Dancing With The Devil

Chapter 36

"Come on, you must be exhausted." Emma encouraged, watching me stand awkwardly in the entrance. Her bright, motherly smile never seemed to fade off her face.

And while Alistair's mom looked like a warm embrace that I was certainly in need of I knew I would see many people that I would've preferred to avoid. I didn't need to see Jasper to know that he was lurking around. A massive SUV with a car seat and a young boy running around gave that away. And I had no doubt that wherever Emma went Brad went with her. Alistair spoke about their relationship like it was one of the most outstanding miracles, though it was impressively clear Brad had different ideas about me. I knew that neither of them particularly enjoyed my company and that made me deeply pensive.

But as of right now I didn't have any other choices. I was without a car and I knew that it would be beyond rude to stand awkwardly in the door way until a taxi came to pick me up. Plus, I had no real idea how the world was going to receive me. I didn't know how much the public knew about my case or what had happened to my company. And the only people who could help me fill in those gaps were here. So I slowly emerged into the house, anxious beyond belief.

"How was your flight?" Emma asked as I followed her into the massive and clean kitchen.

The space was so large it almost seemed industrial, but had a sense of coziness as well.

"Well, thank you." I replied tightly.

"It is quite a grueling trip, especially on a public plane." She continued, "Do you have any allergies?"

"No." the question struck me as odd, but it was not the weirdest thing that had happened to me in the past three months.

While Emma began whirling around the kitchen like a culinary tornado I started to survey the area I had walked into. The kitchen was open to a stunning sitting area that was filled with trinkets from around the world. There was a thick mop of dark hair popping above the back of the couch in the living room. Judging by the young child squealing around him and the dark colour of the hair I assumed it was Jasper. Brad was nowhere to be found, but I knew that he was close by.

"Here, airplane food is the worst." Emma said, pulling my attention back to her.

She pushed a plate towards me and for a moment I marveled at the massive sandwich on the ceramic. It was nothing short of a masterpiece and my previously silent stomach now growled loudly at the sight.

"It's not the food." Jasper's low voice sliced through the soft atmosphere, making my shoulders hunch up as I brought my sandwich to my lips. There was soft rustling as he stood, "Your taste buds essentially go numb on a plane. The cabin pressure and the dry air really mess with your sense of taste. I would say it has the same impact as having a cold."

"Yes, yes, we know." Emma said, pretending to be annoyed but her eyes were glittering with happiness.

I smiled in an effort to cover up how uncomfortable I was and the fact that I hadn't known Jasper's random fact. It was clear that I was surrounded by people who were far more educated than I could ever be and that only made me more anxious to be here. As silence fell I tore into the delicious sandwich and it was gone within a matter of minutes.

"You should go and lie down. I think a nap is what you need." Emma murmured.

"Thank you, but-"

"You look jittery, how about a walk to get you through some of those nerves? It must be hard to be back home and I know that Dallas could use some time outside to work through all of the extra sugar someone has been giving him." Jasper suggested, giving his mother a very pointed glance.