By the time Eliza awoke, the hunt was over. Aaron had his IAC fully up and operational and was sitting on her couch, answering messages and monitoring the newsfeed. As much as he wanted to go home, he knew he couldn't do that. So, he sat and waited for her to make her way into the living room, not sure where they would go from there.
"Hey," she said yawning. She was wearing only a T-shirt which hit at the top of her thighs, her hair still disheveled, clearly still groggy. "Working away as usual?" she asked with a coy smile.
He glanced in her direction. With the return of his composure had also come the realization that he had given into her solely because of her special qualities. He was thinking more clearly now, and logic was reminding him that he was not interested in Eliza. Nevertheless, she clearly still had strong feelings for him, and he was not one to intentionally trample on the heart of what could easily be considered an innocent bystander. Despite Cadence's accusations, it was not Eliza who had lied to him. On the contrary, she was one of the few people who had been bold enough to tell him the truth.
"I am working," he replied, mustering a small smile. "You feel better?" he asked as she plopped down beside him on the couch.
A broad smile filled her face. "I feel remarkable," she said raising her eyebrows. "I'm ecstatic that we are finally back together," she added, looping her arm through his. "You see, baby, sometimes it takes walking through the fire to know just how good we've got it, you know?"
Aaron wasn't sure how to reply to that. Obviously, she saw them as a couple again already. "It's been a really...crazy day," he finally remarked.
"Mmm," she agreed, sliding her hand down into his. "Why don't you come back to bed, and I'll make it a little saner," she coaxed, a shy smile playing at the corners of her mouth.
"Maybe later," Aaron said, as a new message popped up regarding the devastation in the Caribbean. "I need to see what's going on with Jack and Giovani," he pulled his hand away from her and stood. "In fact, I need to go back to my apartment so I can use my laptop."
Eliza pouted. "Can't that wait?"
"I'm afraid not," he replied, talking to her while communicating with several Hunters stationed along the Caribbean coast. "Body count is rising, Eliza. I need to get on this."
She stood, making no attempt to pull down the T-shirt that was creeping up her thighs. "You're not trying to avoid me, are you?" she asked as she slid her hands up his chest, her mouth just inches from his.
"No," he replied, trying not to meet her eyes.
"Good," she replied, sliding her tongue into his mouth. Through the IAC she added, "Because now that I have you back, I'm never going to let you go."
* * *
It should have taken them about two hours to get from LIGHTS to Cadence's parents’ house but with Elliott driving, they were there in just over an hour. After heading back to LIGHTS, tossing together a bag, and heading out, it was still almost 3:00 AM before they pulled up in front of the familiar two-story structure. Cadence had fallen asleep in the backseat, and Elliott was able to pick her up without fully waking her and carry her inside. He had heard her crying earlier and knew she had to be emotionally exhausted.
He was able to get into the house without any difficulty and placed her gently on the couch in the living room, grabbing her mother's throw and putting it on top of her. She had changed out of her hunting clothes and was at least wearing something semi-comfortable. He slipped her shoes off of her in the light of the dimly glowing Christmas tree that stood guard next to the bay window across the room, and then he plopped down in her father's chair, the exhaustion catching up with him as well. He hadn't slept in weeks, but as he reflected on the unbelievable events of the day, he slowly drifted off.
A few hours later, they both awoke to stifled shrieks of glee from Cassidy. She had made her way down the stairs expecting to see only Christmas presents but had found something much more valuable. Her sister had made it home for Christmas after all. "I'm sorry," Cassidy said, watching Cadence shoot up, survey the room, and then wipe absently at her eyes. "I didn't mean to wake you up. I just didn't know you were coming."
Cadence checked the time on her IAC. "I see you haven't outgrown getting up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning," she said yawning.
"Nope! I had to see what Santa brought me," Cassidy replied winking.
"You believe in Santa?" Elliott asked stretching.
"You never know," Cassidy replied, crossing the room and flinging herself into his open arms.
"That's true," Elliott agreed, smiling at the sweet girl he was holding.
"Hey, where's my hug?" Cadence asked a bit dejected.
The younger sister laughed and pounced on Cadence, giving her a big squeeze and a sloppy kiss on the cheek. "I am so glad you're here! You missed everything last night."
"I know," Cadence said sadly as Cassidy slid off of her legs and sat down next to her. "I should have been here. I'm sorry."
"That's okay," Cassidy smiled. It occurred to her exactly why it was that Cadence wasn't supposed to be able to make it home. "Where's Aaron?" she asked.
Cadence glanced at Elliott who gave her an empathetic little smile. "With Eliza," Cadence admitted, turning back to her sister.
"Huh?" Cassidy asked. "The girl with the purple hair? Really?"
"Yep," Cadence admitted, holding back her tears for the sake of her sister.
"Well, that's stupid," Cassidy blurted. However, the fact that Elliott was there instead made her very happy, and she couldn't help but mentally give Team Elliott a tally mark. "Screw him," she said. "Totally not worth it."
Cadence was a little shocked at her sister's choice of words since she rarely heard her use any language that strong, but she couldn't help but chuckle. "Indeed," she said. "Screw him, indeed."
Despite Cadence's mood, it was a wonderful holiday. Her parents had been ecstatic to see both Cadence and Elliott. Grandma Janette had made it down in time for Christmas dinner. There had been presents and caroling, and it turned out to be one of the most festive holidays Cadence had ever experienced. They had even played a few board games, and Elliott got to see firsthand just how ruthless Cadence was when it came to Monopoly. It became clear that Vampires and renters alike should fear the brown-haired beauty.
That evening, Cadence was helping her mom load the dishwasher when Liz finally decided to ask the question she'd been longing to voice all day long. "So, what happened, darling?"
Cadence was in the middle of placing a plate in the bottom rack of the washer and waited until it was in position before she turned back to address her mother. "He thinks I lied to him. He doesn't trust me anymore."
Liz seemed to consider the response, continuing to rinse the plates and hand them over to her daughter. "Did you?" she finally asked, quietly.
"Not exactly," Cadence explained. "I omitted some information that he found to be pertinent. I still disagree. But it doesn't matter now. He's with Eliza."
Liz looked at Cadence in shock. "Already?"
Cadence nodded, taking the last plate from her mom and putting it in the dishwasher. "She has some sort of superpower of persuasion over men, I guess," she added.
Leaning back against the sink, Liz sighed, watching Cadence put the soap in the machine and turn it on. "If you don't mind me asking, what is it he thinks you lied about?"
Cadence thought for a second. It was all so complicated, and it really didn't matter anymore. Finally, she said, "Christian kissed me a few weeks ago. Aaron found out. Eliza told him. She was trying to get back together with him all along, Mom. You were right; I should have listened to you."
Liz was wiping her hands on a dishtowel, clearly deep in thought. "Well, at least you didn't tell him you loved him, darling," she said, hoping to point out something positive.
Cadence looked down at the ground. "I did, Mom."
"What?" Liz said, finding herself in disbelief again.
"By the time you warned me not to, it was already too late."
"Oh, well, honey, that's the problem," Liz replied, resting her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "Baby, I'm so sorry."
Cadence shook her head. "Mom, that's not why. I told you, he said he couldn't trust me...."
"Darling," Liz interrupted, brushing the hair out of Cadence's eyes, "it doesn't matter what he said. He got scared. That doesn't mean that he doesn't love you, too; it just means he doesn't know how to handle it."
Shaking her head, Cadence said, "Mom, he doesn't love me. If he loved me, he would never do something like this to me."
Liz pulled her in and wrapped her arms around her. "Maybe not, sweetheart, and I don't want to give you false hope, but I don't think this is over yet."
"Oh, it's over," Cadence assured her, the tears stinging her eyes again. "I'm quite certain that it's over."