On the way back home, I couldn't help but think about him... his sweet smile, his tender face, his mysteriously blue eyes... Just thinking about him made me happy, and I easily forgot all about my problems, at least for a while. I totally seemed to have forgotten Nick, too, who was running along my side as we were heading home. "Where were you, anyway?" he asked, yelling through the rain. It was coming down hard, and even though I was getting soaking wet all over again, I didn't care. I didn't feel like answering him, too, so I just pretended I didn't hear him at all. I'm sure he noticed my silence was not due to my becoming deaf, nor the rain, but he respected my silence, and didn't say anything else. I couldn't help but smile as I reached for his hand and squeezed it gratefully. He smiled back, and we ran till we reached 'home'.
I stopped when I saw my mother standing in the front hall, and it would be an understatement if I said she didn't look happy at all...
I tried to walk past her, acting as if nothing was wrong, but she stopped me, just with her cold gaze.
"Where were you?" she asked calmly, but I could see she was not feeling calm at all.
"I-," what I had to do was think of a really good excuse, but my toungue seemed to have frozen. I started again, "I went for a walk, I just needed some fresh air..."
She looked at me suspiciously, and I could tell she didn't believe me. She never did.
"The Duke of Hawkesmoore," she began with a cold voice, "That is, John, has come by this morning, hoping to see you and have you show him around, but you weren't here..."
Oh great, the idiot with the even more idiotic smile wanted me to show him around? Let him ask my mother... I was sure she'd be extremely happy to do it.
"He's not a duke yet..." I mumbled, glad she couldn't hear me. I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry..." I said slowly, I had no idea what else to say, anyway. "I really am... I won't do it again..."
She seemed to calm down, for she sighed. "Oh well, it doesn't matter now. I told him to come by for tea so I hope you're here then," she said, looking at me. She frowned.
"Where did you get that dress? I've never seen it before. It's absolutely hideous."
So much for the tact... but I gulped, as i looked for the right words again. I had totally forgotten about changing back into my other one, and I had left the it back at Brian's house, anyway...
"Oh, this? It's actually uh-one of my really old dresses, the ones you've been trying to get me to throw out..." I hoped that sounded right, but she seemed to believe me, for she turned around and said, shaking her head, "Well I want you to look presentable this afternoon."
I didn't reply, and waited until she left, when I let out a huge sigh of relief. I must have had a really spaced out expression then, for Nick, who was behind me the whole time, asked, "Really, what happened? You can't hide anything from me..."
I blushed and said, "Nothing really! I told you the truth..."
"Aw, come on, you can trust me..."
I thought about it for a second. I didn't want to make my life too Romeo and Juliet, and I sure didn't want to end up dead like them, either, so maybe telling Nick was probably a good idea.
"Promise you won't tell anyone?" I asked, deliberately taunting him a bit.
"I promise," he said impatiently.
I sighed. "I'm in love..."
He started to laugh, and I got angry. "It isn't funny, you know..." I snapped.
"Sorry," he said smiling. "So seriously, what is it you were going to tell me?"
"That's exactly it, Nick! I'm in love!" I said frustrated. Sometimes he could really annoy me.
"Oh... sorry..." he said, but he couldn't help but give a slight laugh as he said, "You? Who always said you would never ever fall in love?"
I ignored him, it was true, I had said that, and probably a million times for all I know, but that was a long time ago, when I was a kid, when I thought that I would never find that perfect someone.
"Who is this person, anyway?" he asked curiously.
"You don't know him... he's a training priest-"
He started laughing harder this time, and I got really annoyed. "If you had to fall in love, couldn't it have been with someone who was not off-limits at least?"
"Forget it, Nick, you don't really understand," I said slowly. "Just please remember not to tell anyone."
He smiled softly, "I won't. Sorry for laughing, I'm really happy for you Tamy. Just- be careful, alright? You're my only sister, and I don't want you to get hurt."
I smiled back and gave him a quick hug before running up the stairs to my room. He could be such a sweetheart, for a sometimes annoying brother. But I didn't think I'd get hurt, I didn't think Brian would hurt me, anyway... but that's how naive I am...
© 1999 fanfic4all@yahoo.com
