“I tried.” She groaned, folding her arms across her chest and pouted.
“And?” I attempted pulling more information out of her. She hated talking about her mother unless it involved something she’d just bought in an attempt to buy her daughter’s affections or get back into Liz’s good graces. Sadly, that tactic always seemed to do the trick.
“She and her boy-toy are going on vacation. She was more than happy to hear that I’d be your problem while they’re gone.”
“She didn’t say it like that, did she?” Liz’s mom might not have been mother of the year, but she definitely wasn’t mean. Unless, of course, this was new behavior inspired by this new “love” interest.
“She got the point across… let’s just leave it at that.”
Liz brushed passed me and walked out the front door without looking back. Had things really been that bad for her here since I’d left, or had they always been like that? Maybe I was always too wrapped up in my own problems and loneliness that I never saw it. Again, just another prime example of me not focusing on the feelings of those around me.
I stepped out into the predawn night and, with one sad gaze behind me, I shut the door to Liz’s house. I might not ever come back to this house again, or even mine. To be honest, I may very well never see this city again. I had no clue what the future had in store for me, but if the past was any evidence then I had many dark days ahead. In some small way I felt like I was locking up a bit of the Claire I used to be, the little pieces that I clung to as if they were keeping me from turning into something else. Something dark.
The back door sat open for me, and I slid in beside Liz. She’d already ordered Arrick to turn on the radio, and one of her favorite tunes was blaring through the speakers. I was exhausted, but somehow the thumping of the beat drowned out my thoughts and allowed me to just enjoy the moment. My best friend was coming with me to Naos, and I wouldn’t have to worry about her safety. Even though Naos had been attacked, it still felt like the safest place in the world to me. Maybe because my real family was there, or maybe because it was the only place I’d ever felt like I truly belonged. Either way, I’d be able to keep a watchful eye on her and everyone else I cared about.
I couldn’t remember the last time I listened to music. Liz and I sang off key at the top of our lungs on the ride back to the palace. She might have been wild, outspoken and a bit dramatic, but that was everything I loved about Liz. She ripped apart my buttoned-up attitude, and to put it as she would; she made sure I didn’t get my panties in a wad. That was her favorite term, not mine, but she did have a point. I rarely let loose, but with Liz around it would be hard not to.
Arrick’s eyes captured mine the whole ride home. Every time I caught him glancing at me through the rear view mirror I blushed with embarrassment. He winked, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as he kept with the beat. I felt so incredibly normal it was almost intoxicating. We were just three people, driving in a car and listening to music. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d done anything so normal.
I was relieved to see that there weren’t any news vans or reporters in sight when we pulled through the gates of the palace. It was nearly dawn and everyone was getting ready to sleep. I was fighting the urge in order to stay awake myself. The high of reconnecting with Liz had faded and we all sat in comfortable, yet exhausted silence as Arrick clicked open the garage door and we pulled in.
Nearly all the cars that had once filled the expansive space were now gone. Yet, the smell of grease and rubber still filled the air. It was mixed with fresh paint and cut wood. The repairs from the damage that happened on the night I had left the palace, the night Ana tried to kill me, were just being finished. It would take a lot longer to repair what Baal and his monsters had