The Pull of Destiny (17 page)

Clapping the
phone to my ear with one hand, I said, “Rob, if you’re calling to ask me about
the dresses again, don’t waste your time. I said I liked the white one on you.”

There was a
millisecond pause and I waited for Robyn to regroup while I continued reading.
Jennifer and Brad were in the midst of their first argument and it was a good
one. I often wished I had an older brother who had hot friends. Nate was like
an older brother to me, and he had the overprotective factor, but he was
severely lacking in friends. He had sailed through his 12 years of school
making enemies, not friends.

“CiCi, is that
you?” a choked voice asked. My hand, which was rubbing my stomach to try
quelling my hunger pains froze in mid-rub. The voice sounded like Luke but- was
he crying?

“Luke? Are you
okay?” I asked hesitantly, smoothing the hair back from my forehead.

“No, I’m not
okay! I’m scared, CiCi!”
Yup, that’s Luke, alright.
“I’ve been up all
night, looking up people’s aneurysm stories on the internet.” His voice broke
as he continued. “I’m scared I might not make it!”

I sat up,
chewing on a hang nail as I racked my brain to think of something comforting to
say to him. I had thought he’d taken the news of his illness very well, but
apparently that had just been for show and he was still struggling to come to
terms with it. I felt like crying for him. What was he going through?

You have to
be a friend, Celsi.

“Luke, listen
to me. Nothing’s going to happen to you. You have access to the best healthcare
in New York
and
you have a great doctor! Just calm down and listen to
me, okay?”

A stifled sob
made my heart constrict. This was bad. “I’m trying, but I’m just so scared!”

“It’s okay to
be scared, Luke, I would be scared too!” Try terrified, actually, but I was
supposed to be helping him, not making him feel worse. “But just remember you
have friends and a family that cares for you. Your dad wouldn’t want anything
to happen to-.”

There was a
muffled snort at the other end of the line and I stopped talking, confused.
That didn’t sound like someone was crying at all. It sounded like laughter.

What the
hell?

“I seriously
beg to differ on the dad thing. I know for a fact that the old man doesn’t care
about what happens to me,” Luke said in his normal voice.

My mouth hung
open in slack jawed shock. I couldn’t believe it. Had Luke been acting all that
time?

“Was that
supposed to be a joke?” I breathed, incredulity tingeing my voice.

Luke laughed.
“That depends. Did you fall for it?” Without waiting for an answer, he
continued, a self-satisfied tone in his voice. “Yeah, you fell for it. You
really thought I was crying, didn’t you?”

Defensively, I
answered, “Well, I wasn’t given much of a chance to think! I just reacted on
impulse!” Bitterly, I added, “I didn’t think that was the kind of thing you
would joke about.”

I felt so
dense. Caught in a Luke Astor lie once again. Was this ever gonna end?
Uh,
probably not, Celsi. Get used to it.

Luke chuckled
sexily and I buried my face in my pillow, cursing my overeager hormones. “You
sounded really concerned,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, because
I thought that you were upset!”

“Don’t worry. I
love that you were concerned. At least I know that if I really get jacked up,
you’ll be there to talk me down.”

My heart
skipped a beat.
He loved that I was concerned!
Then I realized that I
ought to at least pretend to show some indignation for his mischievous trick.

“I just don’t
like it when grown men cry,” I replied tartly, punching a triumphant fist in
the air.

“Ouch, you got
me,” Luke laughed.

I twisted a
lock of hair around my finger. “Just to make sure, you’re not really having a
crisis, are you?”

“Nope, not that
I know off,” Luke replied breezily. “Trust me, if I have a crisis, you’ll know.
You’ll be the first person I call.”

“That was a
pretty jerky thing to do,” I mumbled into the phone. He had got me fair and
square, though.

“I’m sorry,” he
laughed, not sounding apologetic at all. I let it slide. “You gotta admit
though, it was pretty funny.”

“A little,” I
conceded, a smile curving my lips.

“So. It’s a
Saturday. What you up to?” Luke said, changing the subject as only he could.

“I’m-,” I
started, looking at the romance that I had discarded the instant Luke had
started in on his act. No way was I telling him that I was reading a soppy
cliché book! “I’m studying for a Social Science test.”

“Dude, I hope
we’re not in the same Socials class because if we are, I’m flunking that test.
I haven’t picked up a school book since I got my medical tests back.”

He sounded
quite pleased with this, like it was some kind of achievement.
Lifestyles of
the rich and the famous.
I guess he could afford to coast through school,
he was already set for life. But I preferred to work for what I got because it
was that much sweeter.

“With the life
you lead, I’m not surprised,” I said, just loud enough for him to hear.

“I don’t live
crazy anymore,” he protested, laughter in his voice. “Wanna know what I’m doing
right this second?”

“What?” I asked
warily, hoping he wasn’t going to say something stupid like ‘sitting on the
toilet’.

“I’m in the
playroom, drinking tea with Faith- my little sister.”

“And eating
crumpets!” I heard a small voice say faintly.

“And eating
crumpets,” Luke added agreeably. “Fast life- not so much.”

I giggled.
“You’re having a tea party with your little sister? Aw, that’s so cute!”

“Yeah, but
these chairs are murder. It’s pretty much like I’m sitting on the floor,” he
complained. I smiled to myself. What I wouldn’t give to see Luke sitting in one
of those pre-school chairs, drinking tea with Faith.
Classic.
“So how’re
your video game skills?”

The rapid
change of subject threw me, but just a little, which meant I was getting used
to them.
Sort of.
I shrugged. “Um, okay, I guess. Why?”

“Great! I’m on
the last level in Halo 4 but I need a second pair of hands to help me out.”

Say what?

“You want me to
come over and help you beat Halo 4?” I asked slowly, thinking that I had
misunderstood him.

His simple,
“Yeah,” reply assured me that I had not, in fact, misunderstood him.

“Do the words
‘I’m studying’ mean nothing to you?” I joked, casting a longing look at the
novel. I really needed to know what Jennifer was going to do to Brad next.

“Take a break
and come help out a friend,” Luke said calmly. “Socials isn’t that hard. All
you gotta do is pop over here for an hour, help me out, and then you can go
home.’

Easier said
than done.
I
really wanted to read the book and just lose myself in its fairytale ending. So
I decided to be as obtuse as I could.

“Pop over on
what?” I asked. “I don’t have a limo and driver at my disposal, you know.”

Immediately,
Luke said, “I’ll send my car over. I would come get you myself but I’m not
really- presentable right now. Faith was giving me a manicure and she got nail
varnish all over my face, for some odd reason.”

I laughed at
that but still debated on whether to go to Luke’s place or not. “I don’t
know....” I said.

“You want me to
beg? Coz I will! Please CiCi, come over, I need your company! Faith has to take
a nap and all my friends are in The Hamptons for the weekend! You’re the only
friend I have in NYC right now! Besides,” he said, his voice suddenly turning
crafty, “it’s on my list.”

I scratched my
head, a puzzled look on my face. “What’s on your list? Make Celsi fail
Socials?”

“No, silly,”
Luke said patiently. “Beat a video game. It’s on my list. And you said you’d
help me with my list, so I’m asking you to help.”

“I have to work
today, though,” I said, suddenly remembering.

“I’m starting
to think you’re trying to blow me off and that’s not cool.” Luke let out a
resigned breath. “What time?”

“I’m not
blowing you off,” I protested. “My shift starts at 4.”

“CiCi. It’s
like- its noon, for God’s sakes! If you don’t wanna hang out with me, that’s
cool. But you can just tell me instead of making excuses.”

To my surprise,
he actually sounded upset. Because
I
was blowing him off?

I shook my
head, even though I knew he couldn’t see me through the phone. “No, I do wanna
hang out with you, but...”

My voice
trailed off as I thought of Nate, who was the real reason I was hedging. If I
tried to leave, he might corner me and ask where I was going, what time I would
be back and who I would be with. Sometimes he even tagged along with me, just
to make sure that I was going where I said I was going and not to ‘meet boys’,
as he put it.
Somebody forgets that I’m 17.
His excuse for his over
protectiveness was that he didn’t want me following in my mother’s footsteps
but I knew that he just liked being a tyrant.

“I have
cookies.”

And just like
that, I was sold.
Celsiana Sawyer, you are a cookie whore
. Guilty.

“The chewy
coconut ones?” I asked, my mouth already watering as my stomach rumbled. By
hook or by crook, I was getting myself some of those today.

I could tell
Luke was grinning as he answered. “Yeah. And when it’s time for you to go to
work, I’ll drop you off so no worries about that. I promise. Please?”

I smiled
happily. It was so nice to know that Luke wanted me around. Not Joanna, not
Wendy, but me. A girl he barely knew.
Sometimes it’s easier to talk to a
stranger than somebody you’ve known your whole life.
That’s what I thought,
anyway and apparently, Luke was figuring it out for himself.
Joanna and
Wendy are in The Hamptons, stupid
! Shut. Up. Mind.

“Okay, fine,” I
said, injecting a grudging note in my voice. It was best not to sound
too
eager. Even though I could practically taste the Caramel Delights on my tongue.

“Awesome! I owe
you for this one,” Luke said enthusiastically and I nodded to myself.
You
sure do, mister.
“So, should I send the car over to pick you up?”

“No, it’s sunny
out. I’ll walk.”

What would Nate
do if he saw me get into a limo?

“Yeah? You
sure?”

“Yeah, I’ll see
you in 15 minutes,” I assured him.

“I’ll be
waiting. Bye!”

I hung up and
got to my feet, stretching lazily as I slipped my feet into a pair of flip
flops. It was a truly sunny spring day and I decided to go with the outfit I
was already wearing, a pair of shorts and a short sleeved top.

This was stupid
of me, messing up my routine just because Luke Astor said so. Was I going to
run every time he called? The annoying thing was, he always asked so adorably
and I couldn’t say no.

Also, I needed
to get away from the apartment for a while. I was just so tired of Aunt Kelly
and Nate’s constant arguing. Right now it was all quiet, but they would
restart. They always did. I felt a short burst of anger towards Nate. Aunt
Kelly worked her butt off for us. She had two jobs, made just enough money to
keep food on our table, clothes on our backs and pay for part of my tuition.
Yet on the one day she had to rest, Nate would always try his best to antagonize
her. Sometimes he acted more like a 6 year old than a 26 year old.

Picking up my
bag, I gave myself a cursory glance in the small mirror perched on my wall and
I was good to go. I listened at the door for a second. Not a sound.

Maybe Nate’s
gone to nurse his hangover in his room.

Hoping that
that was the case, I opened the door to my room and tiptoed out into the hall.
If Aunt Kelly was asleep, I didn’t want to wake her.

Just as I was
creeping towards the front door, Nate turned into the hall from the kitchen,
his eyes bloodshot and his shirt wrinkled. He gave me a head-to-toe look.

“Where the hell
you going?” he asked sharply, taking a step towards me. Involuntarily, I took a
step back. Nate was always so unpredictable when he was sobering up from a
bender. And judging from his appearance, last night had been a doozy. It was
always wise to stay far away from him when he was hung-over.

My mouth
suddenly dry from fear, I managed to say, “I’m going to the library to study.
Then after that I’m going to work.”

He can tell
you’re lying!

“Why you can’t
study in your own room?” he wanted to know.