I turn to grab the last thing out of my bag when I realize that it's my Shapeshifter book. I thumb through the pages and pull out Jupiter's note. I place the book on my shelf and wander down into the kitchen. Kia and Victor are sitting at the round kitchen table looking over a magazine. Kia looks up when I walk in and she smiles. "How are you settling in?" she asks. I give her a small smile. "Pretty good. Um, do you mind if I call two friends? I told them I would once I got here."
Kia says it's ok and tells me that the phone's in the living room. I go in and find Alexander lounging on the couch reading a thick paperback. The phone was on the arm of the couch near his head and I was a little nervous to take it. "The phone?" Alexander asks. He lifts a hand off his book and reaches behind him to pass me the phone. I thank him and take it, but he doesn't say anything else.
I dial Xavier's number as I go back up to my room. It rings once and then Xavier's shouting in my ear. "Carmen! Why are you in Las Vegas?! How did that happen?! I've been freaked out of my mind since I got your note! And your bike! What did you do to it?! Who brought it here?!" I let him continue on with his questions until he stops his breathing frantic. "Xavier," I say softly. "Calm down." I can't believe that I'm telling him that. "Xavier?" I ask.
Xavier takes a breath and then goes silent. "Everything's fine," I say. "My friend Jupiter dropped off the stuff at your house. My bike splashed through a bunch of mud." I answer all his questions and then tell him what happened between leaving his house and arriving in Las Vegas. When I'm done he's as silent as he was when I started. "Xavier?" I ask. "Yeah?" he replies. "Are you ok?" I ask. I hear him take a breath. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just… I understand now why there's a woman from Foster Kids sitting in my kitchen with my mom. " "Evelyn's there?" I ask. "If that's her name," Xavier replies.
He tries to swing the conversation around to more normal things, but I can't get my mind off of Evelyn. I didn't think that she'd be the kind of person to go inspect Xavier and his mom herself. To be honest, I didn't think she liked me very much. After a couple more minutes I tell Xavier that I'll call him later and he reluctantly agrees and hangs up.
I stare at the phone for a minute and then look around my room. Then I look back at the floor and dial Jupiter's number.