A Tale of Two Centuries

out of the beach house, I made the mistake of stopping before one of the pictures of his family and inquiring why there weren’t any recent additions. The temporary truce we struck out on the water vanished, the scales fell back over his eyes, and he walked outside without a word.

Obviously if I want to discover the truth, I must do so on my own.

“Cat,” I say, turning away from the parade of homes outside my window. Beside me, my cousin lifts her head and opens her sleep-dazed eyes. A happy early riser she is not. “Do you know anything about Mr. Michaels, Austin’s father?”

I know as I ask that a much easier way to uncover the truth would be to mention the family photos I found yesterday at his beach house; however, Cat still believes we were at the library all day. I’m unaccustomed to the pressing weight that the guilt of lying causes. If it were a perfect world, I could stop with the deceit altogether, but I can’t, especially not after experiencing the rush of the wind and water on the back of Austin’s Jet Ski. If I tell her the truth, she will likely ask me to stop the challenges.

And nothing is keeping me from whatever task he has planned for us next.

Cat scrunches her mouth. “You know, it’s weird. In middle school, Austin was, like, king, totally set to follow his dad’s footsteps to the White House. He was a year older than me, but I still knew who he was—everyone did. He led the soccer team, won all the assembly awards, was student council president… Then, when I was in the sixth grade, his dad won the senate election, and I remember him coming to school a couple of times. The man was a complete and utter tool, but you could see that Austin worshipped him.”

Out of everything Cat just said, this surprises me the most. Abhorred seems a much more apt choice of verb, at least based on Austin’s reactions around me whenever the subject of his dad came up.

“When Austin graduated,” she continues, “I totally expected to find him on top of everything at the high school, even as a sophomore. But instead, I found him in my class because he failed an entire year.” She shrugs. “I don’t know how that happened. Even weirder is that when his dad campaigned for reelection a couple months ago, the news coverage just kinda skimmed over Austin. It was like he didn’t exist. His sister Jamie was at all the events, at least according to the pictures, anyway, but Austin…well, if I were to guess, he was off surfing.”

At the onslaught of information, I massage my temples, hoping that maybe that will help me process it all. Our car stops, and I glance out the window. We are at a light, a block away from the white stone building of the high school. Only a few minutes left to ask two more nagging questions. I tuck my leg under me and decide to go with the easier one first. “What about Austin’s and Jamie’s mother? I notice you didn’t mention her.”

Cat winces. “She died.”

Horrified, I slap my hand over my mouth. Austin’s mother had looked frail in the more recent photographs, but it never occurred to me that she could have been sick. Hurting for the young boy who lost his mother, I whisper, “How long ago?”

Cat tilts her head and stares at the ceiling, thinking. “I want to say two or three years ago. At the time, it was a big deal. She’d been battling breast cancer, and for a while, people wore pink ribbons and organized walks, and our health classes focused on prevention. But then, I guess people moved on to other causes.” She frowns, and the car rolls again as the light turns green.

Austin’s loss reminds me of how very much I miss my own mother, miss hearing her words of wisdom, and how devastated I would be if I ever lost her. As the high school comes into view, I take a breath and ask the final question I had been holding, wondering if in the light of everything else, it still even matters. “And Kendal?”

Cat narrows her eyes at me, suspicion rolling off her in waves, but she answers as we come to a stop in front of the school. “They were together when his mom died, but the cheating scandal broke not too long after that.”

With a heart torn between wanting to run and hide and needing to find Austin and throw my arms around him, I step out from the car, up the front stone stairs, and into the frantic hallway. It would appear that fate has made the choice for me. Austin meets my gaze over the shuffle of students from where he stands, waiting beside my locker. He shoulders a bag that looks suspiciously stuffed—beside the one notebook I saw on Friday, I’m under the distinct impression he doesn’t own any other supplies—and bestows an even more suspicious grin upon my cousin.

She, I notice, seems to be just as wary. “Good morning, Austin. You’re here shockingly early. Did someone remember to take his good-student pills today?”

Austin’s lips twitch with amusement, and he shifts his eyes to mine. “Just had a question to ask Less about our project.”

I widen my eyes in silent annoyance but luckily, Cat doesn’t catch his double meaning.

Out on the water yesterday, I told Austin about my need to keep his challenge a secret. Also, in a moment of adrenaline-filled weakness, I somehow divulged my peculiar nickname. From the look Cat gives me, she finds this very telling.

Austin smirks, apparently catching the same look. “I’ll make sure she gets to class on time.”

She chokes on a laugh. “That’s interesting because I wasn’t totally sure you knew how to get there yourself.” Then she leans close and whispers, “Do you want me to leave?”

Not wanting her to see my excitement at Austin’s proposal and what it could potentially mean, I lower my lashes and nod.

Cat smacks her lips. “O-kay then,” she says, not sounding at all convinced. “I guess I’ll just see you at lunch…Alessandra.”

At her overt attempt at provocation—my cousin never uses my given name—I lift my eyes. “Yes. See you then, Caterina.”

Her head jerks back—probably as much at the name she shares with her mother as at the surprising confidence in my tone. A small smile of admiration springs to her lips. “All right, kiddos, try not to kill each other when I’m gone.” Cat takes a step away and elbows Austin in the ribs. “Take care of my girl, Michaels.”

She walks down the hall toward her own locker and I watch until she disappears into the crowd. “Thank you for maintaining my ruse,” I tell Austin. “Much like you, she seems to think I am sheltered and in need of protection.”

He chuckles, a deep, rumbling sound that for some reason makes me uncomfortable. Turning away, I grab the dial of the lock with shaky hands and try to remember the combination Cat taught me. Austin closes his hand over mine. “You’re not gonna need any books today.”

Confused, I twist to look at him with a frown. “I’m not?”

He shakes his head. “Not where we’re going.”

It takes me what feels like a full minute to realize his intention. Then I gasp. “But you promised Cat you would get me to class.” He nods, not at all looking guilty for his blatant deceit—he must practice it far more frequently than I do—and I shake my head. “You lied!”

“Yeah, sweetheart,” he says in a slow drawl. “I did.” Austin pulls a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolds it, and hands it to me. With a devilish grin he says, “Challenge two presented.”

A glance at the paper reveals the words Lethal Xperience: Rush Theme Park written above a steel contraption built with impossible twists and turns, looming at even more impossible heights. A group of unfortunate people strapped to the death-defying object peer up from the page, strangely enough with joy on their faces.

My gaze shoots back to his. He laughs at what I can only assume is my panic-stricken expression and reaches out to nudge my open jaw closed with his knuckle. “It’s a roller coaster, Princess. It’s fun. Are you allergic to fun?”

Fun I can handle, I want to tell him. Death, not so much.

“B-but class,” I say, weakly waving my hand at the rooms around us. “Isn’t leaving school grounds during the day against the rules?”

He huffs in exasperation. “Alessandra, you only live once, and to be honest, you’re not living at all. You promised you’d give me a week to loosen you up. Are you backing out already?”

I loathe the truth in his words.