Page 16 of Sins (The Sins Trilogy 1)
Chapter Six
Ivy
When I wake up, Tony is gone, the chair placed back neatly by the vanity. It’s as though he was never in my room. My mouth feels like it’s stuffed with cotton. I have a headache, but it isn’t too bad, considering.
In the bathroom, there’s a note pointing to a bottle of aspirin. Tony.
His thoughtfulness touches me. Although he can be a little abrupt and moody, he’s a sweetheart underneath, trying to take care of people and do the right thing.
Grateful, I shake out two of the white pills and wash them down with a glass of water.
That done, I look at my reflection. My face isn’t too terrible. A little puffy, but okay. I shower and carefully put on makeup to make myself look as normal as possible before going down to the dining room. The aspirin starts kicking in, making me feel like I didn’t have that awful drink yesterday.
Tony is nowhere to be seen at breakfast. Only Harry’s at the table, his lean body clad in a gray T-shirt and cargo shorts. He yawns, then takes a huge swallow of his coffee. “Morning.”
“Hi.”
“How’d you like the party?”
I flinch as I take my seat, surprised he knows about the party. What else does he know? “Who told you I went?”
He gives me an odd look. “Uh, I asked if you wanted to go with me? Before practice yesterday? But you said you were going with Sue Ellen.”
Oh, right. I totally forgot. “It was okay.” I clear my throat, then grab a cup of coffee to give myself time. “A typical party.” I concentrate on sipping the dark, fresh brew, hoping Harry will get the hint.
But his clue radar must be malfunctioning this morning. “It was, wasn’t it? I thought Caleb would do better, but it sort of fizzled, especially toward the end… So blah…” He heaves a huge sigh. “By the way, did you see Tony there? He was looking for you.”
I almost spit the coffee all over the table. I swallow, then cough a couple of times to clear my throat. “Yeah… We, uh, ran into each other.”
“Oh, good. I was surprised to see him there. He said he wasn’t interested when I asked.”
“Where is he now?” Then I remember he must’ve stayed up pretty late. “Still sleeping?”
“Don’t think so. I heard him moving around in his room on my way down. Why?”
I want to see him. I want to thank him for yesterday, and for the aspirin, and get to know him better. Of my three Blackwood cousins, he’s the only one I don’t know, and the one people avoid discussing. He’s a fascinating mystery I want to solve to see what lies underneath. I can’t forget the way he played Schubert so perfectly, then used those same hands to unleash such violence at the party. Which is the real Tony?
“Just wondering if he wants to practice Schubert with me,” I lie. “He’s going to be down soon, right?”
“Doubt it. He probably already ate. He’s one of those early risers.” Harry scrunches his face in distaste.
Well, maybe he did and maybe he didn’t. Not everyone eats the second they get up. I linger over my French toast, drinking two glasses of grapefruit juice, until it becomes ridiculous. I go upstairs, then turn the opposite way at the top of the stairs to go to his room and knock loudly so Tony can’t fail to hear me, no matter how huge his room is. I count to five. No answer.
Where did he go?
After grabbing my music and phone, I run into Jonas on the way down. “Have you seen Tony?”
“Not recently,” he says.
“Did he have breakfast?”
“Yes.”
I look up at Jonas, hoping he’ll say more.
“Do you need something, Miss Ivy?”
I start to say no, but change my mind. “Is Tony home?”
