There were a million answers on my lips, everything from It’s the right thing to do to I don’t know. Instead, I said, “Because I want to.”
This time, I got a true smile from him, but there was something dark and introspective about it. He shifted closer to me again. “Because you feel bad for this crazy guy?”
“You aren’t going to go crazy,” I said firmly. “You’re stronger than you think. The next time you feel that way, find something to focus on, to remind you of who you are.”
“Like what? Got some magic object in mind?”
“Doesn’t have to be magic,” I said. I racked my brain. “Here.” I unfastened the golden cross necklace. “This has always been good for me. Maybe it’ll help you.” I set it in his hand, but he caught hold of mine before I could pull back.
“What is it?” he asked. He looked more closely. “Wait… I’ve seen this. You wear this all the time.”
“I bought it a long time ago, in Germany.”
He was still holding my hand as he studied the cross. “No frills. No flourishes. No secret etched symbols.”
“That’s why I like it,” I told him. “It doesn’t need embellishment. A lot of the old Alchemist beliefs focused on purity and simplicity. That’s what this is. Maybe it’ll help you have clarity of mind.”
He had been staring at the cross, but now he lifted his gaze to meet mine.
Some emotion I couldn’t quite read played over his features. It was almost like he’d just discovered something, something troubling to him. He took a deep breath and, his hand still holding mine, pulled me toward him. His green eyes were dark in the candlelight but somehow just as enthralling. His fingers tightened on mine, and I felt warmth spread throughout me.
“Sage-”
The power suddenly came back on, flooding the room with light. Apparently, with no concern for electrical bills, he’d left all the lights on when he went out earlier. The spell was broken, and both of us winced at the sudden brightness. Adrian sprang back from me, leaving the cross in my hand.
“Don’t you have a dance or a curfew or something?” he asked abruptly, not looking at me. “I don’t want to keep you. Hell, I shouldn’t have bothered you at all. Sorry. I assume that was Aiden texting you?”
“Brayden,” I said, standing up. “And it’s okay. He left, and I’m just going to go back to Amberwood now.”
“Sorry,” he repeated, moving toward the door with me. “Sorry I ruined your night.”
“This?” I nearly laughed, thinking of all the crazy things I contended with in my life. “No. It’d take a lot more to ruin my night than this.” I started to take a few steps and then paused. “Adrian?”
He finally looked directly at me, once again nearly knocking me over with his gaze. “Yeah?”
“Next time… next time you want to talk to me about something-anything-you don’t have to drink to work up the courage. Just tell me.”
“Easier said than done.”
“Not really.” I tried for the door again, and this time, he stopped me, resting a hand on my shoulder.
“Sage?”
I turned. “Yeah?”
“Do you know why I don’t like him? Brayden?” I was so astonished he’d gotten the name right that I couldn’t voice any answers, though several came to mind. “Because of what he said.”
“What part?” Seeing as Brayden had said many things, in great detail, it wasn’t entirely clear which Adrian was referring to.
“‘Historically inaccurate.”’ Adrian gestured at me with his other hand, the one not on my shoulder. “Who the hell looks at you and says ‘historically inaccurate’?”
“Well,” I said. “Technically it is.”
“He shouldn’t have said that.”
I shifted, knowing I should move away… but I didn’t. “Look, it’s just his way.”
“He shouldn’t have said that,” repeated Adrian, eerily serious. He leaned his face toward mine. “I don’t care if he’s not the emotional type or the complimentary type or what. No one can look at you in this dress, in all that fire and gold, and start talking about anachronisms. If I were him, I would have said, ‘You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen walking this earth.’”
My breath caught, both at the words and the way he said them. I felt strange inside. I didn’t know what to think, except that I needed to get out of there, away from Adrian, away from what I didn’t understand. I broke from him and was surprised to find myself shaking.
“You’re still drunk,” I said, putting my hand on the door knob.
He tilted his head to the side, still watching me in that same, disconcerting way. “Some things are true, drunk or sober. You should know that. You deal in facts all the time.”
“Yeah, but this isn’t-” I couldn’t argue with him looking at me like that. “I have to go. Wait… you didn’t take the cross.” I held it out to him.
He shook his head. “Keep it. I think I’ve got something else to help center my life.”
CHAPTER 15
I FELT SO BAD for Brayden the next day that I actually called him, as opposed to our usual texting and e-mailing.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “Running out like that… it’s not my usual style. Not at all. I wouldn’t have left if it wasn’t a family emergency.” Maybe that was stretching it. Maybe not.
“It’s okay,” he said. Without seeing his face, I couldn’t tell if it really was okay. “I suppose things were winding down anyway.”
I wondered what “things” he meant. Did he mean the dance itself? Or was he talking about us?
“Let me take you out to make up for it,” I said. “You always do everything. I’ll handle it for a change. Dinner will be on me, and I’ll even pick you up.”
“In the Subaru?”
I ignored the judgment in his tone. “Are you in or not?”
He was in. We made the necessary arrangements, and I hung up feeling better about everything. Brayden wasn’t mad. Adrian’s visit hadn’t ruined my fledgling relationship. Things were back to normal-at least for me.
I’d kept to myself the day after the dance, wanting to catch up on work and not stress about social matters. Monday morning started the school week again, back to business as usual. Eddie walked into East’s cafeteria when I did, and we waited together in the food line. He wanted to know about Adrian’s visit to the dance, and I gave a glossed-over version of the night, simply saying that Adrian had gotten drunk and needed a ride home. I made no mention of my role in getting the queen to act on his behalf or of me being “the most beautiful creature walking this earth.” I certainly didn’t mention the way I’d felt when Adrian had touched me.
Eddie and I walked over to a table and found the unusual sight of Angeline trying to cheer up Jill. Normally, I would’ve chastised Angeline for what she’d done at the dance, but there’d been no damage done… this time. Plus, I was too distracted by Jill. It was impossible for me to see her down without immediately assuming something was wrong with Adrian. Eddie spoke before I could, noticing what I hadn’t.
“No Micah?” he asked. “He was out the door before me. I figured he would’ve beat me over here.”
“You had to ask, didn’t you?” Angeline grimaced. “They had a fight.”
I swear, Eddie looked more upset about this than Jill. “What? He didn’t say anything. What happened? You guys seemed to be having such a great time on Saturday.”
Jill nodded morosely but didn’t look up from her uneaten food. I could just barely catch sight of tears in her eyes. “We did. So good that he actually talked to me yesterday and asked… well, he asked if I wanted to have Thanksgiving with his family. They’re from Pasadena. He thought he could either get permission from the school or talk to you guys.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” said Eddie cautiously.