Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Hannah was sitting in her office, going over the data Cassidy had passed along to them at the meeting the week before. While she didn’t doubt the information was valuable, she just couldn’t justify using it as a reason to launch a full-scale attack on another continent before Aaron and Cadence got back. A glance at the calendar in her IAC confirmed they’d be back in five days—less than a week. Even though her own reports told her the situation was growing worse, she didn’t think it was bad enough to move in, not yet. Especially now that Mila seemed to be making headway with some of the worst offenders.

A knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts. She set the paperwork aside. “Come in.” Not many people came to her office, not unless they wanted to lounge on her sofa and unburden themselves, which was fine, but most of the time, if people were in this building it was to head upstairs to the real bosses’ office. Today, however, that just happened to be her.

She was surprised when Christian walked in. She couldn’t remember him ever coming to her office before, not in all the decades they’d worked together. He certainly wasn’t there for therapy because he’d never admit he needed it, although of all the LIGHTS team members she could list on one hand without trying, he’d certainly be her top candidate. She tried not to dwell on that and put a smile on her face. “Christian? How can I help you?”

He looked around like he wasn’t quite sure what to do. Hannah gestured at one of the chairs across from her, and he rested his hand on it, his eyes still darting around. Patiently, she waited, as he pulled the chair out and sank into it. “How’s it going, Hannah?”

“Good,” she nodded, her hands folded in front of her. “Busy, of course, without Aaron here. How has your day been?”

“Busy.” His head rocked back and forth as he slung his ankle over to his other knee, kicking her desk in the process. “Sorry.”

“That’s okay. Is there something I can help you with?”

“Uh... yeah.” He didn’t elaborate, though, so Hannah continued to practice her patience, a virtue she’d called upon many times both before and after she’d become a member of LIGHTS, though she couldn’t remember the patients she’d worked with in her former life being quite as complicated as some of her teammates, the man before her no exception.

Eventually, Christian continued. “I think I’d like to take a few days off.”

That was a surprise. She tried to hide it, but her eyebrows deceived her. “That’s a first. How long has it been since you took a vacation?”

“Not sure. Longer than I can remember. Just a couple of weeks is all I need, I think. All this talk about the bosses being at the beach made me decide I needed a little retreat myself.” A smile formed on his face, but it looked a little forced, slightly out of place.

“Okay.... I’m sure as soon as Aaron gets back, he’ll be happy to let you go.”

“Well, that’s just the thing. I’d like to leave tomorrow. I figure there’s not much going on around here, nothing you guys can’t handle without me. Fannie’s up to speed on everything in the tech department, and she can handle any situation remote from Montana if needed. And, if you do need me for something,” he tapped the side of his head, near his eye, “you know how to get me.”

Hannah hadn’t been expecting anyone else to leave while Aaron was gone, and if it had been just about anyone else, she probably would’ve insisted they stay until Aaron could approve it. But considering how much turmoil Christian caused wherever he went, and the fact that nothing important was happening at the moment, especially on the tech front, she found herself nodding her head. If the situation in Eastern Europe continued to develop, there were a lot of other team members she’d rather have around than Christian to help her handle it. “All right,” she said. “I guess that’s fine. Just send me a request form with your departure and arrival dates, and I’ll approve it.”

A second later, she was looking at a completed form, and Christian’s smile looked a little more genuine. “Thanks.”

She couldn’t help but chuckle. “How’d you know I’d say yes?”

“Come on, Hannah.” He leaned forward, both feet on the floor, his forearm on her desk. “No one really wants me around, do they?”

She opened her mouth to protest but it was hard to formulate a sentence that sounded convincing. She’d worked closely with Christian recently while they were assisting Ward with the portal, but the whole time, she’d wanted to tell him off for causing the problem in the first place. Her diplomacy had kept her feelings in check, but that didn’t mean she was a fan. “I think people just need some space, some time, to get over the situation.”

“Exactly.” He stood up, sighed, and headed for the door. He was in the hall before he caught the closing barrier and said, “Thanks, Hannah.”

“You’re... welcome.” He was gone.

* * *

Brandon came back from the gym and tossed his bag on the floor. Having skipped a shower in the locker room, he knew that vicious odor wasn’t just coming from the garbage bag in the kitchen he’d meant to take out before he left, but he was struggling with finding a reason to care.

“Whoa—who died in your socks?” Elliott asked, coming down the hall from his bedroom looking slightly disheveled, which was odd since he rarely slept. “You in some sort of contest to see who can repel the most chicks?”

“Ha, ha, Dad. Very funny.” If only his father had any idea what was happening, maybe he wouldn’t have made a statement so close to the truth.

Brandon pushed past Elliott into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge, downed it, and tossed the plastic into the recycling that also needed taken out.

“Okay. What’s going on? You’ve been bumming around here for the last couple of days. I ain’t seen our little sunshine much either. You two have a fight?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it.” He rested his head on the refrigerator, wondering if Cass would even care if he got sucked up by another portal.

“Well, I do. So what’s going on?”

Brandon turned to look at his dad whose features were much softer than his tone at the moment. The teen ran a hand down his face, wiping away sweat and angst. “We had a fight a couple of nights ago. We’ve been civil to each other since, but not like before. I thought when I got back from the portal, everything would be easy, like we’d never argue or be apart again because she’d know what it was like to live without me and wouldn’t ever want to experience that.” Resting his hands on his hips, he shook his head. “But that’s not what’s happened at all.”

“Brandon,” Elliott began, taking a step forward but stopping, and waving his hand in front of his face with an exaggerated expression indicating the perspiration was too much. “You’ve gotta understand Cass is dealing with a lot right now. Besides the fact that you were gone, I’m sure she’s missing Alex. Her sister just got married, she’s adjusting to Heather, and then there’s this whole episode in Europe she’s convinced herself is her problem. I’m not sure if she’s just tossed herself into all that because she wants a distraction or if she really thinks she needs to solve it, but either way, she’s committed.”

Crossing his arms and slumping against the counter next to the fridge, Brandon agreed. “Maybe she needs to be committed.”

“Huh?” Elliott took the same position across from him, leaning against the wall.

Shaking his head, not certain of whether or not he should even say what was on the tip of his tongue, Brandon decided to just let it all out. “I saw her in the coffee shop the other night, after our fight, talking to Christian of all people.”

“Say what now?”

“I know. What in the world would she need to talk to him about? I mean, he’s such a douche. And I thought she hated him. Especially since it was his fault we disappeared in the first place.”

“I’m pretty sure she does hate him,” Elliott confirmed. “You have seen the footage of her literally ripping his face off, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve seen it. So why go meet with him for a late night latte?”

Elliott snickered, distracted by his alliteration, no doubt. “I don’t know. Maybe she was feeling bad about the bloodshed and wanted to apologize.”

“Uh, that doesn’t sound very much like Cass.”

“True. But... maybe the death of another friend has brought some perspective. She’s lost a lot of people recently, Brandon. Alex, her grandma, Jack, Drew. Me.”

All Brandon could do was nod. It didn’t seem fair that Cassidy had already lost so many people she cared about, and she wouldn’t even be seventeen for a few more weeks. “I want to help her with all of that, but I don’t know how.”

“Maybe what she needs right now is some space to deal with it. She loves you, son. I know she does. And she doesn’t have feelings for Christian.” Elliott did some sort of whole body shiver, as if he had the heebie-jeebies.

“I know she doesn’t.” It had been a shock to see them talking together, but he knew his girlfriend better than to even suspect she had any interest in Christian at all, romantically, or even as a friend. “But what about Alex?”

“What about him?” Elliott opened the refrigerator door and took out a Coke, cracking the can open.

“I think... maybe there was more to the two of them than just the teasing. I mean, all of our friends always gave Cass a hard time about Alex, saying she had a crush on him. She’d deny it, but she always blushed. And I could see it in her face when she talked to him, you know? Like he was a celebrity, and she was his biggest fangirl.”

“He was a celebrity. And she was a fan.”

“I guess.” He’d never really thought of Alex as anything other than a Roatan Guardian who’d been around a long time. But since Cassidy was such a history nerd, it did make sense that she’d be focused on his legendary first life and not what he was when they’d met him. “Anyway... what if she really did have a crush on him—or more? And... what if that letter he sent her said that he had feelings for her, too?”

Elliott took a swig of his soda before he answered. “So what if he did? What if she did? What if she does? Does it make a difference now? He’s gone, and this time, he’s not coming back. It might mean it will take her a little longer to get over him, but Brandon, even when he was here, she still chose you. Don’t make her think there’s any reason for her to stop making that choice.”

His dad patted him sharply on the arm and headed out of the kitchen, back toward his room. He didn’t make it too far before he shouted, “And for the love of God, take a shower!”

Brandon let his father’s advice sink in for a moment before deciding he was right. He needed to give Cass some space, but he also needed to apologize for being a dick the other night and not allowing her the space she needed when she was clearly asking for it. With a sigh, he headed to the bathroom to take a shower, not feeling much better but glad to at least have a direction to go in.