BLOOD MOON » Embry Call

02. WORRY

   THE CAR soon pulled into the driveway and into the garage next to their small house on the outskirts of Seattle, and Avery began to stir as Sera hopped out on her side. With a yawn, the girl stretched out her arms until they met the soft material of the ceiling, and she rubbed her eyes before helping her sister bring the luggage back into the empty house.

   "I'll probably head out early tomorrow morning," Sera murmured, standing in the doorway to Avery's room. The girl had just set her laptop down on the wooden desk next to the twin-sized mattress with a dark blue duvet and pillows on top of it. Apart from a large bookshelf and some potted plants, there wasn't really anything else in the room, as until recently, when Avery started university, the two had moved around a lot.

   "Okay. Breakfast?" Avery asked, raising an eyebrow with a hopeful expression. Sera shook her head. "I think I'll leave as soon as the sun rises."

   Avery walked over to her sister and wrapped her arms around her, resting her head on Sera's shoulder, as the blonde was slightly taller. "Be careful, alright?"

   Sera nodded, ruffling Avery's hair gently before holding her at arm's length. "I promise."

   With a soft smile Avery held up her hand, her pinkie raised in the air. "Promise?" Returning the smile, Sera linked her pinkie with that of her sister and nodded.

   "Kick their asses, will you?" — "You bet. And now go to bed. It's been a long day." — "Love you." — "Love you, too."

❖

   A few days later, Avery still hadn't heard from her sister. She knew that, by now, she should be used to it, but whenever it took Sera more than a week to message or call her, she couldn't help but start worrying.

   She tried staying preoccupied with assignments and editing jobs, but when she lay in bed at night and stared up at the ceiling, desperately trying to fall asleep, the worry set in.

   The morning of the eighth day, a Saturday, Avery was sitting on the kitchen island, coffee and a sandwich next to her and the newspaper in her hands. The rays of sunlight that made their way through the big window opposite her warmed her skin comfortingly, as the girl skimmed through the headlines, occasionally taking a sip from her beverage.

   The sudden noise of Avery's phone ringing caused the girl to flinch slightly, before jumping up and discarding the newspaper on the floor. She took two long steps towards the couch and picked up the phone, taking a deep breath before answering without even looking at the caller ID.

   "Dalton?"

   It was silent for a few seconds until an unknown voice spoke up.

   "This is Emily Young. Uh—... Jacob Black gave me your information."

   Upon realising it was indeed not her sister calling, Avery frowned slightly, but remembered she was on the phone with a bride in spe and possible client, so she forced herself to focus. "Ah yes, he mentioned that a friend of his was getting married and hadn't hired a photographer yet …?" She dragged out the end of her sentence to sound more like a question, while heading to her room to open her laptop.

   "Yes exactly. Well, actually we didn't even want to hire a professional photographer, but when he gave us your website as well I thought Why not look at it, at least?" The hint of a smile appeared on Avery's face. "But then I saw that one recent photo of another wedding, you uploaded as a preview and—well, now I'm calling you, aren't I?"

   Leaning back in her chair, Avery scratched the back of her head at the indirect compliment. "So you changed your mind then, I suppose?" — "Well it depends …" — "On what?" — "The price."