Amaranthine

Chapter Eighteen

© Copyright 2011 

All work is property of Leah Crichton, any duplication or reproduction of all or part of the work without explicit permission by the author is illegal.

Condolences: (kon-dol-en-suhs)

sympathy with a person who has experienced pain or grief

an expression or declaration of such sympathy

My morning classes were no more painful than usual. Thinking of all the drama earlier took my mind off the things I should have been thinking about, like school. Orion had a lot of nerve to even speak to me, let alone tell me it wasn’t too late. Those words were maybe the ones that bothered me the most out of everything he’d said. It was way too late for him and me. Way too late.

Damien picked me up for lunch and in the daylight I could see his car was a jet black Porsche Carerra.

“Holy crap. Is it like a requirement to live here?” I asked. “Must drive ridiculous car.” I felt a huge case of déjà vu, only I liked Orion’s car better.

“You like it? Grad present.”

“My parents could never afford something like this for a graduation present. I’ll probably get a necklace or something.”

“My mother has ensured we live a very comfortable life. She worked hard for it.”

“Still,” I said buckling the seat-belt. “I think I'll be stuck with a lemon as my first car. Hey, listen, would you mind just dropping me somewhere?” 

“No, I don’t mind, but I thought you wanted to have lunch with me,” he said.

I sensed that my request hurt him. Softening my voice, I said, “I do. Really. It’s just that something terrible happened to Alicia and Alex. Their cousin died, and I thought I would stop by and see if they were okay. I’d be a horrible friend if I didn’t go see them.  Could we postpone our lunch?”

He smiled. “Of course, that is completely understandable.  The best excuse I’ve ever heard for bailing on a date.” 

“Oh, Damien! I’m not trying to bail, I swear.  You’re not mad, are you?”

He looked at me, still grinning. “I’m just giving you a hard time, love. In fact, I think your concern for your friends is nothing less than adorable. I could go with you, if you’d like.”

I would have liked him to come, but Alex and Alicia were both good friends with Orion. Orion had some sort of problem with Damien. It would be inappropriate to ask him to come. “I think I should go alone. I hope you understand.”

“I understand completely, sweetheart,” Damien said as he drove. “Don’t worry a single bit about it. We can have lunch any day of the week.”

“Thanks.” I twisted my hands in my lap, worried about what I would say to them.  It wasn’t everyday someone died, especially at your birthday party.

Damien pulled over to the side of the road at the entrance to Alicia and Alex’s mile long driveway. “Probably better if I drop you off here.”  He leaned across and opened the door for me. “Shall I pick you up?”

 I didn’t know how long would take, and I didn’t want to keep him waiting. “No thanks, I can make my way back to school.”

“Can I call you?”

“Yeah, of course. I’d like it if you did.”

“Good luck. Pass along my condolences, will you?”