by Rue Volley
“Oh, Daniel.” I tilted my head, and he faked a smile.
“Sure, I’ll pick you both up at seven. I’m sure by the time we get out there it’ll be dark enough.”
“Of course it will, here in Transylvania.” Mattie kicked out her best Romanian accent, and I giggled. “This isn’t Transylvania, I’ve been there, and the sun actually shows up, unlike it does here.”
“Oh! I want details, tell me everything about those sexy vampire boys who live there.”
I smiled, and she started to drag me down the hallway by the arm. “You mean the humans that live there?” I stopped walking and tilted my head. “You do know that vampires are not real, right, Mattie?”
She rolled her eyes. “What girl doesn’t dream about some tortured hottie with sharp fangs and a thirst for your blood?”
“What sane person would?” I asked.
She leaned in and grinned. “Who said I was sane?”
I let her drag me along as I yelled back to Daniel. “See you tonight!” he waved and she jerked me around the corner and out of sight.
I returned home, and my aunt was dressed in a fancy cocktail dress and a pair of shiny black heels that allowed her to walk without fear of falling. She turned in front of the mirror and stared at herself. She ran her hand along her side as I shut the door and Mattie stood next to me.
“You look amazing!” she cried out, and my aunt turned with a huge grin on her face.
“He’s taking me to a nice restaurant in Crows Landing, Cloud 9.”
Mattie lit up. “OMG, that place is fabulous, and it’s a spa, too. Oh, he’s a naughty boy!”
My aunt narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“A spa? Come on. It’s going to end up in towels and steam tonight.”
She wagged a finger at her. “You are far too mature for your age, Mattie.”
Mattie hid her laughter. I stepped in. “I’m sure that Mr. Jenny’s intentions are honorable.” My aunt leaned toward me and winked. “I hope not.” I blushed.
“So, what’s the plan tonight?” Luna asked.
Both Mattie and I stood there in silence.
“Girls?”
Mattie parted her lips, and I fell on the sword. “Movie. In fact, Mattie’s coming along with us.”
Aunt Luna’s eyebrows rose. “Oh? Is that a new thing?”
I frowned. “What?”
“Three people on a date?” My aunt asked innocently enough.
Mattie stepped in for the save. “It’s a double date. I have a boy, too.”
My aunt smiled as she placed a hat on her head and tilted it. “Does this boy have a name?”
Mattie bit her lip, and I verbally volleyed for her. “Bob.”
“Bob? Does he go to PR?” My aunt turned and placed her hands on her hips.
Mattie shook her head. “No, no. He’s from Crow’s Landing.”
“Importing them in, huh?” she said with the snap of her fingers.
Mattie let out some nervous laughter. “Well.”
My aunt walked to the door, and the knock came. Both Mattie and I smiled at her. She glanced at the clock. “He’s always right on time.”
She opened the door, and Mr. Jenny was standing there with a bouquet of roses. The smell wafted into the room, and both Mattie, and I took a deep breath.
She paused and looked back at the two of us. “11 pm, no later.”
We nodded, and she left us standing there.
I let out a huge sigh.
“Eeee!” Mattie said like we should be proud. I crossed my arms over my chest, and she noticed my frown. “What?” she asked.
“We lied.”
She took my hand. “No, we elaborated.”
“Come on.”
We sat in my room, and Mattie dumped the contents of her bag onto my bed. She ran her hand through everything and started to separate the lipstick from the eyeshadow and the blush. She made three piles and then tapped her bottom lip with her finger while she stared at my face. Finally, I spoke up.
“Make-up really isn’t my thing.”
“What is your thing, Echo?”
I bit my lip, and she rose to her knees and eyed me. “Up, please.”
“I feel bad about doing this.”
Her eyebrow cocked. “About what?”
“Going to the pine. My aunt told me to stay out of the woods. She said it was dangerous.”
Mattie let out a huge sigh. “Do you always do exactly what you’re supposed to do?”
I paused. Clearly, she was disappointed. “No.”
“Well, good.” She chirped with a wink.
Funny how Thorn had asked me the same question. They seemed to be very similar in that way. Both had this way of tempting me into doing things that I normally wouldn’t do.
It reminded me of Midnight.
I pushed myself up onto my knees, and she picked up a black compact and clicked it open. She dabbed her brush in it and then went to work on my chin, slowly moving to my cheeks and rushing over my nose. She dabbed it again and finished up on my forehead after gently running it over my right eye then the left one. I blinked and wiggled my nose. She grinned and set her brush aside, quickly snatching up a thinner brush and let her free hand move over an assortment of smaller containers with various shades of brown to black compacted powder. She picked up the black one and popped it open, dipping the tip into it and leaning into my face. I could feel it start to move through my eyebrow, so I tried very hard to stay still.
“So, when are you going to tell my cousin that you only want to be friends?”
I pulled back, and the brush left my skin and hovered there. Her expression didn’t change, but I’m sure mine did.
“What? No, I like Daniel. He’s…he’s so…you know. Nice.”
She looked down and let out a small laugh. It was more of a “whatever” reaction, and she was right. My response was about as passionate as I felt about Daniel at this point. Sure, he was cute when I first saw him in my bathroom and perhaps the fact that I had never been alone with a boy anywhere in my life had a huge impact on my reaction to him. But more than that, Thorn had changed me, everything about me, from the way he spoke to me, to the way his cold hand felt against mine, and his voice…oh God, his voice, like a siren’s song to my ears. Every time he spoke to me the world faded around us.
Not to mention the kiss.
That kiss.
Fingers snapped in front of my face and Mattie’s eyes came into focus.
“What kiss?”
I narrowed my eyes. “What?” I asked, completely bewildered.
“You said…not to mention the kiss. Did Daniel kiss you? Don’t tell me; he sucked right?”
I shook my head and looked down at the pile of make-up between us.
“No, I mean yes…I mean, no… he didn’t kiss me.”
She tilted her head and reached up, getting to work on my second brow. “I have a feeling that you’re hiding something, something huge, Echo.”
I started to shake my head, and she grabbed my chin, holding me in place while she traced my brow to the tip and I felt the brush leave my skin.
She leaned back and gave me a stare that chilled my blood.
“Thorn. It was Thorn.” I blurted it out.
She leaned up with wide eyes. “Whoa, wait, what?”
I nodded and sat down, crossing my legs under me. She mirrored me, and there we sat in the middle of my bed as I struggled to find the right words, then they tumbled out of me like waves crashing against the shore.
“My first day here we, I mean, he…I thought he was joking. He acted so interested in me so of course, I blew him off, and finally, I confronted him because come on, look at me.”
Mattie sighed. “I am, you’re beautiful, Echo.”
My head felt light
, and she took my hand and smiled. “Then what happened?” she asked.
I swallowed hard and continued, sharing my bizarre story with her.
“He asked me out for coffee, we were supposed to meet for lunch, but he never showed up, and I was upset. I shouldn’t have been, I mean, I had just met him, so it was ridiculous to be mad, right?” I asked as both my eyebrows shot up. Mattie squeezed my hand. “No, I would have been furious!”
I let out another sigh. “Really? Because I thought it was a little overly dramatic on my part.”
“Pffft. I would have been P to the ISSED.” She spelled it out, and I laughed.
“Okay, well that makes me feel a little better because I thought I may be crazy.”
She leaned forward. “Girl, no. You are not crazy. That’s just rude.”
I tightened my lips and then relaxed them. “Okay, well I didn’t see him the rest of the day, and when I left, I was, well, I guess I was upset, so I went to the cemetery.”
Mattie chimed in. “Oh, very gothic of you.”
I looked down at our hands. “No, um.” I lifted my eyes and tried to hide my emotions, but it was impossible. “Midnight is buried there; I mean…the casket is, in the mausoleum.”
“Oh, hon. Geeze. Foot in mouth. I’m sorry, I didn’t even think about that.”
I adjusted my shoulders and licked my bottom lip, allowing my teeth to graze it. “No, it’s cool. I know you didn’t mean anything bad.”
“So, you go to the cemetery.” She said, egging me on.
I looked at her, and my eyes lit up. “He showed up out of nowhere.”
She let my hand go. Her palm lifted. “Wait, he, as in Thorn Vega?”
I swallowed again and gave a quick nod. “Yeah.”
She adjusted on the bed and placed her chin in her hands. “Go on.”
“I don’t know, he started talking, and I got mad, and he got mad, and boom, the next thing I know we were kissing.”
She squealed, and I jumped. She placed her hands over her mouth and stared at me with wide eyes. The small traces of light danced off of her pupils and highlighted the beautiful blue that never changed for her like my eyes did.
I tried to hide my smile, but it was hard. The story seemed even cooler when I said it out loud, and it felt good to talk about it after keeping it in.
She removed her hand and parted her lips, rightfully shocked. I was amused that she was speechless, but finally, she composed herself and cleared her throat.
“That is just so bad.”
My smile quickly faded. “Is it? Yeah, you’re right. It was bad. It’s horrible.”
She laughed and took both of my hands in hers. “Oh my GOD, no…bad as in GOOD bad. I would die. Honestly, I would! How romantic! Kissing you right there in the cemetery? GAH!”
The edge of my lip curled, and she reached down and started to decide on my lipstick. She picked up the bright red.
“This is it, for sure, my gothic princess.”
I blinked a couple of times, and she leaned in, running it along my top lip and then my bottom one. She sat back and smiled. “You are gorgeous. Look!”
She held the mirror up. I stared at myself, completely shocked at the transformation. My lips looked so plump and inviting. My eyebrows perfectly manicured, my skin flawless. Then I sucked in my breath when I saw what appeared to be Thorn’s reflection in the mirror behind me, right outside my window. I quickly turned and of course he wasn’t there. My heart raced, and I looked back to her letting out a laugh that echoed in the room.
16
I stepped up to the top of the stairs and looked down at myself. Mattie had decided that I didn’t have anything that showed off my body, not that I think I have one, but she insisted that I wear something of hers. So she gave me a tight fitting black lace dress that ended above my knee that had gold thread sewn throughout. It covered my neck and had long sleeves, and of course, she had a cute little black jacket, in velvet, that fit snug and had three small gold buttons dead center, that looked like brushed gold. It held it together in the front. It was warmer than I expected it to be. She brought knee high black boots with her that reminded me of the ones you would wear while riding a horse and they fit my legs perfectly.
Heels would have killed me.
She insisted that I wear the black hose that felt more like sweater material that had a finite design on them that wasn’t overpowering the dress.
Her words not mine.
She wasn’t kidding when she said that she took dates seriously.
Mattie completed my look by curling my hair, which I never do and allowing it to cascade down my back and over my shoulders. I fought the urge to tuck it behind my ear as I usually do.
I felt…pretty. It was nice to feel this way.
Nice to feel special.
I made my way down and around the corner and spotted Daniel at the bottom of the stairs. He had on a white t-shirt, black jacket, and dark jeans. They were cuffed at the bottom and sat firmly against the tops of his black tennis shoes. His hair was slicked back, and his cheeks looked rosier than usual. He is handsome, and I wish I could return his affection, but I had been ensnared by Thorn, and I knew that the longer I waited, the worse it would be. I paused and tapped the thick black banister and continued, knowing that I would have to tell him the truth.
I took the last step, and Daniel looked me over.
“I’m severely underdressed.” He muttered.
I lifted my hand and quickly abandoned the idea of messing with my hair. I lowered it and smiled.
Nervous habit, along with the lip biting.
“No, you aren’t, this is all Mattie, trust me. She thought I should step out of my comfort zone, so she destroyed it with a sledgehammer.”
He chuckled, and it broke the tension. I was glad I could make him laugh.
He leaned in. “You look great if that helps.”
I pressed my lips together and wanted to thank him, but before I could, Mattie came rushing in and grinned at me. She too had a dress on, the same length as mine, only hers was red, as red as blood, and it hugged her curves. Her hips were slightly wider than mine, and her thighs were a tad bit bigger. Not that anyone with any butt or legs at all wouldn’t beat me out in that department.
She had a white leather jacket on, and I envied her bravery. If I had put that jacket on it would already be smudged in ten different places.
She placed her hands on her hips and looked me over. “D to the AMN girl.”
“D to the AMN to you, too,” I said. Happy to return her compliment. Mattie was exceptionally cute. Her blonde hair was perfectly highlighted, and she had pulled it up to the top of her head in a large bun. Her jawline was heart shaped, and it suited her good nature. Her eyes were a bright blue, the kind you couldn’t forget, and they sat beneath perfectly manicured eyebrows. Pair that with a button nose and full lips, and there you had it. Mattie Fitzpatrick. Heartbreaker.
“Let’s rock.” She said, and Daniel nodded.
We pulled up to the edge of the forest. The dim moonlight slid up the hood of his black Cadillac Coupe DeVille, circa 1981. The car rocked like a boat as it came to a stop. The interior was beautiful and carefully attended to. It had red leather seats with white accents. The steering wheel was white with black stripes. It was customized. Obviously, Daniel loved this car. I hadn’t taken him for an enthusiast at all, but I could appreciate it. If you love something, then pour your heart into it. There’s no reason not to.
Mattie lifted her phone and pointed into the trees. “It looks like it’s a half a mile that way.”
“A half a mile?” Daniel asked as he eyed her in the rearview mirror. She looked up and tapped him on the shoulder. “No worries, if you get tired I can give you a piggy back ride.”
“I’m sure I can handle it,” He opened his door and stepped out as I opened mine.
He reached me right in time to offer a hand, so I took it, letting him help me to my feet. Mattie stepped out of the car and shut her door while the light of her cell phone lit up her large blue eyes. Her expression amused me. She looked like a kid on Christmas morning. I hadn’t taken her for the adventurous type, but I guess she was. Midnight would have loved her, and I’m sure they would have been the best of friends. Me? I’m just a sad stand-in compared to my sister. The thought of it made me pause until Mattie spoke up.
“Did you bring the flashlights?” She asked, adjusting the bottom of her dress.
Daniel walked to the trunk and opened it. The creaking noise echoed off the trees. He shut it with a bang and walked back to us, handing me a flashlight and then giving one to Mattie. She clicked it on and made her way to the edge of the treeline, staring into the screen of her phone and then she lowered it. She shined the light into the trees and shook her shoulders out. She looked back at me and grinned, giving me a wink. “Ready?”
I nodded to her, even though I wasn’t sure if I was. I had a feeling that Thorn would be there and I had mixed emotions about this entire night, but most of all, I dreaded the inevitable conversation that I knew I needed to have with Daniel. I felt terrible, but the longer I delayed it, the worse it would be. I needed to gather my courage and just take the plunge before things went any further.
Mattie pushed ahead, leading the way and I stepped into the thick forest of pine and turned my flashlight on, and so did Daniel. We walked side by side without saying a word for a few minutes, and then finally I spoke up because the awkward tension was driving me insane.
“I have to tell you something.”
Daniel continued to walk shoulder to shoulder with me, his light swung back and forth and crisscrossed with mine. I could see Mattie was probably about fifteen feet ahead of us, if not more.
“I already know.” I glanced at him. “You do?”
He stopped, and the dull light of my flashlight lit up his face. His expression was calm and his voice steady. “Well yeah, when you invited Mattie along it sort of nailed it home.”
I looked down and sighed. I felt so horrible that I had been such a jerk and not told him before now. “I…I’m sorry, I am,” I said in a half whisper. He leaned toward me. “Why?”