Destine (The Watcher's Trilogy) (38 page)

Gabriel and I went back to school after my father’s viewing, some friends gave their condolences but few
students
seemed to care
. Mr. Brown
was still gone, and the disgusting Mr. Kelly was still
i
nfecting his classroom with
snot and mucus. Alex carried on as if I didn’t even exist, and Principal Black did his best to cripple the school with fear. I did catch Mrs. Still casting worried glances in my direction.

I had to admit that the weeks were starting to drag and I was itching for events to come to a head
.
It had been almost two months since I had killed Scarlett and I was ready for something to happen
.
I had started jogging, and although I wouldn’t be winning any marathons it gave me a chance to think and build my endurance
.
Of course Gabriel came with me, he never let me out of his sight anymore, and although I feared the constant attention would get
suffocating,
it didn’t
.

It was another dreary day in late November when we spotted the poster
.
I
t
was tradition, but with everything that had gone on this year I had completely forgot
ten
about it
.
The
Winter Solstice B
all was held every December 21
st
as an annual fundraiser for the senior class
.
I was shocked that
P
rincipal Black was allowing it to be held,
especially with all his new cut
back
s
and guidelines, but apparently even he couldn’t kill this tradition
.
Cami and I would go every year, because it fell on my birthday
.
We would get all dressed up and eat birthday cake before the dance, then go to the ball
,
dance till we were exhausted, and then crash at one of our houses gossipin
g about who wore what and who ca
me with whom
.

 
Gabriel
must have noticed the unusual
amount of attention I was giving the poste
r because he cleared his throat.
“So do you have any plans?
”
he questioned jokingly
.

“I was hoping the QB for the football team would ask me, but alas I think I will have to settle for the running back,” I teased
.

“I would be offended
, if
we even had a football team anymore.
”
He had a
point
;
the joke lost something when all the school sports had been disbanded
.
How were we ever going to rank high school social hierarchy now
?

“Oh
, right
…
n
o
,
it’s just something Cami and I would do every year
.
It
’
s dumb and corny but we use
d
to have fun.
”

“I know I’m a poor substitute for Cami but what if I took you?
”
Gabriel asked
.

“No really, it
’
s dumb, it just makes me miss how things use
d
to be.
”

“Come on
,
Michelle, it’ll be fun
.
I’ve never been to a school dance before
.
Although I did get to witness Sodom and Gomorra in their heyday, I bet this will be wild
,
too.
”

I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Do you really want to?
”
I found it more than a little hard to believe that Gabriel would have any interest in a high school dance
.

“If it will make you smile, then yes.
”

I tried to smile at him then, but he was right, it had been weeks since I felt carefree enough to smile
.
“What could it hurt, I guess
?
Yeah
,
let’s do it.
”

“Great!” he smirked at me
.
“I’ve always wanted to re
nt one of those powder blue tux’
s
with the ruffle shirt, and now i
s my chance.
”

The thought of Gabriel dressed in a bad 70s tux was almost enoug
h to make me smile right then. N
ow if he actually wore it I was sure I would have to erupt in a fit of giggles
.

The weeks passed slowly, but finally t
onight was the night of the dance
.
I sat on the edge of the bed upstairs staring down into my
lap
.
I had gone out and bought a new dress for the occasion. It had felt silly to waste money on a new dress, especially $170, but I had gone shopping on a whim and when I saw the dress it was perfect.
The sage colored satin
chiffon of my dress illuminated the white
paleness of my skin
.

I had been wa
ndering up and down the second hand shops and antique stores of a
neighboring
town
.
Objects that had belonged to someone else had always fascinated me
.
I would hold an old
doll or a used book in my hand and think of the people who had held it before me
.
Wh
o were they
?
What had their liv
e
s
been like
?
I found great pleasure in giving old, used things a new life, a new owner
.
When my classmates had all been off fighting over the newest electronic, I had been far more interested in old things, things with history
.
Proba
b
ly one of the reasons I loved my
cross so much, it looked old
.
C
ome to find out it was old, very old
.

I had found the dress in a consignment shop where I had been wandering
.
It was hanging on a rack jammed with old
clothing;
the only piece of the dress sticking out was the hem
.
I knew when I saw it that it was the perfect dress to wear for Gabriel
.
It was an empire cut dress with a gold cord around the high waistline
.
The dress was a light sage and made of layers of flowing, soft chiffon
.
The bottom of the dress was detailed in
intricate
gold beads that cascaded around the hem, and cap sleeves done in the same gold beading
.
It looked timeless, just like Gabriel
.
By a stroke of luck it had fit me perfectly, and
comple
mented
my pale skin and red hair rather well
,
if I dared to say so myself
.

I had piled my hair atop my head in loose
,
cascading curls and woven a gold cord throughout
.
The cord functioned as a headband to keep the curls from falling into my face, but it also matched the gold at the waistline of the dress
.
I had finished the
outfit
off with a p
air of gold ballet flats. No hee
ls for me
,
I was far
too
clumsy.

I stood and stared at myself in the mirror
.
My
cross-glistened
i
n the low bedroom light
ing where it hung at my neck
, free from the square neckline of the dress
.
The rubies of the necklace added a red to the green of the dress that made the outfit
appear
perfect for the winter season
.
I was nervous for some reason
.
I felt pretty, no beautiful
actually
,
in the dress
.
I had always gotten ready with Cami and been overshadowed by her
radiance
.
I
nevitably
,
every year
s
he
would
talk me into a gown that was vibrant and trendy
,
and I would feel self-conscious and silly most of the night
.
She
meant
well but she never really understood my taste in clothes
.
Not this year, this year I felt like the
eighteen-year-old
woman I was today
.
I felt mature and beautiful
.
I took a deep
breath;
stea
ling
one more glance in the mirror
before I
descended the stairs towards the
kitchen
.
Gabriel
had left me alone to get read
y, and was already waiting down
stairs
.
As I rounded the bottom of the stairs towards the kitchen, I saw Gabriel standing at the kitchen island in his tux
.
To say my heart skipped a beat is an
understatement;
it completely stopped beating all together
.
He stood in a classic black tux, complete with
cumber
bun
and
bowtie
.
His jacket was hung over the back of one of the kitc
hen chairs as he attempted to straighten his bow tie using his reflection in the kitchen window
.
He must have caught my reflection as well because my
lurking was cut short when he abruptly turned, a wide smile spreading across his face
.

“All the wonders of the world that I have seen, and I have seen them all, pale in comparison to you in that dress
.
”

I felt the heat climb my face and my cheeks begin to burn at his compliment
.
I quickly looked down, s
moothing my dress with my hands.
“I bet you say that to all the girls,” I teased
.

“
Stay there,” he instructed
.
“I have something for you.” He turned and made his way to the fridge in the corner o
f the kitchen
.
“The woman at the
flower shop told me to keep it
refrigerated
.
”
He turned with a small plastic
container
in his hands
.
As
he crossed the room back in my direction he popped the lid to the container and lifted out a beautiful,
delicate
corsage
.
He smiled, ho
lding the flower out towards me.
“Your wrist please,” he instructed
.

I held my hand out
towards him, and he gently slid
the corsage over my hand
and
on
to my wrist, pausing to sweep his fingers over my hand ever so gently, sending shivers down my spin
e
.
The corsage was beautiful
.
At the center was a
small, delicate looking flower that was somewhere in the hue of a yellowish-green with an
apricot
colored
center, sprigs of evergreen garnished around the flower, and a small delicate gold ribbon was woven around the flowers and tied with a bow
.
I looked down at the arrangement
;
it was beautiful and perfect
.

“The woman at the flower shop called it a cymbidium orchid, she said it was rare and unique
.
Just like you.
”

I glanced up, “Did you pee
k at my dress?
”
I asked
,
my tone sounding far more accusatory then I meant it to
.

“No
, I swear.”

“It just matches so well, I can’t imag
in
e how you managed to pick the perfect color.
”

“Fate, destiny, a p
sychic
connection with the flower wor
l
d, I’m just that good,” he laughed
.