I ran round to my mom, overflowing with joy, and gave her a crushing embrace as well. I had really missed her! I glanced sideways at Tristan, waiting at the other side of the car while I wrapped my arms around her. He was watching us with a slightly puzzled expression.
Tristan remained a little distant from me while we unpacked the car. I think he was a little freaked out with what had just happened a few seconds ago. Once we’d finished unloading, we walked to the school steps, where Tiffany was waiting for us.
“Hey, Mom, Tristan, this is my friend Tiffany,” I introduced.
“So nice to meet you, Mama Gray! And … Tristan.” Tiffany looked at Tristan with raised eyebrows, clearly very impressed with what she was seeing. Who wouldn’t be? He looked amazing. Damn him!
He nodded his head politely, taking one of Tiffany’s hands in his and kissing it lightly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, miss.”
Tiffany froze with her hand in his, staring at him in surprise. She thought he was making fun of her, but he had such a serious straight face on. I decided to intervene before Tiffany became suspicious.
“Don’t mind him, Tiff. Tristan, stop it! Always goofing around, that brother of mine!” I said, waving his hand away from hers and nudging him in the side.
Mom gave a nervous little laugh, and tried dispersing the awkwardness by changing the subject. “So, let’s get these bags inside, shall we? I called the secretary yesterday and they gave me his dorm room number, so we need to get him settled in now. We’ll see you later, Tiffany,” Mom said in one rushed breath.
Tiffany smiled, a little confused, and nodded. “Of course. I’ll catch up with you guys later, then!” She waved us goodbye and jogged up the steps ahead of us.
We all entered the school through the massive front doors, and only when I saw Tiffany disappearing round the corner was I able to breathe properly in relief. “Tristan, try not to do that again, will you? That’s not how kids greet each other nowadays!” I said, walking by his side.
He frowned, not understanding what he’d done wrong back there. “How do people greet each other now?” he asked, bewildered.
“You know … just say ‘Hi’. Some people don’t even do that,” I muttered.
“Well, that’s just rude,” he stated, frowning, and then he stopped at an intersection, looking around in bewilderment. “This place is huge! What did you say my dorm number was, Mrs. Gray?”
“Oh, I wrote it on this note,” my mother said, fumbling with the piece of paper as she added in an urgent whisper, “But Tristan, you should call me Mom here, remember? Ah, here it is,” she said more loudly. “It’s Room 101, Block B, on the second floor. The secretary told me I needed to sign some consent papers first … and she said they were sorry for the mix-up. I didn’t quite get what she meant, but I’ll sort out whatever it is now that I’m here.”
I glanced at her nervously. Gosh. Room 101-B.
“Yeah, about that, Mom. Room 101 B is my room too,” I said, watching her reaction.
“Oh, goodie, they have co-ed dorms here! What luck, huh? Now you can share a room together and look after each other! So, show us the way, Joey! Come on! These bags are really heavy!” she said, huffing and looking ahead at the hallways.
“Huh … So, okay, follow me. This way,” I said, gesturing ahead. I decided to tell her later that it wasn’t a co-ed dorm room. If she wasn’t making a big deal about it, I sure as hell wasn’t going to, either!
We walked straight to the east wing, and up the staircase to the second floor. I knocked softly on the door before entering our room, Tristan and my mom following behind.
Seth was on his bed, leaning against the headboard as usual, legs casually crossed, reading a book. I walked in and introduced my mom, and then Tristan as my brother and our third room-mate for the year.
Seth stood up and greeted my mom, and then held out a hand to Tristan, who looked smugly at me, silently saying, “See? People do still shake hands, at least.” He shook Seth’s hand firmly.
Seth watched Tristan stow his bags in the room with a cautious side-glance. I noticed Seth was feeling intimidated by Tristan’s confident stance. Tristan did have an impressive presence. My mom was busy inspecting the room, the wardrobes, window views and bathroom, so I just sat on my bed and let her roam around. Then I thought it would be a good thing to leave the boys alone for a while, and asked my mom if she’d like a tour of the school grounds. She agreed happily and was ready to leave in a heartbeat.
“You get settled, Tristan. Unpack your things and I’ll give you a tour tomorrow, all right? We’ll be right back,” I said, waving him goodbye. He nodded calmly, sitting on his bed at the other side of the room.
As I closed the door I saw him looking at Seth with a strange expression.
While I showed my mom around, I tried to explain the co-ed dorm situation. At first she looked deeply disgruntled, but then I pointed out that she’d been quite okay with it just a few minutes ago, and that she had no reason to be upset about it now. And then I reassured her that Seth was a really cool, decent, respectful guy, and so was Tristan, so she had nothing to worry about. After a few minutes of intense persuasion, she agreed to sign the consent form in the admin office. I was mentally jumping up and down with joy. I couldn’t let her see how thrilled I actually was that she’d let me stay with the boys! It was too good to be true!
When we got back to the room, we found Tristan and Seth getting along just great. They were laughing happily about something, but as soon we stepped inside, they turned it down, and changed the subject fast. Seth’s initial distrust and intimidation were completely gone from his eyes now.
My mom soon started asking a bunch of “casual” questions to Seth, then, which could have been interpreted as mild curiosity, but I knew damn well that she was in fact giving him a light interrogation because of the room-mate deal. He didn’t seem to notice it, though, thank the gods! After a while Mom seemed satisfied with Seth’s “debriefing” and quit with all the weird questions. Then she jumped up, smacking her forehead loudly.
“Tristan, I was almost forgetting! Please, get Joey’s birthday present! I want to see if she likes it!” she said in excitement.
Tristan smiled and grabbed a white box from inside his suitcase, handing it swiftly to my mother.
She thrust the box into my hands, bursting with good cheer. “Happy birthday, munchkin!” she said with a wide grin.
Seth raised his eyebrows, and gave a yell of complaint. “Hey! I didn’t know today was your birthday!”
I took the box from my mom, thanking her with an eye roll. “Yeah, sorry about that, Seth. I just don’t like celebrating my birthday, is all. It’s no big deal.”
“She never lets me buy a cake, or call her friends, or throw a party!” Mom whined at my side. “I have to put my foot down on the presents, though. If it was up to her she’d let the day pass by like it was any other normal day!”
“It is a normal day, Mother! What’s so special about birthdays anyway? So I was born this day, eighteen years ago. Do we have to keep remembering this for the rest of our lives? And the celebration? What is that for? Congratulations, you’ve managed to live for yet another year. That’s just ridiculous!” I said, exasperated. They all laughed at my pouting face.
“All right, dear. We understand you don’t celebrate birthdays. But this one is special! It’s your eighteenth birthday! Would you open your present already?” Mom said, patting me condescendingly on the shoulder.
I huffed, annoyed, and put the box onto my bed, lifting the top lid off. I took this beautiful dark-red dress out. It was such an amazing dress! I stroked my hands over the soft silky fabric. It looked expensive. I couldn’t picture myself in that dress. It was too much for me. The dress was just so elegant, and extraordinary. And I was just so … plain me.
“Gosh, thanks, Mom. It’s beautiful!” I said sincerely. She didn’t need to know that I would never have the courage to wear it.
“Isn’t it? When I sa
w it, I just had to buy it for you!” she said, radiating happiness.
I nodded and folded the dress carefully back into the box, then put it in my closet.
My mom left at sundown, asking me to call her whenever I could, and to promise that I’d visit at weekends.
Tristan, Seth and I had dinner together that night, and Tiffany joined us at the table in the middle of the meal. She kept looking from Seth to Tristan with curious glances. I tried to take a peek in her eyes, but as I’d already noticed, she was really good at hiding her emotions. I couldn’t decipher what she was feeling. I was so used to getting instant feedback just by looking into people’s eyes, that when I couldn’t with Tiffany I felt a little annoyed.
We talked for a long time at the dinner table, and Seth insisted on buying me a chocolate cupcake to celebrate the day while Tiffany had a fit over me not telling her today was my birthday. I forbade them to sing any birthday songs, and glared at them quite evilly so that they saw I was dead serious about it. It was really late when we all called it a night.
Our room felt warm and cozy as we snuggled inside, the wind rattling outside the window. My heart was still beating erratically because Tristan was now here, and in the same room, with me. He was going to be my room-mate! How awesome was that?
I was getting ready to go to bed when Tristan stood up from his bed, like he had just remembered something. He fumbled quickly in his suitcase and came over to sit next to me, holding something in his hand. A few butterflies rose softly inside me when his arm brushed past mine.
“I meant to give you this for your birthday. It’s just a small token, but I hope you like it. Happy birthday, Joey,” he said, handing me a strip of paper.
I looked at it in surprise. It was one of those instant-photography-booth strips of snapshots, with Tristan making all sorts of faces to the camera. There were sexy ones, funny ones, weird-looking ones, one with his profile (I guess he was looking at something outside), one with him pointing smugly at the lens … And my favorite of them all, one of him simply looking intently at the camera, a tiny, practically imperceptible smile at the right corner of his perfect lips, and his eyes slightly crinkled with the smile that threatened to break through. He looked so happy! So full of life. So … perfect.
I was speechless. It was the most perfect gift. The best I have ever received. I turned it over and was further surprised to see a note on the back of the strip, in neat handwriting:
Life is indeed full of possibilities.
Thank you for showing that to me.
You’re the most amazing possibility that has ever happened to me.
Happy Birthday!
T.
“I thought you might like it, since you have this tradition of giving presents in the form of photographs of happy moments,” he said, smiling as he stood at my side.
I turned my face to him, trying to stop my watery eyes from spilling over. He was looking at me intently, watching my reaction to his gift. I tried to speak, and my voice came out quivering. “Thank you, Tris. It’s … perfect.” And I gave him another hug. This time he didn’t tense up but hugged me back. I felt the tingling again, but a little fainter than last time.
Seth came out of the bathroom at that moment, and we ended our hug quickly, before we could draw too much attention to ourselves. Tristan stood up and went to his bed. “Good night, Joey. Sleep tight,” he said quietly.
Before I went to bed, I put Tristan’s gift safely inside my closet, hidden neatly under my new red dress. Then I snuggled beneath my soft covers and turned the light off my night-stand lamp.
This had turned out to be the best birthday I had ever had.
Chapter Fifteen
Charming Ways
That first night after Tristan’s arrival at the school, I had the strangest dream.
I was at this circle-shaped plaza filled with people. But there was a kind of grayish, foggy look about everything and everybody, like we were all in a ghost town.
I looked down at myself and saw that I stood out from everything else. I was sharply defined, with vibrant, vivid colors emanating from my skin and my clothes. I felt like an intruder in this place, like I didn’t belong there. I glanced up and saw this eerie, cloaked figure standing a little away from me. It looked like a man, because of his posture and size, but I couldn’t tell for sure. He also looked different from everybody else. Although he didn’t have vibrant colors, like me, and had only this long, light gray cloak covering himself, he was similarly defined, even more sharp-edged than I. He looked intensely solid, a massive presence in that hazy place.
And he was looking straight at me. He started moving slowly towards me, but his movements seemed strange, alien, like someone not used to walking. He kind of floated in my direction.
His cloak hood was down, so when he got close enough, I was able to see his face. I wish I hadn’t, though. It was the scariest thing I have ever seen. A blank, expressionless, dead face stared back at me, with black holes instead of eyes. It didn’t look human. I didn’t know what the hell that thing was, but I was sure I didn’t want to stick around to find out. I was so terrified, I couldn’t move or scream or do anything, only watch that scary, horrible creature getting closer and closer to me. He stopped a few feet from me, those black holes in his face boring into my eyes.
When he spoke, his voice was low and soft, like a whisper. I was expecting something hoarse and gritty, something really scary, but his voice was nothing but cool and calm, almost soothing.
“I found you,” he stated.
It wasn’t a question, merely an observation. And I realized he wasn’t opening his mouth to speak, either. His voice simply sounded inside my head, without the need for vocalization. I was so freaked out, I could barely stand still without trembling. He tilted his head to the side, slowly, making me think of a bird of prey.
“But I cannot find it,” he whispered, again just stating his facts. “Where is it? Where is the anomaly?” He straightened upright, waiting for me to answer.
“I-I-I don’t know,” I managed to mumble after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.
“It is hidden, guarded from me. I must find it and fix it. Where is it?” He repeated his question.
He wasn’t making any sense. “I don’t know what you are talking about,” I blurted out in sheer panic.
He tilted his head the other way and frowned. It was the first time I saw some sort of expression on his face. “It is no use hiding it from me. I’ll find it, no matter what. It is only a matter of time,” he said, taking a step closer to me. “You also have a way to guard yourself from me,” he continued. “At least in the physical world. That is an inconvenience. At the moment I can only summon you when you are in a subconscious state,” he said, still taking another step. He was really close now. Scarily close. “And I know you two are linked, bonded. But I have found you. You must tell me its location. It is my job to fix it. This cannot go any further.”
He held out his hand to me. I tried to run, but my feet were stuck, like an old tree rooted to the ground. Why couldn’t I move?
This was only a nightmare. A horrible nightmare. I just needed to wake up!
His hands were almost upon me and I recoiled, terrified. The last thing I saw was his long, sharp fingers reaching out to me, his pale face coming in my direction, black hollowed eyes narrowing in eagerness. I shut my eyes hard and I heard his whispered, surprised voice inside my head. “No!” And then I woke up in my room, panting heavily and terrified out of my mind.
It took me several minutes to get my breathing back to normal. Another several minutes to gather my wits. I agonized for a long time in bed, debating whether to wake up Tristan, but after a while I realized I was just being stupid. I wasn’t going to disturb him because of a silly nightmare! What was I? Five years old? He would think I was a stupid little girl! After some time trying to settle down, I managed to drift back into a restless sleep.
The next day I woke up really tired. Seth had left early
to meet Sam. They were going to work on some new lyrics. I was curious about Sam; he was the only member of the band I hadn’t yet met. But I was so tired and in such a sour mood that I thought it best to meet him some other time. I got myself washed and dressed, but without much energy.
Tristan, who was already dressed, noticed my weariness and asked what was wrong. I sat on my bed and told him about my weird silly nightmare. He listened in silence, fumbling with his black beaded wristband. When I finished my dream tale, he remained silent for a long time in a thoughtful mood.
“This cloaked thing in your dream, did he really say ‘It is guarded from me’?” Tristan asked at last, seated on his bed across from mine, finally risking a comment.
“Yeah, I think it was something like that. Why? It was just a weird dream. A stupid nightmare,” I said, trying to look at his eyes, but he kept his face down, staring at his wristband.
“Yes. It could be. But analyzing your dream, it seems this person might be looking only for me. You were dragged into the middle of all this because of me, because of bringing me back, and our bond. I put you in this situation,” Tristan said in a really worried voice.
“Tris, come on. Stop blaming yourself. You didn’t plan for any of this to happen. You didn’t know. And for all we know, maybe this is just a dream, a nightmare, nothing more!” I said, trying to reassure him everything was going to be all right.
“Miss Violet came by your house every day last week to check on me. Before I left, on my last day, she gave me this.” He showed me his beaded wristband. “She said to keep it on me at all times. It’s some sort of amulet. She said it would ‘keep me guarded’. Strange choice of words, huh? The same as in your dream … Maybe I should give it to you – to ward off your bad dreams …” He made a move to remove the band but I stopped him.
“No, she meant for you to have it, but maybe we can ask Miss Violet for another one, then we’ll be both guarded from whatever the hell that thing was, and it won’t be able to find us. Problem solved. Plus, it looks really cool on you! You should definitely keep it on, it’s very trendy!” I said, smiling at him.
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