A TWIST OF THE WRIST

CHAPTER 3

DIVINE MISS J

Waking and getting up from my bed was hard to do. I had been clinging to my bedspread with a deadly grip for the past two days and a half. Occasionally I would manage to reach my balcony and stare at the view of the majestic sky. I would gaze for hours watching the clouds fight between themselves over the sun and moon. A storm was definitely starting to brew. Grey clouds gather strength little by little, inch by inch, crawling over the blue sky; engulfing the white vapors. By late afternoon, a deep frustrated feeling in side of me told me not to leave my room. A great change was going to happen, and I wasn't sure if it would be good or bad.

Tonight, was the Paramount ball that I promised I would attend with Seiya. I felt nauseated as thoughts formed in my head and swirled. Questions I already knew the answers to sang to me like tempting sirens luring me to my fatal cliffs. Sweat formed on my brow and I could barely breathe. "Would Darien be there?" they crooned in high pitch voices. The answer was yes, but I shouted back in defiance, "It doesn't matter."

I hadn't seen him since my birthday. I had vowed that night to tell him how I felt the next time I encountered him, but now everything was different. I began realizing that I may just hurt everyone; Seiya, Darien, my mother, and especially myself. What if what I thought we had; was just something I felt.

I left the balcony and the starting battle between the skies for my bed. As I laid and thought of everything that had just happened so fast between in a matter of a couple of days, a knock woke me up to reality.

A blonde head poked through the opening of my door and it didn't take a second for me to realize who it was.

Mina appeared in front of me wearing a short black cocktail dress channeling Holly Golightly no doubt. She strutted toward me with a lit cigarette and a big smile plastered on her face. She looked fabulous and I was soon very self conscious of how disgusting I looked. It wasn't fair how she was always prepared for an event hours before and could still look amazing hours after.

"Hello dear," she said in her lovely heavy English accent. She gave me two kisses on the cheek and stuck the cigarette in my mouth.

"Seiya sent me," she began, "He hadn't heard from you, and wanted to make sure you weren't dead or anything,"

I laughed to myself. "Otherwise he would need to find another date," I mumbled. I sat up in my bed taking drags from the cigarette.

She admired herself in my floor length mirror and told my image in the mirror, "Look, darling, are you sure you okay? No one has heard from you in days and the ball is starting in a couple hours. Lita and I simply need you there for entertainment!"

I lied back down, "Do I even have a choice?"

Mina turned around causing her blonde hair to whip behind her. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "Mmm…not really," while sticking out her tongue. She jumped on my bed causing me to giggle with her infectious good nature.

We lied on my bed talking and giggling. As she updated me on Lita's love life, I pondered idly if I should tell her about Darien. I had been absolutely ill just thinking that I might actually like my mother's boyfriend. I took a deep breath and began my fateful story of meeting Darien, and the dancing, and the dinner, and the midnight bumps and especially how he is going to be checking up on me for three weeks.

Mina took it all in well.

She then rolled her blue eyes and went back out to the hallway to bring two people I unquestionably recognized. They were her hairdresser and makeup artist.

"Well, get up," she mockingly demanded, "We have to make you look beautiful for you know who,".

"Um…Seiya?"

Mina put her hands on her hips looked at me straight into my blue eyes and smiled a devilish smile. She flung her blonde hair behind her shoulder and said quietly, "Ugh, Gods know, for the man you are actually pinning away for."

I stared at her blankly with wide eyes. I nervously laughed.

"What?"

I stood in a gorgeous red sweeping Ralph Lauren evening gown, hiding beside a wall, downing champagne, clutching my stomach. I felt as though I was about to pass out. I did not feel well, at all. It had been an hour linked to Seiya's arm and fake laughing and trying to be as charming as possible. I wanted to leave and take off the binding dress. My mother hadn't arrived yet with Darien, and I was grateful for her tradition of showing up always fashionably late. This must have been hard for Darien since he is always punctual, even when not called for it.

Mina and Lita were off to some corner of the ballroom probably with two guys they had met. They were a pair those two. Earlier that day, I couldn't help but feel slightly relieved that Mina might actually know of what I am feeling. I denied to her that I was interested in any other guy besides Seiya. Seiya soon found me, he knew I liked to sulk in far corners by myself; trying to find the moon in the dark sky.

"Serena," he whispered into my ear as he touched my shoulder. I slowly turned my head from the view to look at him closely.

"I want you to meet my step brother," he continued.

I smiled and followed him as he led me to the center of the ballroom, where a tall slender male brunette was dancing with a recognizable petite lady, who in certain shades of light her hair would look blue.

"Taiki," Seiya interrupted.

The brunette looked up from his dancing partner, and smiled lovingly to his step brother. His gaze then fell on to me with a serious look. He looked me up and down and then almost scoffed in disgust, but resisted.

"This is my girlfriend, Serena," Seiya said. He grabbed my waist close to him and I smiled awkwardly.

"Hi, nice to meet you," I lent out my hand and he shook it loosely and fast. As if he didn't want to touch me any longer because he might get some skin disease. I didn't understand; all of Seiya's family members I had met loved me. I mean I know Taiki and Seiya weren't blood related but you'd think they would kinda think alike since they spend so much time together. If Seiya wasn't with me he was probably with Taiki. This was the first time meeting him, and I thought he would at least like me. He could at least try to disguise his disdain for me.

"This is Ami," he said, not explaining if she was a friend, girlfriend, or just a girl he asked to dance. I shook her hand and immediately was drawn to her. She was small with short hair, but I could tell she had an inner peace and some sense of vitality.

"Hello," she stated.

We stood on the dance floor for a matter of minutes saying the polite things talking about randomness. Finally Seiya and I left them to dance a little longer. When we were no longer in earshot, Seiya excitedly said, "I think he liked you,"

I gasped. "Are you kidding me, he looked at me as if I had viral plague."

Seiya stopped me by tightly gripping my arm. He angrily looked at me in the face and sputtered, "Serena, I think very highly of my step brother,"

"Okay!" I said. His grip was getting tighter and I knew there was going to be a bruise.

"He must like you; I care about his opinion very much,"

I had never seen him like this. He never once in our whole relationship was fierce with me. All of this because of his step brother?

"Seiya, let go," I hissed and threw my arms away from him while walking fast to the nearest exit; tears burning my skin.

I walked and walked turning corners not caring that I had no idea where I was. The ball was being held in a famous Museum of Fine Arts, which was infamous for how easily you could get lost.

Seiya infuriated me; who cared about him or his step brother. Still silver tears ran down my face. All I wanted to do was get out of the red dress that clung to me.

Minutes passed as I continued to walk in heels around the museum looking at guarded paintings and glass enclosed sculptures. The hallways were dark and ominous and I knew I had ventured too far from the ballroom.

I soon began to be enchanted by a huge wall painting by an artist name I couldn't pronounce. It was a wall sized painting of a beautiful woman basking her almost nude body in the moonlight. She laid her legs gracefully on marble steps as black silk wrapped around her.

I stood in amazement of the masterpiece between the beauty of the colors and the woman. I did not know how long I was there but a cough interrupted my thought.

I turned my head slowly with blank eyes to see my intruder.

"Serena," he said.

I nodded, and smiled a little and held back tears.

"I seem to have lost my way, are you in the same boat as well?" he asked, as he put a hand in his suit pocket.

I didn't say anything and turned to stare at the painting.

He came towards me and stood behind. He wasn't close but he wasn't far away. I closed my eyes.

"Darien," I said.

He took a step closer to me and put a hand on my bare shoulder as I turned around and looked at him. He gazed at me with concern in his altruistic eyes. My fingers boldly grazed his cheek and gingerly touched his soft lips.

Unexpectedly, he took my hands into his and brought them to his mouth. He tentatively kissed my palms and quickly let go as if he touched a hot iron.

His eyes got wide and his body tensed up.

He took a step back and as I stood there in my red dress, I suddenly realized he must have seen me as a sinful temptation.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, as if his voice would break something valuable, like my heart.

I wasn't sure if it was all the champagne and no food, my suffocating infuriation, or just from my realization but, I saw everything go black and felt myself falling back in slow motion into some darkness; looking into the eyes of the woman in the painting. Oddly enough, I didn't hear his voice calling out to me but instead the drops of rain falling from the dark sky outside.

Sorry this chapter is soo short I will update soon.

DIVINE MISS J

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