Deception (19 page)

“Because I’m not like you!”
Lucas practically yelled.
“I actually have a heart.”

“And right now it’s beating for your new little lady friend,”
Kai said, still snickering.

Lucas glared at Kai.
“You’re not helping.”

“Hey, I’m all for your relationship with Chelsea. It’s your sister that seems to have a problem with it.”

“Oh, my God. There’s nothing going on between Chelsea and me.”

“No, but she wants more. You should’ve heard her thinking about you lying there so fragile—”

“Pfff. I’m not fragile.”

“Well, she thinks you are,”
Georgia said.

“No she doesn’t,”
I said, sticking up for Chelsea.
“She just hated seeing you so helpless.”

“I’m not helpless.”

“Says the one who can’t even sit up,”
Kai said with a laugh. He was enjoying the situation way too much.

Chelsea came up beside me and tugged at the bottom of my shirt. “What’s going on?” she whispered loudly.

I forced a smile. “Nothing. Just another sibling argument.”

“Okay, ’cause it’s getting really weird not being able to hear what you guys are talking about.”

“Sorry,” I said to Chelsea.

“Hey, guys,” Lucas said, all the anger and frustration drained from his voice. “Can you all give me and Chelsea a moment alone?”

“Why? So you can tell her how much you love her?”
Georgia asked sarcastically.

“What are you even doing here?”
Lucas asked.
“Don’t you have some customers wondering where you are?”

“You’re such a tool.”

When no one else followed her, Lucas said, “You guys, too.”

I took Aiden by the hand and dragged him towards the door. “We’ll wait for you in the lounge room.”

“Later,” Kai said, giving a quick wave before phasing out.

Aiden and I sat down on the leather sofa and turned on the TV. Georgia was nowhere to be seen, which was a big plus.

“What do you think he’s talking to her about?” I asked Aiden.

“I don’t have to think. I know.”

I gave him a confused look.

“I can hear people’s thoughts from a much greater distance than you can.”

“That’s right.” I waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t. “So what are they saying?”

“I don’t know what they’re saying right now. I didn’t think it was right for me to listen in, but I think Lucas just wanted to talk to her about what happened back at the hospital. I think he blames himself for what happened to her.”

“But it wasn’t his fault.”

“And yet, you think everything is your fault,” he said with a smirk.

I slapped him softly against his chest. “Quit it, will you?”

He grabbed both of my hands and held them against his chest. “Not until you start believing it.”

“It’s kinda hard to believe when it’s the truth. None of this would’ve happened to any of them if they’d never met me.”

Aiden was about to open his mouth when a thought dawned on me. “How did Lucas know what Chelsea was going through when she was out of it?”

“From her thoughts, I guess.”

I shook my head. “Nah-ah. She has no recollection of it.”

He sat there in silence, mulling over what I’d just said. “Beats me.”

My phone beeped, alerting me to a new message. I pulled my phone out of my bag and looked at the screen. “It’s Mum.”

Hi sweetie. Just wondering if you are able to come to the hospital? I have someone here who wants to meet you.

I turned the screen to Aiden so he could read it. “She’s awake already?” He sounded just as surprised as what I was.

“I didn’t think she would be for ages.”

“Do you want to go over there now, and I’ll stay here for Chelsea.”

“Are you sure?”

“I think I would just be a third wheel if I went with you. Besides, you’ll have your mum there to watch out for you while I’m not.”

“You make me feel like a child,” I joked.

“Just a necessary evil until this is all over.”

I leaned over and kissed him on his cheek. “Thanks.”

I didn’t feel like going through all the trouble of transporting to a safe spot then sneaking my way down the hall, so I sent my mum a message.
Can I come straight into the room?

A moment later, she replied.
All clear.

“Wish me luck,” I said. My stomach had begun to churn with nervousness. I knew I’d already met my grandmother before, but at that time, neither I nor she had known who each other was.

“You don’t need any luck. She’ll love you,” he said with a smile, which I returned before phasing out.

Chapter 18

My grandma’s mouth dropped open when she saw me materialise out of thin air. When she finally got her senses back she said, “Well, that’s a handy little trick, isn’t it?”

I smiled nervously. “It comes in handy sometimes.”

She chuckled. “I bet you it does.”

“You can come closer,” Mum said when it became pretty obvious I was stuck on the other side of the room.

I slowly walked closer to them and stopped beside my mother, who was sitting on a chair next to the bed. “It’s nice to finally meet you—officially that is,” I said to my grandma.

Her warm hazel eyes filled with tears. “It’s nice to officially meet you, too.” She’d known there was truth in what I had said when I met her, and she just hoped I would one day return so she could have the answers to her questions about what had happened to her daughter all those years ago. Also, she wanted desperately to be a part of my life, as well.

I wiped away a tear as it spilled onto my cheek. She loved me, and she didn’t even know me. I couldn’t believe I had gotten this poor woman involved in my father’s game. Wait. “How are you okay?” I asked as I assessed her for any signs of pain she
should
have been experiencing.

“Jade?” Mum paused, until I looked at her. “I think something a bit unexpected happened to your grandma.”

“What happened?” I asked warily as I looked back at my grandma.

“Show her,” Mum said to her mother.

Her face lit up with a big smile. She sat up and pulled down the sheet. I expected her to reveal the gash across her stomach. It should have been still open, being held together by the stitches Nathan had only just put in. Instead, it was more like an angry red line like what you would normally see a week or so after surgery.

“How is this possible?” I asked in disbelief.

“I think it was your blood. It’s changed her somehow.”

“In what way?” I asked.

“We don’t really know just yet. But I think it’s safe to assume her scar should still be a fresh wound.”

“See, it doesn’t even hurt,” Grandma said as she poked her scar.

I was speechless. I stood there completely dumbfounded. How was it she was able to heal so quickly?

“I’m going to get Harry to run some tests on the two of you.”

“Harry?” I asked, still unable to take my eyes off my Grandma’s scar.

“You know, the guy who was with me when you first came to the US.”

“I remember who Harry is. What I want to know is why he can help.”

“I wouldn’t exactly call him a scientist, but he does like to dabble around with that sort of thing. He’ll be able to run some tests on your blood samples and try to work out why she is healing at an increased rate.”

My grandma pulled the sheets back over her stomach, looking like a little kid who’d just seen Santa. Did having my blood infused with hers somehow make her like us? I tried to see if I could work out what had changed, apart from the obvious. None of her features looked any different, and she definitely didn’t look any younger. But the energy that exuded from her was definitely not normal for someone of her age.

“Will you quit staring at me like that?” Grandma said, with her permanent smile still plastered across her face.

Mum laughed. “That would be kind of hard, ’cause it looks like you
are
a freak.”

My grandma’s laugh pulled at her stomach muscles, but it barely hurt her.

“So what do we do now?” I asked Mum. “It’s not as if she can stay here. The doctors will be sure to notice something is a little strange.”

“Only if I let them see.”

“But it’s not as if you can be here twenty-four, seven. Someone’s bound to come in while you’re not here.”

“Then I’ll just have to take her home with me.” Mum looked to Grandma to check if that would be all right by her.

“I would love that. Thank you,” she said, getting choked up. Seeing us both was everything she’d ever dreamed of, and she had been invited to stay with the daughter she’d thought she would never see again. Once again, she brought tears to my eyes with her thoughts.

I thought about the sweet old lady I’d met. If it hadn’t been for her cat trying to escape, then I may never have met her, and she may never have been reunited with my mum. “What about your cat?”

“Oh, my goodness, yes. I can’t forget George. Is it okay if he comes with us?”

“Of course it is. Gemma would love to have him around.”

“Gemma?” Grandma asked.

I took a deep breath. I still wasn’t okay with the whole Gemma thing, and by the look on my mother’s face, she knew exactly how I was feeling.

“I’ll tell you about her after Jade goes home,” she said to Grandma.

“What? Doesn’t she live with you?”

“No,” I said shaking my head. “I live with my boyfriend, Aiden.”

“Really?” Grandma said. She thought I was a bit young to live with a boyfriend, but didn’t think it was her place to say so. Then again, she didn’t know our whole history and the reasons why my mum didn’t have a problem with the two of us staying together. In fact, her plan had been to have Aiden and his parents look out for me and hopefully protect me from my father when she wasn’t around. But again, that was something Mum would have to explain.

“Yeah, he’s actually a pretty good kid,” Mum said. “And they are eighteen… or almost. Jade’s turning eighteen at the end of this month, and Aiden had his birthday yesterday.” She left out the part about her kidney being wrapped up with his presents, and it wasn’t in Grandma’s thoughts, so I guessed Mum had decided not to tell her the full story just yet—which was probably a good thing.

“Well, I’d love to meet him,” she said eagerly.

I smiled. “I think we can arrange that.”

A doctor walked into the room, but stopped midstride. Without saying anything, he turned around and walked back out the door.

“I’m guessing you did that?” Grandma said to my mother.

“Someone’s got to keep the doctors at bay,” she replied. “But I do think we should probably get you out of here now.” She turned to me. “Can you get Kai to fix the records to show she was never here?”

“Yep. Sure thing.” I turned to my grandma and put my hand over hers. “I’ll see you again soon.”

She placed her free hand over mine and gave it a squeeze. “Okay, my love,” she replied, her smile never once slipping.

I left with a smile across my face, as well.

I landed next to Aiden in the kitchen of Lucas’s apartment. He was in the middle of making a coffee for himself. I wrapped my arm around his waist and leaned my head against his bicep.

“How was it?” he asked. He opened the cupboard above the machine and got out another mug, which I presumed was for me.

I so badly wanted to tell him about my grandma’s newfound healing abilities, even though right there wasn’t the best place. I couldn’t help myself. I silently explained everything to Aiden and was relieved to get it off my chest—even if it had been on my chest only for a few minutes.

“Holy crap,”
he said. He took his cup of coffee out of the machine, placed mine under the spout and pressed the latte button.
“I’m thinking we should probably wait until this Harry guy has looked into it all before we tell anyone else.”

“I was thinking the same thing. It’s almost like my father has ears around everywhere we go, and I don’t want anyone to slip up and say it out loud. Who knows what he will try next if he finds out the results of this last little game of his.”
I shuddered at the thought, and Aiden put his arm around me, giving my nerves a little helping out. “Thanks.”

“I hope you’re making one for me, too,” Lucas said as he walked into the kitchen.

Aiden pulled out another mug. “Does anyone else want one?”

“Chels, do you want a coffee?” I yelled.

“As if you have to ask,” she called back. Like me, she loved coffee.

“She has the same as me, but with four sugars,” I said to Aiden as he pulled out another mug.

Aiden raised an eyebrow. “This is not the first time I’ve made her a coffee.”

“Right. Sorry, I forgot.”

When all four cups were finished, we took them into the lounge room. I handed Chelsea’s mug to her before sitting down beside her. She was lost in thought about the conversation she’d just had with Lucas, which was no longer private. Lucas didn’t seem to mind, so I didn’t feel too guilty. Then again, it wasn’t as if I had a choice because I
still
hadn’t learnt to block someone’s thoughts from my mind.

Lucas had apologised profusely for not protecting her. And Chelsea didn’t know why he was so upset about it, because she had no memories of the event. The whole conversation made her feel warm inside, knowing he cared enough about her to feel the way he did. He hadn’t actually come out and said it. But she was happy nonetheless. I would definitely need to have a conversation with Lucas about this. I didn’t want my best friend’s heart to get broken again.

“Where did you disappear to?” Chelsea asked when she realised no one was talking.

Oh, crap. “I’ve got to ask Kai to fix up the computer records at the hospital to say my grandma was never there.”

“Your grandma?” Chelsea asked, thinking she mustn’t have heard right. She scooped up some chocolate-covered froth with her finger and put it in her mouth.

“It’s a long story, which I’ll tell you after I speak with Kai.”