Page 66 of Locked
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
Zelle
True to his promise, Rifyr stayed through until Monday morning. The weekend went by too quickly for my tastes, but once Monday morning rolled around, I kissed him at the door and closed it behind him.
I spent the rest of Monday in the sun room, working on my plants and transplanting some of the larger tomato plants into their own pots along the edge of the greenhouse. I video chatted with Kinden and Basil for a little while that night before going to bed.
Tuesday, I slept in. I ran on the treadmill and lifted some weights, practiced a few new spells, that sort of thing.
Most of the week went on like that. I tried to keep busy so I wouldn't remember how lonely I was. I had a couple of video chats with each of them, I never went a day without talking to at least one of my guys.
But then the weekend rolled around and I started tidying up the apartment in preparation for Sorrel's visit.
He was coming over on Sunday night after his flight from Paris came in. He had to drop off all the pieces of art he'd collected, slash hunted down, at the gallery and then he'd be here.
And he was going to stay for a few days, too.
I was crazy excited by Sunday night. I'd gotten confirmation from him that his plane had touched down and he'd be here in mere hours.
It was minutes following that message from Sorrel that my tablet buzzed again.
Assuming it was Sorrel again, being his usual impatient self, I picked it up and unlocked the screen.
I was surprised to see an email from Mother.
"I'll be coming by in the morning to drop off some supplies. And to talk. I'm sorry we quarreled, Dearheart. And I'm sorry about your kitty. I hope he's feeling better."
Sniffing and shaking my head, I sneered at the message and didn't reply.
She knew damn well that Basil wouldn't get better from what she'd tried to do to him.
I had a decision to make. I could either go on with my plans to see Sorrel, and just… ignore Mother when she got here tomorrow morning, or I could tell Sorrel to wait until tomorrow night to come by. Or, there was a third option. I could have Sorrel over and push him out the door before Mother got here, and pull him back in once she'd left.
That last option sounded like a bad idea, but it was the one I went with anyway.
My reasoning, if there really was any at all, was that I didn't know if Mother knew how to get in without my hair opening the door and when I had someone else in the apartment didn't seem like the time to test her. If she could open the door, the building could explode, killing us all. And as much as I didn't care whether Mother lived or died, I cared about Sorrel, so I couldn't really choose that one.
The second option was likely the safest one, but I just didn't want to do it. I didn't want to wait another day to see Sorrel just because Mother decided to be her usual flakey self.
So I didn't. I simply didn't. Once I got the text from Sorrel a few hours later, telling me he was on his way up to the top of the high-rise, I waited with a strand of my hair poised over the fire.
The second I heard him knock, I let it drop into the flames and the locks on the door thunked as they slid out of place.
It opened and I grinned widely when I saw Sorrel standing there on the other side.
He pushed some of his blond hair out of his eyes as his face split into a grin. "Hey there."
"Hey," I said softly, holding out my hand towards him. "I'm so glad to see you."
He pulled me close for a hug, his arms wrapping around me tightly. "You doing okay, Zelle?"
"I'm fine… just lonely..."
"Aww, babe. I know…" he rested his chin on the top of my head. "I mostly meant are you okay after spending time with Rifyr? Because he's kind of alot."
I swatted his shoulder playfully, something I hadn't been able to do up until that point. He chuckled and loosened his hold on me so we could walk further into the apartment. I led him to the couch in the living room, sitting down on one end. "So, what are we doing tonight?"
I sighed. "Well, I do need to talk to you about that…"
