Trinity High (Book 1 of the Trinity Series)

Chapter 10

I marched up the helical staircase to my father's office, my steps echoing around the narrow stairwell.

I opened the door to the main office and the secretary glanced up, peering at me over her cat-eye glasses.

"He's busy," she said.

"He's my father. I need to talk to him," I replied.

"I realize that. But he specifically told me not to let anyone in," she told me. I simply rolled my eyes at her and went to my father's door. "Miss Lucia! Don't! I said--" she began but I turned and gave her a glare.

"I need to speak to him. Leave me alone," I snapped. I knocked at the door loudly and didn't hear a sound. With a frustrated sigh, I pushed open the door.

My father was sitting at the window sill with one of the decorated wooden shutters of his window open. A dim sunlight poured through, casting a glow on his face. His eyes seemed clouded, even from this distance.

"I can't talk right now, Caley. I'm busy," he said, not even looking up to see if it was me.

"You're not doing anything," I said.

"Please go to your room. We can talk later. I have work to do," he said, still not looking at me. I felt myself getting annoyed. This wasn't how this was supposed to work out. I was supposed to be ignoring him. Not the other way around.

"Look at me!" I shrieked when he continued to stare out the window. He turned his face towards me slowly. I was struck by how old and weary he looked. The eyes that he looked back with at me reminded me of my eyes when my mother had passed away. They were dark and stormy, like a raging ocean during a violent storm.  He was sad. And I knew I wasn't helping. But I needed answers.

"Was Mom a witch?" I asked, satisfied that I had his attention now.

"I told you, I can't talk right now. I have a flight to catch," he said, glancing out the window. He closed the shutter and placed the clasp over it. Then, he got up and picked up a small suitcase I hadn't seen that was standing by the side of his desk. I frowned at him.

"Where are you going?" I asked. He simply brushed by me.

"Go to your room and get some rest, Caley. We'll talk later," he said in a somber voice. Without another word, he walked out of his office, leaving me feeling more confused and angry than ever.

With a frustrated sigh, I walked out of the office and down the stairs.

What the hell was his problem? He was so willing to talk before and now, suddenly, he seemed like all he wanted to do was avoid me. Did he know I would ask about my mother? Did he know I'd bring up the topic of her sickness and death? Was that the reason he was avoiding me? Or was it some other reason?

Why did he seem so sad all of a sudden? I mean, he looked depressed before, but the look in his eyes was so reflective of the misery I had felt after my mother died that it was too easy to simply say he was depressed. Something else was going on. And I wanted to know what.

I was deep in my thoughts as I walked and found myself running into someone yet again. I looked up to see Trey, just as he caught me from tumbling over. He smiled softly at me.

"We really need to stop bumping into each other like this," he said. Again, I felt electricity well up inside of me as his hands touched the bare skin of my arms. I shifted on my feet and moved away slightly. He dropped his hands to his sides, placing them in the front pockets of his jeans.

"I was actually hoping to run into you. You took off after the assembly so I couldn't catch up," he said. I looked down at my feet. They were pale against the black canvas of my shoes. "I needed to talk to you," he said in a gentle voice. I continued to keep my gaze down and nodded ever so slightly. "Let's walk outside," he suggested. Again, I nodded silently and followed him out to the courtyards.