Marked by Destiny (9 page)

As we walked
off stage, Simon let out a loud whistle. I looked at Sarah and
Michael who were clapping politely. Sarah held up her camera so
Grace and I leaned in together for the far away photo. As we walked
to the side of the stage, I tried to figure out why I was
disappointed. I did feel a sense of liberty as I took my diploma
and joined the rest of the graduates. I tried to drum up some
excitement. This was it! I was free! The last string that had held
me to the system had been cut. I was now officially free to move
about the world!

Except all I
wanted to do was head back to the pool house and read Bento’s wolf
book.

After what
seemed like forever, everyone had received their diplomas, the
President of the school introduced us officially, as graduates. We
all moved our tassels to the other side of our hats and then threw
them up in the air as the audience clapped. It was silly. Everyone
around me laughed and hugged each other. I should be doing the same
thing. All the people I loved were here to share it with me. I
tried not to check my while standing beside Grace as she hugged
classmates and joined in on photos.

We were
dismissed to the gymnasium to meet with family and friends. Michael
and Sarah were already inside the gymnasium when we walked in. I
momentarily wondered how they had beat most of the crowd of
parents, but quickly squashed the thought as the method was quite
obvious. Sarah gave Grace a quick hug and handed her a little box.
She turned to me and hugged me tightly.

“Congratulations dear.” She kissed me on the forehead as she handed
me a larger present. “Don’t bother opening it now. It’s a picture
frame to put your diploma in. Thought you might like to hang it
up.”

“Thank you
Sarah, that was very sweet of you.” I hugged her before turning to
Michael. I’d hidden behind Grace when we walked in because I
suddenly felt shy and uncomfortable. Whatever had happened that
morning had changed something between us. I had no idea how to get
back to the way we had been. I slowly brought my gaze to his
face.

In one motion
he stepped toward me and swooped me into his arms, swinging me
around. He set me down and grinned. “Congrats!” He handed me a
small box.

“Open it now,
Rouge!” Grace leaned over my shoulder to see.

I lifted the
lid. Inside lay a lovely silver pocketknife inside. I lifted it up
and turned it over to see it. There was a sterling mark and an
inscription.

It read:
Freedom – the opportunity to choose... all my love
Michael

“It’s beautiful
Michael, thank you.”

A quick smile
crossed his lips. “I’d planned to have a card to show that your
university courses would be paid for but I when I called to see
what courses you were taking at the registrar’s office, they said
you weren’t enrolled.”

Crap. That was
supposed to be something we would talk about as we headed out East.
I swallowed and glanced at Grace’s surprised face. “I was going to
tell you, I just hadn’t… yet.” I looked down at the pocketknife in
my hand.

Grace squeezed
in between me and Michael. She put her arms around both of us. “Can
we talk about this later? Maybe we could just celebrate the
moment?”

Sarah squeezed
my hand. “You kids enjoy yourselves, I’m going to head back to the
house and meet up with Caleb.” She nodded at Michael and Grace
before heading to the exit.

Awkward silence
followed as we watched her leave. I took a deep breath and exhaled
it slowly, prepared to argue with Michael a second time that day if
I had to.

Simon came
running over and jumped in front of the three of us wearing a pair
of sneakers, his gown flapping open to show off the Speedo and
superman S on his chest. It was impossible not to laugh as he’d now
tied his gown to look like a cape. He gave Grace a big hug and when
he noticed the look on Michael’s face, proceeded to shake my hand.
I laughed and leaned in to hug him. He gave me a quick squeeze back
but then released me. “Sorry, Michael. Not trying to hone in on
your girl.”

Grace swatted
him on the back of the head. “Michael’s only joking. That’s his
look all the time.” I heard her mutter, “Miserable. Like
Caleb.”

If I heard
that, Michael had definitely heard it.

“When are you
heading down to Florida?” Grace asked Simon.

“About three
weeks. I figured I might as well learn how to surf before I get to
university. My folks bought me a surfboard for graduation! I have
the coolest parents in the world!”

I saw Michael
raise an eyebrow. “Way to go. That’s fantastic you are continuing
your education.” He glanced at me from the corner of his eye.
“Where are you going? University of Miami? What do you planning on
studying?”

Simon waved his
hand. “I didn’t even try for one of the big schools. I’m going to
get into hotel management. I got this cool job at a flashy hotel
down in Miami. I get to do a lot of hopping and I think my Dad said
I’ll have to ring a huge brass bell. He keeps laughing when he’s
talking about it. Probably can’t handle the fact that I’m
going.”

Michael nodded
and kept his smile very tight. I, on the other hand, had to turn
away so Simon wouldn’t see my face. I didn’t want to laugh at him,
he was the biggest sweetie in the world, but he definitely wasn’t
the sharpest tool in the shed. I should have enrolled in the same
courses. Then Michael wouldn’t hound me for choosing to take a year
off. I had enough on my plate at the moment.

“That’s great
Simon!” Grace hugged him. “I wish you loads of success and I hope
you have tonnes of fun down in Miami!” She didn’t care what he
planned on doing, as long as he was happy.

“Let’s go get
our picture taken by the photo guy the school hired.” He grabbed
Grace’s hand, leaving Michael and I alone.

We watched them
go.

Michael finally
broke the silence. “He’s a… unique guy.”

“Good thing
Grace never brought him home to meet Caleb.”

Michael glanced
at me and then chuckled. He put his arm around my shoulder and
pulled me close. “Probably a smart idea.”

The awkward air
between us disappeared. Either I could sense it, or the Sioghra
pendant told me. I wasn’t sure which, but it didn’t matter, we were
going to get through whatever was to come – together.

Chapter
8

Michael, Grace
and I walked from the gymnasium to the front doors of the school
one last time. I didn’t feel the need to look back, that part of my
life was finished and I had spent the evening sort of celebrating
it with the two most important people in my life. I was ready to
start on the next journey. We were headed to Grace’s car, when I
felt Michael slow his walk and my hand fall out of his.

“Sorry ladies,
but there is
no way
that I am going home in
that
little lemon of a car!”

“It’s not a
lemon!” Grace stomped her foot, her hands going directly to her
hips.

He grinned. “I
call it like I see it.” He handed me his jacket. “You two drive
back and I’ll walk.”

“It’ll take you
over an hour to get back to the house if you walk!” I couldn’t help
but laugh at his refusal to get into the car. “I didn’t know you
had macho–issues.”

“Not for me.”
He turned to Grace “Do you want to race?”

“Depends… am I
racing you with the car? Or are we racing and letting Rouge drive
the car back?” She was already slipping her shoes off and tossing
them into the back seat.

“Rouge, you
interested in making a small wager? Can you drive the car back on
your own?” Michael undid his tie and tossed it into the back of the
car.

“Seriously? You
guys are nuts! What if someone sees you?”

“No one
will.”

Grace taunted
me, “Come on Rouge, who are you going to put the money on? Me, your
best friend, or Michael?”

I was curious
to see if they would beat me home and was tempted to offer my part
in the race. I kept my mouth shut because I knew that there was no
way Michael would risk any danger in my driving fast or reckless.
“You guys have done this before, haven’t you?”

“Loads.”

“Who usually
wins?”

“Me,” they both
said at the same time.

“Guess there’s
only one way to prove it then. How long is it going to take you to
get to the house?”

“About ten
minutes.” Michael answered.

“It’s going to
take me fifteen minutes to get home! I won’t be able to judge who
wins.” Guess I’d be playing on the safe side of the track and not
racing them. The little car didn’t stand a chance.

“We’ll give you
a five minute head start, or whatever you need. Just beep the horn
twice, a long beep and then a short one. We’ll heart it. That’ll be
the starting gun for us.”

Only a pair of
idiots would want to have a race like that! I rolled my eyes at
both of them, but got into the car. I actually wanted to see who
would win. I knew Michael was really fast, but Grace had to be
pretty close or Michael wouldn’t have offered to race.

I rolled down
the window as I drove by them. “See you crazy fools back at the
house.” I kept checking my mirrors as I drove, positive I would see
them come rushing by. I hurried and finally beeped the horn when I
pulled onto their street. I parked the Beetle at the front of the
long drive and got out of the car to wait. Leaning against the
bumper I checked my watch. About six more minutes.

I stretched and
rotated my shoulders. I planned on calling it a night when they got
back. If we wanted an early start tomorrow, I needed to finish
packing. Michael would head to his room to pack and while he was
there, I would look at the Wolf Journal.

The mark on my
back burned at the thought. I reached to try and touch it, knowing
I wouldn’t be able to.

A breeze picked
up and blew my hair away from my face.

Vlko
Dlak
.

The word popped
into my head and I shook my head. Where had that come from? I
wrapped my arms around myself, chilled by strange feeling in my
gut.
What the …?

“Wolf skin,” I
said to myself. Vlko Dlak meant wolf skin. The marking on my back
was Vlko Dlak. “No, dam it!” Another thought occurred to me that I
didn’t want to even think. I could stop it.

The Wolf
Journal is made of wolf skin.
I shook my head in disbelief but
knew it was true. Why use leather from a cow when you could use the
skin a wolf?

I checked my
watch again. They should have been back about three minutes ago. I
checked up and down the street but didn’t see or hear anything.
Maybe they had decided to make the race a little longer, or had
added some obstacles along the way to make it more challenging. I
looked one last time down the road and shrugged my shoulders.

It had grown
cool and I wanted to see the Wolf Book at the pool house. They
could let me know the winner when they got back.

I parked the
car closer to the big house and then grabbed my diploma and frame
from Sarah before locking the doors. Slipping my heeled shoes off,
I jogged around the big house. I stopped short when I saw Michael
and Grace sitting on the steps laughing together. I tossed my shoes
in their direction – which they both easily ducked out of the
way.

“I was waiting
for you guys at the end of the driveway!”

Grace giggled.
“We saw. Ran right by you. We were trying to guess how long it
would take before you noticed us.”

“Breezed right
by.” Michael blew out a breath and exaggerated the action with one
fluid motion of his hand.”

“Who won
then?”

“Tie.” Grace
answered as Michael said, “I did.”

I looked at
both of their faces. They looked like little kids. Both of them
seemed so happy… so alive. It was hard to believe they were not as
they appeared. I took a mental picture of the two of them; wanting
to capture this moment forever. They probably had been quite
competitive as children but never in a way that was negative; they
would have encouraged each other to improve and been proud of who
ever won. Their loyalty was their strongest bond and I suddenly had
a feeling that was why they could communicate with each other. I
smiled not wanting to break the moment. I could tell Michael what
had happened later. “You two sit and hang out here, and if you
don’t mind, I am going to do some packing for the trip tomorrow. I
have no idea what else I need to take along.”

“Would you like
me to come in with you?” Michael asked, ever the gentleman.

“No, I’m fine.”
I faked a yawn that turned into a real one. “I’m wiped. You should
enjoy some time with your sister. Who knows how long we’ll be
away.”

Grace stomped
her feet. “I should just come with the two of you.”

“No!” Michael
and I said at the same time.

Grace shot me a
knowing smile.

I had the
decency to blush.

She stood and
hugged me. “Just call if you need me. I’ll be on the next plane.”
She squeezed me tighter, trapping my breath in my chest. The frame
slipped from my hand and fell to the ground, leaning against my
leg. “Be careful.” She let go of me and stepped back.

I exhaled and
sucked in a deep breath. “I will. Michael’ll make sure of
that.”

“I know.
Otherwise I would be going.” She moved to let me up the few stairs
of pool house. “I’ll see you in the morning before you go.”

“’Night.” I
leaned down and kissed Michael on the lips. The softness of his
mouth warmed my skin. I closed my eyes and inhaled his delicious
aftershave.

“I’ll be in in
a bit.” He kissed me again.

“Rouge?”

I was half way
through the door and turned back to see what Grace wanted.

“Congratulations on graduating. I know this means a lot to you and
I’m happy that I was able to share the moment with you.”