by Light
Rome ducked past without so much as a word.
His classes came and went, and he found himself standing at the back of the cafeteria, paying more attention to the storm than the packed room buzzing at his back. Rain water trickled down the glass, blurring the outside world. Redwood Bay looked even gloomier on stormy days, he thought, watching a bolt of lightning flash across the distant sky. Ariahna was avoiding him. Every time he’d seen her in the hall she’d managed to disappear.
It was less than subtle.
He was dredged out of his thoughts by a tap on the shoulder.
“Trevor, not now,” Rome sighed.
“Dude, my name’s Jesse,” he said, leaning back against the glass. “How could you confuse me with that little dweeb?”
Jesse was tall and lean, and covered in tattoos. A lotus poked out from his shirt collar, covering the left side of his neck. It reached up towards the black, single flair tunnels he had in his ears. They must have been gauged big enough to stick a pencil through.
“What do you want?” Rome said, glancing down at the colorful artwork on his arms. Spiked bracelets, studded leather cuffs and chains adorned both his wrists. It was a wonder his nails weren’t painted black.
“You look like a man of good taste,” Jesse smirked, brushing his hair out of his eyes. The top of his head was covered in thick, loosely styled hair that was shaved short on the sides and back, giving an even edgier look to his appearance. He looked even less likely to go to Vardel than Rome did.
“I thought I might interest you in a pack of cigarettes? Maybe some gum if you’re trying to quit? Whatever your jonesing for, I’ve got it. And if I don’t got it, I can get it.”
Everything about him from his ripped blue jeans down to his worn boots told Rome that this guy hadn’t come from money. He’d known guys like him at Lincoln – the kind who snuck things in. Drugs, weapons and what have you. It didn’t matter; they’d sell a firearm to a child if it made them a quick buck. “I’m not interested,” Rome said. “Now leave me alone.”
“Are you sure?” Jesse asked, curling his fingers around the strap of his messenger bag. “I’ve got some pretty cool stuff in here.”
“It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”
“I doubt that,” he scoffed, opening the flap.
It looked like it went on forever, and it was crammed with so much stuff Rome could barely tell what anything was.
“How do you find anything in here?”
“I just think about what I want.”
“Okay, that’s actually kind of cool,” he commented.
“Yeah,” Jesse laughed, “it is. So I heard you got in on a scholarship?”
“Let me guess,” he said, “you too?”
Jesse smirked, leaning in close. “Is it really true you didn’t know about magic before the other day?” he whispered.
“How did you know that?”
“News travels fast around here. And I talk to anyone and everyone. I’m the go-to-guy for buying, trading, selling. I supply all the parties, school sanctioned and otherwise. And pretty much everything else. If there’s money in it, I’m there.”
“Yeah, I figured as much.”
“Hey, don’t get me wrong. I like cold hard cash, but I have morals. My mother would kick my ass if I went around selling anything that wasn’t pg-13, if you know what I mean.”
Now all Rome could think about was what this guy’s mother must look like. He kept imagining a heavy-set biker chick with burly muscles and facial hair. “If you got a scholarship, what do you need all the money for?”
“I’ve got my reasons.”
Rome gave him a pointed look.
“I can guarantee it’s nothing as dark and mysterious as whatever you’re cooking up in that mind of yours.”
“Then what is it?”
Jesse crossed his arms, looking out at the array of faces lining the walls and filling the tables. “It’s what most everyone in this room will never understand,” he said.
Rome scoffed, grinning down at his boots.
“I have to admit, I think I judged you too quickly.”
“Eh,” Jesse shrugged, “I’m used to it. You don’t get to look like I do and expect to make friends at the same time. At least not around here.”
“Yeah, it’s funny isn’t it?” Rome said. “How we look like the dangerous ones. The truth is we’re standing in a room full of sharks. And I don’t mean the mascot.”
Jesse smirked. “I never really looked at it that way, but I suppose you’re right. There’s nothing worse than lawyers in the making.”
Rome caught a flash of red hair out of the corner of his eye.
“Come on, that was funny,” Jesse said.
It was difficult to tell through the glass, but there was no mistaking that that was Ariahna. She was dashing through the rain, covering her head with a small book as water pelted her from every angle.
“Um, that’s cool,” Rome said distractedly. “…I’ve gotta go.”
Jesse threw his arms in the air, watching him rush out into the stormy weather. “O-kay,” he said slowly. “Nice meeting you too.”
Rome waved a hand at Jesse, not bothering to look back at him. If he had, he might not have caught the sight of Aria slipping into the Performing Arts building. He called her name, his voice drowned out by the booming thunder. By the time he reached the building he was completely soaked, and she was nowhere in sight.
“Aria?” he said, glancing around the empty hall. “We’re not supposed to be in here, remember?”
The soft, delicate sound of a piano washed over him, sending shivers down his spine. Ariahna’s voice lingered in the air with the notes. It felt like she was calling to him, drawing him closer. A trail of water followed him all the way to the auditorium. And as he stood in the doorway, watching her on stage, he could see flecks of dust glimmering in the light shining down at her back. The dimly lit room was scattered with a few students, and even less teachers. A blonde haired woman in her late twenties was taking notes at the front of the room, a beaming smile on her face. If he would have been paying attention, he might have recognized her as the music teacher.
Rome couldn’t pull his eyes away from Aria long enough.
He swiped a hand into his wet hair, pushing it off his forehead distractedly. He was entranced watching the way her fingers moved over the keys, smooth and slow. She was giving him goosebumps. Watching her was like reminiscing a memory he didn’t have. He didn’t know the song, he had certainly never heard her sing, and yet there was something so familiar about this moment – about her voice, and the emotion behind her words. She wasn’t just sitting at a piano; she was pouring her heart out to a room full of strangers. And the saddest thing was, no one even knew it. No one but him. Rome didn’t know when he’d gotten so close, but he realized now that he was standing only an arm’s length away from the stage.
Ethereal, he thought. That’s what Aria was. She was the kind of beauty he’d never thought he’d see in the world. The kind that he knew he could never truly hold on to. That only made Rome want her more. In this moment, he wasn’t afraid of anything. All he knew was that he wanted to be hers, no matter the cost. He wanted redemption, the kind he only saw when looking into her eyes. He didn’t understand it then, that first night they’d almost kissed. But the constricting feeling around his heart, and the unshed tears glistening in his eyes were more than enough to make him understand it now. No one else was ever going to be able to make him feel this unbelievably happy. Not even if he lived for a thousand years.
The last note drifted into silence, followed by the soft sound of applause. It felt like he’d been holding his breath the entire time, waiting for the very moment she would look down and smile at him with those gentle green eyes.
Ariahna never got the chance.
Chapter 13
The small infirmary room felt suffocating. It was silent, except for the insistent sound of the clock ticking on the wall. It had made the minute
s feel like hours. Ariahna was sitting by Rome’s bedside, hands clutched together anxiously and knuckles pressed to her lips. He’d been unconscious for hours now, ever since the accident. Her stomach felt like it was tied in knots. She’d spent the time carefully holding his hand and making sure he was comfortable. She’d smoothed out his blankets and fluffed his pillows more times than she could count. None of it made her feel any better. None of it could help her forget what she’d seen.
She sighed softly, burying her face in her hands. She couldn’t help but feel like this was all her fault. She’d worried about it before, but now she knew it had to be true. They were cursed. If Rome was around her, inevitably, he was going to die. She couldn’t let that happen.
Rome started to stir beside her, and Ariahna bolted upright, staring down at him in concern as his blue eyes blinked open. He groaned softly, looking around the small room.
“Where am I?”
“The infirmary,” she said. “Do you remember what happened?”
Rome closed his eyes, trying to recall the events prior to him waking up on the small, stiff mattress. That’s when a smile slowly found its way onto his face. “…You stopped my heart with your voice?”
A small, stunned breath pushed past her lips.
“I’ve never felt anything like that,” he said.
There was no way she could have affected someone in the way Rome was describing, yet the look in his eyes left her speechless.
“It’s the curse,” she whispered, “not me.”
“I think it’s always been you,” he said. “I know how I feel.”
He was not making this easy, she thought, reaching out to touch the tips of his fingers. A good ninety percent of his hands were wrapped in medical bandages to cover the burns.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Groggy. And my mouth tastes like shit.”
Aria held back a laugh.
“That would be the tonic the nurse gave you.”
“Ah,” he chuckled. “That would explain it.”
The motion made his muscles ache, and Rome pushed the blankets back, lifting up the front of his shirt. Despite the telltale taste of healing gunk in his mouth, his chest and abdomen were covered in dark, ugly bruises and burns. Ariahna paled, taking in the sight of his injuries.
“Why did you do that?” she asked, watching him lower his shirt.
“…Do what? The last thing I remember was the power going out.”
“Lightning struck the building. There was some kind of power surge, I guess, and a stage light came loose. It crashed onto the piano... and you.”
“What?” he exclaimed.
The air was thick with the weight of her guilt.
“Did I… did I push you out of the way?”
Aria nodded.
“What you did—I’d never expect anyone to do that for me,” she said, slipping her hand away from his. “I feel horrible, knowing you were hurt because of me. I could have stopped that light with magic, you know. Don’t get me wrong; I’m grateful, I really am. But, it’s not your job to protect me.”
“I’d do it again if it meant I was the one laying in this hospital bed instead of you. And if you could have stopped it with magic, you would have. Me rushing in like an idiot wouldn’t have made a difference.”
“Rome,” she sighed, hesitating. “I think it would be better for both of us if we didn’t see each other for a while.”
“Why? I save your life and now you don’t want to see me? I’m sorry; I’m just a little confused.”
“You were almost killed, twice. You don’t think that’s a little… odd?”
“Wait, are you seriously talking about that curse?”
“Curses are real. They aren’t just superstition and fairytales, they really exist. If there is a curse on us, we should take it seriously. It’s your life at stake here.”
“Exactly, it’s my life. And if I want to risk it for a chance to be with you, then that’s my choice. I don’t care about some stupid curse. I feel like I actually have something to live for, for the first time in my life, and I think that’s more than a little worth exploring, don’t you?”
“Even if we aren’t cursed,” Aria breathed, staring down at her hands, “I’m not sure that we could ever… be anything. There are so many reasons why it would never work out.”
“Like what?” he said. “We’re too different? Your father would never allow it? You don’t have to make excuses. I know you’re scared, but nothing worth having ever comes easy. You have to fight for what you want.”
Aria turned away, walking wordlessly to the door.
“I want you to stay alive,” she said.
She took a moment outside the door, staring bleary-eyed at the pink rose wallpaper. She wasn’t going to cry, she told herself. Not again. She’d done enough of that to last a lifetime. Rome called out her name and she bolted, walking straight back to her dorm. She was trying not to look at, or think about anyone. That didn’t mean she didn’t notice Dallas following after her like a bad tail. Ariahna barely got the door closed before he came busting into the room. “It’s common courtesy to knock,” she said.
“Well you know what else is common courtesy? Telling someone you were almost crushed to death!”
She grimaced at his tone.
“I’m sorry; I didn’t think you’d care.”
That was the wrong thing to say to Dallas.
“Didn’t think I’d care? You didn’t think I’d care that you almost died?” He raised his eyebrows at her in disbelief. “Wow, good to know you think so much of me.”
“Dallas, that’s not what I meant. I’m fine, okay? I just didn’t want to worry you over nothing.”
He huffed, arms crossed and paternal worry painting his face.
She had to smile at that look.
“How’s Rome?” he asked.
“…I think he’ll be okay.”
“You think?”
Aria looked away.
“Did you even say thank you?”
“How is this any of your business?” she mumbled “And I thought you didn’t like Rome?”
“There’s a distinct difference between disliking a guy and wanting him to go splat,” Dallas said. “I still don’t think you should get involved with him, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to keep him around. You know, like a bodyguard,” he shrugged.
Ariahna squinted at him. “I don’t know you.”
“Well that’s just not true,” he smiled. He paused a moment before deciding to drag the other reason he was here kicking and screaming out into the light. “…I heard you left with Christian last night.”
“Who?” she said, feigning ignorance.
“Christian Reed,” he clarified. “He’s about yay tall, brown hair, brown eyes, completely full of himself?”
She shook her head and shrugged at the same time.
“Doesn’t ring any bells.”
“I like Christian even less than I like Rome.”
“And yet you let him drive your car.”
“Aha!” Dallas exclaimed.
“I’d like to bring this conversation back around to my earlier argument of, how is any of this your business?”
“Christian’s a player. Whatever lines he’s feeding you or whoever you think he is, it’s just an act. And it’s my business because I care about you and I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret.”
Ariahna felt her stomach clench, but it wasn’t because of Dallas. The surface of her mirror was trembling – rippling like it was made of water instead of glass. That could only mean one thing.
“Dallas,” she said slowly.
“What?”
She didn’t have time to explain. She shuffled him out of her room, slamming the door quickly in his face. Ariahna turned back to the closet, watching as her father started to morph through. The liquid glass clung to his sharp suit and the rigid edges of his face. Thick, angled eyebrows framed hard grey eyes, and salt and pepper stubble swep
t along his strong jawline. Richard was glaring at her as he stepped through the mirror and into her room, his black dress shoes clacking against the wooden floor. A thin, jet black tie hung neatly from his neck, complimenting his wavy, raven black hair. He looked like a businessman, through and through. But he carried a gun and moved like a cat and knew at least a hundred ways to make a grown man cry. The cool look of disdain hanging in his eyes said it all. This wasn’t a social call – not that Richard ever visited his daughter just to socialize.
No, this was an interrogation.
Chapter 14
Nine times out of ten, people look at the world with blinders on. They let themselves see what they want to, instead of what’s really in front of them. Christian had always thought he’d had a clear picture of what his life was and who his friends were. It was difficult enough hearing Dallas say he liked him less than someone he hated; but as he stood outside of Aria’s room, glaring fire at Dallas, he realized one, incredibly terrifying thing. No one had his back but him. And just like that, that clear picture was quickly starting to fade.
“You are such a dick,” he breathed.
Dallas whirled around in surprise. “…Christian?”
“Yeah,” he said indignantly. “You know, yay tall, brown hair, brown eyes—pissed off at you.”
Dallas sighed. “Come on, you know you’re like a brother to me, but that’s my sister in there. My brother and my sister should not be dating.”
A few passersby gave Dallas a strange look.
“I may not know much about family, but I know enough to know that you don’t talk about a brother the way you just talked about me in there. What if I really liked this girl?”
“You don’t.”
“I could,” Christian said defensively.
“But you don’t.” He sounded completely exasperated. “I asked you to stay away from her – I warned you. You don’t get to act surprised now. I would have said the same thing to you if the roles were reversed, so don’t take it personally.”
“And which role is that? The one where I’m a player, or the one where I’m completely full of myself?”