Cursed Hearts (A Crossroads Novel) (24 page)

It
wasn’t long before the waitress was carrying out their food. It took three trips
from the kitchen to their table for Rome’s order alone. Dallas frowned at the
slab of bloody cow on one of Rome’s many plates, deciding not to comment. The
kid ate like a jailhouse prisoner.

“You
can slow down,” he said. “I don’t know what you’re used to, but no one is going
to steal your food.”

“I’m
used to no food,” Rome answered between bites. He was grabbing from one plate
to the other, not sure where he really wanted to start or end. Everything was
delicious. “How did you freaking find this place? The food is amazing.”

Dallas
smiled at him, barely noticing the way Kaleb was dipping his grilled cheese in
the chowder he’d ordered. “Consider this a thank you.”

“A
thank you for what?”

“For
saving Aria’s life. Which brings me around to my other point of interest... You
still work at La Lune, right?”

“Yeah,
why?”

“Are
you working tomorrow night?” Dallas asked hopefully.

Rome
nodded.

“Perfect,”
he grinned. “I want you to ruin Christian’s date with her. Sabotage him by any
means necessary. I’ve got this plan that—”

“Whoa, I’m gonna stop you there,” Rome said.
“Isn’t
Christian
your friend? Why would you want me to sabotage him?”

Dallas
cleared his throat. “Christian is like a brother to me, but he’s not fooling
anyone with his, ‘I actually like her’, bullcrap. I taught him too well. He’s
after one thing and one thing only. Once he gets it, he’s gone. I can’t let
Aria make that mistake, and she’s not listening to me.”

“…If
I told you there was a possibility that Christian was actually my brother,
would you believe me?” Rome asked.

“Is
this guy serious?” Dallas said, flicking his eyes over to Kaleb. He was trying
to save Aria from making the biggest mistake of her life and Rome was making dumb
jokes.

“No,
it’s true,” Kaleb said, chewing delicately. “It’s not that improbable. He is an
orphan, after all.”

“That
kid is not an orphan. Do you know how many pairs of shoes he owns? Opening his
closet is like walking into a designer clothing store.”

“Have
you ever met his parents? Has he ever talked about them, or
does he tend to avoid the subject?” Rome asked.
Dallas seemed to be
thinking about it intently, chewing it over along
with a bite of his breakfast.

“He
wouldn’t keep something like that from me,” he decided.

“Everyone
has secrets,” Rome replied.

“Yeah,
but what makes you think he’s your brother?”

“I
know it’s hard to believe; I’m still trying to wrap my brain around it myself.
But I trust Kaleb. He says we’re related, so we’re related.” Despite vouching
for him, Rome was still having a hard time believing that Henry wasn’t his
father. It certainly wouldn’t be the worst news he’d ever received, but trying
to reconcile with the fact that your parent wasn’t your parent was not an easy
thing. And it presented the question, if not him, then who?

The
rest of their meal and the car ride back were spent catching Dallas up on
everything that had happened. Rome told him about the curse, and what he’d seen
the other night. He went on to say that if Christian really was his brother, it
would be in his and Aria’s best interest if they were apart. Dallas convinced
Rome to intervene in any way he could during their date, and a plan quickly
started to formulate. In a strange turn of events, Dallas invited Rome to the
party he was throwing on Saturday. He didn’t know that Eliza had already asked
him to come, but Rome felt more comfortable accepting the invitation from
Dallas than from her. In all, it was looking to be an eventful weekend.

When
they got back to Vardel, Rome and Kaleb led Dallas back to their rooms. The
strange thing was, when they walked up, Kaleb’s door was pristine. Rome wasn’t
sure what was more disturbing, the thought that Kaleb’s room was trashed, or
the possibility that it wasn’t.

“I
swear this door was on the floor, busted off its hinges,” he said. “Someone
must have fixed it.”

Dallas looked unconvinced. It didn’t help that when Kaleb
opened the
door, his
room looked cleaner than clean. “Are you two just wasting my time?” he sighed.
“I have much better things to do than be the butt end of someone’s joke.”

“No,”
Kaleb said, stepping warily into his room.

“Maybe
someone was playing a prank on you, did you think of that?”

“
No
,”
Rome repeated. “This was no joke.”

Dallas closed the door behind them, looking around
unenthusiastically.
“What did
you say this ghost looked like again?”

“Creepy,
and old, and he has these dark, sunken eyes and this crazy silver hair. He was
standing over there smirking and whispering cryptic shit.”

Dallas
shivered. Rome’s description sounded eerily like a man he’d seen once before.
It was on his first trip to the museum his freshman year. He’d seen him
standing alone, across the room. He’d been staring at him with a grin that
could only be described as malevolent. Dallas hadn’t seen him before, or since,
but he’d never forgotten that moment, or the way he looked.

“And
you think I’m cursed?” he said.

Rome
nodded. “Yeah, and you want to know what else I think? I’ve got this theory,
that
he’s
the Artisan. It makes sense, right?”

Kaleb
made a strained noise. “What you’re suggesting, if that were true, would mean
that I’d have to be related to one of the six families. Do you realize how unlikely
that is? I wasn’t even born here, let alone in this world.”

“It’s
unlikely, but not impossible. I mean, your mother was a witch. And besides, everything
I’ve seen and experienced since I stepped foot in this godforsaken place has
been more than a little unlikely. He said you were supposed to be alone, cursed
to be out in the cold. Am I wrong in thinking that you’ve never felt like
you’ve belonged anywhere, in your entire life? Maybe that’s your curse.”

Rome’s
words had struck a nerve. “Get out,” Kaleb said slowly.

“No,” Rome said, staring him directly in the eyes. “He’s
mad because
you
actually found a friend. He’s mad because I’ve got your back. He did that shit
last night because
he’s
scared… He’s scared.” Rome paced in a tight
pattern, trying to put all the pieces of the puzzle together.

“Maybe
I should go,” Dallas said, pointing back over his shoulder. Kaleb looked beyond
pissed. He started to take several slow steps back towards the door just before
Kaleb decided to kick his bedframe so
hard
that it
screeched all the way over to the wall. What they were left
looking at was three, deep scratches in the floor.

“You
weren’t kidding, were you?” Dallas breathed.

“That’s
what I’ve been trying to tell you,” Rome said. “Is there anyone else who goes
to this school or lives in this town that’s related to one of those families?” Dallas
seemed to be thinking about it.

“Yeah,
there’s Logan. He’s a Scott. Real piece of work, that one. Maybe he’s cursed to
be an asshole?” Dallas laughed. “
Oh, and I
think there’s
some kid named…” He snapped his fingers repeatedly. “God,
it’s
right
on the tip of my tongue.
It’s weird, like… I think it starts with an M?” Several minutes passed before
Dallas gave up trying to remember. “Anyways, he’s a Porter. Why? What are you
thinking?”

“I
don’t know. I just think it’s a little interesting that there is a descendant from
each family in this school, right now, all at the same time.”

“You’re
forgetting Graham,” Dallas said. “That family’s been gone for centuries. That
sort of puts a big hole in your theory.”

Rome
glanced over at Kaleb, nodding at him and raising his eyebrows. “Gone, or just relocated?”
he whispered.

“Say
you are right, what do you suppose we do?” Kaleb said.

“Maybe
we can do some séance type thing and trap him?”

“This
isn’t
Ghostbusters
,” Dallas scoffed. “And witches
don’t do
séances. Not anymore. Not since
black magic and necromancy were banned like a million years ago. Why don’t we
just focus on averting one disaster at a time and keep Christian away from
Aria? After that, we can go from there.”

Chapter 24

La
Lune was more than a five star restaurant. Not only was it the nicest food
establishment in Redwood Bay, it was one of the top ten in the entire state. The
dining hall was massive, the tables and chairs antique, and the ceilings were
painted like a chapel straight out of Italy. Short of jackets, the waiters were
dressed in tuxedos, each one complete with a bow tie. The dinnerware was even
made of the finest china and silver. It was the kind of place world renowned
chefs would sit down to eat at. They even offered wine tastings, and had an
entire cellar filled with rare and expensive selections. Of course it was
Friday night, and La Lune was both packed and understaffed.

“Good
evening,” the hostess greeted. “Do you have a reservation?”

“Reed,
table for two,” Christian smiled. To his surprise, he wasn’t checking her out.
He was too enthused about Ariahna’s arm locked around his. She was dressed in a
strapless light-blue dress that hugged her body perfectly and cascaded all the
way to the floor.

“You
look gorgeous,” he whispered.

“Your
name is not on the list,” the hostess informed him.

Christian
faltered for a moment before distracting her with a charming smile.
He brushed his fingers over the top of the guest
list
,
releasing
a little magic
as he did. “Look again. I do believe we should be right on top.” Ariahna nudged
him with her elbow and he smiled back at her. He wasn’t supposed to have had to
do that. Dallas had told him he’d make sure he was on the list. Clearly he was
going to have to talk to him about that one. Then again, he had been acting
strange the last day and a half.

The
hostess found his name and had one of the staff members lead them back to a
romantic little table. Christian pulled out Aria’s seat for her, helping her scoot
in.

“I’ve
never actually worn a suit before,” he mumbled. He was messing with his tie,
nervously adjusting his attire before taking his seat. “Hopefully I don’t look
too ridiculous.”

“No,
not at all,” she assured him. “You look handsome.”

They
smiled at one another before looking over their menus.

“Have
you ever eaten here before?” Christian asked.

Aria
nodded.

“Is
there anything you recommend?” He didn’t want to admit it, but he couldn’t
actually read the menu. Everything was in Italian, which was something else
Dallas had conveniently forgotten to mention. This was all starting to seem a
little suspicious. Then again, Christian should have known something was up the
minute Dallas offered to give him back the extra set of keys to the BMW.

“Well,”
she said slowly, looking over the selections, “what do you like? I can help you
pick something, if you want.”

“I
don’t know. I tend to stay away from anything too heavy.”

“Alright,
no sausage then,” she laughed.

“Um,
yeah. You know, why don’t you just order for me?”

“Are
you sure? What if I order something you don’t like?”

“No,
it’ll be fun,” he smiled. “Surprise me.”

Ariahna
looked over the menu with a newfound anxiety. Under the
rare circumstance that her father hadn’t ordered for them both, she
usually just ordered soup and salad. Ordering for another person was making the
whole process seem intimidating, though. Before she’d had a chance to make a
selection their waiter walked over and set two glasses of water on the table.
Aria turned to smile graciously up at their server for the evening, and felt
her jaw drop when she saw who was staring back.

It
was Rome.

“What
are you doing here?” she whispered.

“Um…
working?” he said with a shrug.

Technically,
he was a stand-in. His usual work went on behind the scenes, back in the
kitchen, helping to prep food and clean dishes. This had not been part of the
hair-brained scheme Dallas had concocted, either. In fact, it was going to make
carrying out that plan a real pain.

Oh
hell no
,
Christian thought, flagging down another server. A pretty blonde girl in
matching slacks and a white blouse hurried over to their table.

“Is
there a problem?” she asked.

Rome’s
eyes caught on her nametag –
Autumn.
At least now he knew who had sent
him those flowers. He didn’t think she went to Vardel. It was possible he was
just incredibly oblivious though, because he’d been working here for months,
and he didn’t even know this girl’s name.

“Yes,”
Christian said, smiling charmingly. “I don’t mean to be a nuisance, but I’d
prefer another server. This guy’s making my date uncomfortable,” he said. He
could feel Rome glaring at him.

“Oh,
no,” Autumn said, smiling brightly. “Rome’s an excellent employee.” She touched
his arm gently as he turned to look at her hand on his bicep. “I would
accommodate your request, but we’re a little understaffed tonight. I’m sorry.
Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“What
about you?” Christian said. “Why can’t you be our server?”

“It’s
fine,” Aria said quickly. “We don’t need another server.” Regardless of the
fact that she was out on a date with Christian, she didn’t like the way this
girl was touching Rome. And she definitely did not like the idea of Christian
smiling and flirting with her the entire night.

“So,
are you two ready to order, or should I come back?”

“I
think we’re ready,” she grinned. She turned that smile to Autumn,
wondering when she planned to leave. The girl
startled as though
realizing she was just standing there staring before
shuffling hurriedly off.

“Um,
okay,” Rome said, pulling out a small pad of paper.

Aria
smiled at him gently. “Rome, you don’t have to be so nervous.”

Right
, he thought, because there was
nothing to be nervous about. He was only waiting to take her order while she
was on a date with another guy. There was just something deflating about
knowing he could never take her to a place like this. He felt like a complete
idiot now for offering to take her to that all-night diner. Ariahna was the
kind of girl who you took out to fancy restaurants in expensive clothes to show
off. And Rome, he was just always going to be the guy washing the dishes and
pouring the wine. It was becoming very clear to him why she was going out with
Christian instead of him.

“I
think we’ll start with the Bruschetta,” she said, “and then I will have the Zuppa
di Pesce, and… he’ll have the Capesante alla Veneziana.”

“Wow,”
Rome smiled. “Do you actually speak Italian?”

“No,”
she laughed. “My father just practically lives here.”

“So
he’s got a house,” Rome said, ticking each item off on a finger, “an apartment
in town, and he lives at the restaurant?”

Ariahna
giggled.

Christian
was trying to set Rome on fire with his eyes.

“What
did you want to drink?” he asked. He knelt down beside the table, whispering to
Aria. “I can get you a little wine, if you’d like.”

“Really?”
Christian said sharply. “Maybe I should talk to your manager.”

“
Shit
,”
Ariahna hissed. She grabbed the menu off the table, holding it up in front of
her face and peeking out from behind it. “Oh my god, this is not happening…”

“What’s
wrong?” Rome asked.

“Hey,
I’m her date,” Christian snapped. He turned to look at her, his face a mask of
concern. “What’s wrong?”

“My
father’s here,” she squeaked.

Christian
spun around in his seat, trying to find someone who looked like they could be
her father. The truth was he had no clue what the guy looked like.

“Don’t
look!”

“Which
one is he?” he asked.

“The
last table… over there,” she said, gesturing with her eyes.

Christian
squinted at the table she’d indicated, looking between the two men seated
there. Neither of them looked like they were related to her.

“Is
he the tall scary one, or the short fat one?”

“I’m guessing the tall scary one,” Rome said, patting
Christian
on the
shoulder. “Enjoy your date.” It would be a miracle if he got out of this alive.
Brother or not, Rome wasn’t sure he cared at this point.

“Of
course he couldn’t be the short fat one,” Christian muttered.

“Shhh!”
she whispered harshly. “He’ll hear you.”

Rome
leaned over so that his face was hidden behind her menu. “Do you want me to
sneak you out the back?”

“No,”
Christian said. “That won’t be necessary.” He glanced around
the busy dining hall before snapping his fingers
under the table
. Her bright red hair changed to a rich brown. “He won’t even
recognize you, I promise. And if he does, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Rome
stood up slowly, narrowing his eyes at Christian’s specific choice of words.
What did he mean by that? he wondered. Christian seemed
more worried about Ariahna being seen by her father than himself.
Something
about that didn’t sit right
with him.

“Are
you sure?” he asked softly.

She
set her menu down and nodded at him. “Yes,” she answered, keeping her eyes
locked on the table. “And I’ll take that wine,” she decided, “if you can get
it.”

Rome
nodded and hurried off just as his manager started staring.

Christian
let out a heavy breath. He felt like he just couldn’t catch a break. Their
first date had ended in violence, their second was a complete
disaster, and now people were popping up all over
the place to ruin their
third. Call him paranoid, but it felt like some
force was working to keep them apart.

“This
is going well,” he joked.

Aria
laughed softly. “Welcome to life,” she said, “where there’s always something to
get in the way of your happiness, and people that want to see you fail.” She
shifted in her chair, uncertain how to phrase her question. “I think you were
confused when you made that promise. If my father sees us, you’re the one who
should be scared, not me.”

She
looked up at him cautiously, gauging his reaction.

“Are you sure about that?” Christian mumbled. She wouldn’t
meet
his
eyes after that. He waited for a server to
pass before speaking again. “I saw your wrist, after your father left. He
sounded… angry.”

Ariahna
smiled back at him, feigning ignorance. Her jaw was trembling and her hands
were clutched tightly in her lap. “Do you want to know what I ordered for you?”
she asked, changing the subject.

“…Sure.”

“Venetian-style
scallops. They’re lightly breaded and seasoned, and so tender your mouth is
going to water. Trust me, it’s delicious.”

“It
sounds delicious,” he agreed. “I’m glad I let you order. In all honesty, I had
no idea what anything on that menu was. I don’t know Italian.”

“But
you picked the restaurant,” she said in amusement. “Have you never been here
before?” He shook his head no and she smiled at him. “We didn’t have to go
somewhere so nice. I wasn’t expecting this.”

“I
think that you’re the kind of girl who deserves the best. Besides, I had to
compete with all of the other dates you’ve been on. I can’t be shown up. I have
a delicate ego.”

“Other
dates?” she smiled. “That’s kind of you.”

“Are
you trying to tell me no one’s ever asked you out before?” he asked, tipping
his head. “I honestly don’t believe that’s true.”

Rome
smacked an Italian soda down in front of Christian. His expression was sullen.
He slipped the wine glass delicately onto the table beside Ariahna. “It isn’t
true,” he mumbled as he walked away.

Aria
exhaled. “I’ve never been out on a date,” she answered. “Not with anyone other
than you, I mean. My father is fairly good at scaring people away. To this day,
Dallas still won’t tell me what he said to him.”