When Love Walked In

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

            Before leaving, I decided to change out of my school clothes into something different. I had to quickly rifle through my closet to find the mint colored dress I wanted that was loose fitted and hugged my body in all the right places, wrapping around my waist to lightly tickle my thighs with every turn. I grabbed a few accessories to go along with it, including a long silver necklace and my mother’s charm bracelet: a rose, a guitar, the letter A, a single diamond, and a miniature Eiffel Tower. I thought about taking it off but couldn’t bring myself to take away one of the few things that although gave me bad memories reminded me of my mother.

            I fingered the silver guitar and smiled as I thought of Damien. I remember going to the store with my mother and picking it out not long after I had started dating him. A knock at the door broke my daydream and I turned to find Ky at the door. “We’re ready to go, Gustavo asked me to get you,” he said.

        “O-oh, okay,” I stuttered. I spent too much time daydreaming and forgot to get ready. I grabbed my brush from the dresser and pushed some loose hairs back. Taking a black barrette, I tried to hold the loose ends at the back to tie them but couldn’t seem to hold them. Heaving a sigh, Ky appeared behind me, taking the barrette from my hand. “Give it to me.”

            Our fingers brushed and I couldn’t help but jump. He grabbed the few strands and in one swift motion, pushed my hair over my shoulders, letting my bangs be free, and turned me to the side. “Is that good?”

            The touch of Ky’s hands on my bare skin made me uncomfortable and I shied away from his touch. Lowering my head, I said, “Um, yeah, thanks.”

        He gave me a strange look. “No problem.”

        I could feel his eyes on me as I rummaged through my little box for some earrings. When I looked up at the mirror, sure enough, he was staring at me. I tried not to pay much attention as I put on eyeliner and a few coats of mascara. I grabbed my lip gloss and stuffed it into my clutch, unable to withstand his judging eyes, along with my phone, keys, and my wallet. Avoiding his gaze, I clumsily sat down on my bed and began to put on a pair of golden-colored heels. “So,” I said. “How old are you?” My tone of voice was unsure, as if I was the one being asked the question.

        He stuffed his hands in his pockets and leaned back on his heels. “I’ll be nineteen next month.”

        I nodded my head. “Really?”

        He cocked his head to the side and regarded me with curiosity. “What about you?”

        I stood up, heels strapped on tight. “I’ll be sixteen at the end of this month.”

        He raised his eyebrows. “Really?” He sounded surprised.

        I hesitated, unsure what to say or if I should even answer. “Yes?”

        He laughed, although he didn’t sound amused. “Wow, I never would have guessed.”

        Now I raised my eyebrows. “Excuse me?” I know I sounded rude, but I didn’t care.

        “Nothing, nothing.” The jerk was smiling.  No, it was more like smirking. “I’m sure my parents were under the impression that you were at least my age. I know I was.” He was laughing now and I couldn’t help feel annoyed. I scowled t him, crossed my arms, and turned on my heel to walk out of my room to walk out of my room. I could still hear him laughing as he followed me out.

        For whatever reason at all, my parents had decided to take the limo into the city that we only ever use for special occasions. (For whatever reason, my parents deemed this occasion to be special.) “It’s their first night in the city. Let’s make it memorable,” they said.  And for whatever reason, Fate decided to seat me next to Ky of all people. Each time our knees touched, I would move away just a little, only to have him scoot closer. Ky seemed to have forgotten his crankiness at home and was all smiles, even offering to pour me some champagne. But before I could decline, he seemed it fit to announce my age in front of his parents.

        “Oh, I forgot. You’re only turning sixteen, right?” he said innocently. I wanted to take my bag and hit him over the head with it.

        Beren looked at me, surprised. “Really? Oh, I would never have guessed. You’re so mature for your age, sweetie.”

        I ignored Ky and smiled at his mother. “Yes. I’ll be sixteen by the end of this month.”  

        She clapped her hands together like a small child. “Oh, that’s wonderful!”

        Ky clamped his hand down on my shoulder. “Big party?” I slapped his hand and scowled at him. “No.”
            He widened his eyes. “Seriously?”

        Vikram asked, “Why not?” and Beren frowned.

        With everyone’s questioning eyes on me, all I could do was shrug. I noticed my parents exchange a look where my mother looked almost guilty and instead of saying, “We haven’t celebrated it in almost two years,” I said, “Well, we haven’t had a big celebration for some time. We usually just . . .stay home and so something.” It took all my energy to paste a fake smile on my face. It would be ungrateful for me to rain down on my parents even though it hurt to lie when I knew the truth.

        Beren’s frown quickly disappeared. “Oh, you have to do something this year. After all, you’re turning sixteen!”

        “Oh yes! I can’t believe we hadn’t thought of that earlier!” My mother said. “We can have it in one of the hotels and invite guests from all over . . .”

        Beren took my hands in hers. “Doesn’t that sound wonderful, dear?”

        I wasn’t exactly sure what it sounded like but I smiled anyway, nodding my head. It was then I noticed that Ky had gone extremely quiet and when I turned to look at him, he sat regarding me with utter silence. Surprisingly, there was no bitterness or resentment, but rather curiosity and  . . . sadness?

        His eyes were impenetrable and I turned my head to look out the window and watch the scenery flash by. Ky was silent the rest of the way there, and no one tried to engage me in any further conversation.