by Madi, Skyla
I laughed. There was no way I was getting on the dance floor, but I nodded in agreement anyway.
“Thank you, that was painful,” I groaned as Mila and I sat down on a long white sofa.
As a waiter passed by, Mila jumped up and pulled two champagne flutes off a passing tray and I eyed her judgingly. She’s a student; alcohol is off limits regardless of age.
“Relax.” She pressed the glass to my chest and I wrapped my fingers around the chilled flute. “I’m old enough and uncle is too busy to notice anyway.”
Unintentionally, I found Eli’s face. He was talking to Xavier. Xavier appeared uncomfortable that Eli had given him the time of day. I smiled. Eli was so much bigger than Xavier, in all senses. Eli was taller, wider and more muscular… I sipped my wine, hoping it’d quench the growing desire in my stomach. Looking at Xavier reminded me of the conversation we had in the car on the way here.
“So, how is Gabriel?” I asked, curious as to whether they were still in love or not.
Mila sighed. “He doesn’t talk to me anymore.”
I frowned. “What? Why?”
Her light pink lips touched her glass as she took a sip of wine.
“Because I’m friends with you…”
“Oh.” Gabriel blamed me for Hunter’s ‘death.’ Of course he did. I took a big gulp of wine. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be, it wasn’t your fault. Hunter was going to follow you regardless of whether anyone tried to stop him or not. Gabriel is just being childish.”
I shrugged and took another sip of the delicious wine. “Do you have any other suitors?”
My vision blurred for a few seconds. Damn it, I knew I should have eaten something before I came tonight, but Mila forbade it, she said the last thing a woman in an exquisite gown wants is to look bloated. So naturally, the champagne was going straight to my head, creating a false sense of confidence within me.
Mila shook her head and glanced subconsciously at Xavier. “No other suitors.”
I nudged her shoulder. “Liar!”
A loud laugh erupted from Mila, drawing the attention of a few couples close by. The way they turned their noses up at us showed their distaste at having ‘students’ at the party.
“I tell you what, let’s get out of here and I’ll tell you everything about my love life.”
“Don’t you want to see your uncle being awarded or crowned… whatever it is they do?”
“We’ll be back in time, I promise. Meet me out in front in like ten minutes, okay?”
“All right.”
Mila bounced off, disappearing into the crowd. I rose to my feet, my head spinning slightly. After a few deep breaths, I was ready to go. I took a few steps away from the sofa and classical music filled the air.
I groaned. “Oh no.”
I picked up my pace, marching quickly toward the door. I needed to get out of here as soon as possible, there was no way I was getting onto that dance floor with Frank. I walked as fast as my legs could take me—in the opposite direction of the dance floor. My face cringed as a soft hand grabbed my arm. I turned, meeting Frank’s gray eyes.
He smiled. “You said you’d save me a dance.”
“Of course,” I replied, clearing my throat. “How could I forget?”
I didn’t want to dance. I couldn’t and there was no doubt a man of Frank’s age would surely know how to dance. I hung my gold clutch from my wrist and linked my arm around Frank’s. The moment we stepped onto the floor my cheeks flushed. We were the only dancers. Smiling faces and cheers encircled us as Frank placed my hand on his shoulder and put his own hand high on my back.
“Dancing is easy. Follow me.” He started off slowly, one slow step forward, two slow steps back. After a minute or so, it became apparent they were the only steps to the dance and I was able to relax.
Whatever song was playing went for too long. When it was over, my entire body sighed in relief. I thanked Frank for the dance and went outside to find Mila. Like she said, she was waiting out the front of the building…with a bottle of wine.
“Where are the two guardians that are supposed to be watching the door?” I asked her.
“I don’t know, Xavier was talking to Eli and the other one was dragging a few students back to their dorm.”
I placed my hands on my hips. I didn’t want to cause any trouble, I was only a visitor.
“We aren’t allowed to go gallivanting about the school, Mila.”
She rolled her eyes at me. “Don’t be such a party pooper and come on.”
Mila turned her back to me and headed toward the sports field. I glanced around awkwardly. This felt wrong—it was wrong, but I owed it to her to spend some time with her, didn’t I? I followed. I decided I’d let her have her fun and do whatever she wanted to do and then come back. No harm done.
The sports field was dark, sending shivers down my spine. The last time I was here, it was the morning before I left for Mount Kuuce. A thick fog had rolled in, making the entire length of the field unseeable.
“Come, sit,” Mila called, plopping herself down on the grass.
I bent over and ran my hands across the damp grass. “I’m not sitting on wet grass and you’re going to ruin your dress.”
She exhaled, rose to her feet and leaned against a tree. With a loud pop, the wine bottle opened and she took a big gulp.
“You promised me an explanation about your love life,” I said, taking the wine bottle from her.
She laughed. “Okay, Gabriel and I are finished. We have been for almost a year now.”
“Why?”
“I told you, as soon as we were told Hunter was dead, he blamed you and I refused to. You know, for a nice guy, he sure has a mighty temper.”
I stepped closer to her, my shoes sinking into the grass. “And that’s it?” I took a few mouthfuls of wine, pleased as it went down smoothly.
“Yep.”
“What about Xavier?”
“What about him?”
“C’mon, I saw you glance at him when I asked you if there was anybody else.”
She smiled. “Xavier has been good to me and we flirt a lot, but he’s a guardian angel and I’m done with guardian angels. It’s too difficult being sneaky and dishonest, I can’t do it. Besides, they carry a lot of baggage. They’re always so serious and on edge.”
I smiled. “Yes, they are.”
At least half an hour passed and the wine bottle was finished—thanks to Mila’s efforts mostly. Mila’s words were slurred and she had taken off her shoes in an attempt to do cartwheels in her dress. It was my fault, I suppose. I’d told her it was impossible. Sure enough, she was able to complete one full cartwheel even if she did end up on her ass.
“We should head back,” I called out to her.
“No, no! Please!” She ran over to me, her skin was cool with sweat and her hair was no longer perfect and elegant. “You’re leaving again soon and I want to spend as much time together as possible.”
Her lips drooped in an attempt to convince me to stay. I sighed. “Fine, five more minutes but then we’re leaving. What do you want to do?”
She perked up as if I’d said something interesting.
“Swim!” she shouted. “I want to swim!”
I cocked an eyebrow at her. “We’re on a sports field. Where are you going to go swimming?”
“The waterfall!” She jumped to her feet and began running across the field. I stared after her, there was no waterfall here.
“There’s no waterfall here! The closest waterfall is—” My heart dropped into my stomach and she disappeared from sight.
The closest waterfall was outside the protection of the charms. I kicked off my shoes and sprinted across the field, oblivious to any of the alcohol’s effects.
“Mila!” I yelled after her. “Mila!”
Mr. Aleksandrov and Eli were going to kill me.
I promise
Up in the sky, the moon shone down upon me. I looked back and forth, searching for Mila amongst the mass of tangled branches and thorn bushes. My feet crushed over a bed of dried leaves, filling in the haunting void of silence. My breathing quickened and my head spun as I tried to navigate through the woods. My clutch was still hanging off my wrist by its small strap. I grabbed for it desperately, pulling out Eli’s whistle. I had brought it to the party to give back to him, but I hadn’t had enough alcohol to work up the courage to do so. As I held it, it occurred to me that I’d never used the whistle before, I wasn’t even sure how it actually worked, but I blew it anyway. I’d rather deal with Eli’s wrath than Mila’s death. The forest was alive with nocturnal scurrying noises. I couldn’t see her, but that didn’t change things. I knew she was out here somewhere. It wasn’t until I saw her silver dress shimmer in the moonlight that I relaxed a little. She was leaning against a tree. The forest had fallen silent and her sobs filled the air. I ran over to her.
“Mila?”
“I’m lost,” she cried.
“I know. Let me take you back.”
“I don’t want to go back… I hate it there!” Her voice was loud and broken.
“Just come with me.” I reached out and touched her shoulder.
She turned abruptly and her eyes narrowed in on me. “Come with you? Why? So you can leave me again?” A funny slur altered her speech.
My mouth dropped open and an offended gust of air came out. I thought all was forgiven last night. Alcohol—magnifying bad feelings since—forever. “Mila, why are you doing this? I thought we sorted everything out?”
“Because—” she bent over and pulled a leaf off the ground, splitting it with her long nails. “I can’t stand my life. It’s boring. Since you left, things have gone back to normal. I hate normal. I have no friends and no real family… nothing.”
It had never occurred to me to question where Mila’s parents were. It had always been just her and Mr. Aleksandrov.
“You have me.”
“What good is a friend who’s only there for you a few weeks at a time? Who ignores you for a whole year?”
I reached for her arm. “We can talk about this when we get back to the school.”
She recoiled away from me, angry at something I’d thought we’d gotten over.
“No. I’m taking a page out of the Ruby Moore handbook and I’m running away from my problems.”
I flinched at her words. She doesn’t mean it, I thought, fighting against the part of me that wanted to leave her here. She’s drunk. I wonder how accurate the saying ‘a drunk man’s words are a sober man’s thoughts’ actually is?
“Mila? I’m sorry. I’ll stay with you if that’s what you want.”
Mila collapsed into a crying heap on the forest floor. “It should be what you want, not what I want. Don’t you want friends? A life?”
I knelt beside her, wrapping my arms around her and pulling her close to me. I do want all those things. I want to have a normal life—more than anything in the world. “It is what I want. I’ll stay with you.”
“Do you promise?” She sniffled.
“I promise.”
She leaned into me and fell silent, content with the promise I made.
I didn’t know how long it was until snapping twigs and crunching leaves filled my ears. It had to be Eli, but I stayed quiet in case it wasn’t. In the faint light of the moon, I saw his white shirt stand out from beneath his tux. Shadow covered most of his face, but I could still make his relieved expression.
“Is she okay?” he asked, kneeling down and touching her forehead before towering over us again.
“She’s okay now. She’s had too much to drink and decided she wanted to go swimming.”
Although he had disapproval written all over his face, he didn’t say anything. He wanted what I wanted—to get Mila home safely.
“We’ll take her back to your house. I don’t want to ruin Mr Aleksandrov’s night,” he suggested, checking his cell phone.
I nodded, not sure what else to say.
“Is there anything I can do?” said a voice from behind Eli.
I was too busy focusing on Eli’s looming figure to notice Xavier standing behind him.
“Um, yeah… Can you get her off me?”
Xavier stepped past Eli and scooped Mila up in his arms. Eli extended his hand to me and I took it. As he pulled me to my feet, I ignored the electrical current that pulsed through me.
We followed closely behind Xavier while he carried Mila effortlessly, as if she was a feather.
As we walked, my head spun slightly, causing me to miss my step over a rotten piece of wood. Unable to catch my footing, I fell. Eli reached out and caught my arm, pulling me toward him. Somehow, we’d ended up with our bodies pressing firmly together. His eyes watched me intently, waiting for me to pull away… or kiss him, I couldn’t tell. After a few long seconds, he spoke. “Are you all right?”
I nodded slowly, completely incapacitated by his touch. “I’m okay. Thank you.”
I expected him to let me go, but he didn’t.
“You still have the whistle?” he asked in a low tone.
“I was going to return it tonight, but then this happened.”
Much to my dismay, he released me from his grip and my heart sent a weird shock throughout my body.
“How did this happen?”
I steadied myself and started walking again. “She wanted to get away and have fun.”
“And you encouraged it?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t have a choice. I wasn’t going to say no to her, not after everything I put her through.”
Beside me, Eli fell silent. That was it for conversation until Xavier laid Mila down on my bed. Eli and I waited in the living room. I pulled leaves and sticks out of my hair and Eli was leaned against the wall, his arms crossed in front of him, watching me in amusement. I glowered at him. Even after the run through the forest, his hair was still perfect, his skin was clean, and there was barely a mark on his outfit.
“It’s not funny.”
He smiled. “It is a bit funny.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because no matter what you do, you can’t stay out of trouble.”
A small laugh escaped me. I had to give it to him—he spoke the truth—to an extent. He didn’t take his eyes off me as I attempted to remove a hairpin from my hair. I kept my eyes on the floor, too nervous to make eye contact. If I did, there was no guaranteeing I’d be able to stay on this side of the room. My lips twitched, I was trying hard not to smile. This was how it should be between Eli and I. Our conversations should be light-hearted and normal, not stressed or forced. I yanked one final time on my hairpin, but couldn’t get it free.
“Do you need help?” Eli offered.
I exhaled and pointlessly straightened my dress. “Yes, please.”
Slowly, he walked over to me, his leather dress shoes tapping slightly on the floor. I tilted my head down so he could access the pin. As he got within inches of me, my breathing quickened and my heart rattled against my ribcage. After a year of being without Eli, he still had the same effect on me. Somehow, he managed to get my hairpin free. I held out my hand and he placed it on my palm. When he didn’t step back, I glanced up at him. His eyes were intense and warm, flickering as if he was fighting some internal struggle.
“She’s down for the count.” Xavier entered the living room.
He smiled awkwardly when he noticed how close together Eli and I were standing. “I’ll wait outside.”
I cleared my throat and stepped away from Eli and his crazy gravitational
pull. I walked over to the kitchen bench and pulled out the remaining hairpins, setting them down on the hard surface. I ran my fingers through my hair and it fell nicely around my shoulders.
“Before I forget,” I crossed the room and took his whistle out of my purse. “Here’s your whistle. I should have given it back sooner.”
“No, you keep it. It’s yours.”
I held it against his chest. “You need to give it to Mila.”
He frowned. “She told you?”
I nodded.
“Are you mad?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think I’m mad—jealous maybe, but not mad.”
The corners of his lips twitched into a smile as he took the whistle from my hand and stuffed it into his pants pocket. “Do you have another dress?”
“Maybe. Why?”
“Because we have a party to attend.”
“No, thanks. I’ve had enough excitement for one night and I really should stay with Mila.”
“Mr. Aleksandrov will be worried if both you and Mila aren’t at the party. Come. You can tell him she was feeling under the weather and has gone to bed.”
I clicked my tongue against my teeth in thought. “Fine, but I’m going to say goodnight to Mr. Aleksandrov and then I’m coming straight back.”
Eli smiled. “I’ll meet you outside.”
I ran into the bathroom and when I saw my dress in the mirror, I almost burst into tears. It was torn and covered in grass stains and dirt. It had wet patches on it and smelled strongly of wine. My skin was just as bad. Quickly, I slipped out of my clothes and jumped into the shower, careful not to wet my hair—it’d be easier to brush if it was dry.
When I got out, I pulled the red dress from its bag hanging on the back of the bathroom door and slid into it. The strapless gown hugged my curves and I spun around on the spot to get a view of the back. It was good enough.
I put on a fresh layer of make-up, brushed my hair, and left the bathroom. I was tired now, my legs ached, and the alcohol had worn off. Bed seemed like the best thing to do, but alas, here I was, shoes on, dressed up, and ready to party again.
