The Fake Heart (Time Alchemist Series) (27 page)

CHAPTER 23

I placed the box on the bed, ready to crawl under the co
vers and sleep away my miserable life until I spotted a piece of paper folded in half and stuck
to the mini fridge
with a SAVANNAH, GEORGIA peach shaped magnet
. I slid over, sitting on my aching knees and ripped it open.
My eyes widened.

It was a note from Dove:

Emery,

I know you dislike it when I go on about how sorry I am, but I couldn’t really bring myself to say goodbye.

Because…this isn’t goodbye.

Rather,
as Guinevere used to say
, it’s just the start of a new beginning. Every person you meet in life opens the door to your future, and, well, we can both agree that our door sort of slammed into your face, didn’t it?

I laughed, eyes brimming with tears as I read on.

Both Leon and I have been trying our best to get back on the right track, but I will be honest: I’m a bit apprehensive. How could something so simple turn into something so black? Could Leon and I really make amends with such ease, or will we just dwindle back into our old habits?

Neither of us
know
what will become of us after we find this fragment of the Elixir. But we both know—and agree—that saving your life is something our Master would have wanted. You resemble her so much; your eyes full of fire and your kindness
, and sometimes you are just so stubborn and to the point, just as she was;
but there are no words to express my gratitude towards you.

Of course, I will see you soon, very
soon, I hope. But in that
slim chance our paths can’t cross again, I wanted to say one more thing:

Thank you for being my only friend.

Dove

I smiled, even though I felt the tears flow down my cheeks before I even finished the letter. Warmth spread all the way to the tips of my toes. Funny, I didn’t feel sad or empty anymore. I felt happy and confident and fulfilled.
It was amazing how a piece of paper and a few words could make you so much better. Like reading a good fortune from inside the golden fortune cookie, or getting extra bonus points on a paper you thought you had failed.

Maybe my true reason for coming to St. Mary’s wasn’t to be the top student, or become the popular chick
and be part of a pre-college sorority—it was to meet
Dove and Leon. Given the circumstances, you’d think I would be relieved to have them out of my life.

But I knew it was something. Fate, luck, whatever, that led us together, and I couldn’t be better.

◊◊◊◊◊

The third (or was it fo
u
rth?) biggest surprise of the day came to my door exactly two hours before Jack was scheduled to pick me up.

             
I opened it and almost dropped my hardback novel onto an unfortunate someone’s foot.

Who happened to be Karin—wide eyed, grinning with he
r dark blonde hair done in an elegant braid, carrying a large duffel bag and a few dresses draped under her arm, wrapped in plastic. I saw lots of sparkles and glitter and ruffles. And then I saw the girl standing behind Karin.

             
It was Samantha.
Mallory’s
friend
,
Samantha.

She looked sheepish, holding a large neon pink bag in her hands
that was covered in
stickers of flowers
, kittens
and iconic cities of the world.
Her hair was done in a low, side pony tail tied up in a big pink almost tropical looking flower that had sparkling pink glitter on the petals.

“You better shut that mouth of yours before you swallow a fly!” Karin laughed, and I did. Snap it shut, I mean. But I still stayed right in place.

“I—what’s going on?” I ask.

Karin grinned, looping her arm around Samantha’s thin frame and giving her a squeeze, “We came to help you with your date!”

“Okay…why?”

“Well, you aren’t going to the Winter Formal with your hair like
that
are you?” Samantha blurted, cowering a little at my glare. Karin smacked me playfully on the upper arm.

“She comes in peace, Emery, don’t worry your pretty head about it,” Karin said, rushing past me, dragging a very confused Samantha behind her. I sighed, relentlessly shutting the door with a soft click.

“I—”

“Don’t ask questions,” Karin said, “We are here to help whether you like it or not.”

I stared at Samantha, who fidgeted near my mini fridge, unusually interested in the papers and few photos I had taped on there. Karin busied herself surveying the room, going from my bed to ruffling inside my desk drawers, making comments of “What I would give for a single” and whatnot.

I stepped closer to Samantha.
“What is it that you really want?” I asked in a low tone, “Did Mallory send you here?
Is she planning something?
”
Would Mallory really stoop so low as to send one of her lackeys here to spy on me just
hours
before the formal? Yes. Yes she would.

She gave me a curt look, but b
lushed.
Her baby blue eyes wide.
“I’m here to help, just like Karin said.”

“But why?”
I tilted my head as I placed the hardback on top
of
the desk before shooing Karin’s prying eyes away from it.

Instantly Samantha’s eyes fell to the ground. Her knuckles turned wh
ite as she gripped her
hot pink bag in both hands. “I’m…I wanted to say I was sorry for what happened last month.”

I blinked. “Sorry?”

“I said I wanted to say I was sorry!” she blurted, cheeks flushed a bright pink, almost identical to her bag, “I knew Mallory was just taunting you and…and everything but even she had no right to push you like that. You could have gotten really hurt.”

I blinked again, still unable to comprehend her story.

Karin saved the day by looping her arms around me and Samantha, squeezing us together in an awkward three way hug. “She’s here to a
pologize and try to make amends,
and what better
way
for Samantha to make amends
by
letting her do
your make up?”

The girl in question raised the bag to her chin, peering at me like a small, baby bunny begging me to take her home from the pet store. “It’s one of my special talents.”

“And
I
will be doing your hair!” Karin squealed, tightening her hold. I saw Samantha’s face turn from a flushed pink to a fire truck red at the contact. And my heart sort of fluttered a bit.

She was trying at least. I had to give her a chance, right?

I forced myself out of Karin’s choke hold and gave a small laugh, “All right, let’s do this. We’ll all help each other, okay?”

Samantha’s face brightened a little, although I could still see a flash of hesitation in her eyes. Karin beamed, kissing us both on the cheek before bouncing over to the closet. “Now let’s take a look at the little gem that your handsome Jack
son
Alexander bought for you for the
Winter Formal—”

“It’s
all
anyone can talk about,” Samantha blurted when she saw my startled look. “Someone totally saw him try to deliver the box himself, but the HM wouldn’t let him.”

“Oh honey, you really landed yourself a fine man, didn’t
ya
?” Karin laughed, reaching for the closet door. And in half a second my body reacted before my mind could even catch up.

I slammed my body
in front of the closet, right as her hand touched the door knob. “It’s okay, I’ll get it!
There are
some pretty…nasty bugs in here lately!”

“
Ew
!”
Samantha squealed, back peddling towards the opposite side of the room. Karin stared a bit, but shrugged her shoulders before digging out an iPod from her bag and placing it on my night stand.
Christmas music played as Samantha unloaded her tools of the trade on top of my desk—there were all sorts of brushes, lipstick in different pink and red shades, mascara and powders that it took up the entire space. Karin laid the two dresses (that looked as if they cost
a
lot
and were designed by some of the top fashion designers in the country!!)
on
my bedspread, carefully extracting them from their plastic cover.

I sighed with relief, glad to see that their attention was on the work ahead.

I didn’t need Karin
,
and especially
not
Samantha
, discovering
the very large, gaping h
ole in my closet done by Dove.

◊◊◊◊◊

“You look….
wow
.”

“‘Wow’
wasn’t what I was going for, but I’ll take it,” I taunt, giggling at Jack’s open eyed expression. His coal black eyes were as wide as saucer plates and his jaw had dropped open, like a cartoon character. He snapped out of his daze and gave me a dazzling smile that showed his pearly whites. He reached over and took my gloved hand, kissing the back of it. Despite the black fabric, I swear I could feel his lips on my skin, and my entire body burned in delight.

“‘
Wow
’
wasn’t what I meant,” he grinned like a wolf
.
A very sexy, dangerous wolf.
I felt like little Red Riding Hood (except in green), teasing the wolf by his tail.
“I meant…dazzling,
stupendous, beautiful,
radiant
—”

I playfully smacked his arm, reached up to give him a kiss on his perfect lips, “Don’t overdo it, Jack. You look quite handsome yourself.” And he did, sporting a simple black tux with gold buttons and cufflinks that gleamed like jewels;
his tie was the same deep green hue as my dress, and
there was a small bundle of green flowers in his right breast pocket, matching t
he flowers that adorned my own
.

Jack’s laugh was as sweet as
maple and
sugar as he twirled me around in the foyer. Even I had to admit that this dress really did make me look…stunning.

It was a midnight black
silk
that shone like silver in the moonlight, with intricate dark green swirls and waves along the bottom of the hem and my chest. The bottom cascaded around my calves and twirled with every movement, brushing my bare legs with the silk fabric. I was so grateful that Jack had picked out a dress that covered my chest—how could I explain the tattoo over my heart?—the dress was strapless on my right shoulder, sending goose bumps over my skin, but the left side had a flowing
,
  short sleeve. It was also covered with the green flowers, that I found out where called cymbidium orchids. Even the black satin gloves that reached to my elbows had the same sort of green swirls and flowers, and they did a good job at protecting my arms from the cold.

Samantha really had outdone herself with my makeup, choosing pale colors of foundation and a light pink lip gloss.
And when
I saw myself in the mirror
, just moments before Jack arrived
,
I
really did look
…and feel
…pretty. 

“I hope you didn’t mind,” Jack said “But I saw this dress and knew you had to wear it.”

A few tendrils of my auburn hair fell around me, brushing the back of my neck. If Samantha was a professional at makeup, then Karin could make a career of becoming a hair stylist. It was in a high bun, just loose enough to where my bangs were brushed back and flowing over my cheeks, revealing my green eyes to the world.

But the only world I w
anted to see was Jack.

“I love it,”
I
whispered, leaning in for another kiss, “It’s beautiful, Jack. It really is.”

I placed a finger to his lips before he could caress me with any more sweet words
.
“You’re so perfect, Jack,” I sighed, wanting to lean into him and forget the world and let it just
be us.
“You really are so perfect, it hurts.” And it hurt when I said this because I would probably be missing the greatest night of my life. But I had to do this, even though my heart panged with guilt.

Besides, it was just one night, and even though Dove’s letter had sent me a small wave of confidence, I still could not shake that feeling that something will go wrong. That’s how it happene
d in movies—when you think you’re
safe from the bad guys they pop up at the last moment and ruin everything. This wasn’t a movie, and I probably was overreacting—but I had to see it for my own eyes.