Destine (The Watcher's Trilogy) (9 page)

“I thou
ght you wanted to see my tattoo.” H
e smirked as he continued to unbutton his shirt
.
When he got halfway
done he stopped and slid the top half of his shirt off his shoulders. As he turned to me
,
a ray of afternoon sunlight slipped through the trees and shone directly on the broad, flat expansion of his exposed back
.
There on the exposed muscular, paleness was the most intricately detailed set of wings I had ever seen
.
The tattoo was
huge;
the set of wings covered him from shoulder blade to shoulder blade and disappeared down his back behind his shirt w
h
ere he hadn’t unbuttoned it all the way
.
The wings weren’t colore
d in and cartoony looking
like so many tattoos
tend
to
look
.
Rather the
y
were beautifully drawn and depicted only in gray scale, and against his marble white skin
and the way the light played off of it
I thought it was the most beautiful tattoo I had ever
seen
.
I couldn’t help myself, without thinking I reached my hand out and lightly traced the edge of one wing
.
I felt his body tense under my touch
.
I must have surprised him
.
He turned to me in one fluid movement and pulled his shirt
back into place as the sun slid
behind a cloud again covering us in shadows
.

“It
’
s beautiful
…
i
t’s the most beautiful tattoo I’ve ever seen,” I gushed and then imm
ediately felt silly about being so openly awestruck
.
Surely that wasn’t cool
.

He gave me a
slow, easy smile and began to
button his shirt
.
“Come on
,
let’s get back on the sidewalk,” he suggested and then immediately turned and stepped out of the wooded area back onto the sidewalk
.
“Besides, enough about me, I want to know about you,” he called over his shoulder
.

“Well
,
there
’
s very little to know,” I retorted.

“I find that hard to believe
.
I’ve only been in town less than two weeks and already I know that you’re far more interesting then your fellow peers.”

I sighed
,
k
eeping the fact that I longed to be just as uninteresting as my fellow peers to myself
.
“Well, not really
.
I can’t think of one interesting thing about me
.
I’ve lived in Shady Lane all my life
.
Up until this week my best friend Cami and I were
inseparable
.
My mom and d
ad aren’t even divorced
.
Pretty lame and average stuff.
”

“Tell me w
h
ere you got this,” he said
,
pointing to my favorite necklace
.
I had forgotten I had it on, but then again I rarely took it off
.

“Oh, my a
unt got it for me for my seventeenth birthday
.
I love it, it looks old fashion
ed, like an antique,
”
I explained
.

He stepped closer to me and touched the necklace w
h
ere it hung around my neck
.
“It certainly does look antique
.
Do you know if the stones are real?
”

The question startled me, a
n
d I took a step back
.
What a weird thing to ask. “I’m sure they're not
.
My a
unt could never afford such an expensive necklace
.
It’s probably just something she found and thought I would like
.
I nev
er did ask her where she got it,
”
I finished
.

“I didn’t mean to be rude, I was just curious,
”
he replied apologetically
and
turned to walk down the sidewalk again in the same direction we had been headed
.

Feeling like it was time for another change in topic of conversation I asked, “So, I never did find out what you were reading today in science class
.
What had you so captivated?
”

“
The Bible
,
”
was all that he said
.

“I’m sorry, but did you just say you were reading
The Bible
?
”
I had trouble hiding my absolute
shock at his answer
.

“Michelle, don’t act so surprised
.
The Bible
is the best selling book of al
l
time, and it has inspired countless authors and artists throughout the centuries in their work
.
How can you expect to appreciate their work if you don’t first appreciate their
inspiration
?
”
he asked
.

“
I’m sorry
.
I just
…
i
t
’s just
…
not many people our age read
The Bible
in their free time,
”
I finally spit out
.
“I was just surprised at your choice of reading material.”

“Well, I just thought I should better familiarize myself with it
.
Especially since I’m taking British Literature this year
.
Did you know that Geoffrey Chaucer and James Joyce were both influenced largely by their religion
?
”

“No,
I never really considered it.
I
have to ask though
,
and please don’t be offended.
”
I paused
,
hoping to find the least insulting way of asking if he was trying to get me to join his cult
.
“It
’
s just that, well, the tattoo of wings, your knowledge of the meaning of Zion, your reading of
The Bible
;
are you trying to convert me to your re
ligion or what
?
It
’
s just all
a little strange for someone our age, I mean
,
not normal
,
”
I fini
shed in a rush before I could l
ose my nerve
.
 

He sighed heavily.
“Michelle
,
you and I are the furthest thing from normal
.
”

“
Great
,”
I thought to myself
, “
h
e has noticed your total lack of social
ability
and
realized
what a weird-o you are!
”

He continued without looking up at me, “The tattoo was just something I felt belong
ed
on me.
I knew the meaning of Zion because I used to live next to Zion national park, and I told you my interest in reading
The Bible
should be no more alarming tha
n the millions of people who wanted to read
The Bible
before me, and no I don’t want to convert you to my religion
,
cult
,
or whatever
.
I actually believe that religion causes far more conflict then it should
.
Everyone gets hung up o
n which religion is right and l
oses sight of the important stuff religion is trying to teach you like acceptance,
compassion
,
and charity.
”

I arche
d an eyebrow in his direction. ”
Okay, sorry but I had to ask
.
I barely know you and I must have jumped to conclusions
.
Sorry.
”
I felt pretty silly now that I had asked
.
“
It’s
starting to get dark
,
I should head home
.
My dad will be home soon
and I still have to cook dinner.
”

“Oh, okay,” he said
,
glancing up at me
.

“
Crap,
” I thought, “
does he think I’m going ho
me because of what he just said?
”

“You can come over for dinner
if you want,”
I blurted
,
without thinking of the embarrassing situation of my mother
.

He smiled at me
.
“No, I think that another time would be best
.
Will I see you at the football game tonight?
”

I hadn’t planned on it, but now that he was asking I suddenly had the urge to
say yes
.
“Yeah, I’ll be there.
”

“Well, why don’t I mee
t
you at the front gate around eight-thir
t
y?
”
he suggested
.

Smiling like an idiot I replied,
“Sounds like a plan!
”

With a faint bow in my direction he turned and began to walk back in the direction of his house
.
I watched him leave and as the afternoon sun hit the back of his shirt I got a mental flash of his bare back with the beautiful tattoo
.
I caught myself wondering what his chest would look like withou
t a shirt, and then felt my chee
ks getting warm
.
I had embarrassed myself without even saying a word
.
I turned and quickly hurried
home to start dinner
. 
A
t eight-thirty
on a Friday night I actually had plans
.
I wouldn’t call it a date, but it was a step in the right direction
.

Chapter
5

Daniel 8; 19: “And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.”

I made a quick dinner of spaghetti and frozen meatballs
.
As usual
,
my father came home just in time to flop into his seat at the dining room table, and I pried my mother away from the television long enough for her evening meds and some dinner
.
I was jumpy with anticipation all through
out
dinner
.
I kept replaying the conversation
with Gabriel
in my mind
.
Don’t get me wrong, I was aware that the conversation had been strained and the topics weird, but since it was the first official conversation I had with a guy since puberty I was still putting it in the success column
.
Not to mention
, with
the image of him with his shirt off and that amazing tattoo, I know my
hormones are
out of control
.
As usual
,
no one talked much during dinner, aside from my father
’
s usual question of how
was
school and my usual answer of fine
.
After dinner I put Mom safely back on the couch with remote in hand
.
I went into the kitchen and quickly began rinsing dishes
and clearing the table
.

Dad walked the rest of the dinner dish
es to the sink and turned to me.
“You know she wasn’t always like this.
”

I
sti
f
led
t
he huff that I wanted to exhale; o
f all nights to want to talk
. N
ot tonight
,
Dad, not tonight
.
“Who, Mom?
Yeah
,
I know
,
D
ad. I was twelve when she, well when she
…
ya
know.
”

“Y
eah,
I know,
”
he said
.
“It
’
s jus
t that I know a girl needs her m
om and I know that I’m not around much, and you were her whole world
.
She use
d
to wonder
about your prom dress and your wedding day
.
I just want you to know that she really loves you.
”

I sighed.
“I remember her
,
Dad. A
nd yeah
,
you’re right
, she was an awesome m
om.”

“Actually, when her depression started it was because she was convinced that something bad was going to happen to you
.
She was afraid to let you out of the house
.
It took everything
she had to let you go to school, and then when the voices and hallucinations started she thought it was angels and demons trying to get to you.” Dad let out a sharp bark of laughter, but not like it was funny
.
It’s the laugh you use when you don’t know how to make the
awful
thing you just said seem less
awful
.

“So this is my fault!” I shouted
.
I don’t know where the anger came from, it just sort of bubbled up and out
.
“I already fe
el cheated that I don’t have a m
om to go shopping with and talk about boys with
.
Now you’re telling me if I wasn’t born she would be fine!
”

“Wow
,
breathe
.
Calm down
.
I’m going to pretend you didn’t just complain about not being able to talk about boys because my first reaction is to put you in a convent. No
,
you missed my point
.
I just wanted you to know that she would be here if she could
.
I don’t want you to think she gave in or quit
.
She loves you
,
” Dad explained
,
as he swung an arm around my shoulders and squeezed.

I took a deep breath and looked at my father
.
He was trying
.
God was he bad at it, but he was trying
.
I didn’t want to talk about my mother; I wanted to be just a normal teenager tonight
.
“Thanks Dad.
I
appreciate you trying to make me feel better, but I’m
kinda
in a rush
.
I’m going to the game tonight.
”

Dad did
the
fake shocked face complete with opened jaw
.
“You
?
A
t a football game
?
Now I really am worried
.
Are you sure you
’
r
e
okay?
”

“Yeah, I’m just meeting some friends that’s all.
”
I know it was technically a lie, but if I told Dad I was meeting a boy then I would never get out of the house and he would probably follow me in a lame baseball hat disguise
.

“Well tell Cami I said h
i,
”
he said
.
“Go ahead
,
I’ll finish cleaning up for you.”

“R
eally?!
I mean
,
you’re
not t
o
o tired from work
?
It
’
s no big deal if I’m a little late,”
I said
to mask my initial excitement
.

“No, it
’
s fine
.
Go ahead.
” Dad smile
d
.

He didn’t have to tell me twice
.
I rushed upstairs to shower
,
a
fter which I stood in front of my closet wrapped in a towel scowling at my wardrobe.

“Crap, I have nothing to wear.
”
I began pulling out jeans, sweaters,
tank tops
, everything I could get my hands on
.
Dang, I needed Cami right now
. S
he was always the fashionable one
.
I found a pair of jeans in the back of the closet that I had forgotten about
.
They were a distressed wash with purposeful holes at the knees
.
I cuffed the bottom of the pants so they hit me mid-calf
.
“Okay off to a good start,” I mumbled
.
I started digging in the back of my closet
.
“I know they’re in here somewhere
…
”
I muttered as the box I was looking for came crashing down on my head
.
I pulled the lid
off
,
glad that Cami had insisted I buy these ridiculous shoes
.
I pulled a pair of brown
wedge
,
strappy sandals out of the box and strapped them to my feet
.
I looked in the mirror, cute
.
The pants fit well and the sandals made my legs look longer, but I wasn’t going anywhere with a towel on my head and no shirt
.

I pulled the towel off and tousled my wet hair
.
I settled for a plain white tank top
.
Nothing fancy, but since I was dressing out of my own closet there wasn’t
anything fancy to choose from
.
Besides
,
I wasn’t wearing sneakers, which was a big step for me
.
I went back into the bathro
om, and put on mascara and a dab
of bronze eye shadow
.
I spread more lip balm on my lips and turned on the blow dryer
.
After ten minutes of pulling a brush through
my hair with hot air blasting o
n my face I turned the dryer off
.
I looked in the mirror, not too bad I guess
.
My auburn hair lay wavy around my face, and my green eyes looked very bright against the eye shadow
.

I glanced at the clock
.
Crap, it was almost eight-thirty
.
I rushed to the door, grabbing my brown leather jacket on my way out the door
.
It was still very warm out, but I
’d
rather not be cold and have nothing to put on
.
I shouted bye to Dad and started my
three-block
walk to
the school
.