Chapter 14
I had been arguing with Elizabeth's dad over some politics. I didn't even notice how pale Elizabeth turned and how weak her voice sounded until she asked me if I wanted to go upstairs instead. When I looked at her, she wasn't the strong, defiant woman I knew. She looked…scared.
I followed her eyes to her father who was smirking and shaking his head. It didn't seem like an unreasonable reaction to me for someone who disagreed but Elizabeth's eyes weren't their normal green. They looked almost gray in the living room's dim light.
"Please?" she begged of me, stealing glances at her father. I nodded and followed. I wasn't sure as to why, but our Rogue was clearly terrified of the man she called Dad.
-Estelle Fate
I was happy when I woke up. Well, maybe happy wasn't the right word but there was something joyous about waking up on a Monday and realizing you don't have to go to work. Ever. I guess I was only 30 years old and retired. This would be totally awesome if it were for the things like a group of human killing vampires possibly on your tail and not having millions of dollars of assets at your disposal. Okay, so, technically I did have the latter; there was just no way I was going to let the Cullens take care of me like that. I needed to show that I could take care of myself, no matter what.
After pulling my hair back in a braid and getting dressed in my jeans and layers of t-shirts and a sweatshirt, I hopped down the stairs to greet Esme this morning. She smiled at me when I saw her. She was busy taking down information –for what, I didn't know- and talking on the phone. Quickly, I mouthed the words that I was going to pick up Ginsie and be right back. She nodded solemnly.
When I stepped closer, I noticed she was taking down hotel information. Based on the map she had up on the computer and the list of cities, it looked like we were traveling almost in a straightish line from here to Washington. Seeing as we were passing through Idaho, a part of me wondered if we could head through the southern part and see if my old house was there from when I was small. We only lived there for a couple of years but I still remembered the big yellow house with the playhouse outback and my "horse" who was nothing more than a pony. I wanted to see if it was there or if it too didn't exist.
Esme offered me a smile and placed a hand over the receiver. "Be careful, dear. I should have everything booked when you get back," she told me. I nodded. It seemed odd that someone who never slept was booking hotel rooms but I didn't argue. It would be nice to at least get out of the car every night and sleep in a real bed. I'd just try to be quicker than Esme and pay for the rooms since they were for my benefit anyway. Hopefully, none of them were too expensive.
I nodded and grabbed my keys to the truck along with my wallet. We had packed up everything yesterday. Thinking about that, I ran back up the stairs and brought down my overnight bag filled with my bag of bling. I held it up as way of explanation for Esme. She smiled and waved goodbye to me as I went outside.
I opened the back door first and made sure there was enough room for Miss Ginsie before throwing the overnight bag in. It looked like I had left plenty of room. She had her little bed and I kept her travel bowl in the center consul so she should be okay. I think Esme would be driving, mostly, and I'd be in the passenger side. Everything looked okay as far as packing went but I couldn't help but feel something nagging me like something else was out there or I forgot something.
I sighed. It wasn't like I wasn't coming back in a few minutes so forgetting something wasn't that big a deal. I got into the driver's side and started the truck, ready to head on my way to pick up the pup when I heard the passenger side door open. I turned my head curiously and my breath caught. It was not Esme who got in but the mysterious vampire I had saved in New York only days ago.
