Elementals: Entwined

Chapter 27: Tiffany

When Amy and Uri left for their date, I was grinning like an idiot. I was glad to see my best friend so happy: few people deserved it more than her. She'd definitely been too stressed the past few days, so I hoped it finally gave her the chance to relax.

The door clicked shut, and I turned, forgetting Diana was on the bed. The sound of her voice made me jump. "So what are your plans for the evening? And don't say you're hooking up with West, because I am not in the mood to be the third wheel."

Involuntarily, her words made me blush. "Uh, West and I aren't hooking up. He's my guardian."

"Who you're sharing a bed with." Diana spoke with false nonchalance; I could tell she was smirking.

"Not by choice!" I packed up the things I'd been using to prepare Amy. She must have been distracted - best friend or not, she never let me do her makeup. Amy had only been in the computer room for half an hour, but it had been long enough that she hadn't even complained when I straightened her hair. All she'd confirmed was that Aurelia was indeed dangerous.

"Well you looked pretty cosy this morning, and last night." She closed her magazine, clearly done with the tales of Hollywood celebrities we would never meet. "Where is Mister Mysterious, anyway? I'd worry that girl was going after your man if he obviously didn't hate her so much."

I grit my teeth at the thought of Mei. For some reason, just the mention of her made me feel irrationally angry. I didn't really understand why, since I barely knew her and she hadn't wronged me personally. Normally I was furious about people who hurt my friends, but not this much. "They should be on the main deck if they haven't all killed each other." I didn't bother trying to correct her belief that West was "my man" - clearly she'd made up her mind about it. At any rate, Lily had gone with them. For some reason the fact that they weren't on a date made me far happier.

"Great!" She sat up, pulled out the hair band that was restraining her white-blond locks, and ran her fingers through them. After buckling up a pair of sandals, she grinned, the epitome of blond bombshell. "Let's go. Try not to kill Mei, though. We do apparently need her."

I rolled my eyes at that, following her out the door. On the way, I tried not to feel like the ugly duckling: Diana's looks were the type that demanded attention, and she attracted several stares during the short walk. "Doesn't that get annoying?"

"Very." She sighed, eyes scanning the area around the pool. "You have no idea how lucky you are." Diana led the way to the others. West lay back on a sun lounger, despite the darkness. The closer I got, the more I came to the realisation that he was sleeping. Immediately I felt bad - we'd made him leave our room whilst I worked on Amy.

Careful not to wake him, I perched on the edge of his sun lounger, carefully turning his face so that the scarred cheek was hidden from passersby. One of his hands caught my fingers, lacing them through his own. "Tiffany," he breathed.

It took me a moment to realise that he was still sleeping. My cheeks heated up at the thought that he was dreaming about me. I hoped the dreams he was having were better than the ones I did.

That thought brought everything to a screeching halt. I still kept reliving that moment of West's death most nights. Now, with horror, I wondered if he experienced something similar.

More worrying: if I saw what was possibly one of the worst moments of his life, then which moments of my life did he see?

"I wouldn't bother with him, you'll only end up hurt." Mei leaned back on the lounger besides West's, sipping a cocktail. It was a wonder if we'd have any brain cells left at the end of the cruise with the constant drinking. "Trust me on that."