Cursed Hearts (A Crossroads Novel) (6 page)

Aria
smiled.

“Thing
is, I think she tricked me into going back to this really weird school with
her, and I’m not sure if I’m upset about that, or impressed.”

“I
think you’re giving this girl more credit than she deserves…”

“So
you’re telling me that, on a whim, you hitched a ride from a
complete stranger and let him leave you in the
middle of town? Setting aside the fact that you don’t know me, and I could be
like a kidnapper
or something,
you’re now miles from where you’re staying with no car, little to no money, and
no way to get back.”

Aria
scowled at him. “I have money,” she said, “and I could use their phone. I’m not
as helpless as you’re making me sound. I could call a cab, or… my father does
keep an apartment here in town. I have options.”

“I’m
not saying you’re helpless, I’m just saying you should be more careful.” She
looked away from him, fidgeting with a plant on the shelf. “How about I give
you a ride back?”

“I
don’t know…”

“I
won’t drive so crazy? Besides, then we both get what we want.”

“And
what would that be?” she asked.

“You
get a ride back to school without having to tell your dad how you got here, and
I get a second chance at not being a jerk.”

Aria scoffed, grinning down at her shoes. “Okay. Just let
me
finish up
here
first.” She picked a few materials off the shelves before walking up to the
counter. “You know,” she said, “if you’re going back to school anyways, you
should probably pick up some supplies while you’re here.”

“Yeah,
I don’t think I’ll be needing any of this.” Truthfully, Rome didn’t understand
what half the items in this shop were, let alone what he’d use them for. “Hey,”
he said, “what’s to stop someone from just walking back here and seeing all
this weird stuff?”

Mrs.
Jacobs looked up from the counter, lips curled slightly as the spark of a very
good secret danced in her eyes. “The lock,” she whispered, “will only turn in
the hands of a witch.”

Rome
stepped out of the eclectic shop and into the darkening street,
holding the door open for Ariahna. The sound of
the bell faded away,
replaced by the light whistling of cool air. “You
know, if you’re hungry, there’s this great little diner we could hit up before
heading back?” he said, fishing around in his pocket for his keys. He frowned
when he came up with a quarter and a handful of lint. “…About that cab,” Rome
said, peering in through his window. “That might be a good idea right about
now, considering my keys are dangling from the ignition.”

Aria
glanced around the empty street before walking up behind him. It was risky, but
maybe if she could get him to unlock the door, she could convince him that he
really belonged at Vardel. That he was, in fact, a witch. Right now, convincing
him seemed more important to her than the possibility of getting caught.

“
Here,” she said, taking his wrist and pulling him
over to the door. “Make it unlock.” She slid her palm down over the back of his
hand, slipping her fingers between his and curling them under the cool, black
metal. “Just
visualize what you want, and then focus all of your energy
on making it happen.”

Rome
was stuck fixating on the simple yet intimate touch of her hand
upon his. He was visualizing what he wanted, but
it had nothing to do with
the car, and everything to do with her. The
soft glow of the streetlights danced over her ruby red hair, giving the
illusion that flames were framing her face. In this moment, she seemed wild,
untouchable. Like an angel, or maybe a devil, trapping him in the promise of
some indescribable redemption.

“Are
you focusing?”

“…Do you know how beautiful you are?” he whispered
, stepping in close. Her fingers
tightened over the back of his as they locked eyes.

Ariahna stifled a gasp. She leaned back against the car,
gazing timidly up at him. He was
standing so close that the fabric of his shirt was brushing lightly against her
tie, and she could feel the gentle rising of his chest against hers with each
silent breath. He was making her heart pound in a slow, weighted drag. A gentle
yet untamed look reflected in his eyes, captivating her and demanding
recognition.

Rome
slipped his fingers under her soft curls and around the smooth skin of her
neck. His thumb brushed along the edge of her jaw, sweeping up over her cheek
as she stared back at him. There was something mysterious in those emerald green
eyes, alluring and free; and whatever it was, it was rendering him unable to
breathe.

She
stood frozen as he caressed the side of her face, enjoying the gentle warmth of
his hand. He was going to kiss her. She’d known him less than a day, had barely
carried on a full conversation with him, and he was going to kiss her. Was it
insane that she wanted him to? No one had ever looked at her like this before,
made her feel like this; like she was worthwhile, precious, something to be
desired. He bent unhurriedly, leaning in slow as his breath washed over her
skin. She smiled at the sensation, letting her eyes finally slip closed as his
lips swept just barely over her own.

“Hey!”
Dallas shouted from the street.

Rome
exhaled slowly, trying to hold on to the faint aroma of vanilla on his lips –
that near-kiss they’d almost shared before fate had seen fit to interrupt.
Whatever magic that moment might have held was now gone. So why couldn’t he
bring himself to pull away?

“Is
this guy bothering you?”

Aria
glared up at his shoulder blade as Dallas pushed Rome away, putting himself
between them. “No,” she whispered tightly, “but
you
are.”

“You
again? What the hell is your problem?” Rome said.

“You,
kissing my sister, that’s my problem.”

“Dallas,
I’m not your sister. Just get back in your car and go, okay?”

Dallas
turned around with an indignant look on his face, crossing his arms over his
chest. “Near enough,” he said.

“We’re
neighbors, and that’s it.”

“Okay,
now you’re just trying to hurt my feelings.”

“If
you were my brother, I would have done away with you by now for being so
annoying.”

“You’d
miss me if I was gone,” he grinned.

“Why
don’t we test that theory? Leave, and I’ll let you know if I missed you or not.
I can’t miss you if you’re still here. Besides, you know what they say; absence
makes the heart grow fonder.”

Dallas
laughed as she tried to herd him back into his car. He wasn’t angry anymore, he
was just amused. “Grow fonder?” he questioned. “Not possible. I seem to recall
someone having a crush on a certain striking young man.” He smiled, gripping
his jaw and tipping his head up dreamily.

“I
was ten, Dallas, and you were the only boy I knew. My choices were a bit
limited.”

“Limited,
or refined?” he quipped, delighted by their familiar banter.

“Limited,”
she answered. “Definitely limited.”

“Aria,”
he said sternly, trying not to laugh at the tone of his voice. “I’m not joking
around, okay? I’m older and wiser than you and I know what I’m talking about.
So just listen to me and get in the car and I’ll give you a ride back to
school.” He lifted his chin slightly, crossing his arms in a way that said,
‘and that’s the end of that’.

He
knew her too well to believe that that was really true.

“You’ve
got the older part down, but I’d rethink calling yourself wise,” she said,
shaking her head with a sigh.

Rome
stifled a laugh.

“I have a ride, okay? And regardless, don’t you think you
should get your car out of the
road? I know I don’t know a lot about driving, but I’m pretty sure that’s
illegal.”

Dallas pursed his lips at her, obviously trying to summon
his patience – a characteristic he did not have an abundance of.

“But
my car’s shinier,” he grinned.

The
arch of her eyebrows said she was not amused.

“Your
jokes haven’t gotten any funnier.”

“But
I’ve been working on them all summer,” he chuckled. “Not that you would know.
You never came to visit once. I mean, really, what gives? You practically lived
at my house the last few years. And now, you don’t write, you don’t call,
you’re interested in boys?”

Rome had been leaning back against his car with his hands
in his pockets, observing their behavior and looking for a chance to interrupt.
Between the two of them, he couldn’t get a word in edgewise. They may not have
been blood related, but one thing was for sure, they were definitely siblings.
“My keys… are still locked in the
car,” he said disjointedly, pointing at the window and trying to draw their
attention. Dallas looked at him with a cool expression. “Right, okay.” He
exhaled, scratching at his eyebrow and waiting for them to decide who’d won
this little argument.

“How
about this, get in the car, or I’ll tell Richard you’ve been slumming it around
town with the criminal element. I’m sure he’d just love to drag this kid’s ass
in for questioning.”

“Or,”
Rome said, “you can come over here and say that shit to my face, and she can
get a ride home with whoever’s left standing.”

Dallas
took a step towards Rome, smiling angrily as Aria held him
back. “You know what your biggest shortcoming is?”
he said.
“Overconfidence. You think you’re so damn scary—untouchable,
even.” He shook his head at him. “I wonder if you’ll still be making threats
when I knock you flat on your back.”

“I’d
like to see you try,” Rome growled, stalking towards him slowly. Aria stepped
between the two of them, holding her hands out awkwardly and forcing him to
stop. They were glaring at each other over the top of her head.

“Why
don’t we just go?” she said.

Rome
pulled his eyes away from Dallas long enough to look down at her. “Are you
talking to me, or him?”

“Let
me make this easy for you,” Dallas said, pulling out his phone and dialing
Richard’s number. “You can go with me, or you can go with your dad, but you’re
not riding with him.”

“You’re
going to tattle on me, is that it Dallas?” she asked, her eyes alight with both
fear and betrayal. “That’s real mature.”

“Victory
by any means.”

“You’re
bluffing,” Rome said.

Dallas
hit the call button. “…It’s ringing.”

Aria
snatched the phone from his hand, hanging it up just as her father’s voice crackled
through the speaker. “You know,” she mumbled, “sometimes, I really hate you.”
She stared into his eyes for a long moment, feeling the fever of a swell of
emotions rising under her skin.

“Fine,”
she said, waving her arm angrily at Rome’s car. The locks jumped in response.
She bowed her head, resisting the urge to turn and look back at the boy who’d
almost given her her very first kiss.

There
was no point, she thought.

Life
was too short to spare time for regrets.

Chapter 5

Ariahna
sat in Dallas’s car, seething silently and glaring out the window. They’d left
Rome a few minutes ago, standing alone on Main Street. She didn’t even know if
he was coming back; if he’d turned his car towards the highway, or continued
further into town. Would he go home? Forget about everything she’d said to him?
Forget about her? She had been seething before,
and now she was sulking. And Dallas kept glancing at her – just quick,
nervous little flicks of his eyes. It was only making her feel worse.

“Come
on,” he said. “Are you really going to try and ignore me the whole way back?”
No response. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? But believe me when I say that what I did,
I did for you. It’s for the best.”

Ariahna
closed her eyes slowly, biting the inside of her cheek and trying not to take
the bait. She wasn’t talking to him. He’d gotten what he wanted. She was in the
car, letting him take her back to school, and Rome was probably far, far away
by now.

“Did
you know he was going to leave school? He doesn’t think he’s magical, or that
he belongs there. I was trying to convince him to stay.”

Dallas
tightened his grip on the steering wheel, staring fixedly out at the road.
“He’s bad news,” he said simply.

“You
don’t know that,” she muttered. “You don’t know him.”

Dallas
sighed. “Guys like that want one thing, okay? And it’s not a chance to sweep
you off your feet and drive off into the sunset in a golden chariot. It’s not
some fairytale kiss, either.”

Aria
could feel anger winning out as she turned to Dallas, her face twisted in
annoyance. It felt like she was talking and he wasn’t even listening. She
reached over and slapped him on the arm, hard. And it felt so good she did it
again, and then again, emphasizing each blow with a curt, frustrated word.
“He-was-going-to-take-me-to-dinner!” she bit out, slapping him one last time
for good measure.

Dallas
mouthed the word,
Ouch,
as he rubbed at his arm.

“All
the more reason to thank me for saving you,” he said, feeling his joke fall
flat. She slapped him again and he swerved a little, making a pained noise.
“Are you trying to make me crash?” he asked. “Seriously, I think I’m going to
have a bruise tomorrow.”

She
didn’t care very much right now.

Ariahna
sat there staring out the window, intent on paying more attention to the trees
than Dallas. It was then that she saw headlights in the reflection of the side
mirror. It was Rome, racing down the road after them – after
her
. He was
slowing down to keep pace with Dallas’s sure and steady speed. For a teenager
with a BMW, he sure did drive like a little old lady. Why he drove in the fast
lane was anyone’s guess. Rome glanced over at her through his open window,
letting a gentle curve play at the corner of his lips. With a single gesture,
he had quelled all of her concerns. She stared after him as he raced away,
smiling widely and trying to hide it as she felt the weight of Dallas’s gaze.

“Look, you got your wish. Mr. Bad News is here to stay.”
That only meant more work for him. He’d never thought the day would come when
he’d have to protect her from the perils of hormonal, sex-driven boys. Dallas
sighed. How did he just know he was going to become a big, annoying buzz-kill?

They
drove on in silence for a few miles, the atmosphere between them much lighter
despite Dallas’s obvious disapproval. Ariahna was grinning and keeping her head
turned carefully towards the window, trying not to provoke another speech with
her blatant content. If she hadn’t been so focused on trying to conceal her
delight, she might not have spotted the familiar silhouette of Rome and his car
up in the distance.

“Pull
over,” she said, tearing her eyes away from the smoking beast. Dallas was
ignoring her. “Pull over! We can’t leave him stranded.”

“What
do I look like, roadside assistance?”

“Dallas,
stop this car now, or I will stop it for you.”

He rolled his head to the side, wordlessly conveying his
irritation with a look. Ariahna
huffed at him, snapping her fingers and turning his car off in the middle of
the highway. The irritation on his face transformed comically into an
expression of shock as he slammed on the brakes. Apparently, he hadn’t been
taking that threat seriously. She took advantage of his stupor, hopping out of
the car and running over to the shoulder.

The
sound of Dallas’s voice was just a distant hum.

“Rome,”
she called. He was walking back the way they’d come as a thick, curling cloud
of smoke billowed out from his engine.

He
bent his head at the sound of her voice.

“Rome,
where are you going?”

“Back
to town,” he sighed. “I don’t even know why I came out here. I don’t belong at
that damn school, and clearly the world is trying to remind me of that.”

Dallas twisted around in his seat, looking behind him at
the road
as he
steered backwards in a quick squeal of tires. He stopped beside them with a
lurch. “I can’t believe you turned off my car!” he complained, tossing her door
open. “Get in, now. This isn’t your problem.”

She
gave him a sour expression.

“Why
don’t you let us give you a ride back? I don’t want you walking along the
highway in the dark. It’s dangerous.”

“Why
do you even care?” Rome mumbled.

Aria
took a deep breath, reaching out to touch his wrist. “Because someone has to,
and obviously it’s not going to be you.”

“This
is all very touching,” Dallas shouted, “but I’d like to get back sometime this
century. Some of us have lives. Will you please get in the car? I’ll give him a
ride if that’s what it takes. Just hurry it up.”

Rome
pulled at the strap of his bag, eyeing Dallas and his car with disdain. He was
seriously considering declining the offer. He’d almost rather walk than accept
help from him. He had another option, but that came with its own set of
challenges.

 “Come
on,” she said. “It’s late. You can always leave tomorrow if you really want,
but you should probably stay for the night; at least until you can get
everything all sorted out.”

“Or,
you could fix my car with your…” He waved his hand vaguely in the air, giving
her a hopeful expression.

Aria
laughed quietly.

“I’m not sure if I can. Not without knowing what’s wrong.
Honestly, I don’t
even know what I did to make Dallas’s car stop.”

“What?”
Dallas snapped, slipping out the window to sit on the edge of the door. “Wait,
so you’re saying that you just threw out a bit of magic on the fly, not even
knowing what you were doing? Tell me that’s not what you’re saying.”

She
gave him a guilty smile.

“Well,
I think it’s either my heater core or my radiator,” Rome said. Aria looked at
him blankly, blinking like he’d started speaking Cantonese. “Right,” he
laughed. He wasn’t sure why he’d expected her to know what either of those was.

While
they’d been busy deciding if Dallas was, in fact, going to risk his pristine
upholstery on hauling Rome back to school, another motorist came racing up on
him from behind, nearly clipping his car. They came so close he felt air
blasting against his back, blowing his shirt wildly around as his heart did a
little tap-dance in his chest.

“H-Holy
shit,” he gasped.

He
slipped into his car, pulling over to the side of the road.

“I
bet that woke him up,” Rome remarked.

“Are
you okay?” Aria asked.

“I’m
fine.” Dallas stepped out of the car, trying to keep his legs from wobbling.
“But I’d be better if everyone would make up their minds about what we’re
doing.”

“Alright,”
she said. “We’re giving him a ride back.”

“What
about my car?”

“We
can take it with us.”

“Uh,”
Rome laughed, “there’s no way a BMW can tow this thing.”

“It
doesn’t have to.”

He
narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously.

“Fine,
great,” Dallas said. “Let’s get out of here.” He turned to Rome’s car,
channeling his magic carefully towards the vehicle.

“What
the fuck are you doing? Stop!” Rome said frantically. It was pointless. His car
had already been reduced to the size of a toy. It might as well have been a Hot
Wheel. He was staring at it slack-jawed, whimpering quietly and trying to
convince himself not to kill Dallas.

Aria
walked over to the space where Rome’s car had sat, picking up the tiny
automobile and turning to hand it to him. He was moving his mouth wordlessly
and trying to peek in through the small windows.

“You
forgot to turn your headlights off.”

“Thanks,”
Rome replied. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“Relax,”
she smiled. “We’ll fix it.” Rome seemed neither convinced by nor happy with her
explanation. She grabbed his arm and directed him over to the BMW, opening the
back door and pushing him inside. She clambered in after him as Dallas slid
into the front seat.

“You
don’t actually think you’re riding back there with him, do you?”

“You
know what, Dallas? You’ve pushed me around enough for one night. I think you’re
forgetting that you’re not the only one in this car with leverage.”

“You’ve
got nothing.” Aria smiled at him slyly. He locked eyes with her, forcing her to
either show her hand, or fold. Her smile widened.

“Lisa
Baker,” she said softly.

Dallas
flinched.

“Fine,”
he mumbled, pulling out onto the road. “But if I see any funny business, I’m
coming back there and laying into you both.”

“Like
you could fit,” Rome said. It was a wonder Dallas could even fold his tall
frame into the front seat of this compact little car.

Dallas
sneered at him, pretending to laugh as he flicked on the radio. He was still
pretty anxious, and that near-miss on the highway had only served to make him
an even slower, more cautious driver.

At
this rate, they wouldn’t make it to school before class tomorrow morning, Rome
thought. Thankfully it didn’t take nearly as long to get back as he might have
feared. And before he knew it, he was stepping out onto the side of the road
just a little ways from the school. His tiny headlights reflected off the
pavement in the dim light, and he sighed at the miniscule Pontiac. “If this
doesn’t work—”

“It
will,” Aria smiled.

He
stared at the ground, shaking his head.
It better
, he thought. Dallas’s
ginormous foot hovered over his car and Rome’s eyes widened comically. He
grabbed at Dallas’s leg, nearly throwing him onto his back to stop him from
crushing his car. “Hey,” he said. “Watch it.”

“Sorry,”
Dallas laughed. “It’s so small I almost didn’t see it there.”

“Just
hurry up, before someone drives by.”

Rome turned his attention back to his vehicle, frowning
as it
started to
rattle and shake. “Maybe we should back up,” he said, holding an arm out and
guiding Aria back as Dallas worked to make it life-size again. The sound of
groaning metal grated through the air as the car grew and shrunk in
disproportionate amounts. His back tires were now big enough to belong to a
tractor, and his front end looked like a European sports car.

“Dallas,”
Rome growled. He couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like Dallas was trying not to
laugh.

“Stop
fooling around,” Ariahna chastised.

When
everything seemed right again, Rome finally took a relieved breath. He walked
over to his car, glancing in the window to make sure his things were still
intact. The hub cap fell off near his toes with a clang, and he turned angry
eyes to Dallas.

“Don’t
blame me. Your car was a piece of crap to begin with.”

“That’s
right, I forgot,” Rome said. “It’s a tin can, right?”

Dallas
smirked.

“One
day, you’re going to flinch when someone says
my
name.”

“What
did you need me to do?” Aria asked, interrupting before they got in each
other’s faces again.