The Wanderers Beginning: The Wanderers, Reborn, & Unforgiven

by Jessica Miller

  When it was my turn he offered to help me again. “No I got this,” I said, too afraid to be near him. He stood at the opposite end of the table trying to give me advice on where and what ball to shoot. I was still too worked up from when he helped me last that my nerves got the better of me and I over shot the cue ball sending it flying off the table and into a group of innocent bystanders. Luckily no one was hit.

  Tristan retrieved the ball and insisted he help this time so no one got hurt. “Okay, now this time, a little less power.” He wrapped his arm around like last time and lined up my stick. His touch had a weird effect that made my skin tingle. “You're shivering,” he said. “Are you cold?” he asked noticing the way I was quivering.

  “No it's fine, I'm fine,” I stammered. He leaned in a little closer sending my head into a whirlwind spiral. “I think I got it,” I said, hoping he'd back away and give me some breathing room. He stood up and leaned casually against the wall waiting for me to take my turn.

  What the hell is going on? I didn't realize how tightly I was gripping the stick until I tried to shoot and it didn't budge. I loosened my grip and took the shot, but missed. “It's okay,” he said. “At least you kept this one on the table,” he laughed.

  “Shut up,” I said, pushing him playfully and easing some of the tension I was feeling moments ago. When it was Tristan's turn again, I spotted one of the sisters, Skylar over in the distance staring. I watched her carefully as she glared at us with her arms crossed. What is this chick's problem, I wondered?

  “You're up,” Tristan said, bringing my attention back to the game.

  By the time we were done, I was tired, and ready to go back to my room. I ended up having a better time than I thought and was surprised at how well Tristan was behaving. Not once did he say something inappropriate like he normally does. I was impressed to see a side of him that I know he doesn't normally show.

  He walked me back to my room and even waited to make sure it was safe for me to go in. “Thank you. I actually had a good time tonight.”

  “And that surprises you?”

  “Yes and no.” He looked at me curiously. “Goodnight Tristan,” I said, opening the door and leaving it at that.

  He put his hand on mine, stopping me. “You know it's still early. We could go back to my room and continue the party,” he said with his normal cocky smile.

  “You just had to ruin it, didn't you,” I said, shaking my head knowing tonight was too good to be true.

  “What?” he asked, innocently.

  “Goodnight Tristan,” I said, pushing him back. I entered my room and closed the door behind me.

  “I don't even get a goodnight kiss?” he asked through the door.

  I shook my head laughing. “No. Now go away.”

  “It's okay, I can wait. Sweet dreams la mia bella stella,” he whispered. I waited to hear his footsteps. Then I made my way to my bed not able to unscrew the smile from my face. I didn’t even bother to turn on the lights. I didn’t want to wake Josie.

  “Who was that?” Josie asked, groggily.

  “Huh? Oh, no one,” I said, kicking off my shoes.

  “Clearly someone's got you all hot and bothered. I can tell by that goofy grin on your face,” she said, sitting up.

  “Josie it's no one. Well no one to be concerned about.” I carefully made my way through the darkness, guided by the small light coming through the window. Josie sat there and watched as I changed into my pajamas. I looked back over at her. “Seriously, you're kinda creeping me out, watching me change. Does this have to do with earlier, because I am so not having a threesome with you?”

  “Eww gross Ella,” she said, throwing her pillow at me and making me laugh. “No. I'm staring at you because I know you're holding something back.”

  “I am not,” I said, crawling in to my bed.

  She got up out of her bed and jumped on top of me. “Who is it?” she demanded always needing to know my business.

  “Josie, really?”

  “Come on, I want the details!”

  “Josie I'm tired and want to go to bed.”

  “You're not getting out of this,” she said, ripping off my covers. I sat up annoyed as she plopped down in front of me, legs crossed. She sat there waiting with her elbows on her knees and chin resting on her hands. I sat staring back with my arms crossed. This was something we did regularly when the other was trying to get information from the other. Josie was never good at this game and I knew it would only be a matter of time before she gave in. It only took a minute before she cracked. “Is it Jack?” she asked curious.

  “No. Not Jack.”

  “Tristan?” she said, scratching her head not able to think of anyone else.

  “No,” I said, hoping she couldn't see my reddened cheeks in the dim glow of the moonlight shining through our window.

  Her jaw dropped and her eyes went wide. “It's Tristan, it totally is! Oh my god you like Tristan!” she practically shouted.

  “No I do not!” I said quickly. “And keep your voice down.”

  “Why, are you afraid lover boy will find out you like him?”

  “I do not like him,” I repeated.

  Josie fell back on the bed giggling. “You so do,” she sang. “I'm going to go tell him.” She jumped up off the bed. I dove for her grabbing her ankle and causing her to trip. “What the hell Ella?”

  “Fine if I tell you I like him will you let it go?” She nodded excitedly despite the fact I just made her do a crash landing onto the floor. “Okay, I like him, I think, sorta? Maybe?”

  “Uh, I'm confused,” she said, getting up and returning to her bed.

  I retrieved my blanket from the floor and crawled back into bed. “You and me both,” I confessed.

  “So you do like him?”

  “Yes and no. I mean I don't know. One minute I feel a certain way and I'm like, ‘wow, what is this strange attraction I'm feeling,’ and then the next minute he opens his mouth and ruins it all,” I sighed falling back on my pillow.

  Josie laughed. “Yes, guys do tend to have a way of ruining things by opening their mouths. You think maybe it's lust you're feeling?”

  I rolled my eyes. “No, that's more him than me and that's the thing. He’s so obnoxious I just want to smack him. And then there are these rare moments when he drops the act and is someone else entirely.”

  “Yeah, I could see how that would be confusing.”

  “The other thing is that I'm worried those rare moments are the act and the real him is what I see all the time and if that's true than no thank you. I will not be another notch on his belt.”

  “You think maybe that's why he wants you so bad, because he’s not used to rejection?”

  “Makes sense, I mean why else would he be so persistent?”

  “Did you ever think because maybe you're hot and he actually likes you?”

  “Well ya know,” I said dusting off my shoulders.

  “Conceited much?” Josie laughed.

  “You said it first,” I laughed along with her.

  Josie's smile faded and got serious for a moment. “Okay, for real though, how do you feel about him?”

  “Honestly Josie, I just don't know.”

  She didn't ask me anymore questions after that.

  I arrived at Art class before Tristan and sat in the back with Jack. Tristan slipped in at the last second. His eyes wandered the room stopping on mine. He smiled and strode right over to the empty seat next to me. Today I didn't bother to pretend it was taken. “Ella,” he smiled.

  “Tristan,” I smiled back.

  The professor started the class by telling us we had only a week left to finish our paintings. In the beginning she had let us paint what we want, then moved on to assigned projects. But now we had a chance to go back and finish our original work. I was thrilled.

  Every now and then I would feel stumped and sat back in my chair to take a break. I tried to sneak a peek at Tristan's work, but he kept it blocked pretty well. I even
craned my neck to look over his arm, but he caught me and turned his easel away from me. I sat back and then noticed Tristan trying to sneak a peek at my painting. Since he wouldn't let me see his I turned my easel just as he did. He just smiled and continued painting. I would glance at him from the corner of my eye and see he would do the same thing. He flashed me a smile and winked causing me to look away to avoid being caught red in the face.

  I cleaned up my brushes early because I had a mental block and thought it best to start with a clear head the next day. “You finished?” Jack asked.

  “No, just need a break,” I replied.

  “So, I was, um, wandering if you'd like to grab some lunch?” Jack asked a little nervously which I found kind of odd. All the time we've spent together lately I couldn't imagine why Jack would be nervous about asking me to have lunch with him.

  I didn't dwell on it and said, “Sure.” When I turned back around to collect my things I noticed Tristan was no longer there. Confused I looked around the classroom, but he was gone.

  “Everything okay?” Jack asked.

  “Yeah,” I said. “So where should we grab a bite?”

  Jack and I went to a local cafe a few blocks from the college. He talked about his classes most of the time while I sat and listened. Every now and then I would drift off. Each time my mind wandered Tristan's face would flash in my head. I contemplated different reasons for why he had left so abruptly today, but I couldn't think of any good excuse. He always stuck around just to torment me, but today he hadn't and for some reason that bothered me.

  “Ella?”

  I brought my attention back to Jack. “I'm sorry what?”

  “Are you okay? You seem to be somewhere else.”

  “Oh, sorry, I'm fine,” I said. I looked down at my barely touched lunch. “Actually I'm not feeling too well. Do you mind if I head out?” I didn't wait for an answer. I just grabbed my stuff and threw some money on the table leaving Jack questioning what had gone wrong.

  I had a hard time getting Tristan out of my head. What was this strange power he had over me all of a sudden? Why did I care so much? I was so lost in my thoughts I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going. I stopped and looked around. Where the hell am I? I retraced my steps back to the restaurant. I ended up walking two blocks in the wrong direction. By the time I managed to find my way I got the strangest feeling that someone was following me. I looked over my shoulder to confirm my suspicion, but it was hard to single out any one person. The streets were crowded with students. I brushed off the feeling and picked up my pace. Then I reminded myself I had to apologize to Jack for bailing on him like that.

  I caught Jack the next day on my way to our first class. I had tried to apologize last night, but his roommate had said he left and didn't know when he'd be back so I knew I had to catch him before class. “Jack!” He stopped and turned around when I called him. “Hey I wanted to apologize for yesterday I...”

  He cut me off. “No need, you were sick. I understand,” he said giving me his crooked smile. I wanted to correct him and tell him the truth, but I couldn't find the courage. Instead I let him believe that's why I really left and followed him to class.

  When I got to art Tristan wasn’t there. I shrugged figuring he was late, but when he didn’t show I was a little worried. I reminded myself this was Tristan, he was probably hung over and sleeping it off. I left it go figuring I’d see him tomorrow.

  It was now Friday and I hadn’t seen Tristan in class all week. I told myself I had no need to be concerned. I'm sure he's just been on a binge all week. Josie had told me this week was the final week before they accepted anyone in to the sororities and fraternities so most pledges were taking a brutal beating for those houses that still did hazing. Thankfully the sorority Josie wanted me to pledge was not into that tradition, but apparently their brother fraternity still was.

  I heard the door open and looked up to see Tristan stroll in. He whispered a few words to the teacher and then proceeded to take his normal seat next to me without saying a word. I looked at him and he just nodded and started to paint. I didn't take my eyes off of him right away. Something was different about him. He seemed almost sad, but I told myself I didn’t care and turned back to my work. Neither Tristan nor I spoke a word the entire class. Nor did he once take his eyes off his painting. I, on the other hand, couldn't help myself and would sneak peeks over at him. His eyes looked intense as he worked diligently on his piece. I wondered for a moment what was going on inside that head of his. I never saw him look so serious before, but the class was over too soon for me to come to a conclusion.

  As I cleaned up my things I noticed that Tristan was still working. “You coming Ella?” Jack asked.

  “Yeah,” I said, but when we got to the door I stopped. “Can I catch up to you later?” I asked Jack.

  “Yeah, no problem,” Jack replied before taking off.

  I turned back to Tristan who was still sitting in his chair working. I waited until there was no one left in the class besides us and the teacher. Then I went back over to my seat and sat down facing Tristan. He still didn't look at me which I actually found irritating. I tried my best to wait until he acknowledged me but my patience was wearing thin. “Where were you all week?” I asked.

  He finally looked at me and with a week smile asked, “Why, did you miss me?”

  “Hardly,” I said, trying to sound convincing. “I was just curious, that's all.” I saw his lips twitch slightly and I knew he was trying hard not to smile. “So are you not going to tell me? Was it something illegal?” I teased.

  “Why do you care?” he asked peculiarly.

  “I don't. Like I said I was just being curious.” I had to look away so he couldn't tell I was lying.

  “I had some business to take care of,” he said simply.

  “What kind of business?” I pressed.

  He finally stopped painting and gave me his full attention. “How badly do you want to know?” He raised his brows looking me over and I knew exactly what he was implying.

  “Not that bad,” I said, getting up.

  He chuckled and went back to his painting not saying another word. I waited for another moment before I had enough.

  “Addio mia bella stella,” he said.

  I turned around annoyed. “Why do you do that?”

  “Do what?”

  “You're not even Italian, you're Irish.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because your last name is McKinnon which is pretty much a given.”

  He smiled. “Would you prefer the Gaelic version, because I could do that? I just always thought it sounded nicer in Italian.”

  I would have to agree. The little Gaelic I did know didn't roll off the tongue as nicely as Italian did, but I wasn't going to tell him that. So I simply responded with, “Whatever,” and left.

  Chapter nine

  “Did you decide yet?” Josie asked impatiently.

  “I still don't know.”

  “Well they're having a party tonight in honor of new members and I think you should go. Maybe that will help you make up your mind.”

  I doubt it, I said to myself. Josie had been on me all week about whether or not I decided to join Theta Kappa. And every day I told her my mind wasn’t made up. My classes didn't seem too overwhelming and I was a champ at multitasking, but I still wasn't so sure it would be the best idea.

  I finally told Josie I would go to the party. It was just a welcoming party so I was sure it would be low key. She warned me we had to dress nice. So I went with my purple sleeveless dress, with a black belt, and black cardigan. Josie wore a strapless green dress that ruffled from the waist down and a little black jacket. I drove us to the sorority house, even though it was only a few blocks; it was too far and too cold to walk in heels.

  The exterior of the house seemed to have an ominous glow emanating from all the windows making the house appear haunted. Once inside, we saw the place was lit from top to bottom with candles.
“What's with all the candles?” I asked Josie. “It's very colonial.”

  Josie rolled her eyes. “Didn't you ever hear of soft lighting?”

  I ignored her, too distracted by the interior design. The house itself was exquisite. It had beautiful art all over the walls and hardwood floors covered with very expensive area rugs. Designer furniture and lavish curtains made from the finest silks; I was afraid to touch anything. I felt like I had walked into a museum. The only thing missing was the red velvet ropes.

  “Welcome, ladies, to your new home.” Cadence announced coming down the stairs wearing a knee length gray and black cocktail dress. Her arms extended in a welcoming gesture. Most of the other sisters were dressed similarly making me feel a little under dressed in my plain purple dress. “Please, before we start tonight's festivities, feel free to take a tour of the house.”

  The whole place was like a showcase. They had one wall with all their achievements and awards. A glass case holding trophies of competitions different sisters had won. Down the next hall were pictures of all the sisters over the years.

  “Hey Ella, look at this. This guy looks just like your dad,” Josie said. I walked over to the picture Josie was standing by. I looked at the picture. It was a spitting image of my father, everything from his dark hair, to his piercing green eyes, and stern smile.

  I read the caption underneath. Liam McCallister, Head founder 1935. Next to his picture was one of another man named, Robert McCallister, Vice President. I would have sworn it was my dad but knew that was impossible. My dad wasn't born until the 1960's and graduated from Stanford.

  “He does have a striking resemblance,” I said curiously.

  “Maybe he's your great grandfather?” Josie suggested.

  Maybe, I thought. I never did see any pictures of him. It was possible, or an extremely weird coincidence. I made a mental note to ask my mom about it later.

  “You have his eyes.”

  Startled, I turned around to see a very dressed up Tristan. He was wearing a suit and tie as opposed to his normal polo and jeans attire.

  “You clean up nice,” I said, trying not to stare because he looked really, really good.