Caden’s POV

I’d just dropped Alice off at the train station; I’d wanted to go back home with her but I had too much to do here for the Academy. I couldn’t believe it’s been barely ten minutes since she got on that train and I already wanted her back!

I missed her, but more than that, I was worried for her.

The source of my troubles was easy to guess: Elanor. I really felt bad about Alice having to go back and deal with her mother on her own.

She isn’t alone, I tried to reassure myself. She’s got her aunts there.

True, but I wasn’t there.

She needed me, even though she’d said this way she’d only be worried about her problems with Elanor and wouldn’t have to stress over me looking like I wanted to throw her mother out the window and vice versa.

At least Chess was also there. I knew my little Alice could not wait to see him. To be honest, I missed him too. I’d given him to Alice as a present but now I saw him as our cat and not hers. If they allowed animals in the building we lived in now, we would’ve brought the furry rascal with us.

“One good thing about not going home,” I muttered to myself as I walked towards the apartment. “At least I could postpone meeting Gavin.”

My father was back in my hometown and I had not forgotten my promise to give him another chance. And how could I not remember that?

Alice, Cillian and Logan were always there to remind me.

I stopped by the set-out of a crafts shop, a hand-made necklaces catching my attention. It was simple, made of wire in the shape of a tree and ornamented with beads in different shades of green that served as leaves; one of the hues reminded me of Alice’s eyes. I moved to the shop’s glass door, vaguely noting the reflection of the middle-aged man that leaned on an electric post at the opposite side of the street. My mind was occupied with thoughts of having Alice back and giving her the present I was about to purchase. To my surprise and relief it was not expensive at all. The lady at the counter, who I believe was also the owner, placed the trinket in a light green box with a darker ribbon and I walked out of her store, wishing her a good day.

As I passed by another glass window, I realized the man pushed himself off the post and was walking almost at level with me but still at the other side of the street.

Was he following me?

I didn’t want to turn around in case he got suspicious but I used every opportunity I got to examine his reflection in the windows of the buildings. The problem was that no matter how hard I tried, I could not make out his face so I had no clue who he was or what he could want with me.

I shouldn’t go home now, I told myself. If this guy is really stalking me, then I shouldn’t let him know where I live. I could lose him at the cemetery… No, that’s too far away. I wouldn’t be patient enough to do that; I’d turn around and face him. Or maybe I should do exactly that? Show this creep that he should stay away? No, if I get in a fight with him, I could lose. Or even if I am winning, someone could interrupt us before I get the chance to ask him what the fuck is his reason to follow me. Best chance will be to try to make him lose track of me somewhere crowded; that way I can sneak up near him and maybe I’ll be able to recognize him.

Yes, I had to resolve to that.

I turned left instead of to the direction of the apartment building and headed to the park opposite Alfredo’s. I knew the place well; sometimes after we ordered pizza, we would go eat it in the park. It was Friday early evening and that was not working in my favor: it was too late for stay-at-home moms or babysitters to fill part of the park with the kids they were watching and it was too early for young people to hang out with their friends. That meant there wasn’t a big crowd to get lost amongst.

I made a turn to the part of the park that had a playground. I maneuvered between the different climbing frames but that guy was still on my tail. And then finally, a stroke of luck: a group of teenagers was heading my way; a very large group.

I couldn’t help but grin as I mixed with the crown then hid behind one sturdy tree; the guy had stopped in place, tilting his head up to look at the swarm of people that I’d disappeared into.

Idiot, I thought, I’m no longer amongst them.

Now all I had to do was get closer to him without him noticing…

What?

He was leaving?

He’d spend just a few seconds looking for me and then he left.

That did not make sense. If he was following me, he’d keep searching for me, right?

Had I been imagining all this?

Maybe it was all a coincidence and he was coming here in the first place.

The man, now at the other end of the park, crossed the street and entered Alfredo’s.

Caden, you paranoid fool, the dude just wanted some pizza!

But why did I have this feeling that I’d seen him before? There was just something familiar in the way he walked…

Nah, I stuck my hand into my pocket, running my fingers over the ribbon to my girlfriend’s present. It was just a coincidence, Caden. No need to worry over it; you were probably stressed about Alice.

I resumed walking to the apartment. But no matter how hard I attempted to convince myself that guy had not been stalking me, I kept glancing over my shoulder. And although there was no one there, the feeling that something bad was already happening did not leave me even when I was in the safety of our apartment.

*****

Alice’s POV

“Do you like it?” Aunt Flora inquired.

My fingers were still going up and down over the smooth silky texture of the fabric she was holding. The dress was green – what a surprise! – beginning with a V-neck on the top and ending with lace at the bottom. I estimated it would reach my knees if I were to put it on.

“It’s very beautiful,” I remarked, examining my Aunt’s creation. I especially liked the mid section. The fabric there was harder to the touch than the rest and was the same shade of brown as my hair; it was meant to imitate a corset and even had green ribbons which you could use to tighten the dress at the waist.

“Go on, put it on then,” my aunt encouraged and I took off my tank top and jeans to dress in the clothing I were to wear at her wedding. Once the fabric covered my body, I approached the full-length mirror that was in her bedroom. I’d been right: it came just above my knees. I tightened the ribbon strings on the fake corset myself as they were at the front and it hugged my body perfectly.

“You’ve done a wonderful job, Auntie,” I commented. “Everything is as it should be: the design is beautiful, the fabric and colors are lovely… You even got the measurements for the middle part correct,” I noted, looking at the brown section which started right below my chest and ended at the top of my hips.

“Well, it’s not the first dress I make for you, dear,” she said to me then turned to her sister: “What do you think, Rose?”

“Beautiful,” my other aunt replied. “Both the dress and our girl.”

I smiled at them both then turned back to the mirror. I couldn’t wait to show this outfit to Beth; she’d always said that wearing more skirts and dresses would do me good.

“So you don’t want anything changed?” Aunt Flora asked.

“No, it should stay exactly how it is. Now you can concentrate on making your own dress; you are the bride after all, you can’t show up in jeans and t-shirt.”

“Oh, I would marry Will in everything, even naked,” she stated without thinking, making me and her sister laugh. I think even Chess cracked a smile from his spot on the bed.

“I’m sure William would appreciate that, Aunty, but Azalea is probably going to have a heart attack if you venture to do that,” I said to a now blushing Flora.

“Not to mention your mother’s reaction, Alice,” Rose added and the smile was off my face. I turned away from them, trying to hide the frown that had appeared at the mention of Elanor.

“I better take off this dress before I get a stain on it or something,” I murmured, shedding the clothing off. I handed it back to Flora whose cheeks were still slightly tinted pink.

“Come on, Chess,” I called, exiting my aunts’ bedroom to go into my own. As soon as I was in, I slumped on my bed with a groan. Chess climbed on top of my chest and cuddled into a circle before he started purring.

“You have it really easy, you know?” I asked him, whilst scratching him behind the ears. “All you do is sleep, eat and stalk the birds in our garden. You know nothing of responsibilities.”

He tilted his head up and looked at me with reproach.

What?

He really had no responsibilities at all.

Perhaps he thought it was difficult to be a cat. Perhaps he thought it was tiresome to plan where to take your next nap or which birds to chase and which to ignore, but he didn’t have to go to school or to work, he didn’t have to keep his grades up or pay any bills, he didn’t have to deal with his mother…

Elanor had greeted me almost cheerfully when I’d arrived home about an hour ago but she was forcing herself to do so.

I guess I should give her some brownie points for that, I thought. At least she’s trying.

I wondered when my aunts would discreetly excuse themselves and leave the two of us on our own so that we could talk. Maybe it would be after dinner. I could see it now: we would have just finished eating when Aunt Azalea would tell us that she’d do the dishes and that we should go into the living room so that we wouldn’t get in her way. Once there, Flora will say that she has to work on her dress and she’d head upstairs. Then Rose will announce she has to do some research for her next book and she’d follow her sister, leaving Elanor and me alone.

“Yep, I vote with both hands that that’s what they’d do,” I said aloud again to my pet who had placed his head on my chest again and resumed purring. “I wish Caden was here; then I’d have someone to comfort me after I deal with Elanor.”

Chess’s offended look was evident in his eyes. It was almost as if he was saying ‘I’m here to I’ll comfort you; don’t I count for someone?’

I smiled at him and kissed his forehead.

“Sometimes I really think you can understand every word I say, do you know that?”

“Alissa?” Aunt Azalea was to the other side of my door. “Come down, dinner is ready.”

“And so it begins,” I muttered, taking Cheshire off my chest. He jumped to the floor and stretched while yawning.

“I bet you a can of tuna that not ten minutes after dinner I’d be alone with Elanor. What you don’t want to take that bet? Who could blame you, you’d probably lose,” I muttered, climbing down the stairs and going into the kitchen.

“Your doing?” I asked Aunt Flora, looking at the perfectly roasted beef with baked potatoes and carrots, the scent of spices from our garden mixing ideally with the aroma of the meat.

“You know I enjoy cooking,” she replied with a shrug.

“Maybe you should give Beth and Sky some lessons on that,” I remarked, sitting at a chair; Chess headed for his bow on the floor which already held his portion of the evening meal.

“Catherine told me the boy is doing fine with soups,” she replied, taking a seat next to me.

“Yeah, but only with that; everything else he’d tried to cook was a disaster. He is getting better though,” I added, thinking how his last attempt at making steaks didn’t end with a visit from a fire brigade and an angry Mr. Andrews; that was the first and only time I’d seen that man frown.

One bite into the succulent meal and I was already feeling some of the tension lift off of me. A little bit of chitchat and I started dreaming that maybe I’d be off the hook tonight; maybe I would have to face Elanor tomorrow instead. I was tired from the journey and the classes I’d had today, a little respite would do me good.

“I’ll tidy up here,” Azalea insisted once we were done eating. “You go sit in the living room.”

An argument before going to bed it is then!

“I have to work on my book,” Rose stated, as we entered the hallway that separated the kitchen from the living room.

“And I on my dress,” Flora muttered, following her sister upstairs.

Seriously?

They weren’t even going to wait until we were in the living room before they gave us their excuses?

Even Chess had stayed in the kitchen.

I reluctantly followed my mother into the living room and tried to make myself comfortable on one of the sofas. Elanor sat on that which was opposite mine and subconsciously checked her hair. Why she did that when she never let a strand fall out of her tight bun?

Perhaps she was just as nervous as I was.

“So,” she began, placing one leg over the other, “shall we talk?”

*****

A/N: So who is that guy who was following Cade?

Any ideas about that?

And what about Alice and Elanor?

Do you think they’d finally settle things between them?

Tell me what you think and vote if you enjoyed the chapter :)

xo,

CatMint5