Beginnings (The Trifectus Series - Book One) (22 page)

“I did and I still care about you.  It has nothing to do with your personality or who you are.  I just have a life above the ground, and I want it to stay that way.”

“So essentially, my looks are holding back what we could have had.”

“In a sense, yes.”

“All right,” he said as he logged off.

I could tell he was hurting.  I hurt when he hurt, but I had to be truthful with him and myself.  He had many qualities that I wanted, but living a sheltered life underground wasn’t one of them.

Marcus really was hurting.  He logged off from the chat with Juliet and got up in a rage.  This wasn’t even his fault.  He didn’t want to be like this anymore.  He wanted to be normal.  If his parents hadn’t made him into this monster, he would be with Juliet right now.  They would be going out, kissing and spending their lives together.  He would be with her and his life would be perfect.  He had to change himself.  He had to make himself look as human as he could.  He needed to be able to pass in the streets as just a normal guy.

He started going to work designing something.  Something that would change his appearance on the outside, while he and his friends tried reversing being like this.  He needed some way to mask himself on the outside, while his parts hid underneath. 

Marcus was skilled with computers and technology.  Maybe he could build a device to hide everything.  He went to work, and hoped that his dreams would come true.

I soon lost interest in playing the game after the talk with Marcus.  Being a teenage girl was one of the hardest things in the world. 

“Juliet, are you home?”

I went downstairs and saw my mother at the table taking things out of shopping bags.

“What is all of this?”

“Oh honey, I bought you and your friends some stuff for tomorrow.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to.  I want you to have a good first experience!”

I looked at all of the items on the table.  She bought us nail polish, movies, junk food and even new pajamas for me to wear.  They were actually really cute.

“Thank you so much,” I said as I gave my mother a hug.

“Oh, dear, you are so welcome,” she said while embracing me back.

“Are you excited about tomorrow night?” she asked while sitting down.

“Yeah, I really am.  I am coming home first to get my things but then going over to Ariel’s.  I will get her information tomorrow for dad.  I know he wants it so bad.”

“I know it annoys you, dear.  Your father is just really protective of you and wants to make sure you are always safe.  If anything happens, he wants to make sure he can come and get you and not have to wonder about where you are.  He means well.”

“I know he does, but he just needs to realize I’m almost an adult and I should be trusted more.”

“I’ll try to calm him down a bit.”

“Thank you, mom,” I said while smiling at her.

I was just happy to have one sane, respectful parent.  One who didn’t try to implant something in me to track my every move.  One who gave me distance and freedom to be myself. 

I grabbed the things she got me and went upstairs as she started preparing dinner.  I was happy she was supporting me and especially in these new experiences. 

I tried to start on my homework while I waited for dinner to be ready.  It proved impossible, though, as the thoughts of James lingered into my empty head.  I really wanted him back, and I wanted to hold him once again.  I wanted to feel his cool skin touch my face as I kissed him.  I wanted to look into his hazel eyes and see my reflection in them.  I wanted to give him my love again.

“Juliet!  Dinner is ready!” my mother yelled from the foot of the stairs just before I started daydreaming.

“Coming!” I shouted back as I tried to collect my composure.

I went down and sat down at the table with my parents as my mother was putting food on my plate.

“Did you get me the information I asked for?” my father asked.

“Not yet, I will get it tomorrow,” I replied.

“Juliet, you know I wanted that information today.”

“Oh, Arnold, relax.  She will give it to you tomorrow.  Just calm down,” my mother interjected.

“No, Katherine,” my father said.  “She knew I wanted that information and she didn’t give it to me.  She shouldn’t go tomorrow.”

“She is going, and that is final,” my mother said while sternly looking at my father.

You could cut the tension in that room with a knife.  My mother rarely was like this with my father, but the times she was, she always won hands-down.  My father looked down at his dinner and kept eating, not even challenging her.

“Fine,” he said.  “You can go, but I want what I asked for tomorrow before you leave.”

“I’ll make sure you get it,” I said while smiling at my mother.

Dinner was fairly uneventful after that spat.  We all ate and went our separate ways after dinner.  I went back up to my room and attempted my homework before going to sleep. 

I woke up the next morning and smiled because of what today was.  Today was my girls’ night, and I was going to make sure I did it right. 

I got ready and made sure I looked cute.  I did my hair and makeup, and wanted to make sure I looked good for tonight.  I had no idea what we were even going to do so I had to look my best.  I would rather be overdone than underdone.

I went to school and found Ariel and Taylor.

“Hey guys!” I said.

“Hey Juliet!” Taylor exclaimed.

“Are you ready for tonight?” asked Ariel.

“I am more than ready.  I need this so bad.  I hope this doesn’t sound weird but my dad wants your phone number and address.  I hope it’s okay if I give it to him.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.  My dad is the same way so I understand,” she said while laughing and handing me the information.

“My mom got us a few things for tonight,” I said.

“Great!” exclaimed Taylor.

Taylor always was very peppy and cheerful.  She was a cheerleader and had the most pep out of anybody that had ever attended this school.

That day at school went by very fast.  I was in a peppy, happy mood and counted down every single minute until I could rush home to get my things for tonight. 

After school I made my guards drive me home fast.  I ran inside and saw my father sitting in his chair.

“Did you get me what I asked for?” he said.

“Yeah, here it is,” I replied as I handed him the slip of paper.

“Thank you, dear,” he said as he took and studied the slip.

I jumped up the stairs as if I was winning the gold in the high jump.  I threw my door open and ran into my room.  I wanted to get as much time with my friends as I could.  Losing even one minute was too much.

I threw my things in my bag and went back downstairs. 

“I’m going to leave in a minute,” I told my father.

“Who is taking you there?”

“I am just going to walk, it isn’t far.”

“I’m not sure I like you going there by yourself.  I’ll drive you.”

“No, you don’t need to.  She lives ten minutes away and it is the middle of the day.  I will be fine.  Trust me.”

“Fine, I will let you do this.  Just be careful and if you get lost call me and I will come get you.”

“Okay, dad.”

I gave my father a hug and grabbed the bag my mom had for me.  I opened the door and walked outside.  The crisp autumn air brushed against my cheek as I took a deep breath.  I had a little bit of freedom and I liked it.

I walked to Ariel’s house and rang her doorbell.  The door opened and Ariel and Taylor were standing there.

“Hey!” screeched Taylor.  “I’m so glad you’re here!”

“Come in,” said Ariel.  “We are waiting for some more girls to show up.”

I walked into Ariel’s house and was quite surprised.  She had a very regal, elegant house.  It looked more like a museum than anything else, and I was scared to even walk inside for the fear of breaking anything.

“I know it looks crazy in here,” she said.  “Don’t worry about breaking anything.  My parents never even notice.”

“Oh, okay,” I said as I looked around in awe.

There was old art on the walls and what looked like artifacts on pedestals.  It was amazing.  There were millions of dollars sitting in this room alone.  I took on a child’s mindset and held my hands at my sides while walking through her house. 

We went down to her basement to start the girls’ night.  It was a lot more relaxed down here and it didn’t look like a history museum. 

I was the only girl here so far besides Ariel and Taylor.

“Who else is coming?” I asked.

“Carrie, Melissa and Tawny,” said Ariel. 

“I know they are coming together and will probably be here really soon,” said Taylor.

“When is the last time you went to a girls’ night?” asked Ariel.

“I have never had one, so I am all new to this,” I said shyly.

“Never?!” exclaimed Taylor.  “We will definitely make sure you have a great time then.  I don’t want you to go home tomorrow and not have had fun.”

I smiled and sat down on a giant leather couch.

“You have a really nice house,” I said.

“Thanks,” said Ariel.  “Sometimes it can be a little much.  It was hard as a kid trying to be normal but not really being able to play in the house.  I always had to worry about breaking something in here.  It feels too much like some museum and not a home.”

“Are your parents going to be here tonight?” I asked.

“Not really.  They have a gala function and probably won’t even get home until 2 a.m.  I’m not even sure if you’ll meet them.  They aren’t as interested in my life as much as they are in their own lives.”

I knew all too well what that was like.  My parents were there a lot more than hers, but I felt disconnected from them.  I didn’t feel like they were my parents as much as my roommates. 

The doorbell rang as we all got up to see who it was.  Ariel opened the door to see Melissa, Carrie and Tawny standing there smiling.

“Now it’s a party!” yelled Taylor.

I ate lunch with everyone besides Tawny.  She was a short, chubby girl with red hair and freckles.  She was very sweet, but painfully shy.

We all exchanged hugs and proceeded to go downstairs. 

“So girls, what should we do first?” asked Ariel.

“Change out of these constricting clothes!” shouted Melissa.

“Great idea.  We don’t need to dress up for any guys now.  Did everyone bring their sweats?” asked Carrie.

Everybody said yes and we all got them out and changed.  It felt so good to change into my sweats and just lie there on this huge leather couch.  I felt like I was being warmly cradled and I could fall asleep.

“Can you believe we made the track finals?” asked Tawny.

“Yeah, it’s crazy.  It’s all because of Derek,” said Ariel.

“What do you guys think of Derek?” I asked.

I wanted to gauge their opinions on him.  I wanted to see if they knew he was a werewolf or even had any idea he wasn’t fully human.  They had to have known that he was too good of a runner and athlete to be a mortal. 

“I think he’s hot,” said Taylor.

“Yeah, he is, but he is with Cara.  He doesn’t even look at other girls.  He isn’t like other guys,” said Ariel.

“He is an incredibly fast runner,” said Melissa.  “I don’t even know how he can possibly run as fast as he does effortlessly.”

I started getting a little excited.  Maybe they would figure out he wasn’t human.  Maybe Melissa would make everybody really think and realize it.

“I heard he has been training since he was four years old,” said Tawny.  “His parents were Olympic runners and put him through the training so that’s why he is so good.”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” said Ariel.

I couldn’t believe they were being this naive.  Maybe some people really were clueless about how many of these people were in actual society.  I think they would be shocked and terrified to know that werewolves and vampires were all around them.

“What is going on between you and James?” Carrie asked me.

“Well, we dated and broke up.  Now we are trying to work things out and hopefully get back together.”

“Where does he even live?  Do you know?”

“Yeah, kind of.  I went to his house twice for dinner.  It was way out there, so I wouldn’t remember how to get to it again.  I didn’t drive there or anything either.  His family is really nice though.  I liked being around them.”

“I know a lot of girls have had crushes on him, but he never seemed interested in them.  Then you came along and he just was drawn to you.  It is almost like you were made just for him,” said Tawny.

“Yeah, I like him a lot,” I said.

Were they right?  Was I made just for him?  I sure felt like I was.  I felt like he was the only one for me.

The night went on and I had a great time.  We sat around with our hair up with no makeup on just hanging out.  We talked about boys and school.  We watched girly movies and pigged out on ice cream and chocolates.  We fell asleep on top of each other while a scary movie was blaring on Ariel’s big-screen television.  We were girls, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.