Page 17 of Carved in Ice (Made of Steel 3)

I looked back too, and V was gone. “I guess not,” I said.

Chapter 8

Monday

Our daily meeting was about to occur. Liza and V would brief me on whatever small updates there were, most likely keeping out important details they didn’t want to divulge. And I’d feel hopeless. I took a deep breath. I could feel myself sinking back into the darkness.

For a moment it was like Eli had fixed me. The memory of Miles had shaken my new resolve, though. It didn’t help that Eli’s hot chocolate wasn’t very good. It was decent, but it was nothing like Mrs. Young’s. I missed her. Would I ever see her again? Most likely not. I shook the thought away.

“Hey,” Liza said and sat down beside me.

She usually never sat near me. Her seat of choice was right next to V. I took it as an olive branch. “I’m sorry about last night,” I said. “I know you’ve given up a lot to be part of this and that you were forced into it. I really appreciate that you’re here.”

“You seem to be in a much better mood.”

I shrugged. “The therapy session actually helped.” I knew it was more than that, though. It was Eli. Why was I suddenly doubting everything?

“Good. And just for the record, I’m happy to be here. Spending this much time with V has been so nice.”

“Mhm. How is that going by the way?”

She smiled. “Amazing. Today we went for a walk in the snow. Well, actually more of a stroll on the roof, but it was very romantic.”

“Cool.” I drew out the word to make it not sound cool at all. I cleared my throat. “Has he told you anything about who he is? Or his past or anything?”

“Look, I know you two had a fling, if that’s what you’re wondering. And I’m totally okay with it. There doesn’t need to be any awkward tension between us. Especially because it’s over.”

“Is that what he said?”

She shrugged. “He didn’t have to. You guys have been ice cold with each other for months. Thanks for stepping back. I know you knew I liked him. I really appreciate it.”

“Mhm. He’s all yours.”

She smiled and pushed her glasses up her nose. “For the record, the only thing I had to give up to be here was my apartment. You were right.”

“I didn’t mean any of that. I was upset.”

“But it’s true," said Liza. "And I’m sorry about everything you’ve lost. I really am, Summer.”

I nodded. I didn’t really know what to say. It wasn’t just V that had been cold toward me recently, it was her too. This was the first time it had ever felt like we might be friends.

“Hey,” Eli said as he sat down across from me. “How are you doing, Liza?”

“Good. I like your glasses,” she said with a smile. Her cheeks turned a little pink.

Maybe we weren’t great friends yet. I was pretty sure friends weren’t supposed to get jealous of each other. And I was certainly a little jealous now. She wasn’t allowed to like V and Eli. But wasn’t that what I had been doing?

God, what did I even know about friendship? The closest friend I’d had recently was my college roommate Kins and it had been months since I had spoken to her. She thought I had moved away. Maybe jealousy between friends was a normal thing. I smiled to myself. Maybe I was finally becoming normal.

V walked into the room and the floor immediately lit up blue. I wasn’t sure how Athena knew that it was him, but she treated him like a rock star. He sat down across from Liza and dropped a folder on the table.

“What’s that?” Liza asked.

V scooted his chair in. “I have some bad news, Sadie.”

Liza grabbed the folder and opened it up. There was a picture of Mr. Crawford. I leaned over to look at it. He was surrounded by tall buildings and was looking over his shoulder like he could tell someone was watching him. Two people were walking beside him, but they weren’t facing the camera. Their winter coats and hats covered anything that might help identify them. Although, from their heights, it looked like one was male and one was female. Snow was piled on either side of the walkway. The picture had been taken recently.

“He’s alive?” My throat felt dry. We had been looking for him for months.

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