Sky of Dust: The Last Weapon (17 page)

We stopped swaying
,
and I turned around. It was not hard to spot Abigail since she wore the most beautiful dress at the party, and many heads turned to prove it.

Mary sighed behind me in admiration.

She pushed me forward and said,
“
Maybe you should get a few more dances than just one.
”

Her dress looked much more impressive on her than
it had on
the dummy.

It was a light blue dress with crystals shimmering along the
hems
. A single strap studded in crystals was the only thing holding the dress up. Around her neck was a crystal choker that reflected the color of the blue dress. Her hair was fashioned up into a black swirl that came to a point and was secured by a silver comb, with just a little strand
falling
in a curve down the side of her face.

She did not notice everyone staring at her
;
her head and eyes combed the crowd as if she was looking for someone.

I was at a loss
what to do
. Part of me wanted to hide, to be saved from the embarrassment.
Another
part of me wanted to be brave and greet her.
But the
biggest part of me just wanted to just stop and stare.

Suddenly
,
her eyes stopped on me.
My insides started turning, my mouth got dry, and the room started to slow down.

Her smile revealed her white teeth
,
which
shone
in the moonlight. She took a step forward as she held one of her hands in the other
,
like she was nervous.

Okay
,
I whispered to myself.
It’s just twirling around. I can do
this
.

I gathered my courage and started to walk towards her.

I had taken a few steps when Jason appeared several feet in front of me and started to walk towards her.

She wasn’t looking for me
;
she was looking for him. I
was
such an idiot.

I curved na
turally and tried to follow some of the people dancing so Abigail would not see me as I made my way to the tables.

I sat across from Peter and slammed my head
onto the
table harder than I had meant.

“
Dude, what’s up with you?
”
Peter asked in disbelief.
“
She was waiting for you.
”

“
No. She was looking for him
,
”
I said in a pained voice. There was no use in trying to hide it.

“
Who is ‘him’?
”
Peter asked.

“
Jason, the pilot
,
”
I replied in a sarcastic tone.
“
Supposedly
,
her step-brother.
”

Peter thought about it for a second then replied,
“
Oh.
”

“
Let’s change the subject
,
”
I suggested.
“
Casey isn’
t coming?
”

“
Nah. He'
s not that fond of this place
,
I think
,
”
Peter replied.
“
I tried to tell him that you meant
well
by not telling us, but he just hit me and said I was just like you. Thank god for thick skin.
”

We both sighed.

WACK!

I felt a slap on the back of my head.
I wish I had thick skin.

“
What were you thinking?
”
Mary barked at me from behind.
“
She was looking for
you
!
”

Mary walked around and sat in between Peter and
me
.

“
She was looking for him
,
”
I mumbled as I rubbed the back of my head.

Mary rolled her eyes.

“
N
o
, she was looking for you
,
”
Mary pressed.
“
If you would have paid attention a little longer instead of play hide-and-seek you would have seen her looking for you after Jason popped up!
”

“
Disaster,
”
Mary mumbled under her breath as she put her hand across her forehead.

“
Having fun yet?
”
My dad’s voice rung over my shoulder.

Mary looked up with the
“
Are you serious?
”
look.

Peter shook his head in apparent pity.

“
Ohh. That bad, huh?
”
Dad said in a sympathetic voice.
“
Don’t worry. There is still the rest of the night. The party is just getting started.
”

The band stopped playing and President Reeves took the stage.

“
Ladies and gentleman, I am pleased that all of you could join us here today to celebrate our Independence Day. Although our country is fractured,
we
have chosen to c
arry on our hopes and dreams.
W
e
have chosen to stand as equals for the common good of humanity.
It is truly an honor to lead such wonderful and motivated people. Without you and your sacrifices, we would not be where we are today. Thank you, all of you
,
”
t
he
P
resident spoke.
“
Now,
everyone grab
a partner, as we
celebrate our accomplishments.
”

President Reeves nodded to the band
,
and they started to play a slow song.

“
Do you two mind if I borrow Mary for a bit?
”
My dad asked with a grin.

“
I thought you danced for work?
”
I asked.

“
She works for me now
,
”
Dad replied.
“
It’s work.
”

“
I would
love
too
.
”
Mary held out her hand
,
and my dad pulled her up.

I put my head on the table. I really did not want to watch.

“
I think I am going to head to bed soon
,
”
I told Peter.

When he did not respond
,
I lifted my head and noticed he was no longer there. I turned and watch
ed
him being led to the dance floor by a pretty girl about our age with light brown skin.

“
Here I am, talking to myself
,
”
I told myself out loud. It did not matter because I was the only one not dancing.

I lowered my head on the table and listened to the music play as the footsteps moved in sequence.

A few minutes later
,
I heard a cough, like someone trying to get my attention.

I opened my eyes and could just make out the bottom of a blue dress lined with crystal.

I put on the best sick face I could and sat up.

“
Are
…
are you al
l
right?
”
Abigail’s smile faded and was replaced with a look of worry.

I felt even worse. She was having a good time
,
and I just ruined it by playing sick.

“
I think I ate something bad
,
”
I lied. I’m so going to hell.

“
Do you want something to drink?
”
Abigail asked
,
looking concerned.

“
No thank you
,
”
I replied.
“
I’ll be fine.
”

“
Look
,
”
Abigail
said as she gracefully lowered herself into
the chair next to me and faced towards me.
“
I just never got to really say thank you for the dress.
”

“
No
big deal
,
”
I told her with a
forced smile.

“
It is a big deal for me
,
”
Abigail told me.
“
I know
I shouldn’t care so much about getting a new dress
, but this is the only time I can really…have fun. I just…really appreciate what you did for me. I will pay you back.
”

“
Listen, don’t worry about it
,
”
I assured her.
“
You saved my life on the way here. You deserve it.
”

“
You saved my life too.
”
Abigail flushed.
“
Sinc
e you own the dress, I thought you should at least…dance with it…me.
”

Floored. Absolutely floored. One of those moments when your inner you is standing up screaming at all the people ‘See that!? What now!?’ like you just proved everyone wrong.

I imagine I had a stupid look on my
face
, but she was busy looking at her fingers.

Be smooth
,
I told myself.

“
Sure
,
”
I told her.

Good job, keep it up
!
My
inner voice motivated me.

I stood up
and extended my hand out to her.

No! W
ipe your hands off first
! My inn
er voice yelled.
Too late
.

To my surprise
,
her hand was sweaty as well.
But it was the softest thing I have ever touched.

Danger avoided
!

I pulled her up
,
and we began to walk to the dance floor
.

I forgot to lift one of my feet all the way up as we were walking
,
and I stumbled for a second.

Smooth as crunchy peanut butter
,
m
y inner voice mocked me.

“
Shut up
,
”
I told myself under my breath rather loud.

Luckily
,
Abigail did not hear me. I glanced over
,
and she was positively glowing. I should not have looked. My stomach was doing back flips
,
and my legs started to get heavy.

I thought I was about to faint. I probably would have too, but
,
once we arrived in the center of the dance floor
,
fireworks were launched over head. The sound scared me
,
and I squeezed Abigail’s hand.

“
You haven’t seen fireworks before
,
have you?
”
Abigail asked.

I looked at her
,
and every part of her glowed in the colored light.

“
No. I have only seen pictures
,
”
I told her.

She smiled and put her arms around my neck. I hesitated for a second and placed my hands on her waist. I could feel her breath and her heart beat. It was so rapid I thought it was me.

“
Thank you
,
”
Abigail
said.

I looked over her shoulder and spotted my dad and Mary a few feet away
,
both grinning giving me the thumbs up.