Tale of Life (Essence Series #2)

by Todd, E. L.

  He held her for a moment. “Thank you,” he said.

  When he broke their embrace, he turned to Beatrice, expecting a hug, but he just met her furious gaze, which was popping with growing embers. When he realized what he did, he felt stupid for making such an amateur mistake. He should have told Easton in private, away from Beatrice and her unfounded jealousy.

  Easton caught Beatrice’s look of hatred. “Oh, get over it,” she snarled.

  Beatrice glared at her, her face turning red, and then grabbed her bag from the table, ready to storm out, but Calloway grabbed her arm and steadied her.

  “Please don’t go,” he said. “She didn’t mean that.”

  “I think it’s pretty clear that she did!” Beatrice snapped. “Your friends always insult me but you never intervene, Calloway. I’ve put up with it for months and I’m growing tired of this game.” She yanked her arm and Calloway released his hold, not wanting to touch her against her will.

  Calloway understood her frustration. She was perfectly right for feeling that way. His friends treated her poorly and Calloway was aware of that. Despite his best efforts to stop their insults and jabs, they still unleashed them whenever they wished. “You’re right,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

  “Goodbye, Calloway.” Beatrice walked away from him, leaving him standing alongside his friends. He didn’t want to lose Beatrice and the sight of her departure stung his heart painfully. After a moment, he ran after her and stopped her before she left the building and ended their relationship permanently.

  “Please don’t go,” he said, his voice dripping with remorse and sorrow. He inserted himself in front of the door, blocking her exit without touching her. Hawk used to grab her arm and yank her away aggressively, but Calloway refused to do anything that would remind her of that jerk. “I’m sorry, okay? Please, Beatrice.”

  “No,” she said. “I’m sick of it. It’s her or me, Calloway. Take your pick.”

  Calloway stared at her. “What?”

  “It’s Easton or me. You can have one or the other—choose.”

  “Please don’t do that to me,” he begged, his voice almost hysterical. “I care about you very much and I don’t want to lose you. Let me talk to them again. I can get them to stop—please.”

  “So, you choose her? That’s your decision?”

  Calloway sighed. “I can’t do that, Beatrice, and you know that.” Calloway stepped closer to her but she stepped back. “And I don’t have feelings for Easton—just you.”

  Beatrice glared at him. “Get out of the way, Calloway.”

  Their relationship was volatile and destructive, with their arguments always escalating into vicious fights, and they couldn’t reason with each other—ever. The only time they seemed to be in agreement was when Calloway was kissing her or touching her in some way—that was their only common ground—their physical connection. Calloway launched his last weapon, his final attempt to keep Beatrice on this side of the door. He kissed her gently.

  Initially, she was unresponsive to his kiss, but his lips seemed to make her melt and she returned his embrace with loving caresses. Calloway grabbed her face and deepened his kiss, making her realize how much he cared for her and how sorry he was. She seemed to accept his apology through her equal touch. When their moment was becoming too intense, his lips were on fire, he pulled away and checked the library, making sure Nancy was absent, which she was.

  “Stay with me,” he whispered.

  Beatrice placed her forehead against his. “Okay.”

  He kissed her again. “I’ll talk to them. I promise.”

  “You better.” She smiled.

  Calloway sighed in relief—his ploy worked. He took her by the hand and led her back to the table, where his friends were whispering to one another. Easton rolled her eyes when she saw Calloway approach—with Beatrice.

  Calloway helped Beatrice into her seat then turned his gaze on Easton. He stared at her for a long moment, silently communicating with her, and waited for her to agree to his silent request. She sighed, clearly irritated by Calloway’s choice to keep her around, and nodded slightly.

  “Thank you,” Calloway said.

  Beatrice didn’t look at Easton. “Are we going shopping today?”

  Calloway was dreading this trip for months and now it had arrived, much to his displeasure. Beatrice expected him to buy a new suit and tie, and he wondered what else she would force him to purchase—new shoes and matching underwear?

  “Of course,” he said. He turned to Easton. “Can you drive us?”

  Easton took a deep breath before she spoke. “Yes,” she said. “I have to get a dress anyway.”

  Breccan looked at her, his face contorted in surprise. “So, you are coming with me?”

  “No,” she said. “I’m going alone.”

  “Don’t be annoying,” he said. “Just go with me.”

  “Go with someone else,” she spat.

  “But I want to go with you,” Breccan said.

  Easton finally looked at him, her face set in a scowl. “You want to go with me?”

  “I’ve been saying that the whole time!” Breccan said. “So, will you?”

  Easton sighed. “I suppose.”

  “Phew,” Breccan said. “I really didn’t want to go without a date.”

  Easton glared at him again.

  Calloway sighed. “So close.”

  “So, you are only asking me so you don’t have to go alone?” Easton snapped. “I’m just a last resort?” Easton grabbed her belongings and stormed from the building just as the lunch bell rang. Breccan watched her go with a look of frustration, irritated that his attempt had backfired miserably.

  When the school day was over, they assembled at Easton’s car in the parking lot. Easton blatantly ignored Breccan, not even looking at him, and drove to the mall across town. Breccan kept glancing at her from the front seat but Easton’s eyes were focused on the road, oblivious to Breccan sitting next to her. In the back seat, Calloway caressed Beatrice’s hand, and her knee was touching his slightly, making his heart race. She was wearing pink shorts and a white t-shirt, welcoming the warmth of the spring season, and he never thought she looked more beautiful, but then again, he thought that every time he looked at her.

  When they arrived at the shopping center, they climbed out of the car and walked into the entrance, moving through the aisles of different shops. Calloway stopped when saw an ordinary department store, one that looked reasonably priced, and he pulled Beatrice toward it.

  “This looks like a nice place.”

  She made a disgusted face. “No,” she said nastily. “We aren’t going there.”

  “What’s wrong with it?” he asked incredulously. “They sell clothes. What more do you want?”

  “We aren’t going there,” she repeated. She tugged on Calloway’s arm and pulled him away, dragging him from the store. Calloway watched it disappear with a saddened expression. Easton glared at Calloway for a long moment but kept her silence like she agreed to. Calloway knew how angry she was that Beatrice was being so superficial. He felt the same way.

  Beatrice pulled them into a classy store that was completely covered in pristine glass, and the only items they sold were suits, very expensive suits. There were no customers inside even though the mall was packed on this afternoon. The single worker in the store was wearing a designer suit that looked as expensive as Aunt Grace’s and Uncle Scott’s home. Calloway felt his throat go dry.

  “How about this one?” Beatrice asked, holding it up for Calloway to see. She felt the fabric under her fingertips and ran her hand down the jacket. It was a dark navy blue and lacked even a single wrinkle.

  Calloway stared at the material and nodded. “It looks nice.”

  Breccan looked at the price tag and his eyes widened in shock.

  “But I don’t like the color,” Calloway said quickly.

  Beatrice sighed then grabbed another suit. “This one will look great on you,” she said. “And it
will highlight the color of my dress.”

  Calloway wiped the sweat from his forehead. They all looked the same to him.

  Breccan crept behind her and grabbed the tag, discreetly checking the price. Suddenly, Breccan shook his head vigorously, out of Beatrice’s view. Beatrice continued to stare at Calloway, oblivious to Breccan’s silent warning, and waited for Calloway to respond.

  “No,” Calloway said.

  “No?”

  “I mean, I just don’t like it.”

  “And why not?” she asked. “What’s wrong with it?”

  “It’s just,” he stumbled. “I don’t like the material.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “Then which one do you like?”

  Calloway looked around the store, seeing a sea of identical suits on every rack. “The one I rented,” he said apprehensively.

  Beatrice glared at him.

  Easton picked at her nails while she waited, holding her tongue as Calloway commanded, and waited for their shopping spree to end. “Clearly, this is going to take a while,” she said. “I’m going to get my dress. I’ll meet you when I’m done.” She turned on her heel and left the store.

  Beatrice was still staring at Calloway, waiting for him to decide. She started to tap her foot against the tile floor, impatient for Calloway to make his selection. “Well?”

  Calloway walked between the racks and began his search for the cheapest suit he could find. He glanced at the tags when Beatrice wasn’t looking and felt nauseated when he saw the price—he kept searching. Finally, he found a suit with the cheapest price possible—six-hundred dollars—and it was on sale. “This one,” Calloway said triumphantly.

  Beatrice stared at the suit for a while. “I guess that will work.”

  “It’s black,” Breccan said. “And it looks just like the one you picked out.”

  “No, it’s different,” she said.

  For the first time, Calloway agreed with Breccan—they did look identical.

  “Now let’s get a tie,” she said. She walked over to the tie display and grabbed the one she wanted, a bright pink tie, the color of Pepto-Bismol, and walked to the register. Calloway didn’t get a chance to look at the price, but he didn’t stress about it. How expensive could such a small piece of material cost?

  The employee scanned the suit and tie and the total appeared on the screen. “Your total is seven-hundred and twenty-nine dollars.”

  Calloway felt his heart lurch—the tie was almost one-hundred dollars. He didn’t reach for his wallet and stood there, staring at the man behind the counter in shock, still processing the total. Breccan was shaking his head slightly, trying to convince his cousin not to do it, but then Calloway opened his wallet and handed over the cash with a heavy heart.

  Beatrice smiled triumphantly as they walked out of the store, elated the Calloway had obeyed her command like a guard dog. When she was out of earshot, Breccan leaned toward Calloway.

  “Just return it after the dance,” he whispered.

  “I have to take the tags off,” Calloway breathed, keeping his voice down. “If Beatrice won’t let me wear a rented suit to the dance, do you think she will let me keep the tags on?”

  Breccan sighed. “Good point.”

  Easton left a department store and walked toward them, carrying a large bag over her shoulder. She stopped when she reached them. “Look what I got,” she said as she displayed the dress. “It’s pretty, huh?”

  Breccan shrugged. “Sure.”

  “I got in on sale, too,” Easton said. “It was twenty bucks.”

  Calloway wished that’s how much his suit cost.

  Easton looked at Calloway. Her voice suddenly turned cold and the warmth in her voice was nonexistent. “So, what did you get?”

  Calloway pulled out his suit and showed it to her.

  “That’s very nice,” she said. The price tang twirled on the string and her eyes widened when she saw the total. She shook her head and pressed her lips together tightly, forcing back the angry retort she had for him. Calloway thought she was going to explode. Her face changed to a tomato red and her eyes were larger than he had ever seen them. “Let’s go,” she snapped. “We are done for the day.”

  Easton didn’t speak until they dropped off Beatrice at her home, which was a two story mansion on the upper side of town. There were expensive cars in the driveway and the front yard was as big as Calloway’s neighborhood. Calloway walked her to the door then sprinted back to the car before he was seen by anyone, not wanting to meet her rich, sophisticated parents when he looked so casual in his school clothes. What would their twenty butlers think?

  As soon as he returned to the car Easton exploded.

  “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU SPENT SIX-HUNDRED DOLLARS ON A SUIT!”

  Breccan covered his ears and leaned away from her. “The tie was seventy-five.”

  Easton slammed her foot on the gas pedal and sped down the street, leaving Beatrice’s mansion in the far distance as she drove to the Headquarters. “I don’t understand you, Calloway!” she yelled. “You worked so hard just to spend all that money on a suit that you are never going to wear again?”

  “I’ll wear it again,” Calloway said.

  “To your funeral!” she snapped.

  Calloway leaned further back into the seat. He was just as upset that he had to spend so much money on one night. That didn’t even include dinner or the corsage, or the money he spent on the tickets, which was an additional one-hundred dollars.

  Easton slammed on the breaks when she reached the Headquarters, but she didn’t move from her seat. “I dislike her because of her petty needs and superficial desires but now I hate you, Calloway. You let her get away with whatever she wants, let her walk all over you, and you don’t do anything about it. And you want to know why you let her?”

  Calloway met her gaze in the rearview mirror but he didn’t respond to her question.

  “It’s because you know she’ll leave you. If you don’t give the girl what she wants, she’ll bolt. Face it, Calloway. You would rather be with someone who doesn’t love you than be alone.”

  “That isn’t true,” Calloway argued. “I know she cares about me. She wouldn’t be talking me to begin with if she didn’t. She is one of the most popular girls in school and she still dates me, even though it hurts her reputation. So how can that be true? I admit she is being superficial about prom but this night is important to her.”

  Easton threw her door open and marched to the building. “That doesn’t excuse her behavior!” she yelled. “You could have rented a suit and the night wouldn’t be any different—it wouldn’t change anything. She is being an unreasonable, selfish—”

  “Don’t talk about her like that,” Calloway interrupted.

  “I give up!” she hissed. “I used to admire you for seeing the good people when there was none; for doing the right thing when you had absolutely no reason to, but now I realize what you really are—stupid.” She opened the library door and stormed inside, leaving Breccan and Calloway standing outside.

  Calloway sighed. “I have such a headache right now.”

  Breccan wasn’t listening. “Maybe I shouldn’t go to prom with her…”

  Calloway rolled his eyes and walked inside. When he set his backpack on the table, Easton was glaring at him with relentless rage. “Look,” he said. “Let’s drop the subject for now. We have more important things to worry about.”

  “I want you to take back that suit,” she said.

  “No.”

  “Yes,” she snapped. “Just do this for me. Take it back and rent the other one. I know that she won’t even notice it isn’t the same suit. I’m a girl and I can’t tell.”

  “I can’t tell either,” Breccan said.

  Calloway shook his head. “I feel horrible for lying to her.”

  Her eyes shined like flames. “And she should feel horrible for making you spend six-hundred dollars! I thought you were smart, Calloway. Why are you so
oblivious?”

  “It’s important to her,” he said.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me!” she snapped. “She knows how poor you are!”

  “Thanks,” Breccan said.

  Easton ignored him. “I can’t believe she has the audacity and the selfishness to even request you to do something as ludicrous as this. The world doesn’t revolve around her, Calloway.”

  “You forget about everything she’s done for me,” Calloway argued.

  Easton, who was so frustrated that she thought she might punch Calloway, ran her hands through her hair frantically. “Like what?”

  “Well, for one, she has put up with the two of you for several months.”

  “How commendable,” Easton hissed. “She let you be tortured for months, letting Hawk embarrass you with McDonald’s gift cards, and now it’s even? She totally made up for everything?” She opened the Kirin Book and looked at the page. “People don’t change, Calloway. Beatrice is only with you for protection against Hawk until she finds someone better.” She met his gaze with an intense look. “She will break your heart, she will betray you, and when that day comes you’re on your own, Calloway. You will receive no sympathy from me or Breccan.”

  “I won’t need any,” Calloway snapped. “Beatrice won’t do that.”

  Easton held up her hand. “I’m done with this,” she said. “I’ve tried to help you but it’s been a pointless effort. I love you, Calloway. You are my best friend, and the last thing I want is for you to get hurt, but you are giving me no choice. I give up.”

  She flipped through the pages without meeting his gaze. The room became silent and the tension started to rise like the heat on a summer day. Calloway stared at her, wanting to say something to dissipate the anger they both felt, but nothing useful came to mind. Breccan tried to clear the air.

  He cleared his throat. “So, what’s the plan?”

  Easton sighed. “I think we should use the portal once prom is over,” she said. “So, we should prepare for the crossover.”

  “How?” Calloway asked. “We don’t know what to expect. Any solidified plan could unravel once we arrive.”

  “A plan is still better than no plan,” she argued. “For instance, I think we should wear the cloaks we have uncovered from the bodies. That way they won’t recognize us.”