The Reckoning

by M. K. Easley

  Tristan blinked a few times, trying to get the balls of light in her eyes to dissipate. Just ahead of her, Umbris veered away with Sol to greet someone off to their right, and there, in the clearing, stood Celes. He, like Evander and most of the other men at the gathering, wore a black suit, black shirt, and black tie, and he was wearing the hell out of it. It occurred to Tristan that it was not fair to a girl’s central nervous system that she should see two such handsome men in two such well-tailored suits in the same evening. His look was edgier than Beckett’s had been, of course, but Tristan really appreciated the bad boy vibe he was giving off.

  “Trinity.” Olivia stepped directly in front of Tristan, who blinked in surprise. “For gods sakes, keep it in your dress tonight. Do you understand me?”

  “Oceana!”

  “Trinity.” Olivia looked at her, her gray eyes completely serious.

  “Nothing is going to happen. I am certainly not pulling anything out of my dress,” Tristan hissed, noticing that Celes was making his way towards her.

  “Don’t start anything with him, Trinity. Don’t do that to him.” Olivia’s voice was so quiet she might as well have not even been talking, but her words struck right into the middle of Tristan’s heart. Olivia was right.

  Nodding to indicate she knew she’d finally gotten through Tristan’s thick skull, Olivia stepped out of the way, greeting Celes graciously as he stopped in front of them. Tristan did notice that in spite of her normally aloof nature, even Olivia was appreciating the sight of Celes in his suit.

  “Oceana, Trinity. You both look gorgeous.”

  “Don’t we?” Olivia grinned, then picked up her skirt. “I’m going to go find Aurelis Knight. Have you seen her?”

  “I think so, back by the fountain.” Celes swept his arm across the clearing, and Olivia nodded, taking off with one last knowing look at Tristan. Celes watched her go for a moment before turning back to Tristan.

  “The fountain?” Tristan echoed, looking around him to where, sure enough, a massive, intricately carved fountain, made of ice, stood at the opposite end of the clearing. “Huh.”

  “Do you want to go see it?” Celes asked, and Tristan wondered if his voice had always been so deep.

  “Sure.”

  They began walking, Tristan noticing Celes looking her over as they went.

  “It’s not like you to not share what you’re thinking,” Tristan said, glancing up at him.

  “I wouldn’t share in polite company,” Celes replied evenly, and the bottom dropped out of Tristan’s stomach. She blushed, a flaw she found herself cursing on a daily basis anymore, and looked away.

  “D-Do you have plans for Solstice?” Tristan asked, having a much harder time than usual playing it cool.

  “Same as every year,” Celes said, nodding. “We go up to Mandeville to be with family. They live right on a bayou and hold the Solstice festivities for us each year. You don’t remember?”

  “I do,” Tristan said. “I just didn’t know if you had changed it up this year.”

  “Have you changed up your plans this year?”

  Tristan laughed, shaking her head.

  “No, we haven’t.”

  They reached the fountain, and Tristan reached out, touching the smooth surface.

  “Incredible.”

  Celes nodded, but he wasn’t looking at the fountain. Tristan was not sure she was going to survive the night this way. She glanced over at Olivia, who was chatting with Aurelis, and Olivia raised both eyebrows at her. Thankfully, Tristan was spared from having to navigate through the next little while when both the Crenshaws and her family approached her and Celes.

  “Just think, next year you’ll be here as an engaged couple,” Thera said, smiling at Tristan and Celes, and Tristan wished she would just fall through a wormhole right then and there. Celes looked at her, and she forced a laugh, hoping the sheer panic she was feeling was not written all over her face.

  “Let’s get her through graduation first,” Sol said, a beatific smile on her face, and Tristan could have wept. “Trinity, Mrs. Odilia was just saying she hasn’t seen you in a long time. Celes, you don’t mind if I borrow Trinity for a little while, do you?”

  “Of course not,” Celes said graciously, and Sol put her arm around Tristan’s shoulder, guiding her away.

  “You do look very beautiful tonight,” Sol told her, as they walked. Well, Tristan walked. Sol glided.

  “Thanks. So do you.”

  “It was nice of Oceana to give you that dress, though I heard her using it as leverage over you.”

  Tristan laughed.

  “Is that surprising? It is Oceana we’re talking about.”

  Sol smiled.

  “Not surprising, no.”

  “Mom, about back there--”

  “We can talk about it later, Trinity. No need to discuss it now. Just try to enjoy yourself tonight, OK?”

  “OK.” Tristan remembered Olivia saying that Sol was pretty sure she knew what Tristan was planning for after graduation, and Tristan looked up at her, trying to see for herself if there was any indication of that. Sol, as usual, was the picture of collected grace -- her face revealed nothing.

  “Terra.” Sol touched Mrs. Odilia’s shoulder and Mrs. Odilia turned, her face lighting up when she saw Tristan.

  “Trinity!”

  Tristan smiled.

  “Hi Mrs. Odilia.”

  “My, you’re so grown! I guess you would be, almost eighteen years old! When is your birthday?”

  “April twenty-third.”

  “A Taurus. Yes, of course you are.” Mrs. Odilia nodded. “This is a big year coming up for you. How are you feeling?”

  “Oh.” Tristan stalled for a moment, looking around. “Nervous.”

  Mrs. Odilia nodded, chuckling.

  “We were all nervous once. It’ll be OK. The community can be a wonderful, welcoming place.”

  Tristan laughed weakly, and was grateful when Mrs. Odilia began asking her about school instead. When their conversation ended, Sol and Tristan walked the perimeter back to the fountain, stopping here and there so Sol could chat politely with her acquaintances. They mostly ignored Tristan, which she preferred, and Sol remained unbothered by it as well. Tristan knew her Mom was doing this for her benefit, keeping her occupied but disengaged, and Tristan very slowly felt herself begin to loosen up. She’d turned to look across the clearing when Celes approached her again, holding two drinks.

  “Drink?” Celes offered, and Tristan took it gratefully.

  She took a sip, then looked at Celes.

  “There's no way this is nonalcoholic.”

  “Did I say it was?” Celes asked mildly, and Tristan laughed.

  They finished their drinks and Celes went to get them refills, Tristan promising herself this would be the last one. She was just so tired of feeling so uptight all the time, and the drink, which tasted like the little cinnamon hard candies she'd loved as a kid, was helping loosen her up.

  “Do you want to dance?” Celes asked a while later, when the upbeat music had slowed down and the lighting in the clearing turned a moody blue.

  “Sure, why not?” Tristan followed Celes into the midst of the other couples on the dance floor.

  Celes took Tristan in his arms, bringing her close to him, and, though she tried to ignore facts, it was all very romantic. The song they danced to was one Tristan recognized by George Ezra, incidentally called Hold My Girl.

  Tristan looked up at Celes, who was looking down at her. She knew he wanted to kiss her, she didn't need any special abilities to figure that one out, and, gods help her, she knew she wouldn't stop him if he tried.

  The song ended and the music picked back up, and the spell was broken.

  “Do you want to go for a walk?” Celes asked, and Tristan, weak and selfish and a little bit tipsy, nodded.

  He led her off the dance floor and through the crowd, passing the ice fountain, against which Evander was leaning, talking to Aeris. He did not see Trist
an go by.

  Tristan and Celes walked in silence for a bit, until Tristan stopped, nervous.

  “We shouldn't go too far.”

  Celes nodded, standing beside her.

  “Can you show me again?” Tristan asked, looking up at him.

  Celes smiled down at her briefly, then lifted his chin. Just like he'd done at the gathering a month ago, he flipped the landscape so they were standing among the stars instead of the forest. Tristan looked around, marveling, and looked up at the eerie sight of the forest suspended above their heads.

  “I can't even tell it's a mirage,” Tristan said, putting her hand out. She trailed her fingers through the air, and Celes caught her hand.

  “Celes--”

  But he didn't wait to hear what she had to say. He stepped forward, his hands slipping around her waist, and kissed her. Tristan braced herself, not sure what was going to happen, if anything, and… not much happened. It was her first kiss, it couldn't have been in a more romantic setting, but the attraction she'd felt for Celes, that she’d been semi-afraid of because she’d worried it would only grow and consume her, sparked but didn't grow. The spark did not catch. Tristan knew that it most likely would, in time, but also knew she'd never find out. She slid her arms around Celes’s neck anyway, figuring she might as well enjoy herself, and Celes pulled her close. There was a spark again, bigger this time, and Tristan pulled away.

  The immediately apparent problem with deciding to enjoy herself, in spite of knowing they were going nowhere, was that by ignoring Olivia’s warnings and allowing Celes to kiss her, Tristan had misled him, had allowed him to believe there would be more where this one kiss had come from. She saw it on his face when they parted, saw how he looked at her with heat in his eyes, and Tristan knew she'd made a terrible mistake.

  “Celes--” But Tristan quieted. She couldn't tell him. Not here; not now.

  “We'd better go back,” Tristan said finally, and Celes nodded.

  He once again raised his chin, then lowered it so the landscape righted itself.

  “Thank you for showing me again,” Tristan said quietly, and Celes took her hand.

  “Any time, Trinity.”

  They reentered the clearing, and Tristan didn't dare look around for Olivia, not that it mattered. She'd know soon enough.

  Tristan and Celes danced a few more times, Tristan resting her cheek on his hard chest, listening to his steady heartbeat and staring absently into the distance. She wondered how the Winter Dance was going at Jamestown, both relieved and sort of disappointed that she'd had no visions of Beckett tonight. She supposed having seen him in person, in his suit, had been vision enough.

  Celes kissed her cheek when the Celebration ended, and Tristan smiled at him, saying goodbye. She could feel Olivia fuming beside her, didn't really blame her, but she couldn't bring herself to look at her. Tristan knew what she'd say anyway, and Tristan would deserve every bit of it.

  ***

  “You've got to be kidding me.” Eva stared at Beckett in disbelief, her face illuminated by the dashboard lights.

  “I'm sorry,” Beckett said, and he was.

  “I don't understand,” Eva said, shaking her head. “Things were fine. What happened?”

  Beckett sighed.

  “It's not you.”

  “Oh, the old it's not you, it's me. Please, spare me,” Eva said disdainfully, crossing her arms over the front of her blue dress. The one she'd matched to the tie she'd bought Beckett.

  “It's true. I'm sorry.”

  “Does this have to do with Tristan Wallace?”

  “Nothing happened,” Beckett answered honestly, figuring that if he had his way, the cat would be out of the bag very soon anyway. “But yes.”

  Eva laughed bitterly, shaking her head.

  “Oh my God. OK. Good luck with that Beckett. And hey, thanks for completely wasting my time.”

  “Ev--”

  But she was already out of the car, slamming his door and storming up the pathway to her house. Sighing, Beckett pulled away from the curb, driving home. That had gone about as well as he'd expected.

  Chapter 16

  “Good morning.” Beckett leaned against the locker beside Tristan's on Monday morning.

  She looked over at him, squinting as she stifled a yawn.

  “Is it?”

  Beckett laughed.

  “How was your weekend?”

  Tristan shook her head, but she was smiling as she closed her locker.

  “It was fine. How was yours?”

  “It was interesting.”

  “Oh? In what way?”

  “Well, the DJ’s computer went down at the dance, then one of his speakers blew, someone spiked the punch, and Eva and I broke up.”

  Tristan blinked.

  “Wait, what?”

  “How was your family party? You were very dressed up, not that I minded.”

  “Uh, it was fine. It wasn't just family, it was friends of our family too,” Tristan replied distractedly. Beckett had broken up with Eva? Why? And was he flirting with her right now, here in the open hallway?

  “Did you party hard and that's why you're so tired this morning?” Beckett grinned at her, and Tristan shook her head, trying and failing not to yawn again.

  “I worked a double yesterday, and I'm working every night this week. I'm tired just thinking about it.”

  The bell rang, and Beckett straightened up.

  “Walk together to homeroom?”

  Tristan eyed him suspiciously, and he laughed.

  “I have to go that way too. I can walk a few paces behind you, though, if you’d like.”

  He and Tristan walked down the hall together, Tristan incredibly self-conscious. They passed Eva, who glared hard at them both, and Tristan glanced at Beckett, who looked untroubled. He waved to Tristan at the door of his classroom, and she waved back, shaking her head as she continued on to her homeroom. Clearly this was going to be another strange week.

  ***

  The next night, Tristan was nearing the end of a late shift she'd picked up at Rise and Grind, working alongside Ellie, when Evander entered the shop.

  “Just about ready, sis?” Evander asked, leaning his forearms on the counter.

  “Five minutes,” Tristan replied, looking at the clock.

  “Hi Evander,” Ellie said, almost shyly. Tristan looked at her.

  “Ellie, right?” Evander asked, and Ellie nodded. “How's it going?”

  “It's going OK. Very busy, but OK.”

  “How's college life treating you?” Evander asked, grinning at her.

  Ellie blushed. Wait, blushed? Tristan looked between Ellie and Evander, her confusion growing. Were they… flirting?

  “Well, this semester I'm doing online courses from home; I had to stick around because of a family situation, but I'm hoping to transfer onto LSU’s campus next semester.”

  “I'm going to go…” Tristan gestured to the back, but didn't bother finishing her sentence. Neither Evander nor Ellie were paying attention to her anyway.

  Making a face as she headed for the back, Tristan quickly cleaned up the counters and the grill, removed her apron and hat, and clocked out.

  “I'll be outside,” Tristan said, walking by Evander and Ellie, who once again ignored her.

  She left the shop and walked the short distance around the corner to the parking lot.

  “Hey,” Tristan said, surprised to see Olivia leaning against Evander’s car, inspecting her cuticles. “I didn't know you were here.”

  “Ember made me wait outside.” Olivia rolled her eyes. “Don't ask me why.”

  “He's in there flirting with Ellie.” Tristan wrinkled her nose. “It's so bizarre witnessing your sibling flirt.”

  “Isn't she like eighteen? Why's she bothering with Ember?”

  “She's going to be nineteen soon I think,” Tristan said. “Celes will be twenty soon, and he graduated a year before her.”

  “So weird.”

  Tristan
nodded, leaning on the car next to Olivia.

  “Who has two thumbs and a date with Ellie Williams in New Orleans on Sunday?” Evander asked, finally joining Olivia and Tristan beside his car in the empty parking lot, gesturing to himself.

  “Yeah right,” Tristan snorted, while Olivia said, “What?”

  “It's true. I just asked her. I've always liked older women.”

  “What about Aeris?” Olivia frowned.

  “Nothing's happening there,” Evander waved his hand. “She's not into me.”

  “There is no way you're going to New Orleans on Sunday, Ember,” Tristan said, looking at him incredulously.

  “Why's that?” Evander crossed his arms, looking bored.

  “First of all, you're grounded until the new year, remember? And second, even if you weren't, Mom and Dad would never let you go. You're sixteen. I know you think you're so much older and wiser than our classmates, but you're not.”

  “Oh, that's rich coming from you,” Evander sneered.

  “What is that supposed to mean?” Tristan demanded.

  “Judging everyone we go to school with, claiming you can't stand them because they're morons, yet I'm the one acting like I think I'm older and wiser than them?”

  “No, see, this?” Tristan waved her finger up and down in front of Evander, raising her voice. “This is what I can't stand. This parroting what those morons say every day, sounding exactly like them. You and Oceana lead totally different lives than I do, Ember, so don't you dare pretend I have no right to judge the people who have made high school hell for me.”

  “But you take no responsibility for your part in that!” Evander exploded, surprising Tristan and Olivia, and three birds that went flapping and squawking off of a wire above their heads. “They're just kids, Trinity, just like you and me and Oceana! They have power over you because you let them! They're nothing in the grand scheme of what our lives are going to be, or could be, but you let them treat you like they're something!”

  “Keep your voice down!” Olivia cried, looking around nervously at the still-empty parking lot.

  “You say that, but at the end of the day, those are the people you've chosen to be friends with! Don't come at me telling me they mean nothing when you're usually running off to parties with them every weekend! Ugh!” Tristan spun around, starting to walk away, but Evander called after her and she turned back around.