Blood of the Pure (Gaea) (30 page)

“This is good enough,” she decided, the loathing in her voice even clearer as she placed both hands on her waist. “What did you want to tell me?”

I took a deep breath, holding my books against my chest. That Steph was kind of scary, I thought. The strength where I’d always found comfort and security suddenly turned against me.

“Steph, I need to know what happened! I don’t understand!”

“What happened?” she repeated sarcastically and I felt the weight of an accusation in her voice. She felt I should know that it was my obligation to know.

“Yes!” I replied, exasperated. “Because suddenly everything changed!”

“You’re right about that!” she agreed and I swallowed as I gathered enough courage to ask her what I knew I had to ask her, but especially to be able to receive her answer.

“Gabriel ...” She shuddered at the sound of his name and my heart sank. I knew it. He was the reason behind all this. “What did he do to you?” I demanded. “Talk to me!”

Her gaze became even colder and an ironic smile tore at her lips.

“He didn’t do anything,” she replied in a defiant whisper and took a step towards me. “And that’s what I have to tell you!” She stabbed her index finger in my chest. “Keep away from him! You have your Michael, right? Isn’t that what you always wanted? Gabriel belongs to me!”

I completely forgot about the things I was supposed to be holding and my books fell all over the floor. The corridor spun around me, the intensity of her greenish gaze confusing my brain, making me wonder if I’d really heard what I thought I’d heard, and somewhere deep inside me a sharp pain stole my breath.

“Gabriel belongs to you?” I asked, perplexed by the idea alone, and it took me some time to reach the full meaning of what she’d just said. “You can’t!” I countered vehemently and she took a step back as if she’d been taken by surprise. “You can’t, Steph! What about Mark? Weren’t you dating him?” I urgently asked, looking for arguments that would help me make her deny what she’d just said. She quickly recovered from her incredulous state, as anger took over her face.

“That’s none of your business!” she slashed back.

“But Steph! You don’t even know him! You don’t know what, who he is!” I rapidly corrected in despair and she held me hard by an arm, transforming my urgent voice into a low cry of pain. The place where she held me was the same exact place where Gabriel had grabbed me when he’d saved me from drowning. My skin still showed the purple, dark marks made by his hard strong fingers.

“Who would have thought that you were such a slut!” she alleged with scorn and anger. “You want them both? Forget it! I’ve already warned you! Gabriel belongs to me and you just try pulling us apart and you’ll see!” She clearly threatened me and pushed me back with enough strength to make me stagger a few steps as I fought to regain my balance.

Before I could say anything else, she was already turning her back on me and furiously walking away.

“Stephanie!” I still called after her, but only the echo of my own voice replied, until everything was silent once again.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

When I became aware of my own surroundings I was outside, a cold wind blowing in my hair and quickly cooling my face. Unexpectedly, even before my tired brain could identify him, Michael was already striding towards me.

“Mari! It’s so good to see you! I thought we would end up missing each other again,” he told me with a bright smile, but his expression quickly became more serious and preoccupied. “What happened?”

“Michael,” I mumbled, waking up from my thoughts that made my pain ever so much more intense. “Why? Why can’t I cry? I wanted to cry.” His arms immediately surrounded me, but not even his calming warmth was enough to comfort me. Why something like that? Why Steph?

“I see you crying, Mari,” I heard his soft whisper and remembered where we were. I pushed him away, too embarrassed to face him, and looked around hoping no one else had seen that. Of course that was too much to ask, and heads everywhere were turned towards us, some expressions quite antagonized, like Lauren’s and Maggie’s, standing a few steps from where we stood.

“I’m sorry,” I muttered and tried to smile for his benefit. “I don’t even know why I came here. I didn’t think.” And especially after having decided that I would keep a distance from him!

“You have no classes this afternoon, right?” I looked at him, confused by that sudden change of subject, but he didn’t wait for my answer. “Let’s go,” he said firmly, pushing me towards the glass door leading inside.

“Let’s go?” I questioned while I allowed his warm hands to guide me. “Where?”

“Somewhere where we can talk.”

“But Michael.”

“No buts!” I didn’t argue any further. I didn’t feel I had enough strength to do it. “Have you eaten?” he casually asked me and I just shook my head. “Great. I know the perfect place.”

Michael towed me out of school and down the street as I followed him in silence, too immersed in my own thoughts to even notice where we were going. I jumped, startled, when a door was opened right in front of me and looked up at him, understanding his silent invitation. Once inside, I couldn’t help feel kind of mystified, since I had no idea how I’d gotten there. The small diner was simple and shadowy, with no more than a dozen tables and a long counter with tall stools.

“This place is great! The food is good, the people are nice and, above all, it’s really cheap,” he stated, stepping in behind me and the door closed with a soft squeak.

The man behind the counter smiled as we walked by, but he was the only one to take the time to acknowledge our presence.

“Oh, hi, Michael,” greeted a girl with a pink frilly apron as she walked up to us, and I was immediately caught by her beautiful face and honey-like, almond-shaped eyes that seemed to smile more than her lips.

“Hi. Can we get a table, Tina?” Michael asked with a friendly smile and Tina seemed to notice my presence for the first time.

My inferiority complex hit me hard. Tina was taller, much prettier and definitely much more attractive than I could ever dream to be. And I could easily imagine how good they would look together, which would never happen with me. Her confident and superior smile told me she’d just reached the same conclusion, and, as she turn around to lead us to our table, she didn’t seemed the least bit concerned with my presence.

We sat on hard, wooden chairs at a wooden table covered with a plastic table cloth. Tina returned a few minutes later with a menu that she made sure she delivered to Michael, while using the full power of her long eyelashes to wink at him. He smiled, as he always did, accepting the sheet folded in half, and his attention turned towards me.

“So? What would you like to have?”

I quickly scanned the short list of lunch selections. In truth I started thinking that I’d rather be somewhere else. That I’d rather had gone straight home. Besides, we were basically alone, once more, something I’d decided that wasn’t supposed to happen again.

“Don’t know,” I ended up answering with a depressed sigh, regretting it immediately as a worried expression took over his face.

“Two calamari, please,” he decided for me. Tina gave him a flirty smile as she took note of his request.

“And to drink?” she asked in a purred tone. I closed the menu, answering before Michael could in an attempt to redeem myself.

“Water, please.”

“For me, too,” he added and she took note once again.

“Anything else?”

“No, that’s all. Thank you,” Michael answered and she smiled, fluttering her long eyelashes again, before strolling back to the counter.

I looked away, questioning my good sense and why I allowed myself to get caught up in such an embarrassing situation.

“So? How was your weekend?” he casually asked me and I felt lost for a split second. I was so focused on my present worries that it was difficult trying to access the past. “Was everything all right with your aunt?” he inquired and I recalled the lie I’d told him.

“Ah, yes. It was great,” I answered, trying to make my smile look as real as possible. “She left yesterday.”

“Mari!” His hand was across the table and over mine in less than a second and I looked at him startled and apprehensive at the urgency with which his warm fingers grabbed mine. “What’s wrong? Did anything happen?”

I stared at him wordlessly and then looked away trying to sound as casual as possible.

“It’s nothing.”

“You expect me to believe that? When we parted, Wednesday, everything was great. And then I didn’t even see you Thursday!”

“I told you ...”

“Yes, when we talked on the phone,” he went on. “But today, something’s clearly not right!”

Tina came back with our water bottles and, before her angry expression, I pulled my hand away from Michael’s, looking away embarrassed. She opened the bottles, pouring some of their contents in our glasses and, while she did it, our conversation was momentarily suspended. As soon as she walked away, Michael leaned towards me, watching me with concern.

“Is it something you can’t tell me? If that’s the case, I understand.”

“It’s nothing like that.” I lied.

“So? Maybe I’ll be able to help you,” he offered, hopefully, and once more I couldn’t help feel guilty. I was making him worry and for what? There was nothing he, or anyone else for that matter, could do for me.

I took a deep breath and decided to give him the only answer I could, without having to lie any further.

“Stephanie and I, we had a fight,” I told him and he sat silent for a moment.

“You argued?” he finally asked and I sighed.

“I guess it’s a bit more complicated than that. I just don’t know how to fix this or even if it’s something that can be fixed.” Admitting it made me feel a little better, since at least that problem I was allowed to share with someone else.

“But aren’t, weren’t you guys like inseparable friends?” I grinned bitterly, noticing he’d wondered which tense to use, and made my finger slide over the cup rim.

“It’s complicated.”

“What happened?” he insisted once more after a brief silence and I took a deep breath.

“She, she...” I stopped. I couldn’t say it, I noticed in alarm. I couldn’t accept it! Her words echoed in my mind and anger burnt my chest. How could he have allowed things to reach this point? “She and Gabriel, they’re ...” My voice broke again and I stared baffled at my clenched fists that shook uncontrollably. What was wrong with me?

“I see,” Michael conceded in his soft voice, reminding me that I wasn’t alone. “And? What’s so wrong about that?”

“It just can’t be!” I exclaimed, raising my voice, and my cheeks flushed as I noticed his startled expression.

Tina came back at that precise moment, condemning our talk to another embarrassing silence, and placed two plates with calamari, rice and salad on the table. She asked if we wanted anything else and, after Michael thanked her, she walked away once more.

I allowed myself to take a deep breath and calm down. Michael didn’t know anything. He couldn’t possibly understand. That said, it was hardly fair of me to sit there and pour all my frustrations out on him.

“I’m sorry. It’s just that. You don’t understand. You don’t know Gabriel like I do,” I justified and this time he sighed.

“You’re worried about her,” he said and I nodded. “And have you tried talking with her?”

“That’s why we fought,” I replied, feeling truthfully miserable. “She accused me of ... being interested in him.”

“And are you?” His question was almost casual, if not for the harsh tone hidden under his soft voice.

“Michael!” I reprimanded, outraged.

“Why? It’s a question like any other,” he stated defensively and I frowned, displeased with the implications of his tone.

“No, I’m not!” I replied, dryly. “How could I? He is a … my cousin!” I corrected in time and the smile that touched his lips immediately lightened his expression. I sighed. That day couldn’t possibly get any worse.

“But why worry so much?” he asked me, now looking determined to take my problem seriously, and I picked my fork playing with the fried rings on my plate. “True, I don’t know him all that well, and that he can be a bit strange at times. But generally speaking, he doesn’t look like a bad guy.”

“That’s right. You don’t know him. I’m sure this will end badly. Steph is going to get hurt and I don’t know if she’ll ever recover,” I insisted and felt even more depressed.  “She’s my friend and I don’t want to see her get hurt, much less because of him. I feel so responsible for all of this!”

“Mari! That’s not true at all!”

“But it is! After all said and done, I’m the one who brought him into our lives. It was through me he reached her!” The truth of my own words hurt even more.

“You can’t go around feeling responsible for what people choose to do,” he softly retorted, but still it wasn’t enough to make me feel better.

“How come there’s nothing I can do?” I wondered aloud.

“Hmm, if you’ve already tried talking with her and it didn’t work out, why not talk with him?” he suggested and I hung on his words. He smiled gently and rested his chin on his hands. “After all, in your opinion, he’s the real problem, right? Like you said, he’s your cousin. Maybe he’ll hear you. It’s like I’ve told you. He doesn’t strike me as the bad boy type. If he was like that, he’d already shown his true colors, with all the girls throwing themselves at him on a daily basis. He’s not the type to go around taking advantage of girls. Maybe he’s really interested in Stephanie, who knows? And if he’s not, maybe you’ll be able to talk him into doing something about it. Ask him honestly not to hurt your friend. I don’t believe he’ll do it on purpose.”