Vision of Serpents

by Vincent Morrone

  “You’re tutoring Dante,” Priscilla said with a sneer. “Isn’t this sweet?”

  She smiled and sauntered away before I could come up with a snazzy retort. I looked at Dante, who seemed to find the entire thing amusing.

  “So, I’ll see you tonight?” Dante said, as we made our way to class.

  Scarlett had decided to go ahead with her party, thinking people needed something to get their minds off all of the sadness. I wasn’t really in the mood to go, but I didn’t see a way out of it at this point. “Sure.”

  “Scarlett is inviting both Blackburns and McKnights,” Dante said. “She has it in her head to play peacemaker. She keeps going on about how she’s neutral territory, seeing as we’re neither Blackburn nor McKnight.”

  I had a feeling it was going to take more than a theme party to get both families back to tolerating each other, no matter how much Scarlett hugged everyone.

  Simon and I were headed downstairs at the same time. I was waiting for Payne to pick me up, while he was headed out for his first official date with Skyler. It was so cute.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t go,” Simon said, as we stepped onto the landing. “What if I make a fool of myself? What if I spill something all over myself? What I trip in the theater?”

  “Simon,” I said. “You’ll be fine. Just relax.”

  “I can’t relax. I shouldn’t have ever asked her out. I’m not ready. I’m going to blow it.”

  “Nonsense,” Grandpa said, coming into the room with Zach and Uncle Mark. “You’re a Blackburn. Women love us. We’re studs.”

  “Oh, God,” I said.

  Uncle Mark put his hand on Simon’s shoulder.

  “You’re going to be fine,” he assured his son. “Just be yourself. If you trip, you get up and laugh about it. If you spill something, just use a napkin. You’re ready for this.”

  Simon nodded.

  “What do I talk about?” he asked. “What if I’m not interesting?”

  A knock came from the front door, and Payne stepped inside. He made small talk with us for a couple of minutes, and ended up giving Simon some good dating advice.

  “Tell me about Skyler. What does she like to do?”

  “She’s really smart. She plays softball. Plus, she’s a great writer. She wants to write books—stuff with magic and dragons and really cool things like that. She has an incredible imagination.”

  “Okay,” Payne said. “Sounds like you have plenty of things to talk about. Remember, you don’t have to do all the talking. Lots of guys make that mistake. You’re interested in getting to know her, so find out about her, listen to what she says, and be open and honest about yourself. Trust me, before long you won’t have to think so hard.”

  Simon nodded. He took a deep breath and headed to the door with Uncle Mark.

  Payne and I followed, but as soon as we were out of the house and alone, I could tell that something was up. As we drove, Payne was silent. I noticed that he wasn’t looking at me either.

  “What’s the matter?” I asked.

  Payne shrugged.

  “Payne,” I urged. I reached out and put my hand over his.

  Next thing I knew, he was pulling over into a parking lot. He took a breath before turning to face me.

  “Bristol,” he said. “I love you.”

  I pulled my hand away. This wasn’t what I was expecting. This wasn’t right.

  “I probably shouldn’t have said anything,” Payne said. “But it’s true. You know it’s true. And I’ve been patient, but I don’t know how much longer I can wait. I’m not asking you to—you know—”

  He trailed off.

  “I just want to hear that you love me, too.”

  I remained silent.

  “Guess that’s my answer,” Payne said, and turned away from me.

  “No,” I protested. “That’s not fair.”

  “Not fair?” Payne asked. “I’m putting myself out here for you. If you don’t feel the same way—”

  “Payne, please,” I pleaded. “I just . . . can’t. I’m not ready. I don’t know why it’s so hard for me to talk about it. Maybe it’s because I can’t ever remember my parents ever telling me that they love me. Maybe I’m just emotionally stunted. But just because I can’t say it doesn’t mean that I don’t have feelings for you.”

  “Feelings,” Payne repeated.

  I felt a tear fall, but I wiped it away.

  “Payne,” I said slowly, “being with me isn’t easy. I know that.”

  “Bristol, loving you isn’t the problem. It’s feeling like it only goes one way. You won’t say you love me. You keep your distance. You won’t talk about a future together. I mean, you’re a girl who sees the future. You may have seen us growing old and gray, but you won’t tell me that you want that. You don’t even like to be called my girlfriend, or call me your boyfriend. You know I don’t want to be with anyone else. Ever. I just want you.”

  I couldn’t say anything yet.

  “Do you have feelings for Dante?” Payne asked. “Is that what you were talking about, alone, in that classroom?”

  I should have known Pricilla would have made sure that had gotten back to Payne, and probably to the rest of the school.

  “No,” I said. “I took him aside to make sure he didn’t have any ideas about hurting himself. That’s it. Dante and I are just friends.”

  “He wants to be more than that,” Payne countered. He turned to face me again. “And you won’t tell me you love me. What else am I supposed to think?”

  There was no hiding the tears this time.

  “I’m sorry,” Payne said. “I just . . . I need something more.”

  I had to say something. “Payne, I want to be here, with you. I’m not looking anywhere else. And I’m working on the rest. I need you to accept that for now.”

  For a long moment, Payne just looked deep into my eyes, before he reached out and gently wiped my tears away.

  “I can try,” he said. “But I’m not taking back the fact that I love you. And if this is going to work, you need to figure out how to say what you feel about me.”

  Before I could say anything else, he started the car.

  When we pulled up, I was staring out my window, and I saw Scarlett run down to us. She hugged us both, clearly ecstatic that we were there.

  “I was so afraid you two wouldn’t come,” she said. “I don’t know why. I just want everyone to have a great time. Where’s Hunter?”

  “She wasn’t up to it,” Payne said. “She’s sorry, but it’s really hard for her. She’s been pushing herself too much.”

  Scarlett took both my hand and Payne’s and started to pull us to the house.

  I looked over to Payne to try and gauge how he was feeling, but he seemed more distant. And I just felt myself start to get angry with him for putting pressure on me.

  I saw Blasé appear over Scarlett’s shoulder. He seemed to be radiating hatred.

  “Scarlett,” I said. “We’ll be in soon. Can I have a second alone with Payne?”

  She winked, and started to head inside.

  Payne looked over to me and I could tell he was expecting me to bring up what we had talked about a few minutes ago. Maybe he was hoping to hear the words he’d wanted me to say before.

  “I see Blasé.”

  Well, it was three words.

  “Where?” Payne asked.

  “Right over . . . ” I started to indicate the corner where Blasé stood, right where Scarlett was disappearing into the house. But just as Scarlett walked through her doorway, he disappeared.

  “He keeps popping up here and there. He was there when I was in the ladies room yesterday with Maggie, Scarlett and Hunter. When we were all in gym last week, he was by the door to the locker room. And I saw him again when we got to your Aunt Breanne’s. It’s always just for a few seconds—and he’s always so angry.”

  “He can’t hurt you,” Payne said, “and he’s not
Jay. I know you hated him, but . . . ”

  “Payne,” I said. “I hated the way Blasé acted at times, but I didn’t hate him. I hope you know that.”

  Payne didn’t look like he believed me, which made me even angrier.

  “I hope you know he wouldn’t hurt you.”

  Why wouldn’t he just accept what I told him? Why was everything I said not good enough?

  “Well, I’m still concerned. As long as Blasé is mad at me, he won’t move on. Let’s go.”

  I moved away from Payne, and went inside. I didn’t look back as Payne followed.

  During the party, Payne ended up playing pool with a couple of his cousins. I walked around without him for a little while. Everyone was dressed up. Most of the girls and a few of the boys had used tons of hairspray to tease their long locks into defying gravity. Several people in the room wore neon spandex pants, which could probably be spotted from space. Any guy with a collar on his shirt had it popped up. My outfit was simple. I had gone for a t-shirt that said “I Love Rock and Roll” on it and some acid-washed jeans. Scarlett was wearing a bright blue halter dress and pink sunglasses. The jukebox in the corner was blasting out one eighties hit after another, but it was hard to hear it over the crowd.

  Of course Maggie was the most noticeable; she had the phrase “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” written on her black tank-top in lively colors. This shirt was paired with tons of brightly colored bracelets and necklaces, a neon purple skirt, neon pink leg warmers, and bright red lipstick. She had dyed her hair orange and somehow got it to stand nearly straight up.

  I didn’t see Dante anywhere, but I decided against asking about him.

  Instead, I mostly stayed on the sidelines and watched everyone. Chase looked happy to have a few girls from school moon over him. Scarlett enjoyed playing hostess, putting out snacks, walking over to everyone in turn, hugging them, and making them feel welcome. Ian, who seemed to have been really disappointed that Hunter wasn’t there, was now impressing everyone with his skills at one of the old arcade games.

  I couldn’t help glancing at Payne every now and again. I was mad at him, sure, but he always drew people’s attention. Every girl in the room was trying not to stare at him, and most were failing.

  As I scanned their faces, one person caught my eye.

  Priscilla.

  Why was Princess P here?

  Scarlett was passing by, so I grabbed her and asked.

  “I invited her,” she said. “I know you two don’t get along, but she’s been nice to me. Besides, I was kind of hoping that you two might find a way to get along. You know, bury the hatchet.”

  “Do you have a hatchet?” I asked. “Because I know just where I’d like to bury it.”

  Scarlett tried to look scandalized, but she couldn’t pull it off. Instead, she just hugged me and laughed.

  Across the room, Priscilla was making a show of flaunting her outfit: a grey sweatshirt barely long enough to double as a skirt, with the words Dance Dirty scrawled in pink on the chest. Her long legs were bare until the neon leg warmers on her calves. Payne’s back was to me, so I couldn’t tell if he was looking at her.

  I thought about walking over and slapping both of them. I mean, Priscilla knew Payne was taken, but she had no problem sending him those come hither looks. And Payne—

  It just made me so angry.

  “Bristol,” Scarlett called. “You all right? You look like you’re ready to rip someone’s head off.”

  I looked back to Priscilla, who was smirking.

  “I’m thinking about it,” I muttered. “I’ve got to go.”

  I pulled away from Scarlett and made my way toward the back door that led outside. I needed some air. As I headed toward the back of the house, I rounded the corner and found Dante sitting in an Adirondack chair. He was facing away from the house at the edge of their deck. I moved past the barbecue grill and wooden table to join him.

  “What are you doing out here?” I asked. “I haven’t seen you all night.”

  “Sugar, I just didn’t feel in the party mood,” he said. “But I’m glad you decided to come out and say hello.”

  “Um, I didn’t really,” I said. “I just needed some air.”

  “And here I am,” Dante said, holding his arms out. “It’s like you were meant to find me here. Do you believe in destiny?”

  I slanted him a glare.

  Dante laughed. “I forgot who I was talking to.”

  We stood in silence for a few seconds before he spoke again.

  “So tell me, are you and your non-boyfriend meant to be?”

  I sighed, and glanced back inside the house. Near the window, Payne was talking to Scarlett, who was telling him a story in an animated fashion. He listened intently as Scarlett pressed her hand into his, just like she had with me in the kitchen.

  I turned back to Dante. “Why are you so interested in my relationship with Payne?”

  “I’ve got a curious nature,” Dante said with a grin. He got up and walked to my side. “I’ve got to say, I’ve been missing your company since Payne came back to town.”

  “Why?” I asked. “I still see you.”

  “Not as much,” he responded. “And when you do, you’re usually with him. I don’t get you to myself anymore.”

  “You never had me to yourself,” I said. “Dante . . . I’m very grateful for everything you did. And the fact that you’ve been . . . ” I paused, searching for the right word to talk about the fact that he hadn’t blabbed my secret around town. “Discreet. But you and I were never together.”

  “I know that,” Dante said. All traces of amusement were gone from his voice. “Bristol, normally I wouldn’t care. It’s not like you’re the first girl that’s caught my interest. I’ve been around the block a time or two. But that was fun, and when it was over, there were never any hard feelings because the feelings were never that deep. It’s different with you. I look at you and I think that you could be the last girl I ever look at.

  “I know that I’ve got no right saying that to you,” Dante continued. “I knew you were spoken for the moment that I first laid eyes on you. But you’ve got me twisted up inside. And since you keep insisting that Payne isn’t your boyfriend—”

  “Don’t say that,” I told him. I couldn’t help but think of my conversation with Payne earlier. All he wanted was an acknowledgement that I felt the same way as he did.

  “I’m sorry,” Dante said. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

  I looked over to see Priscilla staring at Payne again. Scarlett was trying to talk to her. She was holding Priscilla’s hand and motioning towards something that I couldn’t see, but Priscilla seemed to be focused on Payne.

  “Maybe this is my fault,” I said. “Maybe I should be keeping my distance from you.”

  “Don’t say that,” Dante urged. “Even if you’re with him, I still enjoy seeing you. I’m a big boy.”

  I turned around to face Dante and suddenly I gasped.

  Blasé was there. Pure hatred was etched on his face.

  “Bristol,” Dante said as he came to my side. “What is it?”

  I almost said it was nothing and shrugged it off, out of reflex.

  “I’m seeing Blasé,” I said. “He won’t move on. He keeps appearing. He looks so mad.”

  “Is he dangerous?” Dante asked. He looked around as if he was trying to see Blasé.

  “No,” I said. “Ghosts can’t hurt me. But he needs to move on. Stand in front of me. I can try to talk to him, but it’ll look like I’m talking to you.”

  Dante’s eyes widened at the thought, but he did as I asked.

  “Blasé,” I said. “I’m sorry about everything that happened. What can I do to help you? Please, I want to help you.”

  Blasé’s eyes shifted, locked on mine, and the anger within him seemed to ebb away as confusion displayed on his face. As I moved closer, I could feel a new flood of emotion overwhelm t
he ghost. The hatred was washed away by a tidal wave of guilt and shame. For the first time, I started to consider that maybe I wasn’t the source of Blasé’s hatred.

  I took another step forward, hoping to be able to speak with Blasé, and my world shifted.

  It was the snake. It was here. It was somewhere in the house. I could see it, slithering around in a dark room. It moved across a leather surface, and found flesh. It struck someone; I couldn’t see who, because it was so dark. Whatever had happened, the snake was happy.

  The vision was over as quickly as it began, and Blasé was gone.

  “I need to go inside,” I said.

  “Wait,” Dante said. “Why? What just happened?”

  “I don’t know. That was the first time I was able to say anything to Blasé. But he’s gone now, and I got a flash of a giant snake. I’ve seen the snake before, and it’s not a good thing. It represents something. I need to go inside.”

  He nodded.

  “All right,” he said. “I’m coming with you.”

  I didn’t argue.

  We made our way through the sliding glass doors. Quickly, I scanned the room. Mostly, everyone seemed to be having a good time. Scarlett was in the corner talking to Archer, who looked like he really didn’t want to be there. Chase was flirting with a few girls who were giggling at his every word. Toby was walking up to Maggie, and carrying two glasses of punch. Ian was playing a video game.

  Where was Payne?

  I walked around, trying to look casual, although it was hard to look casual with Dante trailing me. A few people gave me weird looks. Maggie looked like an excited schoolgirl, as Toby seemed to dote on her. Scarlett quickly came over and took my hand.

  “There you are, girl,” she said as she tugged me towards the far corner where a karaoke machine was set up. “I was thinking that we should do a version of “We Got the Beat” for everyone. We could get Maggie to join us if you can pull her away from that mountain of a man. What do you say?”