Chapter Four
For the second time this week I woke up hungover, on the floor. I was becoming a sad cliche and it was times like this that I was thankful I lived alone. The last thing I remember from the night before was sitting beside my bed, attempting to sketch when I had obviously passed out. My face was luckily unharmed after a restless night stretched out of the cheap carpet on my bedroom floor. Being down here also made it abundently clear that I needed to vacume under my bed more often, there is a rediculous amount of dust hidden there. I struggled to roll onto my back, not trusting the thumping in my head. Staring up at the sunlight on my bedroom ceiling, I am guessing that I have slept through my morning classes. It was not ideal but I would not have been in any state to show my face in public if I had by some miraculous chance woken up.
It took me about ten minutes to climb to my feet, my stomach feeling like it was on a boat in rough seas. Last nights Gin indulgence was hurting me and I only had myself to blame. I began to try to repiece my memories from last night, knowing that I had undoubtably done something else stupid besides drink myself into a stupor. I remembered hiding my phone in my laundry basket, a safe space I had decided at the time. After retrieving it from under a pair of socks that were well past their wash date, I was relieved to see that it was still switched off, meaning my alcohol impaired self had not tried again to call Sydney.
The phone came back to life and I had several messages from Jill and a voicemail from my father, which could not be good. My Father would not be calling with good news or just to say hi so I was dreading listening to whatever he had to offer. But on the otherhand, Jill's message would contain the details from Sydney's date, so that had the potential to drive me to the liquor cabinet. After careful deliberation, I decided it was better the devil you know, so I chose to listen to what my dear father had to say first.
"Adrian, I cannot actually believe you are busy so I am assuming you are avoiding this call. I will be in San Diego this weekend for business. I will be staying at the usual place, so if you can drag yourself away from your bevy of women, perhaps you will join me for lunch. I am interested in what is keeping you so busy that you are avoiding making any decisions that might better your life"
And with that, he hung up the phone. My father had never been one for sweet sentiment in person and his phone manner was no different. The idea if seeing him this weekend made my stomach churn even more so than it already was. I had no desire to break bread and make nice with the man who had verbally chastised me my entire life but I had been trying to get a message through to my mother ever since we had been sent to Palm Springs, with no luck. Perhaps if I met with him, I might actually be able to get some answers on how my mother is faring during her time incarcerated. I had contemplated visiting her in a spirit dream but it just seemed too inpersonal for our situation. Maybe it was also time to let my father know about how well I was doing here out west. I would not be able to clue him in on the mission and Jill's whereabouts but he might actually be impressed to know that I was in school and actually attending classes. My life progress might actully be enough to convince Daddy dearest to increase my lack of allowance. My only concern was actually getting to San Diego. I could probably get a bus or even ask Sonya for a lift but the idea of being stuck in a car with Sonya for that amount of time seemed a little overwhelming. She was well aware of my feelings for Sydney and I could not be sure that she would be able to keep quiet.
My only other option was to ask Sage for a lift. There is very little chance that she would agree to it, I would have to use every ounce of charm that I possessed. Speaking of Sydney, it was time to bite the bullet and find out if she was about to be happily married to young Brayden.
"Date went goo, they got along well. I asked what he was like and she said he was just like her but they just shook hands at the end of the night. No need for panic, I don't think they will be running off to Vegas anytime soon :)"
Jill sent another few messages with silly jokes, trying to put a smile on my face but the image of Sydney shaking hands at the end of the night was enough to almost clear my hangover. I suddenly had a new lease on life and everything was looking up. There was obviously no spark between this guy and Sage. If he is only shaking her hand, the guy is either gay or stupid. No man in their right mind would be dumb enought to not want to make a move on her. I checked the time and it was already well after two pm, meaning Sydeny would be driving Jill and co over to Clarence's soon for a feeding session. I rushed to shower and change before almost running out the door to catch the bus. I needed to speak to her about the San Diego trip and to see her reaction to my questioning her date. I am a great judge of character and I will be able to sense any affection she has for this guy through her aura.
The bus trip was relatively painless and the short walk was hot and sweaty. The afternoon sun was relentless, turning my face a light tinge of pink. I was out of breath by the time I reached Clarence's, from both the walk and the two cigarettes I puffed down on the way. I did not see Sage's car in the drive, so it was safe to assume I was first here. I let myself in, not bothering to knock. Dorothy greeted me and we went through to the kitchen so I could help myself to a vein in her neck. Once I had my fill of her fresh blood she offered to make me a snack and I made my way into the living room. I heard a car pull up in the drive and I was delighted to see Sydney's golden halo of hair walk up the porch steps. I was on the edge of my seat when they walked through the door, Eddie and Angeline rushing in to grab seats on the comfortable couch.
"You shook his hand?" I asked incredulously, unable to help myself. Sydney shot both Angeline and Castille a look of death, furious that they had told Jill, in turn telling me.
"Is nothing private around here?" she asked them, her eyes narrowing in on them. "No" Angeline said bluntly which drew a rare chuckle from Eddie. "Was it supposed to be a secret?" Eddie asked, momentarily worried that he had upset Sydney.
"No" she muttered softly, appearing more embaressed than angry at the situation. I am sure I am the last person in the world she wanted to be discussing this with but I was dying for details. Anything to keep her talking so I could try to get a read of her aura.
"Really? His hand?" I asked again. She only sighed in response and sunk deep into the over stuffed black leather chair. "Look, it just happened. Okay, you know what? Never mind, it's none of your business. Just let it go" she demanded but I could tell she knew I was not about to let that happen.
"With all that red hot passion, it's a wonder you guys can stay away from each other. Is there going to be a second date?" I asked jokingly, hoping to god the answer was no. Both Eddie and Angeline stared at Sydney, also eagerly waiting for her answer.
"Yes" she said, after pausing for what seemed like an eternity. "We're going on a, um, windmill tour later this week". You could have heard a pin drop in the room it fell so silent. A windmill tour? This guy was a serious dud, I wanted to fall asleep just hearing about the date this guy has planned.
"I'm going to assume that means he's flying you to Amsterdam on his private jet. If so, I'd like to come along. But not for the windmills". I had yet to travel to Amsterdam but from what I hear that city sounds like I could be seriously happy there.
"There's a huge windmill farm north of Palm Springs. It's one of the only ones in the world that does public tours" she said trying to justify their afternoon of boredom. "Wind energy is a powerful renewable resource that could have a huge impact on our country's future. It's a cool thing" she said, growing exasperated by our lack of enthusiasim.
"Cool? I see what you did there Sage. Pretty clever" I said with a smirk. I was a huge fan of puns but she had inadvertantly made one.
"It wasn't meant to be a-" she muttered back but was cut off by the sound of the living room door opening. Sonya, Clarence and Dimitri entered the room, caught up in conversation about Clarence's outlandish fears about security. He was constantly worrying about the locks of the windows and doors and he routinely had Dimitri check the latches to ensure they were not corrupted.
The conversation swayed to Sonya's wedding and I tried my best to engage and appear interested but all I wanted to do was ask Sydney about a ride down to San Diego to meet my dad. When conversation turned to our experiments, I had no choice but to actually pay attention to what was being spoken about. They discussed different experiments they still wanted to conduct, one of which involved testing the blood of both a restored Strigoi and a regular Dhampir. All this talk of drawing blood and experimenting on it was starting to make Sydney uncomfortable and I could see she was desperate to change the subject. Just then Jill walked in, her face glowing from her meal of fresh blood.
"Your turn Adrian" she said to me, not aware that I had already had my share today. I realised that this could be a perfect time to get to speak to Sydney about the drive. "Will you walk with me a sec, Sage?". She looked close to protesting so I had to put her mind to ease. "Don't worry, I'm not taking you to a feeding. I just want to ask you a quick question". I got to my feet and started to walk out of the room when she raised to her feet to join me. We had barely made it into the hallway when she muttered about not wanting to hear anymore of my witty comments on Brayden.
"My commentary is hilarious, not witty. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about" I said, coming to a halt in the hallway. I stopped short of my old room and took a deep breath. This was go time, I did not want to use a sob story to get my way. Sage respected honesty and logistics, so I had to be direct with her.
"So, it seems my old man's coming to San Diego on business next weekend". She was growing suspicious and she narrowed her eyes whilst crossing her arms. "He doesn't know why I'm here, or that I'm with Jill. He doesn't even know what city I am in. He just thinks I'm partying in California, up to no good as usual". My dad always assumed the worst in me so I expected this visit would not be a "suprise! I am proud of you" afternoon.
"Let me guess, you want to borrow my car?" she asked, giving her answer with her eyes.
"No way, I know better than that". And to be honest the thought to ask had never entered my mind. "Then what do you want?" she asked, suprised that I respected her love for that stupid car.
"I was hoping you would drive me". She groaned loudly and rolled her eyes at me. "Adrian, it takes two hours to get there" she whined to me.
"It's pretty much straight shot down the highway and I figured you'd drive a four hour round trip before giving up your car to someone else". I was willing to try every angle to get myself four hours alone in a car with her. She muttered to herself about that being true and I decided it was time to step it up a gear.
I took a step closer in to her. "Please, Sage. I know it's a lot to ask, so I'm not even going to pretend you'd benefit. I mean, you can spend the day in San Diego doing whatever you want. It's not the same as going to see solar panels or whatever with Brady, but I'd owe you- figuratively and literally. I'll pay you gas money".
"It's Brayden, and where in the world would you get gas money?". For the life of me I could never remember the kids name, there was something utterly unmemorable about it.
"I.. I'd cut back on things to come up with the extra money" I said, after hesitating a moment. I hated having to think twice about offering to pay for things but due to my current financial predicament, it was tough.
"Really? You'd give up drinking to see your dad?" she asked, not bothering to hide her suprise.
"Well, not permanently. That'd be rediculous. But maybe I could switch it up to something slightly cheaper for a while. Like...slushies. Do you know how much I love those? Cherry especially".
"Um no, those things are pure sugar" she said, shaking her head.
"Pure deliciousness, you mean. I haven't had a good one in ages" I said, trying to remember a simpler time when slushy flavours were my only concern.
"Your getting off topic" she pointed out. "Oh. Right. Well, whether I have to go on a slush-based diet or whatever, you'll get your money. And that's the other reason... I'm kind of hoping the old man might agree to up my income. You probably don't believe it, but I hate always borrowing from you. It's easy for my dad to to dodge my phone calls, but face-to-face? He can't escape. Plus he thinks it's more manly and respectable to ask for something directly. Classic Nathan Ivashkov honor". I was trying to bask the bitterness in my voice but I am pretty sure Sydney saw straight through it.
She studied me for a moment, her beautiful eyes searching mine. "Is that really what this is about? The money? You don't like him. There has to be something more here?" she asked slowly. She read me too well, knowing that I had multiple reasons for wanting to take the trip to see my father.
"The money's a big part of it. But I also need to talk to him about my mother. I need to know how she is, and he won't tell me about her. Honestly, I think he just wants to pretend it never happened- either for that reputation of his or maybe... maybe because it hurts him. I don't know, but like I said, he can't dodge if I'm right there". It was hard for me to admit that I was also seeking a tiny bit of approval from my dad as well but I could sense that Sydney had the same issues with her dad. "Plus. I don't know. It's stupid. But I thought... well maybe he'd be impressed that I was sticking to college this time. Probably not, though". I looked down, not wanting her to see how much it actually hurt that my father was constantly dissapointed in me.
Sydney took her time to respond, as if she was sympathising with me silently. "Why me? You could've asked Sonya or Dimitri to drive you. They probably would've even let you borrow their rental car".
A small smile crossed my face. "I don't know about that. And I think you know why I didn't want to risk being trapped in a car with our Russian friend. As for the rest... I don't know Sage. There's something about you... you don't always judge like the others. I mean you do. Your more judgemental than any of them in some ways but there's an honesty to it. I feel... comfortable around you I guess".
She paused, her mind ticking over. "Okay. I'll do it. Email me what time you need to leave".
I was utterly shocked. I had never in my wildest dreams actually imagined she would say yes. "Really?" I asked, worried she would change her mind.
"You gave me that whole pitch and didn't think I'd agree, did you? she asked whilst laughing. She was right, I honestly did not think she would agree to be alone with me for such a long period of time. Her aura gave nothing away during our conversation either. Her purple flecks trickled through her yellow aura, masking her true thoughts and feelings.
"No" I admitted. "I can't always tell with you. I cheat with people, you know. I'm good at reading faces, but I pick up a lot from auras and act like I just have amazing insight. I haven't learnt to toally understand humans, though. You've got the same colours, but different feel".
"What colour is mine?" she asked softly. She was never comfortable discussing my magic but this seemed like a safe topic.
"Yellow, of course" I answered quickly, as if I expected her to be aware what yellow stood for. "Of course?" she asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow.
"Smart, analytical types usually have yellow". I felt an overwhelming desire to both be honest with her and have some fun at the same time. "You've got a little purple here and there, though. That's what makes you interesting" I said with a mischevious smirk.
"What's purple mean?" she asked, and I felt it safer to avoid answering the question. "Gotta go Sage. Don't want to keep Dorothy waiting". I had already seen Dorothy but I now needed an escape plan.
"Come on. Tell me what purple is" she demanded, stepping closer towards me.
I turned the knob to the door, almost stepping inside my old room. "I will if you join us?".
"Adrian" she exclaimed. I laughed out loud and waltzed into the room, closing the door behind me. I needed a moment to myself to bask in the glory of what had just happened. Sydney had agreed to drive me to see my father, meaning she had to care for me just a little. It went above and beyond her call of duty. Four hours alone in a car with Sage, I may have just died and gone to heaven.
AN- ANOTHER ONE DAY. I HOPE EVERYONE LIKED THIS ONE. IT WAS ALWAYS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE CHAPTERS BECAUSE IT MENTIONS WHERE I LIVE, AMSTERDAM. I HOPE EVERYONE IS STILL ENJOYING READING IT. ANY CONSTRUCTIVE CRITISIMS OR IDEAS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME :)