Chapter 40
My heartbeat hadn’t evened out since my conversation with Aunt Bev. It continued beating erratically inside my chest as I thought about what she had told me. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that my sole purpose in life was to hunt down a hybrid and kill him. I shuddered at the mere thought of it all.
Aunt Bev was definitely not stupid. When I told her I was going to Luna’s to talk with chief Okpik, she had insisted on driving me. Once we pulled out of the garage, I was perfectly okay with it, because the sun was bright and I tired quickly.
“Gen!” I had fallen asleep on the way and woke up to Luna shouting my name.
I cracked my eyes open, and peaked over the top of my sunglasses. The sun had already crested and was now on its downward descent. I waved my hand and smiled thinly, but let it fall away.
“I’m going to see Mary. Just let me know when you’re ready to go,” Aunt Bev smiled, and patted my hand, before she climbed down from the driver’s seat of my Jeep.
I raised my arms over my head and arched my back into a much needed stretch. Luna, being the impatient girl that she is, snatched open my door and pulled me out before I even finished stretching.
“Dang, girly, you sure know how to ruin a good thing, don’t you?” I teased, and she smiled brightly.
Naturally, she looped her arm through mine, and we were headed up the steps when Joseph opened the door. I briefly hesitated, glancing up at him, but then quickly fell in step with Luna again, hoping he didn’t notice how just the sight of him affected me now. He pushed open the screen and held it while Luna and I stepped over the threshold, and even though I didn’t look directly at him, I kept taking sidelong glances as we passed.
Luna dropped onto the couch, but I didn’t. “Aren’t you going to sit down?” She asked earnestly. Joseph had closed the door and sat down on the couch opposite Luna. I could feel his eyes on me, and a hot flush suddenly went over me.
“Can we go to your room first?” I asked in a whisper while standing with my back to Joseph. I subtly nudged my head in the direction of her room.
She looked confused at first, but after I repeated it a couple of times, she finally caught on and jumped up. “Come on, Gen, let’s go to my room,” she said a little too loud, which made it extremely obvious.
To embarrass me even more, she grinned and winked at me right where he could see her. If I didn’t know better I’d swear Luna had been born a blonde. Right then, I wished I was invisible.
When we got inside her room I closed the door before turning to face her. She must have seen the embarrassment on my face, because she asked me what was wrong. I placed my hands on her throat and pretended like I was choking her. “Could you have been more obvious, Luna?” I asked, and smiled a little.
“What did I do?” she asked. When she failed to smile, I knew she hadn’t realized what she’d done.
“Nothing. Never mind,” I said through a giggle, and flopped down across her bed.
I lay on my stomach with my chin on my hands, and Luna joined me, lying in the same position.
“What’s on your mind, Gen?” She asked, looking at me.
At first, I just shook my head, but the more I thought about it the more I knew I had to confide in someone. Luna had proved herself to be such a great friend, she even let me keep secrets when I needed to, never questioning my reasoning.“Did Joseph tell you what happened earlier?”
She cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brow. “What do you mean? When did you see Joseph?”
“He came over earlier…and he told me all about William.” I tried to keep my tone light, but it was a struggle. We both sat upright, and by her expression, I felt sure even she could see my pain. “I…I almost killed Joseph.” My voice broke up and I felt a tear run down my cheek before I lowered my eyes.
Luna threw her hand over her mouth and gasped. “Oh my God, Gen! Why? Why would you do that?” She asked, her eyes welled with tears.
“I don’t know. I swear I didn’t mean to. He was just saying all these hurtful things about William I didn’t want to hear, and I guess I just lost it. Thank God my aunt came home in time to stop me.”
Luna did the opposite of what I expected. She threw her arms around my neck and hugged me, trying to comfort me instead of the other way around. She really was an amazing person, and I felt so lucky to have met her.
I gently pulled back. “I haven’t told you the craziest part yet. Your brother wasn’t even mad afterward. He came up to my room and tried to comfort me.”
She smiled through her tears. “Yeah, he is pretty amazing, isn’t he.”
“Yeah, he is, but I was so embarrassed and ashamed, I made him leave.” I dropped my eyes toward the floor and fidgeted with my nails.
“Did you come over here just to tell me that?” Luna walked to the window and opened the curtains. The sun’s rays hit me in the face, and I immediately shrank back.
“Luna, please close the curtains. I can’t take the sunlight. I swear it instantly makes me grow tired now. Did it do the same to you guys when you first changed?” I lay back on the bed, unable to sit up any longer.
She hurried and closed them. “No, Gen…it didn’t,” she uttered. “I’m not so sure this has anything to do with becoming an Adlet.” She paused for a minute, thinking. “Maybe you should talk to my grandfather.”
“Maybe you’re right. Is he here?” I asked, already starting to feel better.
After I felt my strength coming back, I sat up. It was strange how quick the sun could drain my energy, but even more strange how incredibly fast I would get it back if I was able to avoid the sun for just a few minutes.
“He’s somewhere on the reservation. Wait here, I’ll go ask my mom if she knows where he is.” She stopped at a makeup mirror sitting on her dressing table, and wiped the mascara streaks from underneath her eyes before leaving the room.
After only a brief minute her door swung open. My back was facing the door. “That was quick. Did you find him?” I asked as I turned around and spotted Joseph. My heart immediately fluttered, and a nervous pit grew in my stomach.
“I didn’t know I was lost,” he said smiling warmly at me.
I lowered my eyes and smiled sheepishly. “Not you, silly. Your grandfather,” I said, feeling a bit too happy to see him. He had this way of making me smile even when I didn’t want to.
“Oh? It must be serious if you’re thinking of involving my grandfather.” He tried to look all serious, but it quickly melted into a laugh.
“Don’t say that. He really scares me.” My smiled started to fade, and I’m sure Joseph saw it when I raked my hair away from my face. I knew the answer to my next question the minute I asked Joseph. “Can you read my mind, too?” I asked sincerely.
He thought about it for a while before answering. “I was wondering when you were going to ask me.” He tried to smile, but it fell away. “No…for some reason I can’t. I have met a few people in my life I couldn’t read, and you’re one of them.”
“I believe you,” I said earnestly. For some reason I trusted Joseph, and when he said he couldn’t read my mind I believed him. Did that mean I was a good judge of character? No, it didn’t. After all, I had trusted William with my life and look where that got me. Just thinking about William saddened me. Even after what Joseph had told me, I still yearned for William, for his gentle touch, his soft kisses, and his sexy smile. But, that was a part of my life I might have to let go at some point…or would I ever be able to.