The 52nd (The 52nd Saga Book 1) (45 page)

I didn’t mind. I hadn’t seen her for
days.

“
Hola,
Zara. You look much better since I last saw you,” Gabriella said as Lucas helped me into the
car.

We passed a snowplow along the highway, trying to keep up with the accumulation of new fluff. As we turned onto a less thoroughly plowed, cobbled road, the lake’s vignette of white and black opened before us. Snow covered the gray rocks peeking above the water and the teetering trees that leaned over them. The old cobblestone house sat just at the water’s rocky edge. Smoke puffed from the chimney as Lucas pulled in, the shop’s open sign blinking brightly in the
gloom.

Lucas looked calculatingly at the ice glazing the cement. “I’m carrying you to the
door.”

“No. I can do it.” I said, struggling to lever my door far enough out to stay
open.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” His door closed soundlessly, and mine was open in the second it took me to spread my fingers. “I’m helping you whether you like it or not. Did you see all the
ice?”

He scooped me up and skimmed over the sleekness. I leaned into his ear. “I’m getting a good idea of what it will be like when I’m old and incapable, and you young and
strong.”

“You’re not changing my mind,” he said, setting me down at the door just as Dad opened
it.

“Hey, come in the back. And close that door tight—it likes to creep open in the winter,” he
said.

We followed Dad to the back room, where he edited all his work. It was a tight workspace, cramped with camera equipment and storage, but there was one computer at its center, miraculously uncluttered.

He sat down at it and shook the
mouse.

The first picture was of him and Mom on a pier. Then hundreds of tropical landscapes and exotic things popped
up.

“This one is my favorite,” he said. It was the twins and Dylan, standing on the beach with sandals in their
hands.

“Yes, I like that one too,” Dylan said, smiling as he leaned toward the screen for a better
look.

“Those are all so beautiful, Mr. Moss,” Gabriella
said.

“When I get them printed, I am going to give one to your parents as a thank-you
gift.”

“They would love that,” she
said.

Dad swiveled his chair around and slapped his hands on his knees. “So, what are you kids up to for New Year’s?”

“We’re going to the Lodge to watch the fireworks,” Lucas
said.

Dad looked at Lucas and then threw a funny look at me. “The dance? How?”

“I won’t be doing much dancing,” I confirmed. “And I doubt I’ll last long. But I want to see everyone.”

We followed Dad back to the front room. He walked behind the cashier’s desk and put on his glasses.

“Well, you kids have fun,” he said, looking down at his receipts.

“I will bring her home right after the fireworks, Mr. Moss,” Lucas
said.

As Dylan and Gabriella strolled around the room, looking at the portraits on the walls, I leaned on Lucas as we headed to the front
door.

Inside the car, I put my free hand in front of the vent and hoarded all the heat, figuring the other passengers wouldn’t mind. If I wasn’t here, the heater probably wouldn’t be
on.

Gabriella leaned forward and grabbed my headrest. “So, Zara, for tonight, would you want to come over and get ready with
me?”

I checked my watch. “What
time?”

“Well, now.”

“Zara needs to eat lunch,” Lucas reminded
her.

She rolled her eyes and slouched back in her seat. “Oh okay, fine. After lunch
then.”

“Do you think we could stop by my house so I can pick up my clothes?” I
asked.

“You don’t need to worry about that. I already have it taken care of,” she said. I imagined her playing with her long hair, twirling it around her finger with a victorious
grin.

After a salad and shake at a café, we pulled into their garage. I remembered I’d promised to call Bri an hour before. I dialed her at once, hoping she wasn’t
upset.

She sounded drowsy when she answered. “What time is
it?”

“One.”

“Oh, man, I dozed off. We still good for tonight?” she
asked.

“Everyone is meeting at eight inside the
Lodge.”

“Where are
you?”

I looked around at the gods, Gabriella busying herself with product and the boys idly watching sports. I wondered if sports grew duller the longer you lived. I spoke softly into the phone. “I am at Lucas’s. I’m just going to get ready here. I will meet you
there.”

“Seriously? Is Gabriella helping
you?”

“If you saw me, you’d know that I need the
help.”

She laughed. “That may be true. But I will be damned if she can tame your hair. Tell her I said good
luck.”

“You’re such a good friend,” I remarked sourly and then hung
up.

Gabriella shooed the boys out of the room, shut the door on their protesting faces, and turned to me gleefully. Her and Dylan’s room overlooked the infinite expanse of low clouds over the lake. Two dresses sprawled across the bed, one gold and the other black. The gold was a short, sequined cocktail dress, the black a long, flowing sweetheart
dress.

“Yours is the long one, of course, so we can cover up those bruises,” she
said.

I nodded in agreement and sat on a cushiony ottoman in her cream-colored bathroom.

Makeup in colors I hadn’t imagined spread over the countertop. Gabriella seemed to have a process down, a nice, painless routine. I thought of Mom and her brutal pageant tricks, and I teared up just remembering. Gabriella’s hands were careful, and she never jerked my head once as she brushed my hair. She hummed a song to herself. As she did something in the back, I glanced over at the black dress on the
bed.

“How much was that dress?” I
asked.

“Don’t worry about it.” She pulled my head back to face
her.

She hummed the same song what seemed like ten more times, and then she backed away. Her delicate face looked pleased.

“Now, let me help you into your dress,” she said, grabbing the expensive fabric off her bed. “Oh, you will need this too. Don’t worry, it’s your
size.”

She handed me a strapless bra with a pink-and-black tag still attached. As I gingerly stretched my shirt upward, it caught somewhere in the back of my
head.

“Oh, for goodness’s sake, you are a wreck, Zara.” Gabriella lifted it over my head and then waited as I unbuttoned my pants
slowly.

“Don’t be shy, Zara,” she said, tapping her
foot.

“I’m not, my pants are . . . hard . . . to . . . get . . . off.” I tugged at them with my good
arm.

In a swift movement, my pants were around my ankles, the dress was slipped on and zipped, and Gabriella was flipping around the floor-length
mirror.

I looked like I belonged in ancient Greece. Gabriella had smudged metallic copper around my brown eyes, and whatever she’d done to my hair, it somehow looked longer. Half of it fell down my back in tight waves while the other half was pulled loosely back. The embellished belt under my bust accentuated my waist, leaving the rest of the fabric to flow loosely to the floor. I couldn’t look
away.

“You look gorgeous,” Gabriella said, handing me a pair of flats with attached anklets of gold and stones. “Put these
on.”

I slipped into them obediently as she opened her door. “Now, here comes the
test.”

Lucas was leaning against the wall, wearing a sleek black suit with a thin blue tie. His hair was parted to the side and combed back. He looked like he was getting ready to hit the set of a telenovela. I stood tall and confident, feeling deserving of him, until his blue eyes struck me and I wavered. He raised an eyebrow.

“You look incredible,” he
said.

“Thank you,” Gabriella responded, curtseying. Then she shut her door and left us alone in the hall. We walked to the front door and
waited.

“Wow,” he said
again.

“You clean up nice too,” I added cordially, though I was steaming underneath my clothes, sensing our connection intensely in this
moment.

He moved his hands to my hips slyly. “You sure you want to go out tonight? We could just stay here if you wanted. Play a little game of striptease.”

“Really?” I
asked.

He chuckled. “No. That would definitely not be
good.”

“You play with me too hard. Don’t underestimate me,” I teased, tugging lightly on his
tie.

He played along and drew closer. “I’m begging you, stop.”

I waited until I could feel the warmth of his breath on my forehead. “No.”

Out of nowhere, his hands were around my waist, and he was pulling me toward him until my chest pressed hard against his. Then he lowered his head to my ear. “I want to teach you a lesson so bad,” he whispered in a low, husky voice. It had summoning powers, and all I wanted to do in that moment was run upstairs with him to his bedroom.

We separated reluctantly, realizing that Dylan and Gabriella had appeared. The short gold dress glimmered over her body, and she held a matching clutch in one hand. Dylan went out first and pulled the car up to the front. We hopped in, and then Gabriella handed me a
coat.

“Thanks,” I said, shivering as I draped it across my
lap.

After dinner, when we pulled up to the Lodge, I saw Jett waiting in the doorway, standing next to an easel with his full name on it in large black type. He wore a vest over a suit shirt and tie, his cuffs rolled. He looked nice, and my heart paced anxiously. He hadn’t seen me since I’d been back, and though I stressed over what he’d think of my unforgiving injuries, I yearned to see him. In fact, I missed
him.

“Will you be okay?” Lucas asked, squeezing my hand as Jett turned to look at
us.

“Yeah. My friends haven’t seen me since I
left.”

Lucas glanced at my fingers, which were fidgeting with my long hair, and then he nodded to Dylan and Gabriella. At his signal, they exited the car and glided down the red rug. I felt overdressed when I saw how many stares they
drew.

“Listen, forget about them,” Lucas said, putting a hand on my shaking
knee.

“I guess I am the most nervous about what Jett will think,” I admitted.

He glanced past me and out the window toward Jett. “You have to face him eventually.”

“Aren’t you worried about what other people are going to think about us, about
you,
when they see me like this? They’ll think you hurt
me.”

He looked back, nearly appalled. “No.”

I slumped on my good arm, hard enough to hurt my collarbone, and sat right back
up.

“Relax. We’re supposed to be having a good time, remember?”

I shook my head and repeated in my mind,
I can’t hide forever
.

“I can’t hide forever,” I reaffirmed out loud. I put a hand on the handle and paused. “You
coming?”

Lucas nodded and moved at a normal human pace to open my door. As he did, I could feel Jett’s
glare.

We walked in beneath a rainbow of false pretenses, and I felt Lucas’s muscles tighten when we approached Jett. He glowered at Jett as he gave me a one-armed hug. I knew it was only protective, but Jett didn’t. He angled his shoulder away from Lucas when he glanced back at
me.

“Hi,” I said nervously. Jett took a long look at the dress over my body, like maybe I didn’t belong in
it.

“Can I talk to you for a minute, alone?” Jett
asked.

Lucas’s eyes widened. I settled my hand softly on his
arm.

“Go find Gabriella and Dylan. I will be there in a
minute.”

Lucas scowled at Jett as a warning not to do anything stupid, but then he kissed my cheek softly and whispered in my ear, “Of course,
princesa
.”

I had chills as he straightened up and adjusted his suit stiffly. He spoke again, looking at me, but we all knew it was meant for Jett. “If you’re not back in ten minutes, I’m coming to look for
you.”

“I’ll be fine. Jett will help me,” I said. “Right, Jett?”

Jett pinched his lips tightly, but then grinned. “Of
course.”

After Lucas left, we walked to the back balcony that balanced on stilts over the steep slope. The moon was reflected perfectly in the still
lake.

“Zara, are you okay?” Jett
asked.

My skin rippled with chills from the freezing air. I rubbed my limp arm, trying to produce heat. “I’m fine. Why?”

“Because you come back from your trip beat up, and the guy who did this to you won’t leave your side. He is possessive. Actually, I think he’s crazy,” Jett said, shaking his
head.

“Lucas didn’t do this to me,” I blurted, but then I paused, thinking. “Wait, did Max tell you that Lucas did this to
me?”

He shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Max doesn’t know what he’s talking about—” I said, raising my
finger.

“Look,” he interrupted. “You know that I don’t like this guy. But if he is the one you want to be with, I want you to be happy.” Then he looked at his feet, and I felt the sadness swallowing his baby face. “I won’t stand between you
two.”

My mouth snapped shut, my finger falling away from him. “Really?”

He recovered and abruptly trapped my hands in his. They were just as cold as mine, and I noticed his mortal nose pinking in the biting air. “But it doesn’t mean that I don’t care about you, because I do. More than you
know.”

I looked down, ashamed. “I am happy with Lucas. He wouldn’t hurt
me.”

Unexpectedly, his finger lifted my chin and forced me to stare into his chocolate eyes. “Neither would
I.”

I knew that was true, and that we could maybe be happy together someday. But that was before Lucas, before gods and Aluxes and demons trying to kill me. Jett couldn’t protect me from that—if they ever came
again.

I shied away from his expression, resisting the swelling in my eyes. “I know you wouldn’t.”
I never asked for this.
A few months ago I didn’t need anybody in my life, nothing except college. I wanted no reciprocation.
Now, I’ve fallen into an impossible relationship just as my best bud decides to pour out his heart to me.
“But I chose Lucas, Jett. I always have. Just like you will always be one of my greatest friends.”