Camilla looked like an extra from one of those teen dystopian movies. Half her hair had fallen loose from the ponytail that once held it. The once rich auburn color now looked dull and faded. The clothes she wore were wrinkled and disheveled, despite her attempts to smooth them out when she noticed Zephyra looking at them. Her eyes, however, shone with strength and determination. Zephyra hoped she wasn’t going to use it to yell at her some more.
With Dylan back in his dog persona, we drove to Angies. Zephyra sat in a corner reading a book as she waited. The staff had been nice enough to let her bring in Dylan. She may have made it rain so that her plea garnered more sympathy. Between that and the promise that Zephyra would cover Ellie’s open shifts for a week if he caused trouble, they gave her a grumbling “okay.”Zephyra sipped her coffee and slipp
When Richards came back out almost forty minutes later, he looked downright pissed off. He didn’t say a word but simply got into his jeep, and Zephyra scrambled to get in, afraid he might just drive off without her. Dylan gave them a quizzical look, or at least what she assumed was a quizzical look, as he cocked his massive head to the side. Zephyra gave him a look in return that she hoped he interpreted as “we’ll talk later.”
While I waited for Dylan, who was almost five minutes late now, I leaned on my jeep, listening to Brady’s apologetic voicemail that he’d left me this morning. I scowled, cutting off the message before Brady finished speaking. I got the point. He was sorry, but I wasn’t quite ready to forgive or talk to him quite yet. I pushed off the car and looked around as if expecting Dylan to magically appear. Where was he? Dylan had never been late like this before.
When Billy Jean and Zephyra went their separate ways, she called Brady. “Hey, it’s Zeph,” she said once he picked up.“Zee,” he replied with abundant warmth.
Where was he? Then fear sliced through Zephyra so strong it felt like physical pain. Oh god. Had they hurt him? She called Brady and held the phone shakily to her ear.Zephyra had expected him to sound half-asleep when he answered. Instead, his voice was sharp and fully alert when he barked out, “Shaw here
Zephyra scrubbed the counter with a damp rag. The imitation marble countertop practically shined from how clean it was. After Brady’s bombshell, she couldn’t go into work. Her mother refused to let Zephyra go with her to check on Ellie. The vampire was perfectly fine and sleeping like, well, the dead. Seeing as they were all fine, she called Billy Jean. When the alpha answered, Zephyra told her about the note. It worried Billie too and she hung up to do a headcount. A half-hour later, she called back with good news - her people were accounted for.
As soon as Zephyra was in her Jeep, a torrent of rain let loose. It was raining so hard it took her double the time to get to her parents’ house than it usually does. Her mother ushered Zephyra inside and out of the storm when she knocked. “What happened now?” her mom asked, taking the dripping jacket off Zephyra. Her dad put away the book he was reading and gave her a worried look.
“Hey, Brady,” Zephyra said with a smile. She was really glad that he wasn’t the bad guy anymore, even if he was an asshole. The memory of him telling her that he was done with all of this wiped the smile off her face. “Bye Brady,” Zephyra said and again started to get into the jeep.