“I don’t know if your mom is still alive, Callie,” Daniel said close to my ear, his body so warm and firm against mine. “But we won’t stop searching until we figure out what happened to her.”
I heard his assurance, but was distracted because … I was being hugged by Daniel. Again. This time it was unlike any hug I’d ever had. He was wrapping me up tightly, holding all of my broken pieces together. My eyes burned as I pressed my face into his soft shirt. I never wanted to leave his strong arms. I wanted to stay there, warm and safe and hidden from the world.
And not alone.
That’s all I ever wanted from life. To not be alone.
Eventually, I had to pull away. The whispers were out of control, it kind of felt like everyone was standing in a circle around us. They dispersed as soon as Daniel narrowed his eyes on the groups nearby, and then he nudged me forward, toward a double set of sliding doors.
“We’ll talk more about it later,” he said. “For now, let’s get you enrolled.”
My heart was still racing like crazy, so I worked to control my breathing as we entered the office.
“Daniel Imperial, how are you doing, sweetheart?”
That overly chirpy voice belonged to a blond woman. She was impeccably styled, not a hair out of place in her tight chignon. She had a lot of makeup on, which didn’t disguise the fact that she was in her forties. Forty but trying to look twenty was exactly how I’d describe her.
Her heavily made-up eyes were locked on Daniel, and I was pretty sure she’d just licked her lips. Seriously … she could be his mother. Or probably not, since in human years Daniel was older than her, but she didn’t know that, so my point remained. Crossing my arms over my chest, I leveled my very best resting-bitch-face on her.
Daniel either didn’t notice or didn’t care. And he was far too polite. “Good morning, I have a new student to enroll today, Callie Channing. All of the paperwork should have been sent through last night.”
Blondie made a disparaging noise, her watery blue eyes locking on me. “Callie, is it?”
Before I could nod, or flip her off, which is what I wanted to do, she dropped her eyes to the computer in front of her and started to type. It seemed to take her an extraordinarily long amount of time to find my file, but eventually she figured it out and set me up in the system.
While she explained my class schedule, she continued to stare at Daniel.
Eventually I had to clear my throat. Loudly.
“I’m sorry?” she said, blinking and finally turning in my direction.
“You’re talking to me, right?” I was all fake politeness. If I’d been Southern, I’d have said “bless your heart” to her multiple times already. “Daniel already knows his classes, so there’s no need to tell him.”
She blinked a few more exaggerated times, and if her forehead could move, it would have been wrinkled in shock. “I’m sorry…” she spluttered out once more.
I took a step closer, leaning over the bench so that our faces were only a few inches apart. But before I could give her a piece of my mind – subtle just wasn’t me – Daniel wrapped one arm around my waist, picked me up, and dropped me behind him. He then grabbed up the paperwork the cougar had been waving around before directing me out of the office.
Laughing eyes met mine, and I was relieved that he didn’t look too upset. “Come on,” he said with a smirk. “Let’s get your uniform.”
My annoyance dissipated quickly, and I hurried after him. The uniform turned out to be some sort of torture device with skirts and tights and a fitted shirt. They even made me remove my Converse for these shiny, slippery, uncomfortable shoes.
Just as I was stepping out of the seamstress’ room, a familiar face skidded around the corner.
“Callie!” Emma shrieked. “You made it.”
She hugged me, and this time it almost felt natural. I even returned her gesture without having to think too much about it. Before I could offer a greeting or anything, she had my arm and was already turning to Daniel. “We’ll be back in a minute. Watch our stuff, okay?”
She started to drag me, and before I knew it, we were in a nearby bathroom.
9
This room looked exactly like the movies, starkly white, tiled, with a row of stalls and a row of sinks. Emma flashed me a huge grin and I chuckled at how mischievous her expression was. She then turned to stare at the closed door. “Three … two … one…”
Bang, bang, bang.
“Emma, get your scrawny butt out here. Callie needs to get to class.” Daniel sounded annoyed but not angry.
“Give us a minute, this is girl stuff, Dan,” Emma shouted back, rolling her eyes at me. “These Daelighter dudes are so predictable. I hoped that this was the one place I might get a second alone with you. But even being a girl’s bathroom, it won’t keep them out for long.”
