After only a few short hours of sleep, I’m awakened by pounding on my door (or is that a pounding in my head?).
“Nico! Are you up?” shouts Roman through the door.
Nope, definitely not in my head. I mumble for him to come in as I roll toward the doorway.
“Is everything okay with Celeste?” I ask, thinking that would be the only good reason for waking me up at this ungodly hour.
“Yes. She made it home safely last night and no one seemed to be following her,” he responds.
He still has that worried look in his eyes though, so I impatiently wait for him to tell me whatever is on his mind.
“Maybe you should call her,” he says finally. “I think I may have scared her last night.”
Roman goes on to tell me how he succeeded in getting Celeste to leave Ralph’s. It involved the insinuation that Patrick was trying to get the girls drunk to take advantage of them.
“She must have a lot of questions, and we need to come up with some kind of an explanation,” he says.
“Why don’t you do it?” I ask. I’m exhausted, and I know he’d love any excuse to talk to her even if he won’t admit it to me or maybe even to himself.
“It’s not a good idea,” he says as he runs his hand through his messy morning hair. “She’ll listen to you. Come on Nico, do you want me to beg?”
I’m intrigued by the suggestion, but I settle for a wry smile. I pick up my phone off the bedside table and dial her number as Roman anxiously hovers over me.
“Good morning, beautiful,” I say as she picks up. Roman shoots me a glare, but I ignore him. When did he become so possessive? I think he’s forgetting who found her first. I continue with the casual chitchat as Roman paces at the edge of my bed, his attention focused on my every word.
“What did she say?” he asks as soon as I hang up.
“She sounds a little upset,” I say and his face falls, “but she agreed to coffee with me after school, so that’s promising.”
“Good,” he says, looking relieved. “You’ll say that I was just looking out for her and Natalie. That I thought Patrick was a slimy guy trying to get them drunk and I overreacted.”
“That sounds like you,” I retort sarcastically. “Now that that’s done, can I please go back to sleep? I’m going to need my beauty rest to pull off this story.” I throw my head back down on the pillow and pull the comforter up over my head.
Rolling out of the apartment complex, I can’t help but laugh out loud as I remember last night’s hijinks. That Roxie is a crazy fairy and her boyfriend, Diesel, seems like his muscles have squeezed out all the room for his brain, I muse. I would have loved a little scuffle with him, which makes me realize that I’ve missed the supernatural world and being a part of it. Keeping a low profile has been harder than I thought it would be. Then again, with Celeste now in the picture, everything could be changing rapidly. I may very well get thrown back into the supernatural swing of things sooner than expected.
I pull up in front of St. Alice’s High School with the radio blasting just as Celeste walks out from under the archway. I flash her a conciliatory smile in hopes that it will help my cause, and she rewards me with a grin. I open the car door for her and give her a swift kiss on the cheek as she climbs in. I can almost see her anger melting away as I belt out the last few words in the Britney Spears “You Drive Me Crazy” chorus.
We walk into the knock-off Starbucks café and the aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans wins me over immediately. Celeste studies the chalkboard menu over the counter for a few seconds before ordering a mochaccino. I stick with the classic cappuccino and once the barista hands us our frothy beverages, I lead her to a couch in a quiet corner.
Here goes nothing. “So about last night,” I begin uncomfortably, “I’m sorry Roman overreacted the way he did. He can be a little overprotective at times. I guess it’s a side effect of being the big brother-slash-father figure of the family.”
Celeste blows on her steaming mocha latte and takes a careful sip while scrutinizing me. “That seemed like something way more than simple overprotectiveness. Does he know Patrick or something?”
“Not exactly, but he knows guys like Patrick. The type who would come into a small town diner and prey on innocent high school girls with alcohol,” I stammer, thinking how awful I sound.
“I know we’re pretty sheltered in Oak Bluffs, but that’s what Roman meant when he said that Patrick could hurt me?” she asks incredulously.
“Yes, exactly,” I say without returning her inquisitive gaze.
“It seemed much more personal than that.”
I couldn’t argue with her there. “I’m really sorry if he frightened you. My brother does have a flair for the dramatic at times.”
Celeste looks at me, still unconvinced. “I think his paranoia is rubbing off on me because I thought I saw Patrick today at school.”
“What?” I ask, almost choking on my hot coffee.
“I’m not one hundred percent sure it was him, because he was pretty far away. I must have been imagining things. Why would he be at my school?”
That’s not good.
I try to school my face into an emotionless mask. “That is strange. I know you girls are hot and all, but – ”
“Oh stop!” she says cutely as she throws a sugar packet at my face.
I laugh it off, but inside my thoughts are churning. If Patrick really did follow Celeste to school, we have a major problem on our hands.
“Is Roman always so intense?” she asks abruptly.
I notice the light flushing of her cheeks as she says his name, and I can’t resist inquiring more about her feelings for my brother. “Yes, pretty much,” I finally answer.
She nods as if she’s digesting the fact. “The first time we met, or I guess I should say we bumped into each other, he seemed pretty tense too.”
“When did you first meet?” I ask, puzzled. I was under the impression she had never seen him until she visited our apartment.
“At the library, a little over a week ago. I literally plowed right into him as I was looking for a book. It was kind of embarrassing,” she says.
Interesting. Roman met her before I did, and yet he scolded me for seeking her out. What a hypocrite! He had been doing the exact same thing!
“He never mentioned it,” I say and notice that her smile twists into a pout.
As much as I don’t want to believe it, I can’t refute the obvious. Celeste clearly has a thing for my brother. And as much as he’d like to deny it, he has some inexplicable feelings for her as well. How did I get caught in this love triangle?
Later, strolling back into the apartment, I call out for my brother. I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t been waiting at the door for my return like a lovesick puppy. I take a deep breath and push back the feelings of hostility that are washing over me. I don’t begrudge Roman, I really don’t. It’s just that a girl has never chosen Roman over me. I mentally chastise myself for being so self-absorbed. I shouldn’t be focusing on Celeste’s love interests; I should be concentrating on protecting her.
“Celeste thinks she saw Patrick at her school today,” I say as Roman appears from his bedroom.
“What?” he asks, dropping the book he had been carrying. “Damn it. He should be long gone by now.”
“She wasn’t sure it was him, but to be safe, we better keep an eye on her,” I mention.
“I always do,” he murmurs.
“I hate lying to her, Roman.” A part of me just wants to come clean and tell her the truth.
“I know that, but it’s better for her not to know anything yet. The less she knows the safer she will be for now. Besides, Stellan said her eighteenth birthday is next week, and once we find out if she has been chosen, nothing will be the same for her—ever again.”
I know he’s right, so I keep my mouth shut. Then on second thought, I decide to call him out on his secret visit with Celeste at the library. He looks down at the floor, refusing to meet my eyes when I bring it up.
“It wasn’t my intention for her to see me,” he says. “I was simply keeping an eye on her, and I got a little too close.”
“You’ve been watching her ever since we came back to town, haven’t you?” I ask, the sudden realization hitting me.
He nods gravely and slumps down on the couch.
“Why?”
“You know why. I’m trying to protect her,” he responds.
“But what’s so special about her? We’ve met others like her in the past, and I’ve never seen you act like this.”
“Drop it, Nico. There’s nothing more to discuss,” Roman commands as he storms out of the apartment.
I can’t wrap my head around Roman’s strange behavior. It’s so unlike him. First of all, I’ve never seen him show even a remote interest in a girl, and now Celeste comes along making him all broody and emotional. Then there’s the possessiveness thing and his clearly overwhelming desire to protect her. There has to be more to this than what my brother is telling me, but I’m just too exhausted from two nights in a row of partying to go chase after him. I throw myself on the couch instead and call it a night.
I awake as the first rays of sunlight shoot through the expansive living room windows. I stretch out my cramped legs and wonder why my neck is stiff when it dawns on me that I spent the night on the couch. I sit up and roll out my tight shoulders and see Roman coming out of the kitchen.
“Sorry if I woke you,” he mumbles as he emerges with two cups of coffee.
“Have you been out all night?” I ask as I stifle a yawn.
He nods as he sits down beside me and takes a sip. He looks pretty awful. Well awful for my brother is still far more good looking than the average man, but nevertheless.
“Where’s Celeste?” I ask.
“Still sleeping, but her mom got home and the sun’s up so Patrick won’t be a threat for now. She’s spending the day with Natalie, and the rest of the prom committee putting up decorations.”
“Sounds perfectly safe,” I tease.
“I was thinking you should probably take her to prom,” he says unexpectedly, catching me completely off guard.
“I thought you wanted me to stay away from her?” I counter. I can’t keep up with my brother’s recent mood swings.
“It’s a little late for that, and this way you can protect her,” he says with a hint of sadness in his tone.
“Why don’t you go with her?”
He grunts. “Could you honestly see me at a high school prom?”
I laugh out loud. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. Plus they might kick you out thinking you’re some sort of weirdo that likes young girls.”
“I’m not that much older than you are,” he retorts.
“Yet those few years make all the difference,” I tease.
“Stop being a pain and just agree to taking her,” he says. “I spoke to Stellan and told him about Patrick. He’s trying to see if he can find out anything more, like who may have sired him.”
“Fine, I’ll take her, but there’s just one problem: I can’t ask her to prom at a school that I don’t attend,” I say, pointing out the obvious.
“Don’t worry about that. Natalie is on it,” he says with a sly grin.
I guess my daydream of tuxes and corsages is finally coming true. As I look around the colorful flower shop, I’m at a loss as what to pick. I have no idea what a seventeen-year-old girl would like. And, I unfortunately don’t have a long list of teenage girls to ask. I do, though, know one who could definitely help.
Twenty minutes later, a leggy brunette struts into the flower shop. I use my most genuine smile to thank her for coming, and she reciprocates sweetly.
“I don’t have much time because I have to get back to decorating the gym. I don’t think anyone saw me slip out, but I’m sure they’ll be looking for me in no time,” says Natalie.
I nod and follow her to the counter. She’s already told me that the theme is a Roaring 20’s Casino, something that I can actually relate to so I’m feeling relatively confident about my suit. She flips expertly through the pages of a floral magazine and points out a dainty white rose and baby’s breath corsage.
“She’s wearing black so this will be perfect,” she says confidently.
“Thank you,” I say and I really mean it. Surprisingly, I find myself kind of nervous for tonight.
“No need to thank me, just be ready at eight o’clock and the limo will swing by to pick you up,” she says, already half way to the door. With a parting wave and a wink, Natalie hurries out.