Translucent

Chapter 24: Winter Formal

I pushed Cornelius away, quite roughly. He seemed dazed for a moment. A figure formed at the corner of my eyes, past his shoulders. I gasped. Diane was clutching a tray tight, a look of distraught flashed on her face. Tiny glass pieces pooled at her feet. Judging from her face, things couldn't have been clearer. She caught me doing my business with Cornelius, and worse, she might have seen him too, if he let her. Colours drained from my face.

"Forgive me," Cornelius whispered then he vanished.

"What's going on here?" Mum appeared from her room in her sleeping robe. Nathan followed behind her.

"Sorry, I slipped." Diane's voice trembled. She started picking up the pieces. I bent down to help her clean the mess.

"Are you alright, Diane?" Nathan asked.

"Yes, I'm quite alright."

Mum helped pick up the shards. Lucky Diane, the cups were empty and Mum was most unlikely to give her a cut in exchange for the expensive-looking utensils. Mum peered at me with a frown. 

"What are you doing this late anyway, Lis?" Mum folded her arms, but I was still too stunned to answer. She ignored me and turning to Diane. "Sorry, I should've let Lisa know you'd be staying in for tonight otherwise she'd be roaming the halls as she'd like."

"No, no problem at all. My family is used to delaying holidays just for quite a bit." Diane plastered a half-smile.

Mum exchanged gazes with Diane and me–with Mum, especially–had set her glare on mine before tiptoeing back to her room with Nathan silently. I doubted she could tell just how shocked I was from what just happened.

"It was him, wasn't it?" Diane asked after Mum and Nathan disappeared from the sight, breaking me from my muse.

I froze.

"You don't suppose I don't know anything about him, do you?" her sentence was clipped yet firm, like a judge putting a charge on a convict. "If anything, that explains your peculiar behaviour lately–the 'phone calls' you claimed and all."

The blush on my cheeks was getting harder I had to look away.

"You saw him?" I whispered.

"No, but I know all about the lad, dear. I've been living in this area for years." her voice was calm and content. "You've...bonded with him, haven't you?"

"Please just..."

"Lisa, Iet me explain..."

"You don't know him well enough," I snapped.

I stormed into my room and slammed the door. If Diane knew him, did Cornelius know her as well? Had they ever interacted with each other? Had she seen him this whole time? Was Diane a passive medium like me? There was too much to process tonight.

I slid down on the floor. Frustration escaped through my mouth as a groan. Despite my feelings winning the night, nothing would be the same anymore, not after Diane discovered us. I proceeded to ready myself to sleep.

All curled up in my bed, my hand reached out to my side and felt it empty. Cornelius did not appear for the rest of the night, or rather, he might be around but chose not to make himself visible, for all I knew. Yet I didn't blame him for it. There was much of each of us to savour after our reckless action, costing in Diane's revelation. We allowed it to happen anyway.

I picked up Cornelius' watch from my pocket and pondered at it for a while, my fingers closing around it.

"We're gonna be okay." I whispered into the empty space and only wished Cornelius would listen somewhere close.