“What have you two been doing? Wrestling elephants? You look horrendous!” Chloe looked between the two of them but directed her last line at Graham. Heat trailed up his neck.
“Jade—you have raccoon eyes and blotchy cheeks. And Graham—your hair’s plastered to your head.” She sighed dramatically and tossed her head side to side. “I don’t have time for this.”
“We did have a few…uh…complications on our way here,” Jade said. “I should be able to fix my makeup—I watched you do it earlier, remember? Then you just have to worry about Graham.”
Chloe gave her a skeptical eyebrow but finally nodded. “It’ll have to work because there’s no time for me to fix you both. It’s a wonder your hair hasn’t gone flat, Jade.” She blew out a breath and frowned at Graham’s curls. “Good thing we’re not first up. I’m gonna need every minute I can get.”
Graham prayed his cheeks weren’t flaming red.
Chloe ushered him to a swiveling chair surrounded by mirrors. He sat, and she leaned in. For a moment, his pulse skyrocketed. But her fingers only pulled off his glasses. Still, removing that small barrier made his stomach flip with nerves. He swallowed down the feeling of nakedness, aware of how stupid he was being. It was his silly writer’s brain again, sailing him away to one of his fantasies.
The cool, wet rag she blotted his face with was somewhat of a relief, though it didn’t make him any less aware of her nearness. Her quick hands rifled through the hair at his temples, gentle despite their hurried motions. She was like a hummingbird, all delicate, yet all aflutter as she combed through his wavy curls with her fingers and blow-dried them.
While she worked, Graham couldn’t help but stare at her eyes. Their aqua hue reminded him of the water at Turtle Beach, from all those years vacationing in Florida with Violet and her parents.
He noticed something else, too. Deep blue ringed the edges of her irises—a detail he’d never noticed before. Zounds, he could write stories about these eyes. And about how her nose turned up just slightly at the tip. And the way her straw-colored bangs fell across her forehead. Graham noticed a small, white scar beneath. He wondered about the story behind it. The mark didn’t lessen her beauty, it only drew him to her more, stoking his desire to unveil all of her secrets, including why she refused to date anyone.
Graham suddenly realized she was staring back at him. The pointed, deliberate look in her eyes had softened as if she were considering something new. He felt his neck heating again, but he couldn’t look away.
She blinked, cleared her throat, and averted her gaze. “Right. Well, I think you’re done.” She handed him his glasses, and he put them on, still watching her curiously.
She fiddled with the cord of the blow dryer then finally looked back at him. “What?” she demanded. “You’re staring at me.”
“I—sorry. You just look really pretty tonight.” He tried to think of some non-flirtatious comment he could add. “Your hair looks extra-bouncy.”
At that, she lit up. “Yeah? Thanks, Graham. Now we just have to get you dressed before they call my name.”
Graham nodded. “I’ll hurry. Where’s my suit?”
She handed him a hanger, and he ducked inside one of the changing rooms, hurrying to strip off his clothes and pull on his outfit. Seeing the long piece of fabric that must be the bow tie, he cursed under his breath. He’d never worn one, let alone learned to tie one properly. He draped it over his elbow and was working at the shirt buttons when he emerged.
“Can you help?” he asked.
Chloe glanced at his partially exposed chest, and Graham hurried to do the last few buttons. He held out the bow tie. “With this.”
“Sure,” she said. Stepping closer, she took the band of fabric from him and slung it behind his head.
He straightened, acutely aware of her hands brushing the skin of his throat as she worked.
“There.” Hands tugging at the bow, she met his eyes. She was only a few inches shorter than him, and at this moment her face was only a breath from his.
Caught in her eyes, Graham froze, and she didn’t pull back either. This close, he could smell the sweet scent of her shampoo. He thought he saw the hint of pink dusting her cheekbones. Was she nervous around him? Then another thought occurred to him. He cocked his head at her, suddenly considering the weight of this event for her. The show was a huge deal—of course she might be anxious about it.
“Nervous?” he asked, his voice soft.
She blinked. “Huh?”
Graham caught her hand in his. It was soft, warm, and holding it made his insides dance. “Your designs are going to do great,” he said.
She gave a silent nod.
“Seriously. They’re stunning. Jade’s dress—”
Before he could finish, Chloe leapt forward and captured him with a tight hug. “Thanks,” she whispered in his ear.
He wrapped his arms around her, feeling her body pressed against his, wishing for this moment to stretch on. He didn’t release her, and she held him tight for longer than he’d expected.
Suddenly she pulled back with a gasp. “Your suit! Did I wrinkle it?” The softness in her gaze was gone. She brushed and pulled on the fabric until she was satisfied.
“Am I okay?” he asked.
“I think it’s fine,” she said.
“Hey.” He took her hand again and squeezed it. “It’s going to be fine.”
She gave him a tiny smile. “I hope so.”
Seeing this vulnerable side of her made his stomach feel all squishy inside.
The backstage manager walked up. “You’re next,” she said, nodding at Chloe.
Chloe met Graham’s eyes and squeezed his hand back. “We’re all set.”
In their formal attire, Graham and Jade entered the stage from opposite ends, met in the middle, and one at a time strode the length up and down the catwalk. Then they exited, arm in arm. Jade seemed breathless when they went backstage, but Graham felt energized. The nerves he got on stage were nothing next to those when he’d taken Chloe’s hand.
“Well?” Chloe asked.
“It went great!” Jade said. “I thought I might fall to pieces, but I made it.”
Graham nodded. “Went off without a hitch.”
Chloe’s face softened into relief.
He grinned at her. “Told you it’d be fine.”
“Okay, well, you better get into your next outfits,” Chloe said.
They changed quickly and were ready when the backstage manager announced it was their turn again.
This time Graham and Jade emerged side by side center stage. She did her walk to the tip of the platform first, turned, and came back. Then it was Graham’s turn. He made it to the end of the extended stage, but at that point, something came over him.
He stood staring out at the audience and frowned. He couldn’t remember what he was supposed to do next. Instead, thoughts of Violet—beautiful, charming, lovely Violet—filled his mind. He wanted to write poems about her. He thought of the sonnets he used to write and wondered why he hadn’t ever shared them with her. And why hadn’t he written any lately?
Where was Violet? Why was he parading around on some stage instead of searching for her? Graham scanned the audience. “Violet? Where are you?” he called. He walked upstage, checking the audience on his right and left. Halfway back, he spotted a woman with flowing auburn hair on the front row below him. Her head was bent looking at her phone so that he couldn’t glimpse her face, but he was sure it was her. “There you are!” he called. “Come here, my lovely!” Violet couldn’t be his lover, but she could be his closest friend and the dearest sister he could imagine. She was the only one he wanted.
A rustle of awkward chuckles went through the audience, but Graham ignored them, bending down to reach for the woman. A jerk on his arm pulled him back. He frowned at Jade, who’d left her perch and was now at his side.
“Come on, Graham,” she hissed under her breath, dragging him backward with all the force she could muster.
“She’s…uh…backstage,” Jade whispered. “Just take a bow with me and then you can see her.”
Graham relaxed. He smiled at her and obeyed. Jade pulled him backstage, but she didn’t release his arm.
“Where is she?” Graham asked.
“What the hell was that?” Chloe asked, frowning between the two of them. “I could hear Graham from backstage.”
Graham leaned to look past her, but he saw no sign of Violet or anyone with red hair, for that matter.
“He’s…uh….” Jade glanced around. She scratched at her earlobe.
Graham tried to pull away from her arm. “Are you trying to keep me from Violet? Is she even back here?”
Jade gripped him tighter. “Graham, just give it a minute, okay? I think she…uh…went to the restroom. She’ll be right back.”
“Oh. Okay,” Graham said. “But I hope she hurries. I’ve been aching to talk to her.”
“To talk to who?” Chloe asked, looking between them.
Graham ignored her and tried to wait as patiently as he could.
Jade tugged him past a few waiting models to a darkened corner.
Chloe followed. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“There’s something we need to tell you,” she said, eyeing Graham with a wary look.
Graham tapped his foot, anxious for Violet to get back. Maybe she’d let him brush her hair.
“We’ll tell you all about it after the show’s over,” Jade said to Chloe, glancing around apprehensively.
Chloe frowned and was about to answer when suddenly Graham felt a sickening sensation. It began in his gut and rose up like bile in his throat. The nausea traveled to his head. It felt as if he’d been sucked dry of part of himself. Only when his mind cleared did he realize the irony of that. A calming relief fell over him, and he blinked at the girls. His thoughts caught up a moment later, and he dropped his head in his hands. “Oh, God. What did I do?”
After the fashion show ended, Chloe’s friends were all discussing going out to celebrate at a restaurant. Graham stood off to the side, wishing he could shrivel up and hide somewhere.
“You should go,” Jade said to Chloe.
Chloe looked between Jade and Graham. “And miss the scoop on whatever’s happening with you two? No way.” She turned to her friends. “I’ll catch you guys later.”
Jade sent Graham a questioning glance.
He nodded. “She deserves an explanation. And probably an apology.”
“Back to my place then?” Jade asked.
“That’s fine,” Chloe said. “But can we grab some takeout on the way back? I’m starving.”
Twenty minutes later, Graham was cramming a burrito into his mouth and listening to Chloe vent her lingering anxiety about the fashion show. “We won’t know who gets the internship for a few days,” she said. “The waiting is killing me.”
“It’s been an hour,” Jade said, biting back a smile.
“You got excellent scores from the judges,” Graham said. “That has to be a good sign, right?”
“Yeah, but there were some other really competitive designs on stage tonight. Nothing’s guaranteed.”
“I have faith in you,” Graham said.
Chloe gave Graham a small smile. “Thanks.” She cocked her head as if remembering something. “So. What was all that craziness tonight? Were you just improvising for comedic relief?”
Graham sighed, removing his glasses to rub his eyes. “I hardly know where to begin.”
“It’s another glitch,” Jade said.
“Graham has one too?” Chloe asked. “And it makes you act like a freak show?”
“I’m not sure if it’s a glitch…but something is going on with me. Anyway, what you saw tonight wasn’t my fault. It was Violet’s…influence.”
“Who’s Violet?” Chloe asked.
“My half-sister,” he said. “She got out of the hospital last month, and ever since, she’s apparently had this new ability.”
“What ability?” Chloe asked. “And why was she in the hospital?”
“She got hit by a car and was in a coma for several weeks. When she woke up, she could…sort of control how people think of her.”
“What does that mean?”
“She enchants people,” Graham said.
“She makes them like her,” Jade said.
“Not just like her,” Graham said. “Adore her. Worship her. Pander to her every need. When she’s enchanting you, you forget to care about everyone else, including yourself. Everything dims in importance.”
“Sounds like you have personal experience,” Chloe said.
“That’s what happened when I was on stage tonight,” Graham said.
“Why wasn’t anyone else affected?” Chloe asked.
“It’s initiated through touch, and I was the only one there tonight who’s made contact with her. Also, we’ve discovered she can only influence one at a time.”
“This is sounding freakishly like Jade’s story about what happened in Pueblo last April. Just with lipstick on the pig.”
Jade chuckled humorlessly. “You’re closer to the truth than you even know.”
“Meaning?” Chloe asked.
Jade’s jaw went rigid. “She’s taken Logan prisoner.”
“What?” Chloe’s eyes went wide. “Jade! Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“We didn’t want to add any more stress to your show,” Jade said.
“Or freak you out,” Graham added. “That’s why we were late. We were trying to find her.”
Chloe’s delicate brows furrowed. “But I thought you said she was at the fashion show.”
Graham shook his head. “She enchanted me during the show, but she was doing it remotely.”
“Wait,” Chloe said. “You’re telling me this chick can control people without even being there?”
Jade nodded. “That’s why this is so tricky. Now that she’s initiated contact with Graham, she can influence him at any time.”
“But why was Violet making you babble about some girl in the audience?” Chloe asked.
Graham felt the back of his neck go warm. He cleared his throat. “I saw a redhead. I thought it was her.”
Chloe snorted.
“Anyway, we need to find her before she does anything else to Graham—or to Logan,” Jade said.
“You’ve tried her home, I assume,” Chloe said.
“We’ve tried everywhere I can think of,” Graham said. “I’m at a loss. Until I dream about her again….”
“Dream about her?” Chloe’s nose wrinkled.
“That’s my glitch—if you can call it that,” Graham said. “My dreams are sort of…foretelling.”
Chloe’s eyes widened. “What? You can see the future?”
“Sort of. But only involving Violet.”
“That makes no sense.”
Graham shrugged. “I don’t know why it’s only about her. Just that we’re linked somehow. I think…” he hesitated.
“What?”
“I think maybe I was the one who inadvertently activated her power in the first place.”
Chloe shook her head. “This is getting so much weirder.”
“I know. But when I was taking her home from the hospital, there was this surge of energy when we touched.”
“Maybe her power was dormant, and you were somehow the key that triggered it,” Jade suggested.
“That’s what I’m thinking,” Graham said. “Maybe it has something to do with us being related.”
“So, what are these future visions like?” Chloe asked.
“I only get them when I’m asleep,” Graham said. “And I never know what I’m going to see. Usually, they’re just random bits of her life.”
“But you’re sure what you see is real?”
Graham nodded. “We have all but tangible evidence of a murder.”
“Murder?” Chloe’s voice squeaked. “This just kee
ps getting worse! So you’re telling me some murdering, power-hungry diva is holding Jade’s boyfriend prisoner?”
“Ex-boyfriend,” Jade mumbled.
“Oh, Jade!” Chloe said. “No wonder! I couldn’t figure out why in the world you and Logan would call it off. This explains everything. We gotta kick that bitch to the curb and get him back for you!”
Jade folded her napkin intricately, avoiding Chloe’s gaze. “Actually, that’s not why we broke up. It’s just…things are different now.”
Chloe sent Graham a questioning glance.
He shrugged in response. It wasn’t his place to fill in the gaps for her if Jade didn’t want to talk about it.
“Okay, sure.” Chloe clearly wasn’t buying it, but she gave Jade a break and turned to Graham. “So if you go to sleep, maybe you’ll see where Violet is.”
“Theoretically, yes.”
“So get to sleep, boy.” She nodded across Jade’s living room. “There’s a couch. What else do you need?”
“It’s not that easy,” Graham said. “I can’t just make myself fall asleep. I’ve gotta get sleepy first.”
“Okay,” Chloe said. “So let’s try to help you get there.”
Graham chuckled. “Right.”
“Seriously,” she said, standing and reaching for the light switch. “There. It’s dark.”
It was, though moonlight pooled in through Jade’s window, and a soft blue glow came from the kitchen—probably from one of the appliances.
“Well, while you two figure out how to get Graham to sleep, I’m going to go take a shower and wash off all this makeup,” Jade said. “Unlike Graham, I’m actually pretty exhausted.”
“What are you waiting for?” Chloe asked after Jade left.
“What are you going to do while I try to sleep?” Graham asked.
“I dunno. Get comfortable, I guess. I told Cam I was staying here again tonight, so it’s not like he’s expecting me back.”
“Your brother, right?” Graham said.
“Yep.”
Graham had no idea how he was supposed to fall asleep, especially with Chloe in the room, but he was thankful he at least had her support for his glitch. He tugged off his shoes and lay back on the sofa, fluffing the throw pillow beneath his head.
Enchanter: The Flawed Series Book Four Page 25
