Crossroads (32 page)

“
So let me think about
this.” He was pacing back and forth, probably weighing the odds of
Michael finding out. “Girls…dance…girls. Okay, if we go, we can’t
stay out too late.”

“
It ends at midnight,” I
said.

“
What? What party ends at
midnight?”

“
My curfew.”

“
Oh, okay then. And you
have to stay right next to me so I won’t feel guilty for you
talking me into this, which I will regret if Michael ever finds
out. Is that a deal?”

“
Don’t worry, Davin, I
won’t leave your sight. I’m not going to party the night away. I
made a promise, and I just want to see my friends. Who knows, it
may be my last party.”

“
What? What do you mean?”
he asked.

“
What if something happens
to me? What if Aden—”

Davin didn’t let me finish. He had a
serious look I’d never seen before. “Claudia, you can’t think that
way. You need to know that we will do everything to keep you safe.
Our lives will be lost before yours. We are your
guardians.”

“
I…I…okay,” I said,
looking down, feeling humbled. I didn’t know what to say. His
words, our lives will be lost before yours, echoed in my head. I
was extremely touched, and I knew he meant it. With another
question in mind, I looked up. “Davin, when this is all over, will
I see any of you again?” My eyes were uncertain.

“
I don’t know what will
happen. I just don’t know, Claudia. I wish I could make things
easier for you and give you the answers you want to hear. Let’s not
dwell on matters you cannot control. But one thing is for sure,
knowing Michael; I don’t know how he does it, but he always gets
his way.”

I gave him a smile because I knew he
was trying to make me feel better. Then I changed the subject.
“Hey! How are you going to get girls to dance with you dressed like
that?” I pointed at what he was wearing, scanning his outfit up and
down.

He looked at himself. “You’re right. I
look too plain in jeans and a T-shirt.” He winked. “Don’t you
worry, I’ll look my part.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. Our
laughter was interrupted by Mom. “Claudia, dinner time.”

“
I’ll be back,” I said,
feeling stomach pangs from hunger.

“
Don’t worry about me.
I’ll just surf the web on your computer. I’ve got a lot to learn.
You humans are way more complicated than I thought.”

Just as I was halfway out
of my bedroom, Davin placed his hand on the screen, and the
computer turned on.
Amazing
, I thought.

It had been about a week since Gamma
passed away. A part of me didn’t want to go to Ryan’s birthday
party because I was still grieving, but Mom thought it was a good
idea since I would be surrounded by friends. Although I knew Gamma
was gone forever, I was surprised at myself for not falling
apart.

“
Hurry up, you’re gonna be
late,” Davin whispered.

“
Haven’t you heard of
being fashionably late?” I whispered back through the door so Mom
wouldn’t think I was talking to myself.

“
I didn’t know you wanted
to be late.”

“
Do you have a car? I told
my mom that I had a date.” I took a deep breath and walked
out.

“
You didn’t say anything
about a—” He stopped mid-sentence. Davin stood by the door staring
at me. “Claudia, you look great. I mean, not that you didn’t
before, but—”

I interrupted. “Thank you. I know what
you mean.” I showed him two items that I held in my hands. “It’s
called makeup and a curling iron. They’re two great inventions that
can make any girl look good.”

“
Well, thank you to the
inventors,” he said, making a whistling sound.

He made me blush. “Well, you look
great yourself. I don’t think any girl will be able to resist
you.”

“
Really?” He checked
himself in front of my closet mirror. His black slacks and dark
gray dress shirt made him look like a GQ model.

“
Let me do something to
your hair,” I said, squeezing gel on my hand.

He backed away as soon as I held up my
hands. “Wait a minute. What is that? Nobody messes with my hair.”
He lightly tapped his hair. “This is gold to me.”

“
Let me make it golden
then.” Without his permission, I ran my fingers through his hair to
slick it back. He fussed and turned, but ultimately gave in. “See,
much better.”

“
Really?” He looked at
himself in the mirror again, amazed how a different hairstyle could
change his appearance.

“
This is gel,” I said,
amused that this simple thing was so new to him.

Suddenly, Davin looked out the window,
startled.

“
What is it?” I asked
quickly and moved behind him as my heart thumped
rapidly.

“
I feel a presence,” he
said sharply and stood dead still.

I swallowed briskly and held my breath
as I waited for Davin to tell me what to do.

“
We can relax. It’s Caleb
and Vivian,” he said.

When Caleb and Vivian appeared, I
exhaled with relief as my premonition of fallen or demons flying
through the window disappeared.

“
Don’t think you’re going
anywhere without us,” Vivian said, smiling.

Davin and I were surprised to see
them, but I was mostly overjoyed. “Vivian, you look great!” She had
on a spaghetti strap V-neck dress that framed her thin
body.

“
It’s fun dressing up, and
I love your dress too,” Vivian said, looking at me
approvingly.

I wore the black chiffon dress that
Patty had given me for my birthday. “Thanks,” I said.

Then we both looked at each other and
said at the same time, “Fashion Wear.”

As we giggled, I gave her a tight
squeeze to show her how happy I was to see her again. I quickly
turned to Caleb, not wanting to leave him out. “You look nice
too.”

He gave me a big smile. He wore dark
gray slacks and a black-buttoned down shirt, which looked great on
him. They always looked beautiful, but dressed up, they were
drop-dead gorgeous.

“
Are we going to
complement each other all night, or are we going to the party?”
Davin interrupted.

“
Do you have a car?” I
asked.

He looked at me with a blank face.
Then his face lit up with an idea. “I could go steal one. I mean,
borrow one for the night.”

I frowned, with my hands on my hips.
“You don’t have one?”

“
I’m not supposed to leave
you.”

“
I thought you could do
some kind of magic thing, and poof, it’s here,” I said.

“
I’m an alkin, not a
magician, if you haven’t noticed,” he said sarcastically. “Yes, I
could make one appear, but I didn’t know which one. There are too
many. And I thought I was driving your car.”

“
But you’re my date.
You’re supposed to pick me up in your car.”

“
Now you tell me. How am I
supposed to know? I haven’t had a date in how many lifetimes,
remember? I don’t even know what you mean by dating. We learn by
observing and that thing you call “Googling” on the computer.
That’s what I was doing while you were eating and sleeping,
learning about your mannerisms. You humans are too
complicated.”

“
Sorry, I should have
explained it to you. I forget sometimes,” I said, feeling guilty
for getting mad at him.

“
Don’t worry. Caleb and I
did some research. I have one parked right in front of your house,”
Vivian said proudly.

“
Good thinking,” Davin
replied. “I hope you stole, I mean borrowed, a fast
car.”

“
What do you mean?” Caleb
said. “I get to drive it. After all, I borrowed the car that I want
to drive.”

“
He has a point, Davin,”
Vivian spoke in Caleb’s defense.

Davin frowned and said, “Fine! Let’s
go.”

We parted ways, and Davin rang the
doorbell. Caleb and Vivian waited for us by the car.

“
I got it, Claudia. I
can’t wait to meet your date,” Mom said, excitedly. I took a quick
peek to see what she was doing while I pretended to be getting
ready in my room. I observed her sneaking a peek in the mirror,
straightening her dress, and brushing her hair with her fingers. As
I walked out of my bedroom door, Mom’s eyes grew big. She walked to
me, placing her hands on my shoulders, smiling and
staring.

“
You look beautiful,
honey! I hardly ever get to see you with makeup and your hair in
curls. It makes me happy that you’re out of your room and having
fun.”

“
Thanks, Mom,” I said
while blushing. “Aren’t you going to open the door?”

“
Ahhh…I almost forgot,”
she said as she headed for the door, still staring at
me.

“
Hello,” Davin said
politely while extending his hand. He was acting like quite a
gentleman, much more mature than the usual Davin.

Mom looked impressed and graciously
shook his hand. “Hello,” she said back.

“
Mom, this is Davin.” I
introduced hastily. Mom could tell I was in a hurry as I walked out
the door and gave her a look.

“
Well, you better get
going. It was nice meeting you, Davin.” Then she turned to me.
“Remember your curfew.”

“
Don’t worry. I’ll bring
her home by midnight.”

“
Thank you,” Mom said
politely. “I would appreciate it if you kept your word.” She smiled
again and looked at me. “Tell Ryan happy birthday for
me.”

I nodded and placed my hands through
Davin’s arm and pulled him along. As I turned around to wave
good-bye, she whispered something that sounded like, “He’s very
good-looking.”

I thought to myself; if you think
Davin is good-looking, wait till you see Michael. I just gave her a
big grin and waved her back into the house so she wouldn’t see
Vivian and Caleb. Although I was very excited to go to the party
with my alkin friends, I missed Michael madly. Where are you,
Michael? What are you doing?

Chapter 21

“
Cool car, Caleb!” Davin
said, making a complete circle around the heavily tinted black
Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. “I think I’m in love. So, who did you steal
this car from?” Davin asked, placing his hand out in front of
Caleb, waiting for the car keys.

Caleb stood his ground with his arms
crossed, shaking his head.

“
We didn’t steal it. We
borrowed it from the dealer. I’m sure they won’t miss it just for
one night,” Vivian said, admiring the car too.

“
It’s called stealing,”
Davin challenged as he gave a big frown.

“
So if you got it, it’s
called…”

“
Borrowing,” Davin said
quickly.

“
Great, you make it sound
like a sin when I do it.”

“
Just messing with you.
I’m just bitter ’cause I don’t get to drive it.”

“
You two need to see each
other more often, or is it that you two need to be away from each
other more often? Either way, we need to get going,” I
said.