He sounded so wounded, like I had just broken his heart. Now I felt like I was being cruel again.
I sighed loudly. "I wasn't going to deny it. I just haven't told him yet. I'm really sorry if this hurts you. I'm not trying to be mean or dismissive of your feelings. I really do love him, and he's the one I want to be with every second of every day. I have no intentions of ever being with you, and I feel like it would be nicer of me to be honest, than to let you think that there would be a chance for us."
I touched his shoulder, trying to be sympathetic when I saw the wave of pain and disappointment that spread across his face.
Then in a hushed tone, he said, "One day he's going to hurt you. You may not believe it now, but it will happen. I'll be here when it does. You'll see how much you've been missing when that happens, and you're going to kick yourself for not seeing it sooner."
Then he turned and went back toward his class.
I shook off the feeling of guilt I had. I did hate hurting him, but I knew Tallis cared for me and would never hurt me. I went back to class with the correct book and tried to pretend everything was okay.
The rest of the day flew by, thankfully. Tallis took me home and we had an unexpected surprise. My parents had arrived early. Finally, something good was happening. I couldn't wait to introduce them to Tallis.
Chapter 13
More to it than Just Love
A promise not kept is nothing more than a pretty lie.
I had spent almost every waking moment with Tallis. I was learning everything I could about him. There was still so much to learn.
He was eighteen when he turned eternal. His mom said he was the youngest that she knew of. He was kind of proud of that fact. I'd been worried I would be older, like Iris or Allaysia, but Tallis said that was unlikely.
He said most people turned around their early twenties nowadays. He believed that magic was evolving and we were transforming earlier to get closer to the guardian deadline. That way we wouldn't have to go long without being masked. He also believed that it may have been a side effect from the spell cast by Allora.
He told me we would start preparing my body when I showed signs that I was close to transformation. I didn't like the idea of waiting that long to see if I was his soul mate.
The days had flown by, and it was closing in on Christmas break. School was going to be out for a couple weeks, and I looked forward to spending every moment of those two weeks with Tallis. I was concerned about the fact that it had been a few months, and he still had not kissed me.
We had gotten so close so many times. There were so many heated moments where he couldn't run away, but someone always ruined it. It was Ash mostly. She and Desmond had been spending a lot of time together though.
I had asked Tallis if he knew anything. He said that Des would be in denial for a while, even if they were soul mates. Desmond still felt hurt from the years of feeling like a pariah. He was still adjusting to the new acceptance, and seeing Ash here and there would eventually wear him down. Tallis said that it would be nearly impossible for Desmond to stay away once they had a true, emotionally connected moment. Sometimes it just took a spark to ignite a roaring fire.
I had decided I was finally going to tell Tallis I was in love with him. We were supposed to hang out with Aster and Chris later - since I had to be masked and Chris was a bodyguard - and then when we got back, I had every intention of telling him how much I felt for him.
I had it all planned out perfectly. Our Christmas vacation started in the morning, so no annoying buzzing and no empty bed when I got up. We could just sleep in and snuggle the day away. Hopefully, there would be some overdue affection during that time.
We got home from school, and I went straight to my room. I called Ash who was all too excited to come help me out with getting ready for my big night out. I couldn't wait.
Ash put me in a little fitted black dress that was sleeveless. It was absolutely freezing outside, so I decided that something had to give.
I dug through my closet and found a cute dark denim pair of jeans. Then Ash grabbed a sheer red shirt and gave me a black see-through lacy shirt to wear underneath. I felt pretty good about the way I looked.
She put my dark brown hair in some loose curls, and I had on a little more makeup than usual, but in a tasteful, glamorous sort of way. I had on black high heels with red stripes that crisscrossed in the front. It was the first time I had ever felt confident about the way I looked.
I'd never walked in high heels, so Ash spent thirty minutes giving me lessons. It was a lot harder than I had anticipated, and Ash was frustrated with my inability to be girly. I awkwardly got the hang of it - enough to pass her test, at least.
While I waited, I sketched in my art room. I sketched what I had been sketching for several months. His face was all I could see. His lips were the hardest part to get right because they were so inexplicably perfect.
I was so nervous about the first time I was going to say I love you. I was nervous about what I thought would be our first kiss. Tonight, things were going to change, and I was going to make sure of that.
Jaslene came up the stairs. She and Alvin had been living in the guest house out back.
"Hey there, pretty girl," she chirped. Her eyes widened slightly in a very surprised and displeased sort of way. "You're a little too pretty actually. You don't look like the same glum, young girl that left me in Haluali." Her voice was upbeat at first and then turned sappy and sentimental.
"I'm not the same girl. A lot has changed… I've changed." I couldn't stop smiling, but there were tears in her eyes.
"Be careful, honey. There's a lot more that's going to change in your life, and well, Tallis may be one of those changes to come." Concern wrenched her voice.