Totally Starcross'd Page 4

  ****

  I knocked on Laurence Fry’s front door with a trembling hand. He opened the door and swore when he saw me, tugging me inside and slamming the door behind us.

  “What the hell are you doing here, Romilly?”

  “I need to see Julian.”

  “So?”

  “So, I can’t exactly go to his house, can I? Could you ask him to come here so I can see him?”

  Laurence sank down on an old sofa and scratched at his head fitfully. “I told you not to make contact with him for a while. It’s a bad time for you two to be seen together.”

  “I know but something’s come up and I really need to talk to him.”

  “Like what?”

  I fought to control my tears. “My parents are sending me away. To a boarding school in Mantua.”

  He was surprised and I saw sympathy in his expression but Laurence shook his head. “That stinks, Romilly. But there’s nothing Julian can do to help you.”

  I got mad. “I know that! I just need to talk to him. I … I miss him,” I admitted awkwardly. “Please help me.”

  “Look, I know you guys have a thing, but think about this. If you go along with your parents’ plan―maybe even for a few months or one year―that might be enough time for your parents to reconsider. You might be able to talk them into letting you come back.”

  I stared. A few months? A year? Laurence really didn’t get it. I tried again. “Please, Laurence. Please could you just phone him and ask him to come over so I can talk to him? You’re my only chance.”

  He groaned. “I told him to stay away from me for a while. Romilly, he’s pissed at me. You know I’m the one who told your dad about the faked report. I dropped his father right in the middle of it.”

  “But Julian wouldn’t have wanted you to cover it up, would he? Even if his dad was implicated?”

  “I don’t think he believes his dad was involved.”

  I thought about that. It didn’t change the fact that I wanted to see Julian as soon as possible. “Please, Laurence. Just send him a message and ask him to meet me.”

  “I’ll do it, but not here,” he said. “I can’t have him seen here. It’s bad enough that you’re here. I’ve worked hard to keep my name out of this mess. If it goes public that I was involved, it will make my job much harder in future.”

  I thought fast. “Okay. Ask him to meet me at the Urban Orchard in Hathaway Street.”

  He sighed and sent the message. It was only moments before a reply buzzed through on Laurence’s phone. He checked it. “Okay, he says he can be there in half an hour.”

  I hugged Laurence impulsively. “Thank you!”

  He gave a surprised chuckle. “You crazy, impatient kids.” Laurence wagged a finger at me like a much older man. “Make sure you don’t end up regretting what you’re doing.”

  I ran for the next tram to the city center, my spirits rising for the first time in days. I couldn’t wait to see Julian.

  Julian

  She was already waiting under one of the blossoming ornamental plum trees when I arrived. She was breathtaking. She wore jeans and a plain sweater but she couldn’t have looked more beautiful if she was in a ball gown. She jumped up when she saw me and ran straight into my arms.

  “God, I’ve missed you,” I whispered in her ear and then kissed that gorgeous mouth.

  But when she pulled me over to sit on the bench under the plum tree I saw how unhappy she looked.

  “I’m so sorry about the Addison Coal Mine stuff,” she said in a low voice. “It must be horrible.”

  I shook my head. “Yeah, it’s been a nightmare. But I’m still pretty sure my dad wasn’t directly involved. I’ve spoken to him and he tells me he had no idea the report had been falsified. I think he’s telling the truth. Addison was schmoozing him, sure, but he figured it was just the usual corporate lobbying. If anyone knew about the faked report,” I added, disguising the pang it gave me to say this, “it was my mom.”

  “Laurence thinks we should avoid seeing each other,” she said, her eyes filling with tears.

  I scowled. “Laurence can get his nose out of our business.”

  “Julian.” She chewed her lip nervously. “I had to tell my parents about you. They realized I was lying about being with my friends when Merrick got bashed. I admitted I was with you. And now―now they want to send me away.”

  I frowned. “Send you away? For school vacation? Where?”

  “No, for good. To Mantua Ladies’ College. To finish high school.”

  A tear spilled over onto her cheek and I felt like my heart turned to cold stone. “Mantua?” I pulled her close, bewildered by what she’d said. “Oh, no. This is because of me?”

  “Partly, I guess. They say it’s for my safety. The stuff that happened with Merrick and Ty―the bashing―it freaked them out and then hearing that I was seeing you, it just seemed to tip them over the edge. They want me to leave my school, my friends … everything I know and love.”

  I hugged Romilly, unable to stand the sorrow in her eyes. “I came clean with my parents, too―I told them I want to go away for college,” I said. “Like, away away. A long way. I’d been planning it for years … but to be honest, I’m not even sure about it myself anymore. Not since meeting you.”

  “You might as well, now,” she said. “I won’t be here anyway.”

  I hated hearing the bitter sadness in her voice almost as much as I hated the thought of her being taken away. “They can’t do this to us.”

  “They can. I’m sixteen. I have to do what they say.”

  “Romilly.” I took her face in my hands and waited until she lifted her dark eyes and looked into mine. “This might sound insane but I’ve been hit hard with feelings for you. I know we haven’t known each other long but it feels like I’ve known you forever.” She nodded in eager agreement. “I can’t stand the thought of being away from you. We can’t let them do this.”

  “But what can we do?” she cried.

  I dropped my hands. “I don’t know. I need to think of something.”

  She caught my hand in hers. “When are you leaving?”

  “What?”

  “Leaving home.”

  I was confused. “I hadn’t made plans yet … but I guess it will have to be sooner than later. Mom’s getting angrier every day. It’s almost intolerable. I was thinking of going to visit my grandfather on the west coast―just to take myself out of the firing line for a couple of weeks.”

  Her face brightened. “Take me with you.”

  My mouth fell open. “What? No, Romilly.”

  “Why not? We could be together.”

  “Yes, but―”

  “Julian, help me. I can’t go to Mantua. Would your grandfather tell anyone?”

  “I don’t think so but―”

  “Please, Julian. It’s the only thing I can think of.”

  “But even if you came with me, it wouldn’t solve anything. You’d still be leaving behind everything you love,” I reminded her.

  “Not everything.”

  I blinked. Whoa. Did she just say that? She couldn’t meet my eyes and I desperately needed her to because even though we’d known each other less than a fortnight and everything was against us, and it was impossible that we could already be in love, something about what she’d just said sounded exactly right. I’d never been the kind to claim to be in love right at the start of a relationship, but when I thought about how my heart responded to Romilly’s voice and face, it sure felt like love. People could say what they liked about real love taking time and normally I’d agree, but this time I’d plummeted headfirst into it, on a gravity-powered collision course.

  In the end, all I could do was kiss her. She put her slender arms around my neck and kissed me back with every bit of passion in her soul. If I wasn’t lost before that kiss, I sure was by the end of it.

  “Let’s do it,” I said. “Let’s get out of Verona City.”

  Her eyes glowed and she wiped tears
off her cheek with the back of her hand. “How do we do it?”

  “We’ll go see Laurence. He’ll help us.”