Windswept

by Gwen Cole

  “I thought I was the one you called if you were sick or had cramps.”

  “Nell—” I closed my mouth, hating this conversation more and more. Sure, maybe I should have thrown her a text, but my life had been a little more than hectic lately. “I thought you would understand. I’m sure you don’t want me there, hanging over your and Luke’s relationship every step of the way. Am I right?”

  “You still could have told me sooner,” she said again, giving me a bit more attitude than she normally would have. “I don’t like coming to your house and finding out that you’ve replaced me with a boy you don’t even know.”

  Before I had time to respond, she got up and walked out the door. I was left speechless and on the verge of crying out of anger. We’d had our arguments, but it had never gotten to the point where one of us had walked away before. I didn’t want to chase after her and tell her I was sorry. I’d already done that— she hadn’t accepted it.

  I sat at the table a moment longer before leaving, stepping out into the overcast weather again. I felt lost. I couldn’t get a hold of my parents, and now Nella wouldn’t talk to me. I hadn’t seen Reid yet either, and that was bothering me more than anything. I just wanted to go somewhere, anywhere but here or home . . . and I could.

  But where?

  People walked past me on the street, a few cussing because I was in their way, bumping into my still form because I wouldn’t move. I thought about Logan. I hadn’t seen him since August, and that was all the reason I needed to persuade myself to pay him a visit. Maybe I would get lucky and he could tell me why Mom and Dad never told me about us—about me.

  I’d been to his campus once, and that memory was enough for me to get a clear picture of where I wanted to go. I picked a spot near the outside of his building, on the corner where nobody would see me appear. Reid had yet to explain how nobody ever saw him drift. He obviously did it in public, and yet nobody ever seemed to notice him.

  I made a mental note to ask the next time I saw him.

  A nervous jitter ran through me before taking that initial step. My stomach turned over as my surroundings changed. The thrill was still new, and I thought it was impossible I’d ever get used to it.

  When I appeared, it was drizzling and the grass was wet. People scurried from the buildings with umbrellas over their heads. I pulled up my hood and started off across the lawn toward the dorm’s entrance. The halls were noisy when I stepped inside. It was full of guys, and the smell of sweat and unwashed laundry hung heavily in the air. Music echoed off the walls from somewhere.

  A few guys glanced at me as I made my way through the crowded hall, but I was able to make it to Logan’s door unscathed. I knocked a few times and waited. A guy leaned up against the wall, talking to a friend of his, but he looked over, trying to appear casual. His eyes roamed.

  I looked away and knocked again. The door opened a moment later, but it wasn’t Logan who stood before me. The guy was in the middle of brushing his teeth and pulling on a jacket. His light hair was messy and still wet from a shower. He raised his eyebrows when he saw me.

  “Who are you?” He narrowed his eyes. “If Jeff sent you, tell him I was totally kidding last night.”

  I grimaced. “Um, no. I’m Logan’s sister.”

  He stopped brushing his teeth and pointed at me with his toothbrush. “You’re Sam?”

  I nodded. “Is Logan here?”

  “No, he went somewhere last night, and I don’t think he’s been back. Here, come on in.”

  He opened the door wider, and I stepped inside. I couldn’t help but notice that Logan’s side of the room was a little neater than his roommate’s. Our mom rubbed off on us, apparently.

  “Do you have any idea when he’ll be back?” I asked.

  He spit his toothpaste into the trash can and finished putting on his jacket. “I have no idea, but I wouldn’t try calling him. He left his phone.” He gestured over to the nightstand next to Logan’s bed. “I’ve gotta to go, but feel free to hang out and wait for him if you want. Just shut the door on your way out.”

  I muttered a thanks as he left. I went over to his bed and sat down, grabbing Logan’s phone from the table. Why would he leave his phone? I swiped it open, put in the same password our whole family used, and looked at the recent text messages, thinking that would give me hints that would help me find him. After finding nothing, I looked at his calls. Mom had called him last night, around the same time she’d called me.

  Again, what the heck? It was like they all decided to go on vacation but forgot to invite me along.

  “Wanna party tonight?” The guy from the hallway stood leaning against the door, wearing a smile that I presumed was supposed to win me over.

  “No.”

  “Just no?” He unfolded his arms and took a step inside the room. “You won’t even give me a chance? Come on.” He smiled. “You’ll have a good time.”

  What kind of school had parties on the weekdays? I placed Logan’s phone on his stand and stood. The guy flashed another smile, thinking I was about to agree to go somewhere with him.

  “No, thanks.”

  I walked past him and didn’t bother staying around to shut the door.

  Since nobody was in the next hallway, I used that chance to leave. I wanted to go somewhere else besides home—where I was constantly reminded that I knew nothing about anything—so I quickly thought of a location in London. I’d always wanted to go to England, so why not now?

  It had to be around eleven o’clock in London when I drifted into the dark alleyway, and the rain was coming down hard. A moment after I arrived, I leaned against one of the walls, breathing deeply, not getting enough air. My hands shook as I lowered myself to the ground and let myself cry. Luckily, there was an overhang and I had found the only dry place to sit down.

  I had no idea where my parents were, or Logan for that matter, and Nella wouldn’t even talk to me. I felt lost, even though I knew exactly where I was every minute of the day.

  Cars drove past the mouth of the alleyway, and a few people dotted the sidewalks. Nobody noticed me. I knew I was being stupid and wasting time with my tears. But I had never been through so much over the span of a few days before, and I felt overwhelmed and scared. Logan was the one person I could always count on to be there for me. Someone I could talk to when I didn’t feel like talking to my parents.

  And he wasn’t there.

  I closed my eyes and thought of him really hard, thinking I could find him the same way I drifted. But I only saw black. The same happened when I thought of Mom and Dad, but didn’t Reid say it came with practice?

  A sound rang out down the alley—a familiar breeze that made me feel a little less alone. Reid crouched next to me, and I finally lifted my head, my eyes going straight for him like there was nothing else I wanted to look at. His eyes were dark with the night, concern written all over him.

  “I haven’t had the best day,” I told him.

  “That’s obvious.” He shifted his weight and sat down next to me under the overhang, getting out of the rain. I felt calmer with him there—less alone. The day’s events caught up with me again now that I was sitting there, nothing else to think on.

  “I went to visit Logan.”

  “Your brother?”

  “Yeah, but he wasn’t there. His roommate said he left sometime last night and never came back. He left his phone— he never leaves his phone. But that’s not the weird thing. The weird thing is that he talked to my mom last night, around the same time she left me a voice mail.”

  “You still haven’t gotten hold of her, then?”

  “No.” A lump lodged in my throat as I worried about what might be happening. “I can’t find them,” I voiced. “I’ve even tried finding them by drifting, but it didn’t work.”

  “That only comes with practice, trust me. You’ll get there.”

  “And in the meantime?”

  “Well, I might be able to do it. Do you have pictures of them?”


  I pulled out my phone and found a few pictures of my parents. Reid scrolled through them and then he closed his eyes for a moment, his eyebrows furrowing. He glanced at me and then tried again, finally shaking his head.

  Then he said, almost like he didn’t want to, “Something is wrong . . . I can’t find them either.”

  I remembered what Reid said.

  “Reid, you said drifters were going missing. What if—”

  I couldn’t even finish the sentence. Could it be coincidence?

  Reid saw the look on my face and said in a hurry, “Hey, just because I can’t see them doesn’t mean we can’t find them. It’ll be okay.”

  I could only nod and asked, “Has that ever happened before?”

  He didn’t answer and just said, “I promise we’ll figure this out.”

  Reid reached his hand over and twined his fingers with mine. He was a lot warmer than I was, and without even thinking about it, I leaned my head on his shoulder. It was probably the closest we’d ever been. I wanted more.

  “You’ll get used to this world,” he told me. “It’s different for you because you started later than usual. It’s a lot to take in. But you already fit in perfectly. You’ll see.”

  I remained silent, not wanting to ruin his flawless words but still worrying about my family. The weather caught up to me, and I shivered in response to the cold.

  “You should probably go home before you get sick. How long have you been here?”

  “Not long.”

  He got up and offered his hand to help me up. He didn’t let go and I squeezed tighter.

  We drifted back to the front of my house. The streets were damp with rain from earlier that day, and evening was coming on fast. My hand was still in Reid’s, but this time he didn’t pull away.

  “I’ll go find Jake, see if he knows anything about your parents or brother. Just please try not to worry too much.” He showed me a smile that made my heart pound. “And get some sleep. You look like you need it.”

  “Thanks,” I said, my sarcastic tone coming out. “Every girl loves hearing that, especially from a guy.”

  “Would it make a difference if I said that you still looked great?”

  “Not unless it’s true.”

  He nodded. “It’s true.” His eyes trailed down to our hands, as if he’d forgotten he was still holding mine.

  Reid hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and placing a soft kiss on my cheek, almost at the corner of my mouth. I didn’t have the courage to turn into him. He lingered there for a moment, his mouth next to my ear, and a warm shiver ran down my spine. “You have no idea how badly I want to kiss you,” he murmured. “Maybe next time, okay?”

  I nodded. “Next time.”

  He smirked as he stepped back, drifting when he did, and he was gone.

  A stupid smile was plastered on my face. I gave my heart a few moments to calm down before going into the house. It was quiet inside, as usual, and the only lights I had left on were right over the entryway and above the stove. It glowed dimly from the kitchen as usual, but then something caught my eye.

  The back door had been shattered and bits of glass covered the floor. I froze instantly, not knowing what to do. I tried to take calming breaths, and after a short while, I was able to move forward, slowly.

  Levi was nowhere in sight, which worried me. He was always here, always ready to greet me at the door. The house was silent, and I stopped midway down the dark hall. Someone had broken in, that was all. They were probably long gone, and Levi was outside still trying to pick up their scent.

  It was hard to convince myself of that. I was too scared to move farther into the house, or even make another sound. My heart pounded too hard and my breathing too fast. Would it be horrible if I drifted away and got help? Reid would know what to do.

  My phone. I needed to call the police.

  That thought was the last thing my brain registered before my world became chaos.

  Light flashed around me like lightning, blinding me and making my ears ring. I blinked and blinked but saw nothing but white. I dropped to the floor, a mute scream coming from my throat. Something cold snapped around my wrist and I jerked back, still unable to hear or see.

  I tried to drift.

  I couldn’t.

  SAM

  NEW YORK, UNITED STATES

  MY VISION WAS WHITE FOR A LONG TIME, AND then, slowly, I started to see bits of color. Blurry figures stood over me, and I could barely breathe. Everything was still muted—I could hear nothing but the loud ringing in my ears. Someone turned on all the lights and the hallway finally lit up, coming into focus. The first thing I saw was my phone, smashed on the floor next to me.

  Then I saw a man standing above me. He talked and gestured toward me with his hands, but every word he spoke sounded muffled and unclear. After the initial shock wore off, I thought about moving—at least off my back where I felt too vulnerable.

  In one smooth motion, I flipped over and pushed myself against the wall. My back had barely touched it when something yanked on my wrist, jerking me to a stop. A metal cuff was clasped around it, connected to a chain. A chain that was bolted straight into the hardwood floor.

  Was this why I couldn’t drift? When I tried, I saw the place I wanted to go, but I couldn’t go there. It was like the chain was anchoring me here. Reid hadn’t told me there were rules to drifting as well as limitations. Was this one of them?

  The man crouched down in front of me. I recognized him from the night of the fight. Reid said his name—was it Butch? Bill? Something with a B. After a minute, my ears stopped ringing. Voices came from the living room and the kitchen. Everywhere in the house. There were more of them here than I could see.

  The man leaned in and sniffed my hair. “Hmm, drifter. Just as I thought.” He tilted his head and I didn’t respond, not that it mattered to him. “This is all new to you, isn’t it? Nobody ever told you that you can’t drift when you’re connected to something you can’t take with you, huh?”

  He stood up and yelled toward the kitchen. “Gavin! Come unbolt her so we can be on our way.”

  He left for the living room and more voices greeted him, one speaking his name, Buck. That’s what it was. Who were these people and why were they here?

  A guy around my age emerged from the kitchen, not looking happy about being there. His face looked set in stone with his lips pressed into a thin line. He grabbed my wrist a little too hard and turned it over. The cuff clicked open and dropped to the floor.

  Gavin, I presumed, pulled me to my feet and his hand clung to my arm.

  “Don’t try to drift,” he warned. “I’ll be right here if you do.”

  He led me into the living room and his grip stayed tight, like he expected me to try drifting at any moment. Maybe I should. What would he do if I did? Maybe I could drift and get away from him in time to drift again, leaving him wherever I wanted.

  There were four more people in the living room, two men and two women, staring at me. He brought me to the far side where Buck was. Why were so many of them here?

  Buck leveled his gaze on me and asked, “Do you have any idea where your parents are?”

  That made me pause—why was he asking about my parents? I swallowed away my dry mouth and said, “I don’t know. Who are you? What are you doing in our house? What do you want?”

  He ignored my questions. Buck turned to the others and said, “Let’s go.”

  Something suddenly appeared in my peripheral vision, bringing along with it the sound I’ve come to know so well. When I turned to look, everything and everybody exploded into action.

  Gavin pushed me from behind and I fell to the ground, my face hitting the floor hard, white flashing behind my eyes. I couldn’t see what was going on—nothing but wood and dust from under the couch. His knee pressed into my back and I gritted my teeth. Buck and another man yelled, and the sound of scrambling feet was everywhere.

  “Hold him down!” There was more shuffling and
the sound of a punch. “Gavin, throw me those cuffs.”

  He did and then, almost too quiet for me to hear, Gavin cursed under his breath.

  My heart hammered into the floor, and his knee was still pressed against my back, but I wiggled underneath him and was able to move my head so I could see what was happening.

  It was Reid.

  REID

  TOKYO, JAPAN

  AFTER I HAD LEFT SAM ON HER DOORSTEP, I’D gone to find Jake. I needed to find more info about Sam’s parents. Jake was on the corner of a busy street in Tokyo, waiting with other people to cross. It was hard to drift into a crowd that big without freaking someone out, but all I got was a glare from someone when I accidentally bumped their shoulder.

  Cell phones were amazing distractions.

  Jake glanced over at me, not saying anything. Everyone started across the street, and once we were out of the big crowd, Jake finally started talking.

  “You’ve got to start being more careful,” he said. “I know you won’t leave the city, but I wish you would. There’s too many sliders in New York.”

  “I’m careful enough.” We walked down the sidewalk, but my mind was somewhere else. “I have to ask you something.”

  “What is it?”

  “I was wondering if you knew anything about Sam’s parents.”

  He stopped and turned to me. “Why would I know something about her parents?”

  “Sam found out last night that she’s a drifter, but they never told her anything. Now they’re missing. They’ve been gone for a few days and now she can’t get ahold of them. I’m worried they’ve gone missing with the others.”

  Jake stared blankly at something across the street, and I could sense that his mind was reeling.

  “What are their names?” he finally asked.

  “Alex and Chloe?”

  Jake cursed and he nodded. “Yeah, they’re missing, along with their son. Within the last day.”

  “And nobody still has any idea where they are? Why can’t we find them?”

  Jake turned on me suddenly, his voice more angry than usual. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, Reid. Do you not listen to anything I say?”