he made his stunned appearance around the corner. He was leaving, but it didn’t look like he was happy about it.
“I’m going to walk him to the elevator,” I called when he was finally through the doorway.
I shut the door behind me and grasped his wrist with a shaking hand. I needed to act normal, act like everything was fine. Even though it wasn’t. I needed him to believe that it was.
“Hey thanks for the ride,” I tried to smile while I tugged him along to the elevator.
“No problem,” he answered slowly. “Hey, Ivy, is everything-“
My apartment door opened and Nix filled out the doorframe. He didn’t say anything, just watched us from the end of the hall. I slammed my finger into the down button as soon as I was in reach and released his wrist before Nix could make anything of it.
“I’ll see you tomorrow at school,” I said in way of goodbye.
“Sure, Red,” Ryder answered, finally taking the hint. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
And then he stepped into the elevator and was gone.
A breath of relief whooshed out of me and I felt like I could finally turn back and face Nix.
“One boy at a time, Ivy. You know the rules,” Nix scolded before I could even get through the door.
“He’s not…. I swear, it was just a ride,” I promised. My voice was shaky, my eyes unable to meet his. Which wasn’t fair since it was just a ride on his part. I hated that it felt like more to me.
The door closed with a bang behind Nix and startled me. I ignored the way my heart hammered in my chest and the goose bumps rose on my arms. I went back to my place at the table and sipped from my water as if nothing happened.
“Ivy,” my mother started.
“Mom, I haven’t even broken up with Chase yet, please don’t start,” I begged.
“Is he always like that?” she asked, ignoring my statement.
“What do you mean?” I asked innocently.
“Is he always so composed?” she clarified calmly but I watched her eyes dart nervously to Nix.
“He’s really shy,” I lied. I wasn’t sure how else to explain his lack of interest. They could never know about his immunity from the curse. Never. Better to play up my mother’s insecurities anyway. “He’s also pretty oblivious. The first time I met him he didn’t see me until he crashed into me.”
“Crashed?” Nix asked noticing my word choice.
“With two cups of coffee,” I smiled weakly. Please buy it. Please buy it. Please buy it.
“That’s not what we’re here to talk about anyway,” my mother’s tone was sharp and to the point. “We want to know what Smith took you into his office for the other day. And before you deny it, I know you went in there. I watched him close the door.”
I mashed my lips together, sliding them back and forth while biting painfully into them until they felt bruised and swollen. I knew these questions were coming, I just didn’t think she actually saw us go in there. She was way too sneaky.
“He had this book on depression he wanted to give to me,” I replied carefully, slowly. I had practiced this answer in my head a hundred times since Sunday. This interrogation was inevitable, but it didn’t make me any less nervous. “But I said no thank you. I didn’t want him to think my condition was worse than it is. He was just worried about me.”
Nix sat thoughtfully for a few moments while my explanation digested between us all. His dark eyes narrowed in thought and his sculpted eyebrows pulled together. My mother sat demurely to my left, swirling her martini nervously. She tried desperately to wait for Nix to speak, to respond first, but her own self-doubt couldn’t hold her back.
“He was worried about you?” she echoed in the same casual tone I used. “Worried that you were still battling with depression? How sweet.”
“What else did he say, Ivy,” Nix demanded, knowing there was more.
“He thought maybe,” I paused. This was dangerous ground. But what else could I do? “He thought maybe mom had something to do with why I was sent away.”
I cleared my throat while that grenade settled.
“Smith,” Nix growled.
“Damn that man,” my mother echoed.
Like Smith was the villain. She married him to get knocked up, take all his money and then watch him die. And Nix orchestrated the entire plot.
“What did you tell him, Ivy?” Nix asked, his eyes flickering up to mine. They