Valentine's Arrow

41: The Other Side of Every Story

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

REBECCA

The man who opened the door was familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. He had black hair and blue eyes, and was broad-shouldered. He was wearing a simple button-down shirt and pants, and when he smiled at Rebecca, his eyes crinkled at the corner.

"Can I help you?"

Rebecca opened her mouth to speak. No words came out. Instead, she pushed her hood back, letting her brown hair tumble down in warm, heavy waves.

The smile faded from the man's face, replaced by a look of utter shock. "Rebecca...?" he whispered half-disbelievingly, as if he expected, almost hoped, for her to contradict him.

"Yes," Rebecca whispered. "I-I'm Rebecca."

A faint voice called out from inside the house - a woman's voice, sweet and lilting. "Adam? Who is it?"

The man paid no attention. He was still staring at Rebecca open-mouthed.

"Are you... are you Adam Trueblood?" Rebecca said.

The question seemed to snap him out of his reverie. "That's me," he said, unblinkingly. The woman called out again, and Adam snapped to action, holding the door open and stepping to the side, clearly indicating that she should come inside.

She had stepped into what looked like a foyer. A set of stairs led up to the floor above, and beside it there was another door, standing ajar.

"The house is split," Adam explained hastily, shutting the door behind her. "Another family lives upstairs, but we took the ground floor because-"

"What's taking you so long, Adam?"

Adam broke off just as a woman appeared through the doorway. For a moment, Rebecca thought she was very short, but then she realized that the woman was in a wheelchair. She wore a pale pink dress, and her hair was neatly drawn into a bun - hair that was the exact shade as Rebecca's own.

"Susie, this-this is Rebecca."

The woman went pale as she looked at Rebecca. "Oh, heavens," she whispered hoarsely, and held her arms up; as if in a trance, Rebecca moved forward as if in a trance, and knelt down beside the woman.

"Heavens, it really is you." Tears were flowing down the woman's face as she cupped Rebecca's cheek. Her eyes were a dark gray, the color of the storm clouds. Rebecca gripped her hand, and even though she couldn't remember seeing this woman before, her touch was familiar - as familiar as breathing, as walking, as smiling.

"But how did you- how did you find us?" Susanna said, as Adam helped Rebecca take off her hoodie. Underneath, she was wearing a short-sleeved t-shirt, and her permanent runes seemed extremely out of place in that cozy little house. She started for a second, wondering if Susanna knew about the Shadow Word or not - but one look at her face gave Rebecca the answer.

"I managed to persuade the mundane police," Rebecca said, sitting down on the edge of a plush armchair.

"I imagine that would be pretty easy for you," Adam said, sitting down opposite her. His eyes travelled up and down Rebecca's arms. "Fine Shadowhunter like you." There was unmistakable pride in his voice.

"I suppose it was."

An awkward silence ensued, broken by Adam, who jumped to his feet and slapped a hand to his forehead. "My goodness, where are my manners? Here we have a guest and I haven't even..." He looked at Rebecca. "Would you like anything? Cup of tea? Coffee, perhaps?"