Shallow Imitations

chapter thirty

       

Eleonora is staring at me.

Her eyes pierce through me, cutting through the whole room. Her arms are crossed and she's taking deep breaths as if not to lash out. Just seeing her like this brings out the stubborn side of me. I hate that no matter what I say, she never sees me as a responsible adult who can make her own choices. I'm twenty-three-years-old, and yet she's convinced that I never know the consequences of my decision. She's the one who's always doing whatever she please whenever she feels like it, dropping out of college without telling me about it first and deciding to sell our parents' house without giving me a chance to make my case.

A part of me wishes I can share everything with her, all the discoveries of the past few days, but I'm know she's gonna try to stop me from spending so much time with Kal. I can imagine what this might be like for her, but acting like that only makes me cautious of what I do around her and not what I do at all. El always thinks I trust too easily, but I've known Kal for nearly two months and I know his intentions are in the right place. And I know that I like him and that Atlas would've liked him too if they ever met.

She's faking a smile to the crowd surrounding her. Her eyes are telling me to come forward so she can use me as an excuse to escape, so she can tell me everything I'm doing wrong.

Kal and I exchange looks. I'm biting the bottom of my lip and he laughs, resting a hand on my shoulder. "Just go talk to her," he says.

I shake my head frantically, earning another laugh. When I look behind Kal's tall figure, I spot a short brunette staring at me, taking in a breath. Olive with olive-green eyes, which is how she got her name. Her mom thinks it's the cutest thing.

"Hey, I have to talk to a friend of mine."

He smiles. "Great. Let's go."

My eyes go wide. "No," I start to say, but he's already leading me toward her. "Hey, Olive," I say, an uneasy smile on my lips when she stares at Kal. She recognizes him right away. From the party and everything I told her about him. I can see it in the way she's scrutinizing him.

"Kal Roat," he says, shaking her hand as if they've just signed a business deal.

Their interaction is hilarious. Kal is tall and confident while Olive is tiny and shying away, weirded out by his behavior.

Leaning close, I whisper to him, "Will you give us a minute?"

Kal nods and walks away, looking around the gallery and making acquaintances. When I turn to look at Olive.

She stares at me, shaking her head. "You've been ignoring me for the past few months, Luna. You won't even hang out with us, but now you're hanging out with this guy, who you barely know." The last line I know she was fed by Eleonora.

"Olive—"

"No. I get that you wanna figure out who sent the letter, and I kept this secret from Wren and your sister because I know that you're responsible enough to know what you're doing . . . But you're taking this too far. El says you've been going out with him and that you're dating or something?"

"We're not. Stop listening to what El says. She's paranoid!" I say. "We found out something else, okay? Something bad is going on and I promise I'll tell you about it once we figure it out."

She furrows her eyebrows, confused. "What do you mean 'something bad'? Worst than what you've told me?"

"We hacked Atlas's email and found some weird things," I say, cringing at the way it sounds. "We don't know if it's all real, but I'll let you know as soon we understand what happened."

Olive stares at me for a moment, as if trying to decide whether she believes me or not. Before I can say anything else, she wraps me in a tight hug. "You better be right, Luna," she says. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but we're all worried about you. You've been so distant; now more than ever, and I don't wanna see anything happen to you."

I wasn't entirely sure what she meant by that last part, but I nod and hug her back. When we pull apart, there's a smile on her fact. As soon as this is done, I owe her a huge explanation. This whole thing with Brett and Kal and our kiss. I want it to be like old times when I can share the good parts and the confusing parts and she helps me separate the two, but there's too much to explain and I don't wanna freak her out if it's not what we think.

I just need to figure this out, and then I'll take her to the movies every day for a week and I'll get a job and I'll send my books to every publisher in town.

When I turn around, Eleonora is waiting for me. She found a way to free herself of the crowd, apparently, and is now standing there looking as angry as ever.

I step up and raise a hand to stop her from saying anything. "I know what you're gonna say and I don't wanna hear it. This is your night and I'm here to support and not to start an argument and listen to you judge my life choice and the people I chose to spend time with."

Her expression softens. She sighs. "That's the thing. You lied to me. You told me the two of you weren't together, and then I see you making out in the middle of my gallery opening," she says, rubbing her forearms as if she's cold. "We're suppose to tell each other these things. I don't care who you're dating as long as you tell me, Luna."

"What are you talking about? Of course I would tell you. I wasn't lying when I said we weren't together. We're still not," I say, watching as she shakes her head in confusion. "We talk about this—Kal and I. I'm not ready to date right now, but I do like him and I can't help it. Tonight, wasn't planned. I wasn't trying to ruin this for you. We were just staring at your beautiful paintings and we just kissed."

She makes a disgusted face. "I don't know if that's what I want my art to do."

"And it's none of your business. Just loosen up and stop thinking about what I'm doing and worrying about every decision I make!"

"It's my job to worry, Luna. I know you think you have this all figured out, but our parents left and I still don't know how to connect with you without making you hate me."

I gulp, my eyes beginning to water. "I don't hate you. Yes, you annoy me a lot of the times, especially when you try to act like you know what you're talking about, but I need you to give me some space to grow and figure things out on my own."

Eleonora has something else to say, but I don't give her the chance to say something else because I know she won't like it. Sooner or later, I'll have to tell her the whole story. Later sounds better for now. She has her own things to worry about.

I need to know if it's true. Was Atlas really there? It could be anyone for all we know. We need to find the jewelry store find someone who'll help us understand what happened the night of the robbery. Right now, it's seven, so the store should be opened for a couple of hours more.

Walking through the gallery, there's a sea of unfamiliar faces, but his blond hair and tall figure stands out between them. His gait is awkward as he walks around, pretending to know more about art than he does. I watch him attempt to be funny only to get rolled eyes in response.

When Kal notices me staring, he smiles.

I lace our fingers together and lead him out of the gallery.