Revealed (Unbound, Book 5)

Chapter Forty-Four

With the garage under the house, nobody noticed when I returned. I snuck in the door and set my things on the kitchen table. I grabbed a water and took a few calming breaths, then pasted a smile on my face and went into the living room to see who was watching TV so loud it was as though they were compensating for hearing loss.

"Hey, Nora." Calin looked up, tilting his head so he could see me behind his chair. His hair was wet, the air crisp with the clean scent of his soap. "Where'd you go?"

"Coffee run. You didn't see my note?"

"No, I was out."

"With Julian. Yeah, I ran into him." I crept past the chair to sit on the couch. "You didn't leave a note. Neither did Islene."

"Sorry, she's out. I don't know where."

"Hmm. Why am I the only one accountable?"

"I wasn't thinking."

"It's a double standard, you know."

Calin nodded. "Totally is."

His response surprised me and, after a brief silence, we both laughed. I leaned back and sighed, not wanting to move. Being here with Calin, at least I could relax. For a few minutes, I could simply not think.

"You okay?" Calin asked, too perceptive as always.

I turned my head to look at him, not lifting it from the cushion. "Hmm?" I nodded. "Yeah. Why?"

He shrugged. "You seem quiet. Are you hungover?"

"No. Why does everyone keep asking me that? I woke up early to do homework, so I'm just tired."

"Who else asked you?"

Damn. I shook my head and faced the TV. "You. Julian. The friend I ran into and had coffee with."

"Well, you seem off. I say it's a valid question."

I smirked but didn't give him the satisfaction of seeing my response. In fact, I didn't have anything to say. I didn't lie, though. When I went for coffee, I thought Trevor had been my friend, but that couldn't be true. Not if he could do what he did and not see the problem with it.

"Okay. Seriously?" Calin leaned forward and dropped the remote on the table, drawing my attention back to him. "You look like you had to have a slumber party with Duvessa and are now contemplating ways to murder her so your suffering will end. What's up?"

I shrugged. "I have a lot on my mind, none of which is about her."

"Talk. Maybe I can help."

"No, I..." I shook my head again. "You really want to know what's going on?"

"Yes." He clasped his hands, resting his arms on his knees. "One hundred percent. I do."

"Fine."

Ignoring his raised eyebrows, I got up and backtracked to the kitchen. I grabbed my bag and returned to the couch. Digging through it at my feet, I found the first three of my grandfather's journals and held them up.

"Are you writing in new journals?"

"No." Leaning over, I handed them to him. "This is what I found in Hope. My grandfather's journals. I can't tell you what's up because I haven't figured it out, but my grandfather began journaling around the time he met my grandmother. Those are the ones I've read so far."

"And did he have visions to predict what you're going through or something?"

"No." I shook my head. "Your mom said you'd probably want to read them."