Mosaic (17 page)

I borrowed a pair of Mom’s heels and some red lipstick. She smoothed my hair down and helped me get the mask in place, and then hiccupped a breath.

“Oh, Anna!” Another sniff, and I looked over my shoulder.

“You okay?”

Shaking her head, she snatched a tissue to dab her eyes. “You’re just so grown-up and beautiful.”

“Mom…”

We didn’t have time to talk because Julian was downstairs with Dad. I gave her a quick peck and scampered to the door. “Come on! I can’t wait for Julian to see me.”

My date was dressed in the standard Mardi Gras tux, which is black tails and white accessories, and as predicted, his jaw dropped when I appeared at the top of the stairs. I’d have enjoyed it more if I weren’t so afraid I’d catch my heel on the hem and tumble the rest of the way down.

“Wow.” Julian’s low murmur sparked an excited flutter in my stomach, and with a trembling hand, I held the rail until I finally made it to the bottom.

Dad looking equally shocked, and now I was starting to feel awkward and self-conscious. “Guys! I know I’m wearing a mask, but it’s just me. Anna.”

Part of me hoped Dad would add
Banana
for the first time in… never. But I was ready for anything to cut the tension.

Julian was the first to snap out of it. He pulled the cloth mask I’d bought for him out of his pocket and held it over his eyes. “Okay, hot stuff. Take a good look at this. I’m your date. Right here.”

Blue eyes twinkled at me from behind black velvet, and I laughed. “I’m not forgetting you.”

He dropped it and caught my hand. “Back by…”

Dad shrugged. “You guys have been setting your own curfew for almost a year now. Just be safe.”

Stepping forward to kiss Dad’s cheek, I took Julian’s hand and followed him out to the waiting Beemer. Before I got in, he pulled me close against his chest. Our noses were a whisper apart, but he didn’t kiss me. Everything in me was humming, but he only looked in my eyes.

“You are gorgeous tonight.” His lips lightly touched my cheek. “I don’t want to smear your lipstick or I’d kiss you good.”

“I hate red lipstick now.”

He chuckled and kissed my other cheek. “I don’t. You look hot, Hazel.”

I gave him a quick hug, and we were on our way.

* * *

The civic center was decked out with purple, green, and gold feathers, balloons, wreaths, and streamers. A live band was playing in the background, and everyone was masked and either milling around, chatting and having refreshments, or dancing. I wanted to dance, but first I wanted to find Rachel and Lucy.

Rachel would be looking for me in that black dress, but Julian’s sister knew what I was wearing. Other than the two of them and my date, I’d have a hard time figuring out who anyone was.

“I’ll grab us some drinks. Don’t wander off.” Julian kissed my cheek, right next to my ear and took off for the bar.

I stood for a few moments twisting my hands and wondering why I hadn’t gone with him, until a female dressed in a long, flowing purple dress approached me from the side.

“Anna?” Her mask was gold with matching purple and green detailing. “I thought that was you. It’s me, Summer.”

I recognized the voice, and did my best not to frown. “Hi, Summer. Yeah, I recognized your voice.”

Brown eyes flashed up and down my outfit. “You look really good. I wasn’t expecting you to go all out for this.”

“Umm… thanks?” Summer had not lost her ability to be completely inscrutable. “You look good too. Who’s your date?”

She shrugged. “I came with my cousin. We’re all old neighbors, so you know. They let us in.”

“Your cousin?” Conflicted emotions pushed back and forth in my chest. “You mean Casey? Casey Simpson?”

“The one and only! Or I don’t know. I guess there could be other girls named Casey Simpson in the world.” That high, dumb-blonde note was back in her voice, but I stopped myself. There was no reason to be angry with her. So what if Casey Simpson, Jack’s ex-girlfriend, the girl he’d broken my heart over, was here. I was with Julian now.

“That’s great. I hope you guys have fun.” I willed myself to mean it.

Summer’s cousin hadn’t knowingly done anything to me, and anyway. If she were here, maybe she would recognize the change in her ex-boyfriend. Maybe she could help him and get me off the hook with Lucy.

“Hey, I see you’ve found a friend.” Julian was back, handing me a clear plastic cup of wine.

“Hey, handsome.” Summer stepped forward and hugged him, and my eyebrows shot up at her boldness. “How’s art school?”

“Summer? I’m good. Thanks.” He appeared as surprised as I felt. “How’s… your college?”

“Didn’t Anna tell you?” She shook her head. “We’re in the same photojournalism class this semester.”

“Yeah, I heard.” His eyes flickered to mine then back. “How’s it going?”

“It’s fun. I’m enjoying seeing her again.”

The band started a slow song, and Julian caught my waist. “Well, good seeing you. We’re going to dance.”

He pulled me out onto the floor, and I couldn’t have been happier. “What’s gotten into her?”

“I don’t know!” I couldn’t help it. I started to laugh. Then I laughed more, dropping my head on his shoulder. “You should’ve seen your face.”

“She’s never even spoken to me, much less grabbed me around the neck like that.”

I straightened up then and leaned close so our lips barely brushed. “Don’t get used to it, Mister.”

He caught my chin and lightly kissed me back. “Don’t worry. I’m ready to take you home now.”

Heat flared low in my stomach. “We’re supposed to stay at least a few hours.”

“Longest hours of my life.”

We finished our dance, and went back to the crowd, where I soon spotted Lucy in her mermaid dress. She went on about how perfect her selection was for me, and soon Rachel joined us. She was gorgeous and only slightly reminiscent of Cinderella.

“I guess balls bring out the princess in all of us.” She teased, and we danced to the live music and chatted while the guys hung around the sidelines, drinking and talking.

The night continued pretty much like any other dance I’d ever attended. I only caught sight of what I thought was Jack once. It was nearly impossible to know for sure, since all the guys wore the exact same tuxedo in various sizes. Still, at one point, I was certain the male I thought was Jack danced with a tall, slim model-type girl in a long, gray gown. It was strapless and flowing and perfectly elegant, and with a bitter twinge, I acknowledged that Casey, with all her status and social confidence, really was more Jack’s type than I’d ever been.

When he’d come to find me that day after his birthday party, after I’d watched him kiss her and then slip his hand down the front of her dress, he’d said she knew their kind of life and what to expect from his family. I was so stupid, all I knew was to be miserable because I’d lost him. I had no idea how twisted events were going to get starting then.

Lost in memory, I didn’t notice a tall, slim man approach me from behind. He lightly touched my waist, and I jumped. He smiled, and his blue eyes seemed strangely familiar. I wished I hadn’t had that last glass of wine, because my head was too fuzzy. He motioned toward the dance floor, and I scanned the crowd for Julian. He wasn’t anywhere to be seen, and I wavered, trying to find a reason to say no.

Whatever fear I would’ve normally felt didn’t register through the haze, and I set the Dr. Pepper I had switched to on a nearby table. It was just a friendly dance, after all.

“I… I need to find my date.” My eyes blinked too fast, and the guy put his hand on my waist, touching my lips lightly with his finger.

“Shh,” he whispered.

My chest tightened. It wasn’t attraction, but it wasn’t alarm either. It was mysterious. It was just like a masque—strange and unexpected. Whoever this person was, he was confident and handsome. We were at the Kyser-Brennan Mardi Gras ball, so I knew that meant he had money and connections.

As we danced, his eyes never left mine. The image of a snake hypnotizing one of its prey floated through my inebriated brain, but I shook it away. Halfway through the dance, he finally spoke in a low voice.

“Enjoying yourself?” Dread clenched my stomach, and my entire body stiffened in alarm.
I was dancing with Will!
“You’re very beautiful in my sister’s dress.”

“Let me go.” My heart hammered in my chest, but he held me firmly in his embrace.

“You seem to like dancing with all the Kyser men.” A wicked smile curved the sides of his mouth.

“I’ll scream,” I threatened, my voice cracking. I’d never been this close to him before. Everything about him was overwhelming, from the strength of his grip to the firmness of his body against mine.

“You’ll do nothing of the sort. You’ll close your mouth and listen to me.”

Intimidation held me in place. He was so different from Jack and Julian, and yet at the same time, they were all strangely similar. Will was handsome, of course, when he wasn’t scowling at me. The problem was, he was always scowling at me. And while his brothers had only gotten a small portion of their father’s coldness, Will seemed to have gotten both his share and their leftovers.

My voice was shaky. “What do you have to say?”

We moved a few more steps before he spoke. “This family has weathered many storms, and it’s survived them all.”

The words weren’t threatening, but his tone was. “I don’t understand. That’s a good thing, right?”

“It is for us.” His ice-blue eyes held mine. “
You
don’t get comfortable.”

Dread crept up my shoulders as he continued to speak. “You can trade in one brother for the next, dress up in my sister’s clothes and pretend to be one of us, but you’re
not
one of us.”

“What—”

“Let me spell it out for you.” He leaned in close so his lips were right beside my ear as he hissed. “You will
never
be a part of this family.”

At those words, I did push against him. I struggled hard, but his grip only grew tighter around my waist. I jerked my hand fast out of his, and pushed against his shoulder, but he grabbed my wrist and twisted it behind my back. Ice blue eyes bored a hole into mine, and the scream was at the base of my throat when a warm firm grip caught the tops of my shoulders.

“Here you are, Anna! Julian’s looking for you.” My knees almost gave out with relief at Brad’s loud voice.

Will released me and straightened. “Brad.” He nodded to my savior, then to me. “Thanks for the dance.”

I watched him stalk away as I clung to the front of Brad’s coat, trying not to cry. His big arm went around my shoulder. “You okay?”

I held onto him for a moment longer, then I swallowed the knot in my throat and managed to blink away the tears. “Thanks. I wasn’t really in the mood for dancing.”

“It kind of looked like he was upsetting you.”

If only Brad knew. My insides were shredded from the pain of Will’s words, and small shivers kept moving through my limbs. Still, I didn’t want to repeat what Julian’s brother had said. I wanted his threats to vanish along with him.

“He’s kind of overwhelming, I guess.” Straightening my back, I smoothed my hand down the front of Lucy’s dress. “I appreciate you getting me out of that.”

“No problem.” He put my hand in the crook of his arm and escorted me back to our friendly group.

He pressed his lips into a smile before handing me off to Julian and returning to Rachel. I didn’t leave my date’s side for the rest of the night.

Later, curled in his old bed at the little house on Crystal Shores Boulevard, I held Julian’s arm tight around my waist. I hadn’t told him what had happened with his brother, and when he’d asked me if I’d enjoyed the ball, I just said yes. But Will’s words kept replaying in my mind. They wouldn’t let me sleep, and every time I closed my eyes, I saw his piercing blue ones.

It was stupid. How could he say something like that to me? How could I even consider believing him? I
didn’t
believe him. He was an evil, bitter person, and he had no power over Julian and me. Still, he touched on the inferiority that had defined my senior year. He poured a mountain of fertilizer on the seeds of fear planted when Julian started working with his dad.

Twisting around in the bed, I put my cheek against Julian’s bare chest, snuggling deeper into his embrace. His lips lightly touched my head before he returned to sleep, but I blinked against his skin. I took a deep breath, and fresh ocean breezes flooded my senses. I loved being with him here in this little cottage by the shore, and once we’d done all that we needed to do, we’d come back here and live. We’d be married and have babies.

Julian was mine, and I was his. The little dragonfly was on my finger, and the tattoo was on his hand. He’d taken the painting of us held together by these symbols to Savannah with him at Christmas, and in its place was the beautiful portrait he’d made of me surrounded by the ocean we loved.

Only now the waves covering me were his family and a hatred we couldn’t control. As much as I fought against them, I knew they still threatened to drown us.