Select (Select #1)(29)
Novak saw me. His face registered what looked like annoyance for a millisecond before he covered it. He walked over to me and gave me a quick greeting, kissing me on both cheeks. I was so unsettled, I forgot to kiss him in return.
“I hear you came by for Kendra. Should I be jealous?” he teased.
“I got into an accident.” He looked at me quizzically. “It was minor, but since I was close by I thought I would talk to Kendra about what to do with my car.” I felt relieved that I had an excuse for why I was here. Clearly I was anything but welcome, and Novak couldn’t be happy about what I’d just witnessed.
“I’m glad you’re all right.” Had I said I was all right? “Now is not the time, but why don’t you email her and she’ll take care of things? I have a plane to catch.”
Suddenly there were voices in the hall—presumably from the conference room—and before I knew it I was being whisked out of the office and put in front of an elevator. My dad pushed the button, but I realized it was Anne’s hand on my back, guiding me out. What the hell?
The elevator arrived. I automatically stepped in and had the presence of mind to arrange my face into calm. I turned and faced my dad’s beautiful, easygoing grin.
“Bye, princess,” he said just as the doors closed. My stomach dropped as the elevator made its sudden descent.
All night I was convinced Novak wore a mask and I’d seen it slip, and that at heart I was insignificant to him. I pictured him delivering the bad news that I wasn’t invited on Relocation.
I hadn’t thought I’d be able to get to sleep, but I must have nodded off at some point. My alarm went off and I had one blissful moment of not knowing who or where I was.
I couldn’t help but be disturbed by everything that had happened at the office, especially the scene with the man who was presumably Kendra’s former friend. I knew I shouldn’t feel one way or the other about him or Kendra’s family….It was just that these things always played out the same way. One by one, the outsiders Novak let in would immerse themselves in Novak’s world. They’d cut off their family and friends. Eventually they’d lose their sense of boundaries with Novak, he’d fire them, and they’d be left devastated. From the gossip I’d heard, they had trouble recovering, as if Novak were a drug and nothing ever felt quite that good again.
Novak called them lost souls—the people bold enough to try to insert themselves in our world. He believed they were reincarnated family members who wanted to make their way back to us but couldn’t. None of us really believed that. It was just sad what regular people would do to be near him.
In the shower I realized that in the light of day things didn’t seem as bad as they had last night. I was being self-centered—the terrible vibe in the office could have been attributed to the scene with Kendra, not to mention the auditors. It had nothing to do with Novak disliking me. I knew him. It was bad timing when I showed up. Clearly.
I knew my number one priority should be to obey Novak’s rules so I could make my way back to the safety of the group. I would tell him what had happened at the tennis courts once we left Austin.
All I wanted was that feeling again. I kept thinking about what Angus said—that if he had gifts, he wanted to know what they were. But if I wanted to be careful, I needed to stop even the smallest things I was doing. It was getting difficult to hide all the broken and bent objects in the trash. I definitely needed that release, though, and I was confident I could hide those small transgressions. But it was a slippery slope. I had to stop, I decided.
When I was ready to go downstairs, I experienced the familiar nervousness. The last couple of weeks, I’d run into Victoria only once. This morning, however, she was in the kitchen. I slowed, thinking maybe I could leave through the front door instead. But it would look worse if she caught me avoiding her. And she obviously knew I was there.
When I entered the kitchen, Victoria looked over her shoulder at me. “Would you like some breakfast? I was trying to find juice.” She turned back to the mammoth Sub-Zero.
“No, thank you. Thank you, though.” I hovered, unsure of whether I should try to make conversation.
“How is your new school?” she asked.
“It’s fine. Strange.” I hated these polite conversations. I felt my cheeks turn bright red—my stupid tell. I turned, about to head to the garage. I would just take my damaged car. I hadn’t bothered to contact Kendra.
Both Victoria and I felt Liv coming at the same moment. I sensed that Victoria wanted me to leave before Liv and I crossed paths. But I didn’t move. It was a minor rebellion, but a rebellion just the same.
Liv rounded the corner into the kitchen. She stopped short when she saw me and asked in a way that wasn’t quite natural, “Are you okay? I heard you were in a car accident.”
I avoided looking at Victoria, who must have been the one to tell Liv. So at least Novak thought it significant enough to mention to Victoria.
“I’m fine. It was minor.” I could barely bring myself to answer Liv or even look at her. It killed me to know she hadn’t stood up for me along with Angus and the boys. I realized she appeared different somehow. Messier. Happier. Prettier, if that was possible. Since Angus mentioned it yesterday, I was aware she’d been with him last night, so I knew exactly why Liv looked that way. She needed to do a better job of hiding it from her mother. The thought of Liv and Angus being together physically—I couldn’t even let myself go there.