Chapter 19: Enigma, Part 1 

I strode into the congested cafeteria, eager to sooth my dry throat. Valerie was already in line, talking to some red-head girl from our class. I kept moving to join the string of people, deciding whether to go for iced tea or pink lemonade, when a tall figure with a black leather jacket stopped in front of me. The air was suddenly charged with electricity.

"Hey," Tristan said with a soft smile, holding his food tray with one hand, like some waiter pro. He wanted to talk to me. I could see it in his eyes. But not even that dazzling gray-emerald slackened my resolve. I only gave him a dim smile and walked away from him like yesterday.

For some reason my heart squeezed. My legs wanted to turn in the opposite direction, but my mind wouldn't let them.

Valerie's eyes hadn't missed anything, so when she asked about it, I knew that whatever answer I gave her was going to be turned into some kind of sign indicating my suppressed feelings for Tristan. To my relief, Dean and Owen cut short our stupid conversation with their quick arrival.

Chloe, as usual, watched me with scornful eyes. No surprise there. I didn't like her catty attitude, but what could I do? I sighed. And what could I do about Tristan? It was better when he went over to his house to have lunch with his friends. At least my eyes weren't flying between two tables like a ping pong ball.

The end of the day arrived like a breeze cooling the heat of my worry. I was eager to go to my room, read some books, watch some movies, perhaps write something, search for some funny videos on the Internet-anything that would keep my mind busy.

My right foot tapped the ground impatiently, as if every thump against the concrete would send an invisible signal for my dad to hurry. But seconds ticked like minutes, and nothing happened. It was just me and the sidewalk, waiting.

"You seem in a hurry." Tristan glided in out of the blue, halting my frantic foot.

Shoot. "Just waiting for my dad," I said, looking away, struggling to look indifferent.

Keep going the ice queen attitude, Kalista. Don't you dare wavering.

"Are you sure he's coming?"

I nodded.

"I think you need a ride."

My heart bumped against my chest. Was he offering me one? "Not needed," I said, a trace of doubt in my voice.

"I think I didn't say it right, but you do need a ride. Unless you want to stay."

This time I turned to look at him, confused by his certainty. "What do you mean?"

"My father is helping yours on some project this week. It seems they're really busy, so he asked me if I could-"

"What did you say to him?" I urged.

He seemed bowled over by my question. "I said yes of course."

Yes. My heart was racing at the idea of being alone with him, less than a yard away from his body for God knows how long. I didn't know if I could handle that.

"But I guess you don't like the idea so much."

I stared at him for a moment, my cold walls melting little by little.

"Well, I think you don't have any other option," he said, sounding a bit troubled, as if he didn't like the idea of me not wanting to go with him. Surely a wounded ego.

"I guess not." I was so going to kill my dad for doing this to me.

He gave a small smile. "Let's go then."

"Who told you I'm going with you?"

He looked around, puzzled. "Are you going to walk?"

Not a bad idea. "Maybe."

"I'm sorry, I can't let that happen. I made a promise and I never break my word."

"There's always a first time for everything."

"Kalista..."

"There is! You won't go to hell if you break your word, you know."

"Please."

Argh. I almost stomped my foot. Why did he have to use that tone? "Fine. Fine. I'll go." Anyway, something told me it wouldn't be a good idea to wander alone.

He twisted his lips into that breathtaking smile of his.

Ugh. I hated him.

We got to his orange car-now up close looking as if it could turn into a robot, like one of those cool Transformers-and he opened the door for me. My legs stilled.

"You can come inside," he said amused.

I hesitated once more, my nerves uncertain, but kept moving and finally got inside. It wasn't until he slammed the door shut that I noticed the futuristic decor inside. This car is definitely a Transformer. The four seats were mounted on aircraft-style tracks-like helicopter seats-with seat belt harnesses, which wasn't a good sign. The instrument panel was covered with a large metal sheet showing three cut-off circles at the center that seemed to be instrument panel vents. Above, three small vertical LCD screens shed light on the metal. The steely steering wheel had the letters "HX" engraved in the middle and another metallic circle, whose purpose was completely unknown, sat next to it. If I felt already stupid around cars, my lack of knowledge sky-rocketed with this one.

And maybe I was stupid or blind, but where was the radio?

Tristan turned on the ignition. The screens were now displaying a dramatic start sequence with a blue background and the "HX" letters flashing in the middle. The strange circle gleamed with orange lights.

I stared in awe.

"What's the matter?" he asked, eyeing me.

"Your car is really...high-tech."

He laughed.

"No, really, it looks like we're inside of an aircraft or something. I've never seen anything like this." Even after seeing amazing vehicles in New York, nothing compared to this.

"I guess you like it." He grinned.

I blushed. "Well, yeah, it's okay." I looked sideways, trying to sound indifferent. Each screen was currently displaying something different now. At least I recognized the one at the center with the speedometer. The other two looked too sophisticated. "Um...I know you're going to think I'm thickheaded, which I am around cars, so I wouldn't blame you but...what exactly are the screens on the edges?"

He smiled. "To begin with, I don't think you're thickheaded at all." I bit my bottom lip and he smiled. "Now, the first one is a navigation system-that I honestly don't use very much around here-and the one with the car image is the diagnostic system. My favorite part though"-the images suddenly changed-"is the off-road mode. There's a camera mounted in the rear-view mirror. I can record road trips, trails...whatever I want."

"Wow, you have quite a car."

"I like to go off-road, so it's pretty useful," he said, pressing a red button to release the enormous metallic shift. The car looked so strong and powerful that thinking about light speed was natural.

"Oh..." I managed to say amid the haziness, because when my eyes caught the side his face, I fell into a deep trance, lost in the strong line of his jaw, his sculpted lips, his straight nose. Driving suited him exceedingly well, especially in this car. His striking beauty merged with the vehicle's strength perfectly.

He turned to look at me, locking his otherworldly eyes on mine, deep and wonderful. Indecision spun in them, as if he was debating whether to do something or say something. Realizing I'd been caught staring at him, I turned my gaze to the windshield. That's when I noticed the trees gliding past the windows in a blur.

Oh no.