Angels of Moirai (Book One) (16 page)

“Hey there, sexy,” Hayley said winking.

I frowned. “You don’t think it’s too much?”

“No way!”

I pursed my lips together and gave myself a few reassuring nods. I turned around, ready as I’d ever be.

“You look beautiful, Lila.” Hayley said, leaning in and giving me a hug.

I hugged her back tightly. “You look not too bad yourself,” I said, noticing her cute little black party dress and curled blonde hair.

“Yeah,” she said doing a goofy smile, “I’m off to the concert soon.”

“Oh, yeah,” I said closing my eyes; suddenly remembering she’d told me about this concert weeks ago. “Taylor Swift. That’s right. You’re staying at Poppy’s tonight.”

“Yep”

“Well, I hope you have an awesome time, no doubt you will.”

“It’s going to be un-freakin’-real!”

I laughed with her as we made our way out of my room and down the hallway to the top of the stairs.

Hayley stopped me above the stairs and pulled me around to face her. “Just promise me,” she said seriously, “that you’ll try.”

“Wha-”

Before I could finish my sentence, out of the corner of my eye, I saw James step into view at the bottom of the stairs, and I felt my heart hit the floor.

I shook my head; my vision going blurry.

Hayley held me firmly in place, stopping me from running away; something I desperately wanted to do.

“James didn’t tell me much,” she said quietly. “I knew something was up with you, but James is here, waiting downstairs for you. You don’t have to work it out now, but just for the night, smile, have fun, and forget about it all.”

“Okay,” I sighed. “Since when did you become the big sister, dishing out advice?”

“I learned from the best. Now get your sweet toosh down there,” she said with gentle slap on my bum.

As I nervously took the first two steps, I turned and mouthed ‘thanks’ to Hayley.

She winked with a smile and urged me to continue.

I desperately craved a glass of water as my mouth dried up from all the nerves. I’d thought about the moment I saw James again, what I would do, what I would say. Even as I walked down the stairs, staring into those sweet beautiful eyes, all words escaped me.

My hand gripped the railing as each step I took felt more uneasy and unsteady as the last.

James in a suit, wow. Suddenly, I wished he’d turned up in old daggy clothes so it would make this process easier.

Who am I kidding, he’d still look hot then!

When James held his hand out for me to take, I nearly melted at the gesture. I hesitantly held out my hand, and when we touched, it sent a ripple effect of warm flushes down my body. I could feel the heat on my neck rise when he smiled at me.

“Ready?” he asked calmly.

“No,” I replied honestly.

I hooked my arm through his anyway and followed him out the front door. He placed his other hand on mine in comfort, but it only made it worse.

I expected to go to the formal in my car, I hadn’t really organised anything else, but when I saw the black stretch limo parked outside the gates to my house, I was shocked. It wasn’t the limo outside my house that shocked me, it was seeing the likes of Dale, Maddison, Kassidy, Jackie, and Jacob, and a few other seniors waiting out the front for me.

The boys were dressed in dark suits while Maddison wore a fuchsia coloured knee length dress that was very racy and sexy, not totally suitable for a school formal, but that was Maddison.

Kassidy wore a similar dress to Maddison, only in a pacific blue colour and Jackie was in an emerald colour full length gown, and she looked stunning.

“About time,” Maddison said, rolling her eyes. “Can we go now?”

I instantly felt uneasy at the somewhat ‘normal’ behaviour from Maddison. Funny how simple things like that reminded me of the other life I lived without James, the Angel of Moirai.

“Yes,” I smirked in reply.

I smiled at Jackie as she rolled her eyes.

“Just one moment. I think we should get a photo of everyone, anyone want to lend me their phone?” James suggested.

“Great idea!” Jackie said with excitement, handing James her phone. “Here, use mine, and I’ll send it to everyone later-”

“We’ve already had professional photos taken,” Maddison interjected.

“That’s okay, nobody said you had to be in them,” Jackie snapped back.

I choked back a laugh.

“Whatever. Just take the picture already,” Maddison snapped standing next to everyone against the limo. We all smiled as we stood arm in arm and stared at James as he took the picture.

“Do you want me to take one so you can be in the picture?” Jacob asked James.

“No, thank you anyway. I’d much rather have a picture with all of you than me.”

“Okay,” Jacob replied shrugging his shoulders.

They all began climbing into the limo, one after the other. I used this moment to talk to Jackie.

“So, I’m guessing this is Jacob?” I said holding out my hand to shake Jacob’s.

“The one and only,” Jackie beamed.

“Nice to meet you, Lila,” he replied.

He was exactly as Jackie had described him. In fact, the picture she’d showed me didn’t do him any justice on how gorgeous he was. He had almost the same colour dark hair as Jackie, only his skin was tanned a golden brown, unlike Jackie’s beautiful ivory skin.

I watched him look at her with complete admiration. I was beyond happy that they’d found each other. He was a keeper.

I smiled. “You too.”

As we were the last ones left outside, I took a deep breath and readied myself, “Shall we get going?”

James let my arm go and waved me in, “Ladies first.”

I barely smiled at him in reply. It was so hard trying to be happy around him, when I was anything but. I didn’t know how I was just meant to go on with life, with James. I wasn’t even sure if it could ever be normal between us, if there ever was normal.

The music was already pumping when we climbed in. There wasn’t much space left in the limo, everyone was squeezed next to each other, and when I sat next to Jackie, leaving no room for James next to me, I tried to ignore the pain I could see on his face.

Maddison was quickly to his rescue though, offering him a seat next to her.

How unusual
, I said sarcastically to myself.

James thanked her and sat beside her and that bit of pain I’d seen on his face quickly buried within me. Even though I knew there was nowhere else he could physically sit, it didn’t stop the hurt coming over me.

As everyone began chatting excitedly, I couldn’t help but focus all my thoughts and energy on every movement and interaction Maddison and James had.

She’d insured that her thigh high split up her dress opened where her legs were crossed, revealing a whole lot of leg.

My hands clenched as I watched her twirl a strand of hair between her fingers, while she whispered quietly to James.

It didn’t matter that James was completely ignoring her, his eyes were only on me, as my anger was still building.

“Who wants a few shots before we get started?” Dale said loudly, opening a bottle of vodka with his teeth.

“Me!” I quickly replied.

James eyes narrowed on me, and I tried not to make eye contact.

Jackie whispered quietly in my ear, “Are you sure, Lila?”

I turned to Jackie, “Yeah, why not?” I said casually.

Jackie didn’t hide the concern on her face, so I turned back to Dale and held my hand out for a shot glass.

He eagerly poured the vodka into the glass and handed it to me. I took it without delay, and took it in my mouth. The burning sensation filled my throat. I clenched my eyes and waited for the disgusting taste to disappear.

I was a rooky, that’s for sure. I hadn’t drank anything since my sixteenth birthday when I went to a party with Jackie and we both got drunk, only I ended up sick for days. Needless to say, it turned me right off it.

I expected there to be laughter from everyone, at what I can only imagine was my terrible facials, but they all kind of sat their staring at me in fascination.

“Another,” I demanded.

“Lila!” Dale said excitedly, “Who ever thought you’d be the party girl.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” I said, with a hint of seductiveness in my voice, something that I regretted immediately.

James reached over, grabbed the bottle from Dale’s hand, and said sternly, “That’s enough.”

Just as Dale was about to protest, the limo pulled up at the reception for the formal.

The feeling of determination, spite, and jealousy went away as quickly as I opened the door to climb out. I couldn’t believe I’d just done that. It wasn’t the drinking part that upset me. I was a teenager and that was normal teenage behaviour. It was the fact it wasn’t me. None of that I’d just displayed was me.

I waited beside the car for James to climb out, telling Jackie and Jacob to go ahead, I was fine, and I would catch up with them later.

When James emerged, he stood in front of me. I wanted to tell him off, for what I had no idea. I wasn’t thinking rationally. I was acting like a woman scorned.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, disappointed with myself. “I can do this,” I said, not for James’s reassurance, but for myself.

He took my arm once more and we made our way inside.

Looking back on that night, I knew no matter what was about to happen, the events that were about to unfold, I wouldn’t change going with James to our formal.

I focused on each step. I tried to be brave. I had to be brave. I laughed silently at the little voice in my head that told me to walk away now, don’t go with James, just leave it!

Like I had a choice.

I couldn’t be with James, but I couldn’t be without him.

I didn’t know what to do anymore, so I went with it, full well knowing I was just going to break my heart even more.

The event centre was lit up in beautiful fairy lights that covered the ceilings. The colour pallet of the room drew from the navy red and crimson blue from our uniform.

We waited in line for a couple of minutes before being welcomed by our principal, vice principal, chaplain, and head of senior school.

We followed the red carpet, yes red carpet, until we reached the spot where our photo was taken.

“Next,” the photographer said.

James pressed the small of my back with his hand, directing me in front of the blue drapes. He held me in place, while the photographer’s assistant, moved our hands, head, hair, and just about everything else until it was ‘perfect.’

“Smile!”

We both smiled into the camera, and with a flash later, we were finished.

We continued to walk in silence to the main room.

Grand chandeliers hung elegantly from the ceilings, and the table settings looked like something you would see at dinner with the Queen at Buckingham’s Palace.

Couples were already dancing away to the music, chosen carefully by organisers, I guessed. It was nothing too provocative or crazy for the night, in fact, it was forcing people to slow dance. They didn’t seem to mind though, the love in the air was thick.

James stopped me just before we reached our table. “See that man over to your right,” he said quietly into my ear.

I followed his direction and looked to see a man in his sixties dressed in a black suit with matching bowtie standing next to one of our schoolteachers.

“He is going to come over and talk to you soon. He is the Dean of Hensley University. Your parents have been having discussion with him about your enrolment there.”

I looked between the man and James in disbelief. “You’re serious?”

He nodded his head. “I know I’m not allowed to say anything, but under the circumstances with our relationship and the toll it is having on you, I thought you should know.”

Great,
I said to myself. I couldn’t even hide the emotional wreck I felt like from James.

I watched as the teacher pointed straight towards me and the Dean smiled at me. He said goodbye to the teacher and made his way straight for me. I took a deep breath in preparation.

“Lila Kingston?” He asked, holding out his hand to shake mine.

I nodded my head and shook his hand.

“My name is Geoffrey Vincent, Dean of Hensley University.”

I smiled in acknowledgment. He didn’t show any acknowledgment towards James, although James didn’t seem to mind.

“I’ve been speaking to your parents and they tell me you’re very keen to attend Hensley next year?”

I was tempted to tell him a straight out no, but that wouldn’t be very polite, so I just smiled and said, “Maybe. Just keeping my options open, I haven’t decided yet.”

He frowned at my answer. “Hensley is the best University in the country, especially if you plan on studying Law.”