by M. H. Soars
I told her about the weird exchange between Julian and Lucas. Maybe she could find out if Lucas was indeed an operative. Better her than Matthew and me, since we had so much more to hide. It was in our best interest to stay as far away as possible from him, just in case he was spying on us.
“I knew that Lucas was up to no good. Maybe he knows we're investigating this new drug. Let’s keep an eye on him,” she said. I was glad that for now Melanie had forgotten about Alexia and Ethan.
It seemed that the universe was on our side tonight, because soon after I told Melanie my story, we saw Lucas walking through the party with purpose. We followed him, and sure enough he stopped to speak with a guy who matched Johnny’s description of the pretty bartender perfectly, only he wasn’t bartending tonight. I had been so focused on the bartenders at the party that it didn’t even occur to me to look for our prime suspect among the guests.
“I’m gonna turn invisible so I can get close to them and listen to their conversation,” Melanie said.
“You can’t. Too many people around,” I pointed out. Melanie got all antsy, bouncing on the balls of her feet.
“Look!” she whisper-yelled. Lucas gave money to the pretty bartender in exchange for something. He shoved the package in the front pocket of his jeans and started to walk away. Suddenly, almost as if someone had called his name, Lucas glanced in our direction. His gaze darkened. He turned on his heels and increased his pace.
Melanie wanted to follow him, but I held her by the arm. “Don’t. Confronting Lucas now won’t prove anything. It will only make him more careful. Besides, we should be following the seller, not the buyer.”
We both tried to pinpoint the pretty bartender again, but he had already vanished.
“Well, he's gone. Now what?” she shouted.
“What's going on?” I heard Matthew ask from behind us. I was glad for his presence. It was getting harder and harder to reason with Melanie lately. Maybe she would listen to her brother.
I explained the whole thing, from Julian and Lucas' weird behavior to what we had just witnessed.
“Where did you say Lucas went?” Matthew asked. I pointed in the direction where he had disappeared.
“Melanie, I'll go with Sam to see if we can find Lucas. You continue with the Henry/Alexia plan.”
“But -” she started to protest.
“No 'buts’, Melanie,” Matthew insisted. “I don’t trust you to keep a low profile when it comes to this Lucas person. Besides, you know that Sean, Zach, and Mia are too soft-hearted regarding Ethan. You need to step in and make sure Alexia and Henry spend at least a few minutes together without interference.”
“Fine!” she shouted like a petulant child. She stomped away as Matthew shook his head.
“I don’t know what's wrong with her,” he said. But we didn’t have time to dwell on Melanie’s antics. I pulled Matthew by the hand and followed the path Lucas had taken a few minutes earlier.
I tried to ignore the fact that I was touching Matthew in public, even though us holding hands didn’t constitute anything scandalous. But if people could read my thoughts, that would be an entirely different matter.
I caught a glimpse of Lucas ahead in a secluded alcove hidden by short palm trees. He was talking on the phone. Before we could get close enough to listen to his conversation, a fuchsia explosion appeared in front of us.
“Gillian!” Matthew exclaimed. He let go of my hand when she launched herself at him.
“Matty! I’ve been looking all over for you!” she screamed in delight.
Matthew detangled himself from her bear hug. “What are you doing here? I thought your dad shipped you off to a boarding school in England.”
Gillian made a dismissive gesture. “He sure as hell tried to get rid of me. But you wouldn’t believe how easy it was to get kicked out of that prison.”
Gillian was the only girl that could be all over Matthew without making me jealous, because there was no way he would go for her. I also didn’t get the vibe from Gillian that she actually fancied Matthew romantically. However, her timing couldn’t have been worse, so when she said hello to me, I just gave her a noncommittal reply. My mood got even worse when I noticed that Lucas was gone. I had a bad feeling that this party would turn out to be an epic failure.
Alexia
For the first time in a very long time I felt that things in my life were headed in the right direction. I was finally living with my family, I had managed to make new friends at school, and I had the best boyfriend a girl could hope for. Not even my new, freakish ability could dampen my good mood.
There were more people at Julian’s party tonight than at the last one, but surprisingly I didn’t feel overwhelmed. I had Ethan to thank for that. Now that he was walking again, people were no longer uncomfortable to talk to him, and it was clear that he was well-liked. He made sure to include me in every conversation, even when topics veered toward events in the past that I had absolutely no clue about.
But a girl could only cling to her boyfriend’s side for so long, so when Rachel asked me to accompany her to the powder room I went with her gladly. What was a party, after all, if it didn’t include time for gossip in the ladies' room?
“Oh my God, Alexia! You and Ethan are the cutest couple at this party!” Rachel gushed as she retouched her make-up. Not that she needed it. Rachel was one of the prettiest girls I had ever met. She had a regal quality about her that made it impossible to not admire her.
“Thanks,” I replied before I reapplied my lip gloss.
“And you’re probably going to win the best couple award at the Leopold’s Anniversary Ball,” she continued.
“What’s that?”
Rachel turned all dreamy as she gestured wildly with her hands. “It’s the best party of the school! Forget homecoming and prom. Each year there’s a different theme and LJM Prep doesn’t spare any expenses with it.”
“Okay.” I said, unsure how to react to Rachel’s enthusiasm.
“It is a pretty cool party. You’ll see,” a cute girl with multicolored dreadlocks next to me said.
“And Chloe is going to have an aneurism that she won’t be going with the most talked about boy in school.” Rachel beamed, unconcerned to voice her opinions about Chloe in front of other girls we didn’t know. What if one of them told Chloe?
“That’s poetic justice, if you ask me,” the dreadlocks girl said. Her comment was followed by similar remarks from the other girls in the powder room, and I stopped worrying about Chloe altogether.
That was, until I returned to the party and found Ethan and Chloe talking with each other, separated from the rest of the party-goers. That stopped me in my tracks. The same crazy jealousy from before took hold of me, and I started to shake involuntarily. I didn’t even recognize myself. They were just talking, after all. I didn’t know if I should play the “jealous girlfriend” card and interrupt their conversation, or let Ethan handle her himself. In the end, my sensible self prevailed. I knew by Ethan’s body language that he wasn’t enjoying Chloe’s company that much. So before I did something I would regret later, I decided to pretend I hadn’t seen them and went to get myself a drink.
I was still trying to control the rage seething inside me as I made my way to the nearest bar when I bumped into the new kid.
“Alexia?” he asked me hesitantly.
“Oh, hi. Uh, I’m sorry, I forgot your name,” I said.
He blushed.
“It’s Henry.” He looked down at his shoes and shoved his hands deep in his pants pockets. He looked as uncomfortable as I felt.
“Are you enjoying the party?” I asked, just to be polite. I was already looking around for someone to rescue me.
He shrugged. “It’s all right. Busy.” He had a cute accent, but since I couldn’t even remember his name there was no chance I would remember where he was from.
Out of nowhere he blurted, “Do you wanna dance?”
I was so taken aback by his sudden request that my
brain failed to come up with a good excuse to refuse. Besides, he looked so lost that I felt sorry for him so I agreed. He grabbed my hand and pulled me onto the dance floor. His hand was clammy, and I felt uncomfortable by his touch. It made me miss Ethan terribly. I hoped he didn’t mind seeing me with Henry.
It was just my luck that the moment we reached the dance floor, Sean switched to a ballad. His gaze found mine in the crowd, and he smiled at me. He definitely didn’t catch the death stare I was giving him. To be fair, I doubted that Sean realized that the guy dancing with me was not Ethan.
Henry held me stiffly at first, but as the music progressed he felt more comfortable and got closer. I kept staring at a point on his shoulder just to avoid his gaze, but I felt him staring at me. Could this moment get any weirder?
“You’re very pretty,” I heard him say. I closed my eyes in disbelief. Yes, it could get weirder. Was he flirting with me? Did he not know that I had a boyfriend? Enough was enough. I couldn’t keep dancing with him and pretend that everything was fine. But Henry apparently figured that me closing my eyes was all the encouragement he needed. When his cold lips touched mine I opened my eyes and pushed him away.
“What the hell?” I shouted, drawing the attention of the people dancing near us.
An alarmed Henry stared at me and started to mumble something when Ethan appeared by my side and said, “My words exactly. What the hell?” He looked ready to kill. I could feel the rage seeping from his body. It made me momentarily dizzy. I placed a calming hand on his arm and said, “It was just a misunderstanding. No big deal.”
“No big deal? You tell me that a guy shoving his tongue down my girlfriend’s throat is not a big deal? Really, Alexia?”
“I’m sorry,” Henry mumbled as he took a step away from us.
“Yes, you will be sorry once my fist connects with your face.” Ethan took a couple of menacing steps towards Henry, and the poor kid turned chalk-white.
I held onto Ethan’s arm. “Ethan. Please. It didn’t mean anything!”
People had stopped dancing to witness the show, even though the music was still playing.
“Ethan, please, let’s talk someplace else,” I begged him.
He let me drag him away from the dance floor. Once we were far away enough from the bulk of the party, he pulled his arm from my grasp and glared at me.
“What the hell, Alexia? What was that?”
I had never been the focus of Ethan’s angry gaze before. It made me feel very small. I didn’t even know he was capable of it. I hugged myself like it would somehow protect me.
“I’m sorry. I was just trying to be nice to Henry. He doesn’t know anyone here.”
Ethan made a dismissive gesture. “Please, Alexia. Don’t play games with me. Melanie told me that you were pissed because I was speaking to Chloe, so you wanted to make me jealous.”
“Melanie said what?” I couldn’t believe Melanie thought I could do such a thing. And to tell Ethan…that was truly unbelievable.
“Please, don’t. I thought you were better than that.” Ethan was still shaking with fury as he started to pace in front of me. “I cannot believe I went from one manipulative girlfriend to another.”
I was still shocked that Melanie had told Ethan such a blatant lie, but I could not ignore the fact that not only had Ethan believed her, he was actually comparing me to Chloe.
“First of all, that was not what happened. Second, how can you believe so easily that I would do such a thing?”
“Why shouldn’t I? Melanie is your cousin, right? What reason would she have to lie about it?”
I raised my hands in frustration. “I have no idea! But you obviously have so little faith in me that you would rather believe anybody rather than me.”
I was so angry and frustrated that I couldn’t prevent the tears from rolling down my cheeks. Ethan’s gaze softened once he realized what was happening, and he approached me, putting his hands on my shoulders.
“Alexia, I’m sorry. Don’t cry.” He pulled me into a hug and kissed the top of my head. My arms circled his waist, even though I was berating myself for accepting his apology so quickly.
“I got so angry when I saw that idiot kissing you. I lost my head,” Ethan murmured.
He leaned back and placed a finger under my chin, bringing my face up so I could look into his eyes. “Say you forgive me.”
Gazing at Ethan’s beautiful and earnest eyes, my anger melted away and my heart overflowed with joy. Yes, he had been out of line, but I would never be able to stay mad at him for long. “I forgive you,” I whispered.
Ethan leaned down and kissed me tenderly, like I was a fragile porcelain doll that could break at the barest touch. It was sweet, but I needed more, so much more from him. My arms went up behind his neck and my mouth opened up to his, increasing the tempo of our kiss. He groaned and responded in kind. After a few minutes we finally broke apart, and Ethan leaned his forehead against mine.
“God, Alexia. I love you.”
My breath caught. Then I smiled and replied, “I love you, too.” This time, I meant it.
CHAPTER 22
Matthew
Gillian’s interruption had cost us. When I finally managed to get rid of her, Lucas was long gone. Sam and I still looked for him in Julian’s immense garden, but it didn’t take long for us to realize that he was probably no longer at the party.
We had wandered far away from the mansion, and suddenly I was alone with Sam. She looked breathtaking, as usual, in her tight bodice dress with a low-cut neckline. She stopped ahead, with her back to me and her hands on her hips, when the path we were on came to an end. “I guess this is a dead end,” she said to herself.
I couldn’t resist. I grabbed her by the waist from behind and pulled her against me, burying my face in her hair.
“Matt,” she murmured, “someone might see us.”
“I don’t care. I’ve been dying to do this the entire night.” I trailed kisses down her neck to her shoulder. I felt her shiver under my touch, so I turned her around to face me, and kissed her properly.
Being with Sam was always a mind-blowing experience. I didn’t dare enter her mind anymore since I’d found out about the risks of my ability, but I always felt Sam’s touch in my own consciousness. One of my hands entwined in her hair, and the other slipped around her waist to the base of her spine. I stroked her back slowly, up and down through the thin fabric of her dress. Sam responded by moving even closer, her needful moans making me crazy with desire.
I felt a tiny electrical current coming from her, and suddenly the lights illuminating our part of the garden switched off. I broke the kiss briefly and looked around, surprised, but Sam’s voice brought my gaze back to her. “Don’t worry, it’s just a new trick I learned. Handy, huh?”
I smiled in response and started kissing her again, this time with more ferocity. I wanted to touch her everywhere but managed to restrain myself somehow. Our make-out sessions at the Maison Falafel were always steamy, but the idea of marking my territory here, in Julian’s domain, was just too tempting. Of course, I would never really follow through with it. I loved and respected Sam too much to trivialize our first time together like that.
“Let’s get out of here,” Sam said between kisses. “No one will be at the house.”
She was killing me. I was about to burst into flames, and that had nothing to do with the Phoenix. I was so very close to dragging her from this stupid party, even if it wasn’t the responsible thing to do.
“You know we shouldn’t,” I replied breathlessly.
Her hand trailed down my stomach, then further south, and I groaned, biting her lower lip in response. “Don’t tempt me.”
She giggled but didn’t stop touching me. I didn’t want her to. What finally made her stop was the bloodcurdling scream that pierced the night.
We moved apart immediately, my skin already missing her warmth. “What was that?” Sam asked as she started to move in the direction of the scream. I jo
gged behind her, trying to fix my appearance so it wouldn’t be obvious that I had been making out with someone, and soon we found the source of the commotion.
Near one of the garden’s alcoves we found a girl in hysterics, sobbing uncontrollably, her face pressed against her date’s chest. The guy was trying to soothe her but his movements were automatic. His eyes were glued to a body sprawled on the ground just a few feet from where they stood, hidden partially by the exotic plant life.
We came upon the scene just as Julian erupted from the other side of the garden. He stopped near the body, his hands pulling his hair and his face contorted in anguish. I thought for a second that maybe whoever had died was one of his friends, but I heard Sam gasp, and soon I knew why. The body belonged to the mysterious bartender we had been tracking earlier, only now he didn’t look as handsome. His neck was twisted at an odd angle, his gaze forever fixed into nothingness.
Julian fell dejectedly on his knees next to the victim as more people gathered around the murder scene. The rest of the gang soon joined us. They were just as horrified as Sam and me. Melanie, however, took in the scene with a calculating stare, and when our gazes met I knew exactly the conclusion she had reached. She believed Lucas was behind it.
Sean and Ethan went to Julian and spoke to him in hushed tones. Members of the football team tried to keep people from getting too close to the body. Many of the bystanders were shocked or crying, but they weren’t able to look away. Somebody must have dialed 911, because soon I heard the sound of sirens approaching.
Julian had already gotten up and seemed to be more in control of his emotions. He asked everyone to go back to the pool area and wait for the police to arrive and take their statements. I didn’t think they would comply so easily, but I underestimated Julian’s power of persuasion. He only had to speak once and immediately the crowd dispersed.
As we followed everyone back to the pool, I tugged Sam’s hand gently and pulled her away from the path that led back to the mansion. “We can’t tell the police what we were doing back in the garden.”