The Hidden Gemstone

Chapter: 28

Alex's POV:

We didn't plan on leaving for Rinx until an hour before midnight, but the arrival of Cody's mother and his older brother altered our plans. Zoe, Elijah, Cody, and I were still in the kitchen when they both entered the house and saw us. To his brother, it may have seemed that Cody had taken advantage of his mother's absence and decided to have friends over, but his mother didn't seem to care in the least. I thought of my conversation with Cody yesterday after the woods.

They wanted a normal kid, not a freak.

Or that was what my mom said.

It wasn't hard to imagine her saying that with the way she looked at Cody, her blue eyes ice cold. Her gaze was intense enough for Cody to look away. When he did, he caught my gaze, and I saw pain behind his eyes. My heart ached.

"I didn't think you'd actually made friends," Cody's brother said when he saw me, Elijah, and Zoe. He hardly resembled Noah or Cody. Instead of blond, his hair was light brown, and he was more muscular than either of them.

"We were just leaving," I announced, glancing back at Cody.

"Relax, no one minds you," the oldest Castillo brother said.

I looked at Zoe for help, and she obliged. "Yeah, but we have school tomorrow," she lied, and I resisted the urge to snort.

He shrugged. "Suit yourselves." With that, he disappeared down the hall.

"Hey, Mom," Noah greeted, coming down the stairs simultaneously. Their mother's expression changed, and she smiled at him as he hugged her. When he pulled away, he looked at Cody, and guilt flashed across his face. When Cody didn't return his gaze, he whispered something to their mother and went back upstairs.

"Come on," I said softly, taking Cody's hand. I hated seeing him like this on the premises of his own house, midst his own family. He didn't deserve to be treated like an outsider.

He looked at me and then our hands before intertwining his fingers with mine. I rubbed my thumb against his skin in consolation. I was determined to make him feel like he belonged, even when his own family didn't believe so. Cody was special, not a freak.

Zoe and Elijah walked out first, and Cody and I followed. As we passed his mother, she glanced down at our hands, then at me, and I held on tighter. I looked her in the eye, the intensity of my gaze matching her own, letting her know that her son did, in fact, matter to someone.

Elijah and Zoe were waiting for us when we walked out, and Cody let out a breath.

"Hey," I said, and he looked at me. "I've got you."

The corners of his mouth lifted slightly. "I know, sunshine."

I smiled back and pulled him in tow behind me as I walked up to Zoe and Elijah. The sun had set a while ago, but midnight was still a few hours away.

"I called a cab," Zoe informed. "I'm guessing we'll just have to skate till midnight."

__*__*__

It had been a while since I last skated, but a few minutes in, I got the hang of it. The ice rink was now getting less crowded, given the late hour, which gave us more time to go over the plan.

"Do we even know what we're looking for?" Zoe asked as she skated continuously in a perfect circle. Her vibrant red hair flew across her face, her helmet doing little to keep it in place. I noticed Elijah occasionally stealing glances at her but looking away before anyone realized he was staring.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, wondering when any of them would realize how hard it was to hide things from me, given that my instincts tended to never miss anything.