The Year of the Great Seventh (20 page)

I paused for a moment, and hoping it would give Nate some hope, I spoke again. “The necklace I was wearing was made of that stone.”

I couldn’t tell what Nate was thinking. He looked skeptical, but at least I was buying some time. I felt I was trying to convince a great jury that he was innocent and he didn’t deserve the death sentence. In this case, the judge was Nate and the life at stake his own.

I continued with my theory. “Do you remember why you agreed to come with me to the premiere? You said that since the day we met here at the Getty you felt different around me. That day I was wearing the necklace, and I had ever since. Until someone ripped it off my neck at the party last night.” I paused for a moment to see his reaction, but he didn’t seem too impressed. “You had it under control until last night. I’m not saying I believe in any spirits or a magic necklace. I’m just thinking of it in a scientific way. The Egyptians were millions of miles ahead of us in astrology, physics, medicine. Whatever’s happening to you, whatever you’re going through, however it is that you make things explode around you, the Egyptians knew about it. If there’s anything that can help you, it’s them. And that Syenite stone is the first lead in our search.”

I stared directly at Nate, waiting for the final verdict. He caught my eye and then looked away. “It sounds like your theory has a big hole in it.”

“What do you mean?”

“If there is any truth in what you’re saying and that stone was protecting you from me, why am I not attacking you now? You don’t have the necklace anymore.” Nate turned around to face the edge again.

This was my last card. If I didn’t persuade him now, I would lose this battle and Nate with it. I rolled my sleeve up to show a tiny figure of a mummy replica that hung around my wrist. I grabbed it from Dad’s office and managed to tie it to my wrist with a silver thread. “Because I have this with me.”

Nate turned to look at me, astonished.

“It’s made from the same stone.” I raised my hand up in the air so he could see it.

I felt close to winning this battle, but even Nate wasn’t going to give up on his auto-destructive mission so easily. I had to make him step away from the edge.

I knew I was about to do the cruelest thing I would ever do, but if that was what it took to keep Nate alive, it was definitely justified, so I said it. “You owe it to me.”

Nate’s eyes widened.

I’d discovered his weakest point: emotional blackmail. That was exactly what his parents did to him. It was also how he tried to keep me away from him the day he came to my place after the fight. He couldn’t deal with the guilt of hurting innocent people.

“Last night you endangered my life. If you want me to forgive you, you’ll have to help me investigate what the deal is with this stone.” I stared at him, urging him to believe every one of my daring words. I gave him a taste of his own medicine.

A light crease appeared in Nate’s forehead. He finally took one step toward me and away from the edge. Bringing his gaze to the ground, he admitted submissively, “I guess I owe it to you.”

There we were, standing only feet from each other for what seemed an eternity. Nate was unable to look me in the eye.

The moment he brought his gaze up and our eyes locked, it hit me. I realized how close I had been to losing him. A flash-forward of my life without Nate played in my mind.

Unable to bear the infinite distance between us, we at once rushed into each other’s arms. I never wanted to leave his side again. My head pressed against his chest; his strong arms wrapped around me. I knew nothing could ever happen to me as long as he was by my side.

“How could you think of jumping…?” I murmured between tears.

“I’m so sorry,” Nate whispered in torment. The guilt was thick in his voice.

“You can never do that to me. You have to promise,” I mumbled, almost unable to hear my own voice.

Nate nodded. “I promise. I never will.”

“Sophie?” Nate said, touching my chin and lifting my head up so our eyes met.

“Yes?”

“Thank you.” He tucked a lock of hair behind my ear so he could see my face.

And right there, taken away by the feelings that we’d been repressing for so long, we slowly moved until our lips met. My heart beat violently. My emotions spun out of control. The power of his energy made me his. There was no way back. I was officially addicted to him.

Nate wrapped his arms around me pressing our bodies against each other. He bewitched me with each kiss—the last one more intense than the previous, as if time were running out.

The ocean breeze playfully brushed my hair, and the traffic noise thundered in the distance, unaware that our world had come to a halt right this instant. Nate combed his fingers through my hair as he kissed me passionately.

I didn’t remember anymore why we were here or why we’d waited so long to accept how we felt about each other. Every cell of my body yearned for Nate. I wanted this moment to last forever.

Then, all of a sudden, Nate tore himself away from me in a struggle, waking me up from my midsummer night’s dream and bringing me back to cruel reality. Nate was shaking. He kept his eyes closed as if he were trying to piece himself together.

I stepped toward him, but he lifted his hand in the air, hinting that he needed some space.

“If… we… are… going to investigate… this… together… we need to avoid… this… or you are going to… kill me,” Nate uttered between gasps. He was looking away from me. His shoulders heaved up and down with each gasp.

“So… where do we start?” Nate said as though he was trying to engage his mind in a different type of thought.

I clenched the small mummy figure around my wrist. “We need to go to New York.”

CHAPTER XI

“WHAT? WHY?” NATE SAID, stunned. “Why New York?”

“Cleopatra’s Needles. The two obelisks made of Syenite. One of them was relocated to London and the other one to New York.”

The crease was back on Nate’s forehead. “Your parents would never let you go to New York on your own, never mind with me.”

Nate was right. The chance of my parents letting me go to the other side of the country on my own was less than slim. But I had to find a way, whatever it took.

“I’ll work something out.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Nate hesitated.

I couldn’t tell whether I was guilting him into it or if he had faith in my hypothesis. I just remembered that my parents were waiting for me to return the car. I couldn’t get in trouble if I was to convince them I was old enough to go to New York on my own.

I turned on my heel, as I was already officially late. “I have to go home. You’re going to have to trust me on this one, okay?”

“But…” Nate tried to interrupt me, probably realizing the mess I was getting him caught in.

I tiptoed along the edge of the promontory and shouted back at him. “I’ll take that as a yes. By the way, you need to get out of here. The museum’s already closed!”

*

Over the next week, Nate and I meticulously planned how to get my parents to agree to let me go to New York on my own. I had been the one making most of the plans, as Nate wasn’t that sure about our trip. He said he was worried about me getting into trouble with my parents. I knew the truth was that he doubted we were going to find a cure for his condition in New York.

New York University offered tours for prospective students once per semester. The students flew to New York on an organized tour for a week and got to stay at the dorms for a full NYU experience. The catch was that if you went on your own, the university assigned you to a student counselor who looked after you twenty-four-seven for the whole week. The student counselor even picked you up from the airport and dropped you back there.

I had to make my parents agree to let me go—even if I had to spend an entire afternoon in intense negotiations. I thought probably the best time to ask my parents was on Sunday afternoon. They always had a late lunch in the back garden. It was their favorite time of the week. My bedroom windows faced the back garden, and I waited behind the curtain for them to come out.

I couldn’t fail Nate. I couldn’t back out no matter how much my parents didn’t like the idea of me going to New York on my own. I decided it was best to ask them the day before we were supposed to leave, so they wouldn’t have much time to mull it over, but Nate wasn’t so sure that was such a good idea. I could feel my hands sweating at the thought of having to face them.

Pacing up and down the room, I tried to keep myself together. It was almost time to deliver, and the closer I got to talking to my parents, the more I feared our plan wasn’t going to work. To make matters worse, my parents should’ve already been out in the garden.

Grabbing my cell phone from my backpack, I dialed Nate to review once again all the details. My eyes were fixed on the garden.

“What did they say?”

“I haven’t told them yet.”

I sat on the armrest of the sofa where I could still see the garden.

“You don’t need to do this. You know your parents are going to suspect something’s up.”

“Please, I need you on my side, at least right now.” The last thing I needed at the moment was Nate making me hesitate about asking them. For this to work, I had to show my determination.

“I know. But I just wanted you to know that you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”

“We’ve already been through this.” Nate had tried to persuade me to drop the trip, but I thought by now he should’ve known there was no room for negotiation. He was all that mattered to me, and I was going to help him.

“Okay. Remember, first ask them about it and tell them you’ve saved enough money to pay for it yourself.”

Nate was trying to sound positive, but I could read between the lines. He was as unsure that this was going to work as I was.

“Okay.”

“If they don’t buy it, then explain how important is for you to get into NYU.”

“And if that doesn’t work?”

“Well, then you need to use Plan B. Make sure you have the flight printout and the NYU tour receipt.” Nate paused for a moment. “But please, only use this as a last resort. Your parents won’t like it.”

I’d asked Nate to book our flights to New York for tomorrow morning, for which he offered to pay. I also signed up for the NYU tour, but I waived the dorm accommodation and the airport pickup by forging Dad’s signature. After receiving the confirmation from NYU, I’d scanned the receipt and changed it so my parents thought I was going to stay at the dorms. I knew if my parents ever found out, this was going to mark a before and after in our relationship.

It was a risk I was willing to take.

“How hard can it be?” I tried to convince myself.

I could picture my parents’ faces when I told them I’d already booked the tour and the flight without their permission. I had never in my life done anything as serious as this, not even anything close to it. My parents were going to freak out. I was disappointed in myself for what I was about to do.

“You have to promise you’ll take it easy on them, okay?”

“I will. But I’m a grownup and they’re going to have to let me live my life how I choose.”

“You’re making me really nervous, too. That attitude is going to get you in trouble.”

I guess Nate was right. My parents wouldn’t welcome a comment like that. I glanced at the garden to find Mom and Dad setting up the table and happily chatting to each other. They had no idea the day was going to take a drastic turn.

“They just went out to the garden with their lunch. It’s now or never! I have to go.”

“Okay, but remember, if it doesn’t work, we’ll think of something else. Don’t push it too far.”

Before leaving the room, I checked myself in the full mirror behind the door. I was surprised at what I saw. I certainly wasn’t a kid anymore, and my parents had to understand that. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and then strode out of the room.

Stopping behind the garden door, I took a long, deep breath before the big performance.

“Hey, guys!”

The table, which was covered with a blue cloth, had been strategically placed under the awning. Several plates with tomato, cucumber, bread, and chicken were scattered around the table.

“Do you want some lunch?” Mom looked up at me as I stood next to them.

“No, thanks. I’m all right.” The last thing I could think of right now was eating. My stomach swirled at the thought of what I was about to say.

I sat on the garden swing next to the table, right across from Dad. If I was likely to make any allies in this battle, my only possibility was Dad. It was best if we were sitting across from each other and could make eye contact.

“I can’t wait to finish with this casting. I’ve been leaving here before sunrise for the last three weeks.” Mom was talking to Dad, unaware that I was about to break the big news.

“Why do they need you so early anyway?” Dad carefully piled tomato slices on top of his bread as if he were building a vegetable tower.

Folding my arms across my chest and pressing them really hard as if I were hugging myself, I tried to get their attention. “I… I need to talk to you about something.”