‘Sorry,’ he muttered. He was holding the phone slightly away from his body, as if it were a bomb that might go off. ‘I’d better take this.’
The adults barely even seemed to notice.
‘You must tell us all about your plans!’ Mrs Abbott said to Charles. ‘What is your theme going to be?’
But Olivia stopped listening to the adults as Brendan disappeared from the room. Her frown deepened as she heard the front door open and close.
Wait a minute. Why would Brendan bother to go all the way out of the house to take a phone call . . .? Was he trying to make certain he would not be heard, even by the vampires with super-hearing?
Even Ivy?
She saw her twin frowning at the closed door, obviously disturbed.
Olivia didn’t have time to dwell on her questions, though, as Lillian’s smartphone beeped an alert. Stiffening, Lillian stepped back from the other adults and sat down on an armchair near the couch to type a response.
For once, the elegant film-maker looked . . . tired.
Hmm. Olivia looked hard at Lillian for the first time since she’d arrived. It wasn’t just her stepmom’s eyes that showed the strain. For the first time that Olivia could remember, Lillian’s glossy, dark hair looked . . . messy.
I didn’t know Lillian’s hair was even capable of being messy!
As Lillian hunched her shoulders over her phone, a pearl earring shone in one ear . . . but the other ear was blank. Did she actually forget to put her other earring in? Olivia frowned.
Then she realised the worst symptom of all: Lillian’s flowing sweater was a deep, dark purple . . . but her slimline trousers were green.
Olivia sucked in a gasp. Her colours are clashing . . . Something is definitely wrong here. And she knew she had to consult her twin about it.
Olivia leaned in to whisper into Ivy’s ear . . .
WHAP!
Her beehive hair slammed into Ivy’s face.
‘For darkness’ sake!’ Laughing, Ivy scooted away, her eyes narrowing as she wagged a finger in a mock-warning. ‘If I take one more hit, I might just cut your hair myself!’
‘Sorry!’ Smiling, Olivia put up one hand in reassurance. ‘I promise I’ll take care of it as soon as I can.’ She lowered her voice as she turned to look behind her. ‘All I was trying to do was ask you . . .’
Wait a minute.
On the other side of the living room, Charles was still regaling her adoptive parents with his grand plans for the exhibit . . . but there was no sign of Lillian anywhere. She’d slipped away.
Brendan wasn’t the only one acting oddly tonight!
Olivia jumped off the couch and headed for the door, her sparkly pink kitten-heel shoes clacking against the polished hardwood floor. The moment that she was out of the living room, she spotted Lillian in the kitchen, sitting at the breakfast counter with her head lowered over her smartphone. She’s still typing that message, Olivia realised. How long can this be?
‘Lillian?’ she asked. ‘Are you OK?’
Lillian’s phone landed on the breakfast counter with a thud. ‘Wha–? Olivia!’ She pressed one hand against her chest. ‘I didn’t hear you come in.’
‘Really?’ Olivia stared at her stepmother. ‘But . . .’ She stopped herself before she could say anything that might embarrass Lillian.
But seriously, Lillian had vampire hearing – nobody should have been able to sneak up on her, especially not a human stepdaughter in heels!
How distracted is she? Olivia wondered. And how serious is this conversation?
Taking a deep breath, Lillian plastered an obviously fake smile on her face. ‘Sorry – you asked me if anything was wrong, didn’t you?’ Her eyes widened, looking haunted. ‘I’m fine. Everything’s fine. Nothing to worry about at all.’
‘Um . . . are you sure?’ Sighing, Olivia pointed to her stepmother’s left ear.
Lillian absently lifted a slim hand to her earring-less ear. ‘Well, earrings are hardly important, right?’ She let out a dry half-laugh that didn’t sound amused. ‘I doubt Charles will mind me looking less than perfect.’
Then her gaze dropped back down to the phone, and her face tightened. In a whisper, she added, ‘ . . . If he even notices.’
Olivia stared at her stepmom. Did she really just say that?
Charles and Lillian had been married for less than two months. They couldn’t be having problems already, could they?
Lillian glanced back up. ‘Oh, just look at your face!’ She clucked as she stood up and swept towards Olivia. ‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have let you worry. Everything’s fine! Really.’ She wrapped her arms around Olivia in a warm hug. ‘In fact,’ she added, ‘I will show you just how fine everything is.’
Nodding firmly, she gave Olivia one last squeeze and then marched out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Olivia was left alone in the middle of the kitchen, feeling distinctly un-reassured.
First, Brendan had taken that secretive phone call. Now Lillian was acting a little bit out of character.
I’ve only been gone for a week, Olivia thought. What’s been going on here without me?
Olivia’s bio-dad stepped in behind her, whistling a tune that sounded as if it could have come from the Victorian era . . . which, in his case, was absolutely possible. He broke off as Olivia turned to face him, though, and smiled at her. ‘Oh, good! You’re here – you can help me carry cakes and drinks in for the others.’ He pulled down glasses from the top shelf of the cabinet and handed them to Olivia. ‘You’ve been missing all the fun out there! I’ve been describing the entire exhibit to everyone – room by room, in minute detail.’