After our ice-cream break, we dropped Lisa off at her neighborhood. The shadows lengthened as we drove down the road. I thought to leave her at the gate but Joseph flashed some sort of papers and the gate keeper let us in.
Few minutes later, we dropped Lisa off at her house. It was a small building with two stories and lights on at every window. I waved as she walked in and we drove away.
"About worry about it," he said. "Everything I did was legal. The Royal family wanted to give you a free reign to explore."
I frowned. This was the first I heard of this. What other secrets was he keeping from me? And what did he mean about free reign? I decided against simply asking him about it (Joseph probably wouldn't tell me more). Still thinking about his words, I found myself in front of my house. By this time, the sky had darkened even more. As quickly as possible, I slid out and hurried inside.
Part of me wished, I'd let my parents know where I'd gone. Dad was in the kitchen when I entered. He had a brownie in one hand and a mug in the other. I waved at him and went upstairs. Heard the showering running on my way to my room.
Cassidy's advice was easier said than done. I didn't know the protocol of visiting the Queen Consort. I should ask Alexander but he was busy with the bidding event. Even if I did manage to convince him, I wouldn't meet her until after the bidding process. Maybe asking for lessons from the royal family wouldn't hurt.
Plus, Alexander's condition might improve too. The serum could wane at any moment and Alexander would be a vampire again. While that was good news, it meant he would be busier and time to visit his mother wouldn't happen any time soon.
Unfortunately or maybe fortunately, I didn't have time to ask. From day to day, we were busy. School work piled on and Alexander had to go back to online classes. I often found myself sitting alone.
On one such day, Carlos joined me. The cafeteria was noisy as usual. I picked at my food, more tired than hungry. I didn't notice when he joined me until he slid his phone across the table.
Frowning, I looked up.
"Got a new lead," he whispered.
That got my attention. I pushed my tray to the side and leaned in. "What did you find?"
Carlos got quiet. "It doesn't look like much," he began.
"Spit it out," I said.
"Well, the forum has been bustling with talk of the bidding event."
"It will determine what kind of community they'll build," I reminded him.
"Yeah but this is different. They're talking about something big. Like a reveal or something. Something is going to happen."
I pursed my lips. Something big should happen but I doubt we were thinking of the same thing. Noah hadn't mentioned anything about secret dealings. He also hadn't mentioned any progress on finding the assassins. I couldn't blame him. He was busy too.
"Alright," I told him. "I'll have the royal family look into it. It might be important."
"Just doing my job," he said.
I raised an eyebrow and didn't comment.
After school, I attended my internship. This time, I helped Rachel ship out all the invitations. She was responsible for putting the invitations inside and my job was to stick the labels on the envelope. We had three boxes finished by the time I had to go home.
Joseph waited for me with a snack. I gobbled the fruit and downed the water. I felt my eyes closing as he drove me home. Definitely should have waited to take my internship next semester. I regretted everything.
"Rin."
Yawning, I opened my eyes. Joseph was in the front seat, car stalled in front of my house. Neither of my parents' cars were in the garage. I sat up and finally realized Alexander sat beside me.
"Hey," I said drowsily, "what are you doing here?"
"I had Joseph pick me up," he said. "Here, let me help you out."
I couldn't remember how I got to my room. What I did remember was being in my room with Alexander helping me settle in.
"You okay," he said, taking me by the elbow.
He tucked me into bed and sat beside me. Now awake, I sat up. "I didn't expect you here, everything you alright? What happened?"
"It's okay," he said. "I'm fine. I wanted to see you."
Yawning, I rubbed my eyes. "Sorry, having trouble waking up. Been super tired lately. I don't know why."
"It's okay."
In silence, I leaned against his shoulder. How long had it been since we'd spent time like this? I jolted up.
"What's wrong?"
"My parents," I said. "When are they getting here?" Even to my sleepy mind, that didn't make sense.
"They're working late," he said. "The message is on the kitchen table."
"Oh, okay," I said.
It was now or never.
"I spoke to Cassidy," I whispered. "Lisa and I went to get ice-cream."
"Glad you could have fun."
"Cassidy told me I needed to talk to your mom."
Alexander went silent. Then, "did she say why?" he asked.
I couldn't tell if he was angry. Wordlessly, I grabbed his hand and held it.
"She said I needed her approval," I explained. "Cassidy also said I needed to put myself in the public eye more. People need to see."
"Cassidy isn't entirely wrong," he began.
"She told me to hold your papers."
At this, his chuckled. "That would get you noticed."
"Wants me to do it at the event."
The humor vanished from his face. "Rin," he began.
I couldn't bring myself to look at him. "It's okay," I said. "I don't want to put you in an uncomfortable situation."
He grabbed my face with both hands. "I would love nothing more than to have you at my side. I'll talk to Violet so we can get your wardrobe ready."
Leaning forward, I kissed him. Our foreheads touched.
"I don't know about my mom though," he admitted. "It might take some time."
"It's okay," I whispered. "I don't want to mess this up. I want to do this properly."
"Thanks for that. You're doing great by the way."
Nodding, I leaned against him again. At least one of us thought so.