Nodding, Aiden slid his arm back from around Wicked Wynona and slowly backed away from the mannequin and True, his hands held up.
“Fucking psycho,” Bradley muttered as he pushed past her and walked to the French doors, his friends flanking him on either side.
True and Orion watched them go in silence.
A cool breeze swirled across the balcony, making Wicked Wynona’s red hair flutter. It seemed to break the spell; Orion turned to True, his eyes shining in the moonlight. “That was… wow.” His voice held a hushed reverence.
True turned to look at him—and gasped. There was a gash on his forehead that she was just now noticing, and the front of his shirt was all spattered with blood. “Your head! I hit you with the ring earlier and oh my god, this is all my fault—”
But Orion waved her off, almost impatiently. “That can wait. I’m fine. I just…” He shook his head and smiled a little. “Can we first talk about what just happened here? True Tandon, I think you may be a bona fide badass.”
He didn’tseemto be in pain, and the look in his eyes was… She’d never been looked at like that before.
True tucked a thick strand of her hair back into its Marie S-curie bun and felt her face warm. Tipping her head back, she looked up at the sky. The solitary gold star next to the moon appeared to pulse, as if asking in Morse code where its companion, the other star, was. Another thing that baffled her. Tonight was full of them: the figure, the planchette, heractualorigin story.
Looking back at Orion, True smiled a little. “I think all that had been building up inside me for some time. I just didn’t know it.” She shrugged one shoulder. “And, um, if I’m being totally honest, you had a small part in helping all those thoughts coalesce inside my brain tonight.”
Orion shook his head, a small smile on his face. “Nah. That was all you; your inner fire.”
True held his gaze. “Mostly, sure. But some of it was you. So… you know. Thanks, Orion Parker.”
He stepped in closer, his face serious and handsome. Even the blood running down the side of his face didn’t detract from his absolute beauty. “Anytime, True Tandon.” And then he brought his face down to hers, brushing his lips against her mouth.
True’s eyes fluttered shut. For just a moment, just one blissful moment, she let herself fall into this almost-kiss. Into this almost-moment. Into this almost-romance. And in the next, her eyes flew open again and cold reality came rushing in like frigid water. Gasping softly, she stepped back. “Wait.”
Orion looked at her askance. “What’s wrong?”
Cupping the back of her neck with a hand that had gone cold, True shook her head. She looked out over the balcony railing, at the softly lit reflective pool in the distance. “I’m sorry,” she said, quietly. “I don’t think I’m ready for… whatever this is.”
“Oh.” Orion’s voice was barely above a whisper. The hurt in it hurt her heart. “Is it… Bradley?”
True turned to face him. “Absolutely not.” Her voice was clear and strong. She saw Orion visibly relax. “Bradley has absolutely zero hold over me anymore. He’s just a petty, misogynistic pig, and I should’ve kicked him to the curb a lot sooner than I did.” The truth was, if Onny went out with a guy who treated her like Bradley had treated True, True would’ve immediately and without a doubt told her she deserved better. So what had taken her so long to do that for herself?
“But?” Orion prompted gently.
“But…” True took a deep breath, bringing her mind back to the present. She met Orion’s eyes and found herself being completely truthful, completely vulnerable. “Why did I let myself get lost like that? Why did I let him get to the best parts of me? What does that say about me and my ability to be in a relationship?” She stuck her hands in her pockets and looked down at her feet, answering her own question. “I think it says that maybe I’m not meant to be in a relationship. Not everyone, not everything, is made to be in a pair.” Craning her neck again, she looked at the solitary star. “Maybe sometimes we just end up alone… and that’s okay. It has to be.”
True brought her gaze back to earth, back to the balcony, and her breath caught in her throat. In the far corner stood a flickering figure in a long silver dress. Orion’s back was to the figure; he didn’t see her. The woman was staring right at True, though, with that unnerving blue gaze. But this time, she didn’t look intense. This time, she looked sad. She shook her head slowly, as if disappointed in True.
True found herself staring back in silence; her mind wasn’trushing to come up with a dozen scientific explanations for what was happening before her eyes. Right then, the only thought in her head was:I’m sorry.
A second later, the figure disappeared.
For a moment, True felt an immense, inexplicable sorrow in her heart. But then it fell away, bit by bit, carried off by the night breeze.
True looked back at Orion. He wasn’t trying to hide the fact that her words had crushed him; his jaw was set, his eyes hollow with hurt. Seeing him like that, her own heart felt like there was an iron fist around it, squeezing and squeezing. She felt Orion’s emotions echoing in her chest, but she forced herself not to retract everything she’d said. Orion was good; Orion was, in many ways, the perfect guy. The perfect guy who deserved someone else equally as perfect. Someone who was meant for him, someone who wouldn’t mess it all up the way Trueknewshe would.
“Okay,” he said softly, stepping back from her, the space between them empty and cold. “I get it.” Sticking his hands in his pockets, he said, “Ah, I guess this is it, then. I can help you carry the mannequin down, if you want?”
The remoteness in his words tugged at her heart. Suddenly, True realized she wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye. “But first I’m going to help you dress that wound.” She pointed to his head. It didn’t look dire, but any head wound needed immediate medical attention, right? Right.
Orion looked a little surprised. “No, it’s fine, really. I don’t think it’s serious. I just need some gauze or something.”
“Yeah, and I know where the Diamantes keep all their firstaid stuff,” True said matter-of-factly, taking his elbow. “Come with me.”
Hoisting Wicked Wynona laboriously under one arm, she began to walk but soon realized Orion wasn’t walking with her. He met her eye seriously. “You don’t have to do this,” he said, quietly. “I can take care of myself.”
True set Wicked Wynona down. Wasn’t that exactly what she’d thought before—that Orion could take care of himself? And it was true, she knew. He would be just fine without True. If they were to part ways right here, right now, he’d probably go on his merry way and never think of her again. But looking at him—that poor, bloody head, that ruined shirt, those soft brown eyes tinged with hurt—True realized she didn’t want him to take care of himself.Shewanted to be the one to tend to him, to minister to the wounds she’d caused, even if by accident.
