by G. K. DeRosa
“What?” he asked, almost choking on his hot coffee.
“I’m not one hundred percent sure it was him, because he was pretty far away. I must have been imagining things. Why would he be at my school?”
“That is strange. I know you girls are hot and all, but – ”
“Oh stop!” said Celeste as she threw a sugar packet at Nico’s face.
As Nico drove Celeste home, she thought about last night and the desperate look in Roman’s face when he had told her to leave, and somehow Nico’s explanation just didn’t ring true. She decided to let it go for now, but she resolved to find out what was really going on one way or another.
***
“Celeste thinks she saw Patrick at her school today,” announced Nico as he walked in the house.
“What?” asked Roman, dropping the book he had been reading. “Damn it - he should be long gone by now.” He stood abruptly, clenching his fist tensely.
“She wasn’t sure it was him, but to be safe, we better keep an eye on her.”
“I always do,” Roman murmured.
“I hate lying to her, Roman.”
“I know that, but it’s better for her not to know anything yet. The less she knows the safer she will be for now. Besides, Stellan said her eighteenth birthday is next week, and once we find out if she has been chosen as the next Guardian, nothing will be the same for her ever again.”
Chapter 6
Celeste, Brian and a handful of classmates from the prom committee were scattered around the gym hanging decorations and candle-lit chandeliers while setting up poker tables and vintage slot machines. Natalie directed all of the activity, hastily twirling a feather boa while determining the exact location of the DJ booth in relation to the dance floor. By the time they were finished they had succeeded in transforming the gym into an extravagant Roaring 20’s Casino.
“Nat, you really went all out, this place looks amazing!” said Celeste, taking a step back to take it all in.
“I couldn’t have done it without the two of you. Thank you so much!” she said as she hugged Celeste and Brian. A sneaky look crossed Natalie’s face. “I just have one more favor to ask of you Celeste.”
“Sure, anything.”
“Will you take Nico to prom with you?”
Celeste shot a quick glance at Brian and caught a surprised look in his sea-green eyes, then she turned back to Natalie. “Why Nico?”
“Why not? He’s new in town, and Dani Lynn said that he had mentioned to her how he had never gone to his own prom, and how much fun it would have been to come to ours,” Natalie explained. “And anyway, I promised you I’d make sure you had the perfect date to match your outfit.”
“Isn’t he like twenty-something?” interjected Brian. “Why would he want to go to a senior prom?”
“Brian, you obviously are underestimating my talents in creating this epic night. I’ve heard that all of Oak Bluffs is talking about it, so it totally makes sense that he would want to come,” Natalie interjected.
“Right…” he said, shaking his head.
“Come on Celeste, why wouldn’t you take him? He’s fun and super hot! Imagine how amazing your prom pictures will turn out? I see it as a win-win for all,” finished Natalie.
Celeste could feel Brian’s eyes on her, awaiting her decision. There was no way she was getting out of this one. “As always I feel like there is no point in trying to argue, so I guess I’ll just save us all some time and give in now.”
“Yes! This is going to be the best prom ever!” squealed Natalie.
“Celeste, you look so beautiful!” her mom exclaimed as she finished curling her bouncy golden hair. “Sometimes I wish I still had long hair,” she said wistfully as she looked at her own tired reflection.
Celeste examined herself in the mirror and smiled. Her hair was curling just right, and the dress that Natalie had picked out was quite flattering on her. Even her boring hazel eyes seemed to stand out with the smoky eye shadow Natalie had convinced her to buy.
“And you were right; my pearls are the perfect match for your dress.” Mrs. Wilder placed the necklace on her daughter and reaching under her hair closed the clasp tightly. “I’m so happy I got to see you all dressed up before your senior prom. I can’t believe how quickly time has passed; it seems like just yesterday your father and I were bringing you home from the hospital.”
“Mom, don’t do it, please don’t cry or else I will start to and then I’ll have to redo my makeup all over again.”
“Okay, okay I’ll stop. I just can’t get over how grown up you are. I still can’t believe you’re going to be eighteen next week,” she said.
“Me neither, I can’t wait!”
“You know, eighteen is a pretty big deal. You’re going to be an adult now. You may find yourself having to make some important decisions soon.”
“I know that Mom, and anyway I already decided where I’m going to college so I think I’m pretty set.”
“Right, of course. So when is this date of yours going to be here? I am looking forward to meeting him!” she said, changing the subject. “Although I am very surprised Brian didn’t ask you to go with him.”
“Oh Mom, I already told you Natalie talked me into taking Nico. He’s new in town and needed a date to the dance, that’s all. And as for Brian, we’ll have to go into that another day.” Celeste looked at herself in the mirror one more time before heading downstairs.
As the elegant white limo pulled up in the driveway, Brian walked over as Celeste was saying goodnight to her mother on the front porch.
“Brian you look so handsome! Hold on let me get a picture of the two of you,” she said as she snapped away a couple of shots.
“Do you like the suit? Natalie picked it out,” he said as he struck a modeling pose.
“Let me guess – you two are going as Bonnie and Clyde?” she chuckled.
As they posed for the camera, Natalie and Nico came up the walkway to join them.
“Good! Now I can take pictures of all of you together!” Celeste’s mom exclaimed.
“Don’t mind my mom guys, she’s a little snap-happy tonight,” announced Celeste.
“Good evening Mrs. Wilder, I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Nico Constantin,” he said, extending his hand with his usual charm and sophistication. “And it is my pleasure to escort your daughter to the dance this evening.” He was impeccably dressed with a black and white pinstriped three-piece suit and red rose in his lapel. Even Mrs. Wilder couldn’t help but succumb to his charms as she grinned from ear to ear shaking his outstretched hand. She followed with a not-too-discreet wink and a thumbs-up to Celeste. “Very nice to meet you, Nico. You kids have fun tonight, and don’t stay out too late!”
Nico held the door open for Celeste as Natalie and Brian climbed over their friends trying to find a spot inside the limo. She peeked inside and saw her rowdy classmates, drinks in hand, and found she needed a deep breath to steady herself. Nico, sensing her hesitation, flashed her a smile and placed a reassuring hand on her back and she climbed in.
Celeste truly felt like she had stepped back in time to a casino in the 1920’s as Nico led her into the candle-lit gym. She looked around in fascination, taking in all of the sights and sounds. The poker tables were filled with gangsters and flappers in colorful roaring 20’s attire. Even the DJ was decked out in a vintage mobster suit complete with fedora and black and white wing tipped shoes. There was something magical in the air. “Can I get you some moonshine, doll?” asked Nico.
“Okay daddy-o, that would be just swell,” she responded in her best 1920’s slang.
Nico and Brian went off in search of beverages, leaving Natalie and Celeste to admire the crowd.
“Doesn’t Brian look so hot in his suit?”
Celeste noticed that Natalie’s face had lit up with a huge smile. “Oh yes, he looks quite dapper! And I love your beret!” she said. “I’ll even admit that you were right. Bringing Nico was a really good idea. I think
this is going to be an amazing night.”
“I think you’re totally right!” she said. “So was it me or did I see you flirting with Nico in the limo?”
“You’re so bad Natalie!”
“What? I was just curious. You two looked pretty friendly.”
“I don’t know. I like Nico, I really do, but there is something about Roman that I just can’t explain.”
Natalie rolled her eyes in mock disapproval. “Maybe it’s his incredible looks and the intense way he stares at you.”
“I think it’s more than that,” she laughed. In all honesty Celeste had no clue what it was about Roman that had her so smitten.
Nico and Brian returned with a vibrant red punch, and with a quick glance around the room Nico pulled a flask out of his jacket pocket and poured a touch of vodka into each of their cups.
“Cheers!”
As Celeste had suspected, Nico was a natural born dancer. He was the perfect partner, twirling her, dipping her, and even picking her up off of her feet once or twice. Celeste laughed breathlessly as Nico led her around the dance floor like a pro. Time flew by as the DJ played hit after hit. During one of her twirls, she glanced around the room and caught sight of Brian sitting by himself on the bleachers staring at her.
“Hey Nico, let’s take a break for a second, I need to catch my breath,” she said.
“Of course, do you want me to get you something to drink?”
“No, I’m okay. I’ll get it. Here comes Natalie, why don’t you dance with her for a bit?”
As Natalie happily accepted Nico’s extended hand, Celeste walked over to Brian, asking, “Hey, how’s it going? Why aren’t you dancing?”
“I just needed a break. Natalie had to make her rounds so I snuck off to sit down for a bit,” he said. “But I’m all good. You still owe me that dance.”
Celeste nodded and they made their way back to the dance floor. A slow song had come on, the lights had been dimmed and a romantic mood pervaded as dozens of couples swayed slowly to the music. Celeste always felt so comfortable dancing with Brian. It was like slipping into a warm snuggly blanket on a cool winter’s night. Brian was quiet at first, and she enjoyed the comfortable silence that comes from a long-established friendship.
“You look like you’re having a lot of fun out there.”
“Yeah, I really am actually,” Celeste said contentedly.
“I’m really happy to see you like this. I don’t remember the last time I saw you having so much fun.”
She paused when she noticed a dismal tone in his voice. “Then why don’t you look happy?”
“Huh? I don’t?”
She looked up at him questioningly with big brown eyes.
“I don’t know Cel, I guess I just always thought that I would be the one to make you feel like that again.”
Celeste felt like someone had just poured a large bucket of ice water on her head. She waited for a few seconds to collect her thoughts before answering.
“Brian, you know that you are the one that has gotten me through some of the worst years of my life. I never would have survived losing my dad without you. What we have is so special to me, and I never want to lose you as my best friend.”
“You’ll never lose me Cel. I’ll always be here for you, I promise,” he said and pulled her close to him.
Celeste felt tears welling up and her throat began to tighten. She pulled away quickly and excused herself to make a run to the ladies room.
Celeste dabbed at her eyes in the mirror, and reapplied some lip-gloss. As much as she tried to deny it, it seemed that Natalie had been right.
Does Brian really have feelings for me?
She shrugged off the thought, pulled herself together, and headed back to the dance. As she walked through the quiet hallway, she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around quickly, and found herself face to face with Patrick.
“Oh geez, you scared me,” she said. “What are you doing here?”
“Sorry about that. I’ve been wanting to talk to you all night, but I didn’t want to get beaten up by your boyfriend,” said Patrick caustically. The bright smile from the other night was gone, replaced instead by dark circles under his bloodshot eyes that stood out in contrast to his pale ivory skin.
Patrick lurking in the shadows waiting for her to come out of the bathroom just didn’t seem right to her. She tried to remain calm, and keep the conversation casual hoping that she could make her way back to a more public area.
“So what did you want to talk to me about?” asked Celeste.
“It was actually something I wanted to show you. It’s in my car -- let’s go,” he said as he reached forcefully for her arm.
“No, I don’t think so,” Celeste said equally forcefully as she wriggled away from his grasp. “I have to get back to Nico. He must be wondering where I went.”
“It’s about your father’s death, Celeste. You may want to reconsider.”
Celeste’s heart froze at the mention of her father. “How do you know my dad?” she asked and the calmness in her voice had disappeared.
“I guess you’ll never know unless you come with me.”
Visions of Roman warning her about Patrick danced through her head, but if he knew something about her father, she had to find out what it was. Against her better judgment, she followed Patrick out to his car. She kept hoping to pass someone on the way, but the parking lot was deserted. She could hear the echoing of Roman’s desperate voice warning her to go back, but she trudged on determinedly.
“I guess meeting you at Ralph’s the other night wasn’t a coincidence?”
“Not exactly,” Patrick confirmed.
“You came looking for me?” asked Celeste desperate to put the pieces together.
“You could say that.”
Celeste looked around nervously, but there was no one in sight. “Do you know Roman and Nico? Is that why you were all acting so weird?”
“Not personally, but I know of them.”
“What does that mean?” she asked, walking more slowly and trying to stall.
“There are things you don’t know about them. But more importantly there are things about your father that you need to know, Celeste,” he said as he walked up to the trunk of his car and opened it.
Faster than she thought humanly possible, he picked her up and forced her into the trunk. Celeste screamed and kicked frantically when she realized what was happening. Suddenly everything began to move very slowly. She stretched out her arms, pushing against the trunk door as hard as she could. She struggled to get her legs under her as Patrick reached up to close the lid down on her. Before it slammed down, Roman appeared out of nowhere.
“Roman!” she screamed.
Patrick spun around and met with Roman’s stone cold fist and crumpled to the ground. Celeste was petrified with fear, completely numb. She stared in shock at Patrick’s limp body stretched out on the black top. Roman reached in and scooped her out of the trunk, cradling her tenderly.
“You’re all right. Everything is going to be fine,” he whispered to her.
Celeste could feel the edges of her vision blurring as she struggled not to faint. Suddenly, Nico appeared running from the direction of the gym.
“Is she okay?” Nico asked, eyes wide with panic.
“Why weren’t you watching her?” Roman growled. “If I hadn’t been here…” and he broke off suddenly remembering Celeste’s presence.
“Take her back into the gym little brother. I’ll take care of Patrick,” Roman said, carefully placing Celeste into Nico’s arms.
Celeste was in shock and hadn’t been able to bring herself to speak yet, but as she looked up at Nico’s worried face, she finally asked, “What just happened? We need to call the police! That guy just threw me in the trunk of his car!” Her voice was shaking and she noticed she was trembling.
“Don’t worry Celeste, Roman will take care of it,” he assured her.
Celeste convinced Nico that she was c
apable of walking and felt better once she was on solid ground. She began peppering him with questions: “Can you please tell me why in the world Patrick just tried to abduct me? And I don’t want to hear some lame excuse like the one you gave me the other day. And how does he know my father? And how does he know you two? And why was Roman here anyway?”
“Celeste, slow down. Can we go back into the gym please? It may not be safe out here, and I’d feel much better if we were inside,” he said, surveying the parking lot nervously. “And perhaps we shouldn’t tell anyone about what happened just yet, we don’t want to cause a panic.”
“Fine, but then you are answering all of my questions Nico.”
As Celeste and Nico walked back into the dance, Natalie came running toward them.
“Where have you two been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you! They’re about to announce the Senior Prom King and Queen.” Natalie, so consumed with the news of the announcement, didn’t even notice Celeste’s disheveled appearance.
Nico gave Celeste an apologetic look and followed Natalie up to the front of the dance floor where Brian was waiting with the gathering students. As they weaved through the crowd, Celeste whispered to Nico, “You are not getting away with this. As soon as they announce the winner, we are going to talk about what just happened.”
“And this year’s St. Alice’s Senior Prom King and Queen are… Natalie Meadows and Brian Kennedy!” exclaimed the announcer. Natalie’s face lit up, and she took Brian’s hand as they made their way to the stage.
“Nico, you get over here and talk to me right now,” Celeste said during the crowning ceremony.
“Celeste, you don’t want to miss out on this very special moment for your friends. Come on, get your camera out! Natalie is going to kill you if you don’t take some good pictures,” he said, purposely avoiding her. The truth was that he had no idea how he was going to explain this.
“You are exasperating!” Celeste shook her head and took her iPhone out so that she could capture the momentous occasion. Never mind the fact that I almost got abducted by a stranger in the parking lot of my senior prom.