“What?” Tristan shifted his feet. He gave my joke a small smile. “Yeah.”
I set down the receiver and opened one of the drawers, looking for a phonebook. “You don’t seem as excited about the party as her.”
“A party at the lake—just like old times,” Tristan said bitterly. He took off his wet sunglasses and rubbed them on the edge of his shirt, which had stayed dry on the dock.
I was startled to see his cerulean eyes suddenly staring past me. My arms covered in goose bumps, I admitted, “I don’t get it. Why are you going?”
“Because....” Tristan shrugged.
“
Tristan
!” The Creature cried from the stairs. “This is
really
heavy!”
“You’ll make it!” He sighed, pushing his glasses back on, and said, “Your room’s upstairs, too.”
“Thanks.” I watched while he walked into the living room, sitting heavily on one of the sofas. He tipped his head back against the cushion, looking tired. If only Mrs. Edmund was here, she could see that The Creature was doing the opposite of what she hoped, draining way her son’s smiles. Shaking my head sadly, I flopped a phonebook from the drawer onto the counter and picked up the phone.
* * *
I stared into the mirror as I pulled my hair up into a ponytail. I’d waited until the pizza had come before heading upstairs; I wasn’t in the mood to eat. I hadn’t bothered to check out the second floor, but took the first room I came to. It was an average-sized guest room with a window that overlooked the lake. I planned to stay in it until the moment we were going to leave, but Tristan’s cry of “What are you doing in here?!” made me stick my head out to see what was going on.
He was standing in a doorway down the hall, his stance wide and his face murderous. I heard, from inside the room, The Creature’s weak reply: “This room has the biggest vanity.”
I snickered at the irony. Of course it did.
“Get out!” Tristan yelled.
“But
we
stayed in here last year,” she whimpered, her hand snaking out from the room and wrapping around his neck.
He jerked back, as if bitten, and growled, “This is my parents’ room.”
The Creature laughed. “Since when do you care? ‘Parents’?!”
Reminding him that his father was dead—honestly, her insensitivity was astounding. Before she had a chance to say anything worse, I stepped out into the hall. “
Hey
! Remember, there’s pizza down there! Maybe you should
go
eat it.”
Tristan turned and walked toward me. He said quietly, “Thanks, Amy.”
The Creature huffed, looking down the hallway at me, and tossed her hair. “That’s okay. I’ll get something at the party.”
I narrowed my eyes at her and took Tristan’s outstretched hand, placing it on the crook of my arm. While we began to walk toward the stairs, he said over his shoulder, “Then we’re going. Now.”
“But I’ve only curled half of my hair!” she complained.
Tristan clenched his teeth together. “Then pull it back.”
“That just looks lazy!”
I rolled my eyes and grabbed onto the railing; I knew her last comment was directed at me, but I didn’t feel like taking the bait. Ignoring her, I told Tristan, “Step here.”
In perfect sync, we climbed down the stairs. Tristan’s left hand was shoved deep into his pocked and a frown lingered on his face. His voice low, he said, “She shouldn’t have gone in there.”
Pulling the keys from my jeans, I sighed. “She doesn’t care, Tristan.”
“She used to.”
“Really?” I asked skeptically.
We stopped at the front door while I pulled it open. Tristan’s mouth formed a hard line and he didn’t respond to my question. Somehow, I doubted that The Creature had
ever
been a nice person, not that his hormone-clouded memories would show it. As we approached the Cabriolet, I heard The Creature rushing down the stairs. She appeared in the doorway a second later, her stilettos in her hands and her eyes wide at the thought of being left behind. Breathless, she demanded, “I...get...shotgun.”
I smirked, unlocking the passenger door. “You know, it would be
nice
if you let Tristan ride upfront in his car.”
The Creature leaned against the hood of the car while she pulled her heals on. She hissed, “It’s just around the lake. Get in, Tristan.”
“I’m sitting upfront,” Tristan snapped. “And you’re
not
sleeping in their room.”
“Fine. Whatever.” She waved her hand dismissively and slid into the backseat. “Get in.”
As I walked around the car to the driver’s side, I silently wished that she would neglect to buckle her seatbelt, so I could slam on the brakes and she’d— No. No, I wouldn’t do that, even if she made the idea tempting. Turning on the ignition, I reached down to shift the Cabriolet into Reverse. I jumped when I grabbed the knob, but found Tristan’s hand on top. He slid his hand out from under mine and the brush of his skin was like static electricity.
Tristan whispered, “I should have said this before, but...thank you for driving.”
Shivering, I whispered back, “You’re welcome.”
While I drove around the lake, I couldn’t help but wonder what Tristan was thinking. Was he remembering the last time he sat behind the wheel of his Cabriolet, or what we were like before The Creature came along? I spotted Nick’s parents’ place easily, seeing that the driveway was jammed with cars. Parking at the end, I noted that the cabin was almost as large as the Edmunds’, but had more of a ranch look with gray siding and a wrapped porch.
The Creature, of course, wasn’t about to go unescorted into a party, so she helped Tristan out of the Cabriolet, making me the third wheel. My favorite. I threw my shoulders back, marched up the front door, and gave the doorbell a quick press. Nick immediately pulled it open. He had a slightly wobbly smile on his face and his arm slung over Melissa’s shoulders. “Hey, you came!”
Before I had a chance to respond, The Creature pushed her way in front of me, dragging Tristan along with her. She gushed, “Oh thank God you’re having a party!” and ran a finger down Nick’s jaw. He instantly turned to Jell-o. “I don’t know
what
we would’ve done without you! Been stuck playing board games or something.”
Nick’s eyes wandered down her body while he stuttered, “Y-you look nice, Lexus.”
Less than amused, Melissa jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow and stomped into the cabin.
“What’s wrong?” he asked her retreating form as he slowly surfaced from the poisonous cloud that was The Creature’s aura.
Unconcerned with the ravage she wrecked on other’s relationships, The Creature asked, “Where’s the bar?”
Nick frowned and pointed. “Back there.”
The Creature strutted off, leaving Tristan and I standing in the doorway. I shuffled my feet, unsure of what to do. Then, with a surprising amount of understanding, Tristan said, “Well, she got you. Lexus is good at that.”
“What?”
I was all too ready to clarify for Nick. “Drive-by flirting.”
Tristan smirked and Nick’s smile found its way back onto his face. He laughed, “I’d almost forgotten. Here.” Nick took Tristan’s arm and guided him toward the living room, where music and laughter could be heard. “You gotta say hi to everyone.”
While I followed them at a distance, I felt painfully out of place. Not only was I a stranger in a room full of friends, but I was also wearing thrift store buys in a crowd of preppy dressers. I recognized many of them from Tristan’s graduation, though I couldn’t guess their names. Most of the Clarencites were standing in clusters, gossiping and trying their best to get drunk. I received a few curious looks, a few frowns, but was generally ignored.
“Amy!”
Surprised to hear my name, I jumped and spun around, colliding with Kristy. She stumbled back a step, covering her mouth with her hand as she laughed. Even before I looked, I could feel cold liquid running down my shirt, making the cotton stick to my skin. A glance down confirmed that my clothes were dripping with Rum and Coke. Just when I didn’t think the night could get any better. Sometimes I hate my life.
Kristy shook her head, a gleeful look still in her eyes. “Oh, Amy, you just turned so fast!”
I grimaced, not ready to respond to such a pathetic apology.
She prompted, “You’re here, so Tristan must be...?”
I sighed. “He may be with her.”
“‘Her’?!”
My mouth twitched, but I couldn’t quite get my tongue to form The Creature’s name.
“You mean....” Kristy’s eyes bugged as if my twitch had given it all away. She crushed her plastic cup. Her voice was a snarl. “Lexus.”
If she hadn’t just dumped her drink on me, I think we would’ve become friends right then. There’s nothing quite like sharing an enemy. Still, the pop on my shirt was literally a damper on the whole situation. I stepped back carefully, in case she had any thoughts of killing the messenger, and said, “Yeah. So, you can go find her and catch up. I’m going to find a bathroom.”
She nodded absently while her eyes scoured the room, hunting for The Creature.
I glanced around, but Tristan had disappeared into the crowd. Apparently I wasn’t going to ‘sit him tonight, if that was even what I was supposed to be doing. I shrugged and turned to my left, where a hallway opened off of the living room. My flip-flops slapping against the tile floor, I passed by two closed doors. I knew the rule: never open a shut door at a party. You never know what you’ll find. Thankfully, the third door I came to was open.
I stepped into the bathroom and turned on the faucet. As useless as it was, I splashed a little water on my shirt in an attempt to neutralize the stickiness. With a weak smile at my reflection, I headed out of the bathroom and toward the back of the cabin. At the end of the hallway I found, to the left, the kitchen and, to the right, a fully stocked bar. The bartender was pouring drinks like a pro, or at least like a dressed up college kid.
True to her word, The Creature was sprawled on a wicker chair not three feet from the bar. Her eyes were glossy and she held onto what I could only assume was her second Long Island. I always heard it’s easier to get people to talk when they’re drunk and I could think of no better person to test the theory on. Pulling a chair up next to her, I cut past any small talk and demanded to know, “Why did you come?”
Unfazed by my forwardness, The Creature simply shrugged. “Because I didn’t have anywhere else to go. When I came back from Europe, Mick wanted some time off—”
“From you? Never,” I said sarcastically and in her sloshed state, she didn’t even notice.
“—and my friends had moved to L.A., mostly. My parents were vacationing in Morocco—”
“So you thought of Tristan,” I interjected.
“No.” She was so bluntly honest that I almost laughed. “I was gonna hit a few clubs, meet some new friends.
But
, then Trist’s mom called and she said I sh’ come down and have some fun. I thought, ‘why not?’”
I could’ve given her a few reasons.
“You like him, huh?” She wagged the umbrella from her drink in my face. “You sh’ never date someone you work with.”
I raised my eyebrows with disbelief. “You and Mick never...?”
“Well....” she giggled, giving herself away.
I shook my head, thinking about the last few days and how horrible they had been. All for a girl who would flirt with a rock...okay, a male rock. Honestly. Knowing it was my only chance, I looked her in her creepy aqua eyes and asked, “Why won’t you just leave?”
“Because—Mick says being with Trist looks good. Besides,” she leaned into my bubble, “he likes me better.”
I never hated her more than at that moment.
* * *
Slamming the glass door shut, I stood on the back porch. I gulped the night air, trying to get rid of my nausea. She made me sick—or the doubt she planted made my sick. Maybe both. I pulled out my cell phone, thinking of calling Ahna for a pep talk, or at least a little perspective. I stared down at the screen, where “No Service” was flashing. Great. I snapped my phone shut and jammed it back into my pocket.
“Amy.”
I jumped, having thought I was alone. What was with people scaring me with my own name? Squinting into the darkness, I saw that Tristan was sitting on a bench facing the lake. He sat with his shoulders drooped while he leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees and loosely holding a can of beer. I took a small step toward him. “How do you always know it’s me?”
“You have this smell: sweet, like honey.”
“Oh, that’s my shampoo.” I took two quick steps and sat beside him. “Is this like the fun you used to have, Tristan?”
“I-I used to be better at it.” His sigh filled the silence and he took a drink from the can.
I pushed the hair that had fallen out of my ponytail behind my ear. “If you don’t want to be here, you just have to get up and leave.”
“Which way?” he grumbled, waving his hand searchingly through the air.
Annoyed, I shrugged. “Fine. Maybe you’ll have to ask for some help, too. Maybe it’ll be hard.”
Suddenly angry, his head snapped to face me. “It shouldn’t be! Not for me!”
And there was the reason. I was so stunned that I couldn’t think of anything to say. That was why he’d refused to learn to adapt: he didn’t think it was fair. And it wasn’t. But, money or not, popular or not, he wasn’t superhuman and he had to accept that. I breathed in and pressed my lips together. Calmly, quietly, I explained, “Tristan, you have to deal with this.”
Tristan slammed his can down on the bench and it thudded like it was almost full. He growled, “You’re not getting paid to analyze me.”
I stiffened from the stab and bit back, “Going to parties wasn’t in the job description either.”
“You’re right. Let’s go.” Tristan stood abruptly. “I’m sure Lexus has had her fun.”
I grabbed Tristan’s arm and, pulling him into the cabin, muttered, “Good. I was concerned.”
The moment Tristan and I walked back inside, I could tell that something was going on. The air was literally alive with excitement. Then I saw them—Kristy and The Creature were standing in the middle of the kitchen with a crowd of Clarencites gathered around them. Both were red in the face; angry and drunk, a perfect combination. Like boxers in a ring, the two girls circled each other, looking for an opening. Kristy jabbed first. “So, you’re back with Tristan? I didn’t think he was worth it.”