Concealment - Tiger's Eye Book 2

Chapter 21 - Moving In

“It would be cool to have a group like that wouldn’t it?” Carter asked. “I’ve never had a group of friends like that, but they were family. Pilote talked to me about them too. It would be great to have people like that. Most of my family is gone. It makes sense that my family is small though after hearing my mom’s related to their friend Seth. Seth died in the war and immediately made the next generations of our family smaller.”

“My family is small too,” I told him, “and apparently living forever runs in mine.”

“What happened to your family?”

“My dad died when I was younger. Not too long ago I guess, but I’ve just been told he got sick. I don’t know how it happened because it usually doesn’t happen here, but he did. He was older than my mom, but not too old if you think about it. The details are a mystery.”

“I didn’t think Tigmas could get sick like we do.”

“They can’t,” I said. “I’ve learned that much from all the books I’ve been reading and what Rolla has told me so far. It makes my dad’s death even more mysterious. Maybe something happened to him. Maybe he found out too much or he came across something he shouldn’t have. I don’t think he would just get sick and die because he wasn’t human. He was a Tigma.”

“Try asking Rolla.”

“Yeah,” I sighed.

“What is it?”

“She’s the queen, Carter.”

“Yeah?”

“If anything she already knows what happened to him because she knows about everything that goes on here.”

“Are you saying she had something to do with it?”

“Why wouldn’t she?” I asked back. “Think about it, her and Pilote were determined to keep this world a secret for our own safety. What would they do if somebody accidentally came across the chosen ones’ house or the palace? Is it possible for a Tigma that’s not a Samoulte to go in there?”

“I didn’t think of that. Wow. That’s a good question, a great question indeed.”

“I don’t think I know Rolla well enough yet to know if she would do it. She doesn’t seem like a killer, but she does seem like a great queen. I know her well enough to know she would do anything for her people.”

“Maybe it was an accident,” he replied, “Maybe she thought he was somebody else, like the enemy, and cast a spell on him before figuring out who he was.”

“I should stop thinking about this,” I suggested, “We can talk to her another day. It’s not important right now.”

“Why don’t you concentrate on decorating my house with me? Stop thinking about the mysteries of your world.”

“Good idea, let’s unpack.”

In one afternoon we managed to buy all the necessities Carter needs for his house. Pilote and Rolla snuck in the appliances for us to help. Carter took his clothes up to his room and I unpacked the decorations for the living room and dining room. It is sad that they have to leave a lot of their things behind, but there’s no way they could bring it here. They can’t even bring the old journals and books because of the risk of someone walking in here and seeing them. I hope they know what they are giving up by coming here. I took a few minutes to hang up pictures and put the dishes away before bringing up the bags of things to go in Carter’s room. 

“Unpack your clothes?”

He nodded, “All finished. These for my room?”

I handed him the bag, “All for your room. Are we buying things for your aunt and uncle too?”

“I sent them a few pictures when we were shopping. They said they would let me know which things they wanted.”

“You bought them a phone down here?”

“I did,” he nodded, “I stopped there and got the three of us a phone plan.”

“You’ve been busy,” I smiled.

He smiled, “I just want to get it right.”

“You are,” I told him, “and everything is working out.”

He put his hands on my hips, “Yes it is.”

I leaned up and kissed him, “You have no idea how thankful I am that you decided to move down here. You’re sacrificing your old life for mine.”

“I am simply giving up a life that isn’t mine for a life that IS mine. I belong with the Tigmas and I belong with you. My family simply got stuck in the human world.”

I smiled, “But still, thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he smiled back. “Should we get going to your house?”

I nodded, “Probably.”

He picked up his duffle bag, “Anywhere we need to stop before we get there?”

“I don’t think so.”

My mom walked into the house just before we got there and she was ready with questions to ask just like I suspected. I don’t blame her though. I’ve never been good at telling her everything that’s going on in my life. She doesn’t know a lot about him. I can’t say it wasn’t on purpose though. Therefore, she insisted we all eat dinner together in the living room even though we’re already having dinner together on Friday.

“How do you like this side of town?” 

Carter nodded and smiled politely, “I like it, it’s great.”

“What made you decide moving was the best option?”

“Mom!”

“It’s okay,” Carter said, “I told my aunt and uncle about Lily and after meeting her they knew I’d want to be closer to her. We made the decision to move so I could be closer to her.”

“That’s very nice of them. What do they do?”

Oh no. We didn’t talk about this. Did he figure something out with Rolla? Oh crap, I hope so. 

Carter cleared his throat, making me nervous, then replied, “They’re writers. They’re excited about moving to this side of town because they’ve only ever seen the other side. It’ll give them new sights and things to write about.”

Oh good, he did think about it. 

“It seems like it’s all worked itself out then.”

“It has,” he nodded, “I’m really excited.”

“When do you start school?”

“Tomorrow, Lily told me she could show me around.”

“That’s good.”

“Can we go now mom?” I interrupted.  “Carter and I are meeting with Brittany and Mike tonight for a little while.”

She smiled, “Okay, I’m finished. Go ahead.”

“Thank you!” I hugged her quickly, “We’ll be back later.”

“Not too late!”

“I know!”

I took Carter’s hand and pulled him out of the house. Okay, so we’re not meeting Brittany and Mike, but we did promise Rolla we would take her up to see Carter’s aunt and uncle. We were busy with shopping and moving Carter in earlier so tonight is the only time. We met Rolla and Pilote in the meeting room above the chosen ones’ house. 

“We’ll follow,” Pilote told us, “but remember to run fast.”

Carter gripped my hand tighter, “Ready?”

“Yeah,” I smiled, “I’m ready.”