Celestial Heartbeat (Book One) COMPLETE

Chapter Seventeen - For This

This was going to be a dramatic chapter, but I'm saving that for the next chapter now. Whoops.

Ren looked like he was still in shock.

The Ferris wheel had come to a halt for us to get off, and the boy in charge of the controls was waiting, looking rather irritable, for us to get off.

“It’s s-stopped.” I finally stuttered and Ren finally dropped his gaze away from me, as well as letting his hands fall back into his lap.

I offered him my hand and helped him stand up, his legs wobbling like jelly, until we were back on the level ground of the path and he seemed to cement up a little bit more.

“I’m sorry.” I told him again. “That was cruel.”

Ren didn’t say anything back.

I drew his arm around my shoulder so that he could put a little of his weight on me as we hobbled away from the disaster of a ride. My lips were still tingling a little from when Ren had kissed me.

“That wasn’t much like the movies, I guess.” I sighed, trying to break the tension with a little distraction.

“Are you kidding me?” Ren’s voice was still a little shaky, but it was nice for him to be speaking again. “Kissing the totally attractive caster girl on top of the Ferris wheel is definitely movie material.”

My lips twitched into a small smile.

“Well then, Fricken McAwesome… what next?”

“I dunno. Making out in the back of a car has an odd movie vibe to it, doesn’t it?”

I tried to stop myself, but I laughed. Both because what he said was silly, but also because it made my stomach twist nervously, it became viciously overrun by butterflies. I wasn’t sure how much of a joke it was. I wasn’t so sure of how much I wanted it to be a joke, either.

“Hey, love birds.”

I jumped back in fright as Alex appeared in front of us. His eyes looked tired, and his smile seemed false. I started to grow nervous when I noticed that Vi wasn’t with him. Where was she? Why wasn’t he with her?

“Drop it, Alex.” Ren warned him with a scowl, seeming to read something into Alex’s presence that I didn’t.

“I was just wondering…” Alex murmured innocently, looking up at us from beneath his eyelashes. “While getting all close and personal…”

Ren regained his footing and unhooked his arm from my shoulder, so that we were standing a part. He stared Alex down, like a wild animal asserting its dominance over its peer.

“If you remembered about the rest of us.” Alex finished, seeming unfazed by Ren’s glare. Alex’s gaze lingered on me for a little while longer. I thought I saw an expression of pain and guilt flash across his face, but it was soon gone, replaced by a state of expressionless silence.

There was something wrong with Alex. Something that made me feel very uneasy about him right now, besides the fact that his voice was a little more than hostile towards me. The Alex I had met properly for the first time at the diner had been charming, sweet, if not also a little naïve and light-hearted. He always wore a smile and his eyes sparkled. He’d been the boy who got upset when Ren mentioned his mother being ill. The boy who I had sympathized with, while detesting Ren.

Now Alex just looked tired. He looked like he was nearing the end of a long battle. His eyes sunken in, dulled to a deeper grey, his cheekbones looked shallow and he over all just seemed like he was tired of life.