“Hello?” A voice said, startling her awake. “Hey, are you ok?”
Addy sat up to see a young couple was standing over her. They were looking concerned, maybe even a little scared. They probably should’ve been—they just walked up on a random girl laying on the beach in the middle of the night.
After getting her bearings, Addy managed to answer. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine.” She tried to smile at them.
The girl shrugged and they started down the beach.
Addy was so sure she was losing her mind. Another week had passed and she was struggling to be normal. During the day, she went along with everyone else, training and doing whatever Jax asked her to do. At night she stayed in Gage’s room or wandered to the beach. She knew it wasn’t normal and was beginning to question her own sanity.
Picking herself up, she walked back down the beach to the path that led to the estate. She started hearing the faint sound of music.
Instead of turning up the path, she continued walking. The sound was getting louder and she spotted someone sitting on the beach. Upon getting closer, she recognized it was Tanner playing his guitar and singing in a low voice. She sat down and listened to him in the sand near the tall grass.
Since the day she came down from Gage’s room a week earlier, she’d hardly seen Tanner. He was around, but they were pretty much doing opposite schedules with different practice times. Jax always seemed to have something for one of them to do.
On stage, Tanner was so energetic and loud. Sitting in the sand playing and singing, he sounded completely relaxed and comfortable.
After a few minutes of listening, Addy started feeling like a stalker. She figured she better leave or go talk to him. She stood up at the same time as another person did. A girl had been lying in the sand in front of Tanner, watching him play his guitar.
Addy hadn’t noticed her there, but she was sure the girl saw her when she stood up. She wasn’t about to go over and talk to him after discovering he wasn’t alone. She knew he probably had a girlfriend, but he never mentioned her. Addy wondered if he’d told her about the Akori and Tremain.
As she walked back to the house through the garden, she noticed just how much of it had been repaired since the attack. New statues and benches replaced the broken ones, and it was beginning to look like she remembered it before the attack.
It was quiet inside the estate, but the candles in the library were still burning. She peeked inside to see Jax at the head of the table with his face in a book, sound asleep. She wondered how long it had been since he had a real night’s sleep. Looking at him like that, she would’ve never guessed he was the same arrogant guy she met a few weeks earlier. Since claiming the stone he didn’t even talk the same.
Addy decided to go in and wake him to go to bed. A scroll was unrolled on the table with drawings of Akori symbols. It caught her eye because they appeared to be the same ones she and Tanner had. There was a bow by one, and a sword by the other. The best translation of the faint writing she could do quickly was that they were marks of the Akori Shepherds. The bow and sword indicated the particular skill associated with the symbol.
Jax yawned and leaned back in his chair. “What are you doing in here, it’s late.”
Addy shifted position so he wouldn’t notice her eyeing the scroll. “You should go to bed.”
He stood up and stretched. “We should both get to bed.”
“Ok.” Addy watched as he rolled up the scroll and tucked it under his arm with some books.
“Can you please talk to Kim tomorrow for me? We need to find out what she knows.”
“I’ll try.” She’d been putting it off for a week and really didn’t want to.
“Thank you.” He leaned over and kissed her on the crown of her head. “Good night.”
They parted ways at the split in the hallway.
Addy was burning with curiosity about why Jax had that scroll and why after all of her researching she’d never found anything detailing the symbols her and Tanner carried. She decided that she’d have to find a way to get another look at it.
Walking quietly, Addy headed back to Gage’s room. She couldn’t wait to set her head down. The light in his room was visible under the door as she approached and she didn’t think she’d left it on. After pushing the door open, she realized she wasn’t alone a few seconds too late. She was quickly grabbed from behind and her mouth was covered.
“I’m not going to hurt you. Don’t scream,” A male voice said in her ear.
She nodded her head, but she fully planned to pound the guy as soon as he released her.
When he let go, she spun around ready to lash out, but froze in place. She had never met him, but she knew exactly who he was.
“Will Elsegood—you’re Gage’s father.” Her chest tightened. It was like looking at Gage, maybe just a few years older. She quickly turned her eyes to the floor and bit her lip.
“I didn’t know you’d be coming back here tonight. I’m sorry I scared you.”
“You’re back,” Addy said, still shocked. “Does Molly know?”
Will nodded. “Yes, we’ve talked.”
They stood in awkward silence.
“I’ll go,” she said, reaching for the door handle. “I’m sure you’d like to look around and all that.”
He shook his head and motioned for her to stay.
“I Scattered when he was five.” Will turned his head, studying his son’s room. “I wasn’t planning on using my powers anymore, but I was needed. He’d just started playing t-ball.”
She laced her fingers together, thinking about all the times she played baseball with Gage. “He’s so good at sports. He’s good at everything he does.”
Will laughed and Addy realized she probably sounded like an idiot. “You and my son are close. Molly mentioned you guys are friends.”
Addy was still looking at the carpet and felt her face get hot. “We were.”
“You still are.” Will spotted the pictures she had spread out on the floor and sat down. He picked one up and examined it. “Is this you?” He pointed to one where Gage was laying down in the snow and Addy was in the process of burying him.
Addy smiled. “Yeah, he put up with so much from me.”
She sat down and they looked through each picture in the box. She explained what they were doing and where they lived at the time.
They came across the picture she and Gage agreed was their favorite. In it, she was at the piano playing and Gage was seated next to her with his back to the keys. She was only three and had just learned to play Mary Had a Little Lamb. She’d been trying to show him but he kept turning away. Out of frustration, she’d shouted ‘Pay Attention’ at him. They’d always said it to each other after that. First as a joke, then it just became part of their normal way of talking.
Will shuffled through the miscellaneous items left in the box. “There aren’t any pictures of you as a teenager in here.”
Addy hadn’t really thought about that. “He got older and just kind of did his own thing. Five years makes a big age difference.”
Will nodded. “It can be when you’re young.”
She got up and put the box on Gage’s dresser. “We didn’t have enough time.”
“I’m sure he feels the same way.” Will walked around, looking at all of the things in Gage’s room. “Tell me about him—what’s he like?”
That was a difficult question and she didn’t know what to say. She finally looked directly at Will for the first time. “He’s perfect.”
A pained expression swept across his face. “I’m learning what it’s like for those of you left behind when we Scatter and I’m not at all pleased.”
Addy shrugged her shoulders. “That's the way it’s always been.”
“Not always,” he said. “How old do you think I am, Addison?”
That was a trick question—she had no possible way of knowing. “In human or Akori years?”
“I guess you can’t tell.” Will chuc
kled, which definitely gave away the fact he was much older than he appeared. “I’ve been around nearly as long as Eva and Andrew. Trust me when I say it wasn’t always like this.”
“Most of the power was taken away after the attack,” Addy said. “Eva made the Overseer’s Stone.”
He nodded as he walked around his son’s room, picking things up and examining them. “Will you do something for me?”
She was surprised he would ask her for anything, but she nodded.
“I have business away from the estate for a couple of days and I need you to make sure Molly doesn’t leave.” Will shook his head with the hint of a smile. The way his lips curved reminded her of Gage. “She always runs when she gets scared.”
“You’re still together?” The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them and she grimaced as she watched the expression on his face change to one of hurt.
“Of course we are,” Will said with firmness to his voice. “Nothing has changed.”
Addy felt bad for asking him such a personal question, but it made her realize what Jax said about how the Akori Scattered was true. They did come back in the same mindset as when they disappeared.
“Sorry, but she told me—”
“Molly’s just a little shaken over Gage. She’ll be ok.”
She nodded and tried not to think about what happened–she didn’t want to lose it in front of him. “My brother knows you’re here?” She sat down on Gage’s bed, dragging her fingers along his blankets.
“Yes, what I’m doing is for Jax.”
“Oh.” It dawned on her that Will was probably the Akori Patrick said Jax was waiting for when he left the meeting so fast last week. She thought it was strange that it took a week for her to find out Will was back and wondered if Jax was intentionally keeping it from her.
Will took a couple of steps toward the door. “It was very nice to meet you, Addison.”
“It was nice to meet you too,” she said, playing with her cat charm.
“One more thing,” he said. “Don’t tell anyone you saw me.” Then he walked out quietly.
Moose came slinking out from behind Gage’s sofa and jumped up in bed. She couldn’t believe she just had a conversation with Gage’s father. Fate was right when he said they looked exactly alike. They could pass for brothers easily, and it was almost unbearable to look at him. It was clear he felt like she did about Gage being Scattered and she was happy there was someone around who understood.
Addy decided that in the morning she’d get her cat and start staying at her villa again. She’d never be able to get her life back if she continued to spend every night crying in Gage’s bed.
Chapter 28