Page 115 of Betrayed in Blood
“How’s your mother and April?”
“Mom seems back to her old self, but I don’t think she’s sleeping well.”
“She’s been through a trauma. It won’t last long. Is she still seeing a healer?”
“Yes. The one at Oasis is more personable than Madame Saldano.”
“Who isn’t?”
I laughed because my first thought was of Simone.
“April is another story.” I took a long sip of the coffee, ignoring Simone’s gaze but knowing her truth meter was fully engaged. “I think she’s better, or at least communicative. She hates my guts but is pleasant with everyone else. She occasionally asks about Jasper. I think she really had feelings for him. Or maybe it’s remnants of the mesmerizing.”
“Until she’s brought out of that control, assuming she can be, you’ll never know for sure. Neither will she.” Simone shrugged. “Perhaps that’s alright. If she considers it a lost love, that might be easier than the truth.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way. Maybe so.”
“So, why are you back? I’m not scheduled to return to Oasis for another week. Devon insists I wait for Madame Saldano to release me.”
“Maybe that’s for the best.” When she lifted her brow, I continued, “Devon tried to rush past his mental fugue, ignoring Madame Saldano’s assessment that it would go away once his brain was fully healed. She seems to know something about head injuries, and she did bring me out of my psychic coma.”
Simone eyed me for a long moment before turning away.
I bit my lower lip, unsure if I should take the next step since Simone seemed fine with ignoring her injury. “I was thinking of starting Tai chi again with a build-up to kung fu. I could use a partner since Ginger isn’t here.”
“I knew it.”
“What?” There hadn’t been an easy way to broach it, so I should have known I wouldn’t have slipped anything by her. But I decided to play dumb for as long as I could.
“Devon told you about my coordination issues. Do you think I didn’t hear you sneak up to look in on me? An elephant would have been more quiet.”
I bristled. Yeah, I suspected she might have heard me. But I was quieter than an elephant. I went with retaliation.
“I was planning on bursting in and forcing you to run laps for every fall you took. If I remember right, that was your solution when I had difficulties with the wall.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
I refused to look away and held her stare. “Because I know how difficult it was for Devon to admit to the fugue. And I know how I’d feel if I was in your shoes with no control over my body.”
We stared at each other for a full minute before she turned away.
“I don’t think I can do Tai chi. My left leg is better, but my right leg…” She moved her hand back and forth over the water, creating a ripple and not finishing the sentence.
“That’s the reason for Tai chi. It will be difficult at first. So what if it takes time to get past the first couple of forms. The point isn’t quantity but the quality of each movement.”
“I don’t know who’s worst—you or Sergi.”
“Oh, it’s Sergi. It’s always Sergi.”
Simone rolled her head back and laughed out loud. “If you tell anyone I said it, I’ll deny it, but it’s good to have you back.”
I leftSimone in the hot tub and stepped into my bedroom, stopping at the threshold to take a deep breath of the floral arrangement on the dresser. Roses with a variety of annuals. Greta’s little welcome. It was so good to be home. As expected, my duffel was next to the dresser. I ignored it and began stripping as I shuffled to the bed.
I kicked off my shoes and slid my pants off. In tank top and panties, I crawled across the bed to the pillow and crashed. I missed this bed. At Oasis, Lucas had my old room prepared, but when I spoke to Devon that evening, he insisted I stay in his room. At first, I balked, but after the first night, with his scent lingering in the room, I wouldn’t stay anywhere else. And each night, I stared down at the garden where so many of our shared dreams took place.
I smelled him now. A scent that reminded me of fall nights in front of a fire—cinnamon and cloves. It was so strong I could almost reach out and touch him.
“Cressa.”
