’t take this into consideration. I wanted to surprise Leonidas, but this big iron gate blocks me from doing so.
Opening my phone, I text Athena to open the gate. A moment later, I run by when it opens at a snail’s pace. Just as my hand lands on the doorknob, the door is thrown open, and my face is grabbed.
Elijah’s worry-filled eyes assess my face. “Do you know how worried I was this entire time?” he grumbles. His hands move my face in circles as he eyes me carefully for any injuries. “You look like your usual ugly self,” he jokes.
My fist punches his shoulder playfully. “Jerk. And it looks like you’re still your donkey self.” I hold my stomach as I hunch over. My laughs cause him to laugh after he snorts like a pig loudly. “That’s a pig, you bozo, not a donkey.”
He shrugs and mutters, “Oops. I daydreamed in kindergarten a lot.”
Oh, Elijah. I missed this guy. Thank God he isn’t hurt.
Hugging him once more around the waist tightly, I hurry past him when I find a struggling Amelia attempting to walk over toward me. The two crutches under her armpits look extremely painful as she walks slowly. Her right foot is big, as it’s covered in a white cast.
“Amelia.” I grip on to her shoulders, stopping her.
Her bottom lip wobbles as she tries to pull me into a hug. She cries in frustration when she almost topples over. Elijah catches her just in time.
“I hate these things already!” she yells out and hops around on her good foot.
She runs a hand through her hair, and I send her a small smile.
“Let’s get you to a couch.”
As I advance to help her, she stops me with a hand. “Elijah can help me. Go talk to Leonidas.”
As she wobbles away from me, I meet the worried glance Elijah sends me from over his shoulder.
Upstairs, he mouths and then hurries to help his sister.
Taking a much-needed deep breath, I turn toward the staircase. My hands grasp on to the railing like my life depends on it, and I take the steps slowly. I’m met with a long hallway with four doors. If I know Leonidas as much as I think I do, I think his room is the farthest one. I walk toward my guess, before my knuckles make contact on the wood, I lick my lips anxiously.
