13. Not-So-Happy Reunion
Cade had a new-found appreciation for detail. Liam's map had proven to be their most valuable resource. Not wanting to have any more run-ins with demons, they had chosen a new path to purgatory and were carefully avoiding any demon hot-spots Liam had marked on his map.
Once the night had passed, they were quickly on their feet and on the road again. Since they had no way of knowing where the others had gone off to, they had decided to stick to the original plan and head to purgatory. They were hoping that everyone else would be making their way there too and were relying on randomly reuniting with them at some point on the way there.
Cade had learned a lot about Liam in their short time together. He had been a captain for seven years before the crash had landed him here. His father was a soldier in the war and his mother had been a nurse. Other than that, Liam didn't have much of a family. He was an only child and during his years in the overworld, had never married. 'I was married to the sea and to my country' was Liam's casual response to the question.
"So those demons," Cade attempted to start a conversation. "Has anyone ever done research on them? Their behaviour reminds me a lot of Tasmanian devils. Almost enough to make me think the two might be related."
"Oh yeah?" Liam flashed her a smile. "We had a terrible Tasmanian devil problem when I was growing up. They kept attacking and eating our chickens. My dad had to set up a load of traps to kill them."
Cade paused at that. "But they're endangered." Technically, Tasmanian devils weren't classified as endangered in Liam's time, but killing animals like that made Cade uneasy. It wasn't right for people to harm animals without purpose.
Liam shrugged. "We had to eat."
"So did the Tasmanian devils," Cade mumbled under her breath so Liam wouldn't hear. "Did you know that Tasmanian devils yawn when they're confronted by something? They do it to throw their enemies off and make them think that they're not bothered by the threat. It's an interesting defense tactic that you don't see in other species."
Cade couldn't help but ramble on when she talked about animals. She was constantly learning new things about them and when she could, she shared that knowledge with others. It was one of the reasons she wanted children so badly. Passing around knowledge and teaching others was fun for her, especially with kids.
"Fascinating," Liam responded, though something in his tone told Cade he didn't really find it interesting in the slightest.
Cade sighed. She hated it when people didn't care or see how important all this was. Sam would care, she couldn't stop the thought from popping up in her head.
Cade bit the inside of her cheek. Sam was gone now. She wasn't going back on her decision either. It didn't matter how much she already missed him, she had chosen to end it. She had done her best not to think about him since they had been apart, but if she was being honest with herself, she hadn't been doing a good job of it. Even now, when Liam failed to respond the way she hoped he would, she found herself thinking of how Sam would stop whatever he was doing and focus on her, the corners of his mouth turning up in a small smile as he watched her go on and on about whatever it was she had just discovered.
Cade shook her head in an attempt to clear her thoughts. Thinking about Sam will do you no good, she told herself. I'm supposed to be getting over him, not reminiscing on our dead relationship. She was going to have to find a new way to move on, because not thinking about him clearly wasn't working. So what was she supposed to do?
Luckily for her, Liam chose that moment to strike up a new conversation. "So what's the lucky country like nowadays?"
"I haven't been to Australia in years," Cade answered. "Not since I moved overseas to New York City with-" she had to stop herself from saying 'with Sam', "with my friends, but as far as I know it's still the same old Australia. Endless desert, deadly animals, and such."
Liam chuckled. "God, do I miss that place. There's nowhere like it."
Cade grinned. "It is a beaut of a place, isn't it?" She tried not to think about Australia too much. It always brought up painful memories of her parents, but maybe it was time she headed back home and got in touch with her roots.
"I have to say, it's nice having you around, Cade." Liam gave her a sidelong grin. "I haven't talked to a fellow Aussie in what feels like forever. Reminds me of being back home. It's a pleasant feeling. I like being with you."
"Really?" The words gave Cade's heart an unexpected flutter. "Same to you. Americans are nice and all, but it's not the same as chatting with another Aussie."
An idea abruptly popped into Cade's head. An insane and probably stupid idea, but an idea nonetheless. Liam was cute, and he seemed like he was a nice guy. So why not get over Sam by getting with Liam? Sometimes you have to be extreme to get the results you want.
Without giving herself time to think about it, Cade grabbed Liam's hand, pulled him into her, and kissed him hard on the lips.
"You know, this book actually has a lot of interesting information in it." Fred grinned as he scanned The Book. "Did you know that there are multiple dimensions?"
He, Sam, and Kairi were making their way to purgatory. Fred had spent a good portion of the walk looking through The Book, while Sam and Kairi quietly followed along, hoping to run into at least one of their friends at some point.
"I used to tell you and Joe all the time that we should read that thing." Sam crossed his arms. "We could've learned how to use it years ago. Maybe we wouldn't even be in this mess in the first place."
"Don't get snippy at me because you just got dumped," Fred responded before thinking about it. He quickly blushed and looked away. "Sorry. I didn't mean it like that."
Kairi elbowed her husband in the side and gave him a pointed look before turning to Sam with a sympathetic grin. "Don't worry, Sam. Cade will come around eventually. She just needs time to herself."
"Except she's not by herself. She's with Liam," Sam grumbled, spitting out Liam's name with sudden venom.
"Nothing is going to happen between her and Liam. Cade loves you and she wants to be with you. Your relationship was just too," Kairi paused, looking for the right word, "too obscure for her to handle."
"But there was nothing wrong with our relationship!" Sam countered, his voice now carrying a hint of sadness. "At least, I thought there wasn't... We were happy."
"But not happy enough to propose to her?" Fred shook his head. "Mope all you want, but ultimately this is your fault."
"Fred..." Kairi spoke in a warning tone.
"Cade wanted me to propose?" Sam stared at them like the idea of marriage was an entirely new concept to him. "When did she say that?"
"Dude, she's wanted you to propose for years now. Are you sure those glasses are working? Because there's no way you can be that blind."
Kairi twisted her wedding ring. "She has been hoping you would pop the question for a while now. You know how badly she wants kids, Sam. She was hoping to have a family by this point. She was beginning to think that you weren't interested in her anymore, and well," Kairi and Fred gave each other worried looks, "we all saw where she was coming from and we kind of agreed."
"Oh." Sam's shoulder sagged and he focused on the ground.
"But I still think you two are meant for each other!" Kairi quickly added. "And I know Cade would take you back in a heartbeat if you promised to marry her. Um... you do want to marry her, right?"
"Of course I do!" Sam rubbed the back of his neck. "But we're both so busy with our research and I didn't think we needed to be married so soon."
"You're twenty-six. You've been dating for eight years. How long do you have to wait before it's not considered 'so soon'?" Fred rolled his eyes and went back to looking at the map in The Book.
"I hate to say it, but Fred has a point." Kairi gently patted Sam's shoulder. "If you really want Cade back, all you have to do is talk to her. Communication is key in relationships. And if you really want to marry her like you said you did, I would start the conversation with that."
"I can't believe I've been so stupid." Sam buried his face in his hands. "No wonder Cade hates me."
"She doesn't hate you," Kairi tried to reason with him. "You just need to show her that you love her, and you can start by actually saying it." She mumbled the last bit under her breath, but Sam still heard her.
"I tell her I love her all the time." Sam thought back on it. He told her he loved before she left for this crazy adventure, hadn't he? Even if he didn't there were plenty of times before that when he had said 'I love you' to her, right?
"No, you don't." Kairi bit her lip. "Cade says 'I love you' and you say 'you too' back. That's not the same."
Sam groaned. It was a miracle Cade had stayed with him as long she as did. "You're going to help me get her back, right?" He looked to Kairi for help.
"Of course!" Kairi beamed, excited to be playing matchmaker once again. "Just do exactly what I say and Cade will be back before you know it."
"Cade's already back," Fred said distractedly.
"That's the spirit, prince!" Kairi wrapped her arms around her husband's waist. "Sam's going to have Cade again in no time."
"No, I mean she's literally back." Fred pointed straight ahead of them.
Kairi followed Fred's finger to see what he was talking about. She squealed in delight as she saw a familiar mass of curly red hair walking a few yards ahead of them. "Cade!" Kairi shot off like a bullet to greet her friend.
Cade turned around just in time to be tackled in a suffocating embrace by Kairi. She felt all the air get forced out of her lungs and had to push Kairi off of her. "Hello to you too, Kairi." She took a deep breath to refill her lungs and gave Kairi a weak smile.
"You're okay! I was so worried when you ran off like that. Don't ever do that again!" Kairi scolded Cade like she was a mother scolding her child. "What have you even been doing this whole time?"
Cade tilted her head down at the ground. "Nothing. Liam and I were on our way to purgatory hoping that you guys would be there too, but apparently we ran into each other early."
"This is amazing! Now we just have to find Joe and Sydney and we'll have everyone back together again." Kairi clasped her hands together.
"They got separated too?" Cade frowned.
Kairi sadly shook her head. "Yeah, but if we found you, I'm sure we can find them too!"
"Kairi, I need to talk to you about something." Cade started, making sure to keep her voice low.
Fred and Sam jogged up to them, preventing Cade from saying anything else. Sam offered his ex-girlfriend a hopeful smile. He awkwardly held his hands behind his back. "Hi, Cade. I'm glad to see you're okay."
Cade's frowned deepened, and she turned her head away with a huff. "Sure you are."
"It's good to be reunited again," Liam spoke for the first time. "It's one less thing to worry about. Now we just have to get you to purgatory, and all our troubles will be solved."
Sam kept his eyes on Cade, who had yet to look at him. "Yeah, all our troubles..."
