“To the airport, sir?” he asks as he opens the door to the front passenger seat for Reuben, who tilts his head to one side with a disinterested hum. When he looks back to glance at me, I swear I see a flash of mischief in his eyes.
“No, I’ve changed my mind,” his smile sends a shiver of dread up my neck as he steps into the vehicle. “Call Aster. Tell him we’re driving to Seattle.”
The door closes, the dark window obscuring him from view and Xavier, the man closest to me, groans softly under his breath.
“If he hears you, you’re dead.” Tobias puts a hand on his shoulder in warning, squeezing his words through a forced smile. “Remember to smile.”
“I blame the newbie,” Gabriel glowers at me, but I can only watch him expressionlessly.
I have no idea what he’s talking about.
“Leave him be, Gibs.” Tobias opens the car door to pull the seat forward and slide into the back while Xavier nudges me to follow.
I make myself comfortable by the window, putting an empty seat between Tobias and I… Gabriel slides into the seat in front of him, while Xavier straightens the seat in front of me, jumps in and closes the door.
It’s my first time being in a car with so many seats—as people that is—so when Tobias tugs at a strap by his head and pulls it over his torso to clip it into a spot in the chair, I mimic the same.
Dahlia doesn’t wave, or say goodbye as she watches us go, and I don’t look back as the car pulls out of the driveway and out onto the streets.
Still, I find myself nervous in the quiet car.
There was never a quiet car ride with Mitch or Christian around. It’s likethey’d hated silence, they always found something ridiculous to talk about and even Max would pipe in now and then. Even if it was to complain about how loud they were.
Now, it’s stifling.
Now, it’s a bitter reminder of the people I lost. It makes my heart hurt again.
I can understand somewhat, why my kind chose not to lean into their emotions and nurture them like humans. It’s easier when you don’t have to bother with things like loneliness, envy, aspiration…grief. It hurts and disappoints andfrustrates—it feels like I’m being ripped apart on the inside and there’s a black hole where all my good memories used to be.
I’m too lost in my thoughts when Xavier turns around to hug the head of his seat with a boyish grin, “Is it true that you dragged Nash’s body back to Dahlia’s place?”
I blink.
“How’d you do it?” His eyes are glittering excitedly, “Did you pay for a taxi? Did you walk all that way? Didn’t anyone see you?”
“Xavier, you’re doing the thing,” Tobias interrupts but he doesn’t take his gaze away from the window.
“What thing?”
“Being a nuisance.”
“I’m not suffering a four-hour drive in silence,” Xavier slumps down the chair with a moan as though he’d rather die and I can’t help a smile from touching my lips.
“I hijacked a car,” I reply to his earlier question, and Xavier climbs back up the chair with new excitement as I continue, “forced the driver to take me right up to Dahlia’s door.”
“You just, killed a random guy?” Xavier gives me a strange look that makes my brows furrow.
I’m a bit confused, because I’m sure I recall James doing the same. Season two episode six.
“Should I have let him go?”
“Well, no… but he’s a random guy.”
“He said he didn’t have kids.”
Xavier’s watching me again like I’ve said something strange, and it makes me do a quick review of the rules in my head to spot what I’ve done wrong.
“You asked him if he had kids before you shot him?” Tobias pitches in with new amusement.
