Page 5 of Voices in the Stars
The little boy was gone. The couple he had been standing next to were still chatting away, hands waving wildly. How long would it take for them to notice their son had gone missing? Unease coursed through me. If he was still there after nightfall, he would be trapped until the morning. I tried to shake the feeling away. The party would still go on for many more hours. The day had just begun. Someone else would notice.
“Don’t lie to me.” She pointed a long finger at me; her nails were pink to match her dress. “He’s waiting for you.” I opened my mouth, hoping it would quickly spit out some excuse as to why I couldn’t go see Adrian right now. “I’m tired of you doing nothing but sitting on that damn roof all day. He is the key to getting you out of my house. Now go.”
Tears burned the corners of my eyes at hearing her say it. Listening to her arguing with my father was one thing, but to stand here as she spouted the same thing to me? My spine went stiff as her words settled deep within my chest. The differences between the way Josi and I were treated never felt fair, but it never hurt as badly as those words did. What could I have possibly done to make her hate me?
She smirked as I paused. There was no one on my side. My sister and father were the peacekeepers. Whatever my mother thought was best, they would fully agree with her. I sucked down a cool breath before turning away from her. Dealing with Adrian would hurt less than standing here and letting my mother keep insulting me.
My eyes immediately found the man I had been avoiding. Adrian was standing close to the entranceof the house. My stomach twisted as I looked him over. Underneath a black blazer, his shirt was the same green color of my dress. It even had the same flowers embroidered along it. We looked like a real couple dressed like this. Nausea twisted my stomach at the thought.
There was a food runner with a tray filled with teacups in front of Adrian. Each one had a name card that matched the contents within that his gaze carefully scanned. The runner shifted her weight from foot to foot. Her gaze darted at the people crowding around Adrian as they huffed, tapping their feet as they waited for him to pick. Poor thing. If any of the guests grabbed a cup of cold tea, she would get an earful for it.
“Lady Grey is my favorite,” I chimed, announcing my presence as I pushed through the mass.
A ghost of a smile tugged at the corners of my lips as I watched Adrian jerk away from me. Shock filled his features before it was replaced with a cold glare. Clearing his throat, he smoothed down the front of his clothes before running his hands over his slicked back, brown hair.
“I don’t recall asking,” he said, snatching one of the glasses.
His face screwed up as he sipped from the glass. I smirked, enjoying that he had to choke down his own pick. Adrian glared at me as he quickly downed the contents. After setting the cup back on the tray, despite the server’s protests, he walked away.
“Thank you.” I nodded at the server before following my fiancé.
He glanced back at me, rolling his eyes as he tried to disappear. I wasn’t sure if that was for my following him or the quick nicety I offered. Either way, I would’ve loved nothing more than to just let him disappear, but I could feel the hot pricks of my mother’s stare. I slipped around the other people until we were walking next to each other. My hands wrung together in front of me as the silence thickened between us until it felt like I could choke on it. My skin started to itch as everyone started looking at us. Their faces twisted in judgement and pity.
“The weather is nice today.” I looked over at him.
He was focused on the path ahead of us. No sign that he had heard me. I wish I could play the silent game with him right now, but I knew this wasn’t going tobe good enough.
“Plus, the teas and food are all wonderful,” I tried again, the skin on the back of my neck prickling as I was sure my mother was staring daggers at me.
This time he glanced over at me. His head quickly straightened when he caught my eye. He had no interest in giving up this game of his. A soft voice flittered through the air as we walked past a singer. She stood in front of a grand piano. The keys were soft as they were played to match her voice. Couples held each other as they swayed with her voice. One of the men ran a hand along the back of his lady’s hair while they looked at each other. My heart squeezed as I took it in. We barely wanted to be near each other. There would never be moments like these. Ones where the rest of the world faded away until we were the only ones left standing. I blinked back the tears that threatened to fall.
“I hope we have music like this.” My voice was soft as I whispered it to myself.
At our wedding. I couldn’t force myself to say that part out loud. Adrian grabbed my wrist without looking at me, pulling me away from the crowds. I fought the curses that threatened to fall as I stumbled after him while he led us back toward the hedges. My cheeks burned as he dragged me away like a disobedient child. With a huff, I tried to pull my arm back, only for his nails to dig deeper into my wrist. This was exactly what I got for trying to show him any semblance of kindness.
I was led down a narrow path in one section of the hedges. I had seen the groundkeepers take paths like this a few times when they trimmed the hedges. I wasn’t sure where in the maze it would spit us out. The dirt trail was barely big enough for one of us to walk down it, so Adrian pushed me in front of him. His hands dug into my shoulders as I was shoved through.
We walked like this for several minutes until he forced me through an opening. I caught myself just before I could go crashing to the ground. Before I had time to think, Adrian was pushing against the heels of my shoes until I started crawling through the tiny tunnel. If it would help anything, I would’ve rammed my foot into his face instead. Unlike him, I kept my limbs to myself, focusing on reaching the light at the end.
The clearing it opened into felt familiar. I looked around, trying to avoid staring at the man who dragged me here. It was a small clearing, big enough that we could stand a few feet away from each other. It hit me when I spotted a small rock tower we had built years ago.
This was how Adrian used to sneak over. He would cut through the maze and hide until it was clear. I never saw what path he took from hishouse, but this clearing was a halfway point we used to hide in. Something about standing in this old safe haven caused anger to start thrumming in my chest.
“What’s your problem?” I yelled, rubbing the soreness on my shoulder.
He dug his hands into his greasy hair, causing it to stand up in all sorts of directions, before throwing his hands up to the sky. I grimaced at the way his greased hands shone in the light.
“You!” he yelled back.
His hands were balled into fists at his sides as he stepped toward me. They shook with each step he took. Fear gripped my stomach as I tried to step back. Before, I never would’ve been afraid of him, but there was something in his eyes that scared me now.
“I was made certain promises when I was younger,” he continued. “I was guaranteed someone with respect. Class. Not one who spends all her time with the servants.”
The way he spit outservantsangered me more than anything else. I didn’t care what he thought of me. Clenching my hands, I stepped up to him, trying to ignore the way his hands twitched. We grew up the same. There were little differences in our families until his mother’s new role. My teeth ground together as I listened to the way he acted now. All of this proved to me that my Adrian was long gone.
“You think I wanted this?” I hissed, my voice coming out steadily compared to the trembling throughout my body.
My insides churned at the quick turn in our conversation. How quickly would the other guests notice if I used his face as a target for my anger? He would deserve every second of it. It might’ve been enough to knock him off that high horse he placed himself on. I clenched my fists as he crossed his arms over his chest and let out a snort of a laugh.
