The way Thea’s momma hadn’t.
Those words went unspoken.
“I heard her pain, felt it, and I tried to help.”
When she fell silent, I read between the lines. “You healed her?”
She shook her head. “No. At first, I thought I’d killed her. I gave her some more time, I think. Eased her suffering. Not a lot really. Not for the way it knocked me out.”
“You collapsed?” I questioned, my voice turning hoarse at the prospect of her dealing with all this alone.
“Yes. It wasn’t the flu or a summer cold. It was the healing. When you give of yourself, there’s always a price.” She rubbed her nose after pinching the bridge. “That you felt the cold, too, tells me something I already knew.”
“What’s that?” I wasn’t even sure why I didn’t think any of this was crazy. Maybe because I loved Supernatural? I mean, I didn’t want to be a Winchester, but their shit was cool. An ex had gotten me hooked, and I’d been a die-hard fan ever since.
A closet fan, of course. Cain would never let me hear the end of it otherwise.
“Another gift unique to our family—we know who our soul mates are. We call them our jílo.”
The word solidified inside me, settling with the rightness of her claim. There was no need to freak out, not when this made sense of the crazed panic I’d been dealing with since the last time we’d met.
“I can believe that,” I told her gruffly, dropping my eyes to our hands which were still knotted together.
“You can?” She squeezed my fingers.
“Of course. Of everything you’ve told me, it makes the most sense.”
A smile tugged at her lips. “That’s very enlightened of you.”
I hesitated for a fraction of a second, then dipped my chin. Letting my lips brush along hers, I whispered, “I’d like to say I’m an enlightened kind of guy, but after a week without you? Only this explains what I’ve gone through.”
Misery passed over her features. “I’m sorry, Adam.”
“You didn’t mean to put me through that.” I sucked down a breath. “But, whatever you do, please, try not to do it again.”
“Never,” she vowed. “I have your phone now.”
“My number’s written on the inside of the box. Use it. Whenever. For whatever. You understand?”
“Bossy.”
I laughed a little, suddenly feeling warmer than I had in a week. “I try.”
THEA
“What is it about you that has him so ensnared?”
The second I heard his voice, I knew it wasn’t Adam.
I should have known something was off, something was weird when Adam hadn’t waited for me outside the changing room like he usually did.
Instead, I’d found him in the cafeteria, sitting at our regular table. I hadn’t thought much of it, had just rushed to sit with him. Now that I had, I realized something.
His aura.
I couldn’t see it.
Rubbing at my brow as I wondered why on earth that was, and how I could recognize him even without the aura clueing me in, I muttered, “Cain, how unpleasant it is to see you.”
“You really can tell the difference between us, can’t you?” he replied, his head tilting to the side as he studied me like I was some kind of butterfly he had pinned down on a slide. Like he was trying to see what species I was and determine what was wrong with me.
“Yes. I can.”
“How is that? Even our parents can’t tell the difference between us.”
No pair of twins was so identical their own parents couldn’t tell the difference between them… “Something I’m sure you’ve allowed to happen.”
He narrowed his eyes. “What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means,” I said slowly, “that they won’t be able to differentiate between the pair of you if you constantly change identities.”
“What? You think this is some kind of Parent Trap?” he scoffed.
“Never put you down as a fan of Lindsey Lohan. Especially not when she was a little girl,” I retorted.
His mouth twisted. “He’s turned you against me.”
“Has he?” I arched a brow as I reached for my apple. Taking a bite of it, I murmured, “As far as I’m aware, he’s done nothing of the kind.”
“Then why don’t you like me?” This came with a disturbing pout of displeasure.
“Do I have to? I barely know you.”
He shook his head. “Everyone likes me.”
“I highly doubt that.” I chewed on my apple. “What are you doing here?”
“Adam’s routine has changed this past week or so. And over the last eight days, he’s been acting oddly. I was curious.”
“You followed him here?” He shrugged, and I frowned. “Is that normal behavior between siblings?”
“I care about him.”
A likely story.
I hummed under my breath. “If you say so. And are you concerned about his welfare now that you know he trains here every morning?”
“I’m not concerned, but I’m sure Mother would be. She has such high hopes for us,” was his retort, and it was so slick and sly, uttered so coyly that I wanted to slap him.
“Well, he’s doing exactly as she’d want, I’m sure—”
“There’s more than one way to make a mother proud. You’re hardly the kind of girl she’d like us to be associating with.”
“Really? What’s wrong with me? Just too poor for your family’s tastes?”
“Mom came from poverty. If there’s anyone who should understand that we’re more than the sum of our past, it’s her,” Adam rasped, breaking into the conversation with a glower. His hands were trayless, and instead, they were balled into fists at his sides. I understood. His anger was intense where his brother was concerned.
I could never hope to know what had gone on between the brothers, but also, I didn’t need to. I trusted Adam. And before my ability to read auras had gone on the fritz, I’d seen Cain for what he was.
Squinting at Adam, I tried to discern his aura, and felt stupid for failing to have realized the lack of one around him. My only excuse was the second I’d arrived at the center, I’d felt close to fainting. Just getting here had been a lesson in torture, and climbing out of bed had felt like ascending Everest.
When he’d arrived, I’d been more concerned about seeing him than his aura. Especially when, until Cain, I hadn’t really taken much notice of it. The ability didn’t exactly help me with my desire to fit in, did it?
The fact I couldn’t see, but could only sense his anger, was proof enough that I’d done something when I’d healed Louisa. Or, I guessed, attempted to heal Louisa.
I pushed that thought aside as I turned my focus back to the twins. Adam’s shoulders were bunched, and I could feel his outrage as he snarled, “What the hell are you even doing here?”
“As I was explaining to Theodosia, you’ve been weird this past week. I was concerned.”
“You’re never concerned about me,” Adam scoffed, his mouth twisting into a snarl. “Why the hell did you follow me?”
“Because I was concerned,” he repeated, his gaze drifting to me. “What do you see in her? She’s so dull.”
Though his eyes were fixed on mine, and I knew he’d said that with the intent to hurt me, it didn’t work. Foster parents had been capable of far more cutting statements, and I’d endured them, just as I’d endured mean kids I’d ended up in a foster home with, and bullies at the many schools I’d attended over the years.
Unable to stop my smile from forming, I grinned at him. “Do you think that can hurt me, Cain? Should I be offended that a boy I don’t like doesn’t think I’m pretty? Grow up.” I leaned forward, ignoring the fact I was feeling lightheaded again. The water had done something to me, revitalized me like I’d swum in a hot spring and not a community pool, but it wasn’t a miracle worker. I was still ill in the aftermath of Louisa’s botched healing—I shouldn’t forget that. “Yo
u must be used to real airheads,” I finished softly, “if that’s all it takes for them to run off sobbing.”
His mouth tightened, and a nasty glimmer appeared in his eyes. Before he could say a word, Adam’s hand was on his shoulder, pushing him back. I only realized then and there that he’d leaned into me too. Only Adam’s touch put distance between us.
“I think it’s time for you to go.”
“Yes, I think I need to share this strange get-together you have with one of Mother’s constituents with her.”
Adam surprised me by laughing. “Go on, tell her. She doesn’t often listen to me, but I think she’ll find this interesting.” He did something on his phone, tapped here and there, then shoved something in Cain’s face.
I was surprised to see Cain freeze, his gaze glinting as he stared at the screen. “You wouldn’t dare?”
“Wouldn’t I?” Adam smiled. “Secrets, Cain. I can keep yours, and I’m sure you’ll keep mine.”
Cain snarled, but he shoved back out of his chair, and it slammed into the ground. He didn’t hang around, just stormed off, leaving the room brimming with energy.
The sensation was strange. Without the auras, I didn’t think I should have sensed that, but I did. It was powerful. Everything about Cain was, I realized. He was like a turbulent sea that was gaining strength, preparing to form a tidal wave of destruction.
The thought made me feel uneasy, and it only dissipated when Adam dropped a kiss on my temple and muttered, “Sorry about that. I’m just going to grab my coffee.”
I watched him go get his breakfast, and when he came back, I blurted out, “I can’t see auras anymore.” Hell, I’d only just shared that one weirdness of mine, and already, my heritage was making a liar out of me.
“But you knew it was him?” He tipped his head to the side. “How?”
“How did you know that?”
“I was down the corridor when I saw you sit with him. You were tense right from the start. You’re never like that with me.” He shrugged. “I hurried toward you and caught up at that point in your conversation.”
“You and he aren’t identical.”
He snorted. “Tell our mother that. Everyone would disagree with you.”
“I’m not everyone, am I?” I smiled a little. “You and he are like night and day.”
“Which is which?”
“You’re day, of course. You’re the light. He’s dark.” I shivered, and involuntarily twisted my head to the side to stare at the path he’d taken when he’d stormed out. “We angered the beast.”
“Doesn’t take much,” Adam grumbled as he doctored his coffee.
“No. I guess not.” But I still felt uneasy. “I shouldn’t have goaded him.”
“Again, it doesn’t take much. Unless you’re fawning over him or offering to suck his dick, it’s never enough.”
I pulled a face. “Charming.”
“It’s true.”
“What did you show him?” I queried after watching him take a sip of coffee.
“A picture of him with our Italian teacher.” He smirked. “Caught them at it after school two months ago.”
“You’ve been holding onto that for two months?”
Adam just shrugged. “Where he’s concerned, it pays to be prepared. I have a couple more tricks up my sleeve, don’t worry.”
But nothing could have prepared us for what was coming—my prediction was right. Cain’s tidal wave was surging into power, and we were in its crosshairs.
THEA
“Adam!” I said around a laugh as he tugged me out of the center and into the parking lot. “What is it?”
His chuckle had my smile widening, and like I usually did in his presence, it felt as though my heart was expanding, growing and growing until there was no room in my chest for anything other than him.
“Don’t be so impatient,” he chided, making me scoff.
“Me? Impatient? You’re the impatient one.” Well, he kind of was. Somehow, he was the most patient impatient person I’d ever known.
He snorted, but I found myself hauled into his side and sighing when his lips brushed over my cheek. Adam was always a gentleman with me. I wasn’t sure if I was relieved by that or concerned.
He wasn’t from my culture. He didn’t know that the little we’d done thus far was considered a liberty to my people. I shouldn’t be touching him, shouldn’t let him hug me or hold me, and I shouldn’t spend so much time with him. That I did all three was the equivalent of my being a fallen woman to my people. It didn’t matter that he was my jílo, no one cared about that.
They cared about propriety, and where women my age were concerned, they were concerned about virginity.
Adam looked at me with a certain heat in his eyes that let me know he wanted me, and the feeling was mutual, but he never acted on it. And, in my defense, I didn’t know how to.
“Okay, open your eyes,” he muttered, breaking into my thoughts just as fire licked at my heels when he squeezed me again, brushed his lips over my temple this time, before declaring, “Happy birthday!”
I let my eyes drift open, and for a second, I could only gape at what was evidently my gift.
“Do you like it?” he asked, his voice wary when I didn’t say all that much.
I didn’t know what to say.
So, I went with the predictable response. “Adam, my God, it’s too much,” I rasped, eying the bike. It was pure vintage, and I loved it. Absolutely loved it. “How did you even get it here?” I knew my face was made up of nothing more than my smile. That was how big it was.
His grin was sheepish, but his eyes sparkled with glee, because he knew I was being honest and his pleasure in my joy was evident. That was something I loved about him. Where I was concerned, he was selfless and so generous, I wasn’t even sure if I deserved him.
I had nothing to give, but he did, and he gave me something every day. He fed me and paid for my phone. I felt so bad sometimes, but if I argued, he’d tell me that he was the selfish one because he wanted to make sure I was okay—how was I supposed to argue with that?
See? Gentleman. In both meanings of the word.
“I had Linden, our driver, bring it.” Then, his eyes darkened as he muttered, “Anyway, it’s not too much. I saw it and thought of you.”
“Where though?” Knowing where he lived, and that his mom was a senator, I didn’t think he had the kind of neighborhood where they’d be holding yard sales every weekend.
He shrugged. “I admit to hunting through some thrift stores for it. They’re kinda hard to find, but I just knew you’d get a kick out of it.”
And he was right.
Totally dead on.
The Raleigh Chopper gleamed. The relatively small wheels in contrast to the frame were so black, they shone, and the chrome bodywork glittered in the sunlight. The high handlebars had some flags on them that flickered in the light breeze, and the seat, a bright shiny blue, had the little cushioned ‘flick’ to support the back.
“You found this in a thrift store?” I queried disbelievingly, then I shot him a wary look—he already spent too much on me.
He shook his head, but was laughing as he did so. “You’re so distrusting,” he chided, sliding his arm over my shoulders now. “I got it for like fifty dollars at the thrift store. It was a wreck. Want to see?”
“Sure,” I told him, amused by the eager question. He totally wanted me to see, and when I did, I just gaped harder at it.
The bike had been a wreck. Charging fifty dollars for it was outrageous.
The bodywork was one big brown blob of rust, the seat was beyond cracked and with more tears in it than anything else, and the handlebars had been bent out of shape.
Somehow, seeing what it was like, and how it was now, made my eyes prickle with tears. “Oh, Adam,” I breathed, reaching out and touching the picture on his phone with my fingers. “You did this for me.”
“Of course,” he said matter-of-factly. “I want you to be safe. I hate you w
alking down that road every day. Not only is it too far, but it’s dangerous. This whole goddamn place is.” He peered around the parking lot like he was on the hunt for drug dealers. “I got you two good chains with solid locks, but it won’t stop someone from stealing it if you don’t put it somewhere safe like in front of a store in plain sight, you know?”
I nodded, understanding what he meant. “A-Adam, you repaired it?”
He shrugged. “I like fixing things.”
God, he’d told me that the second time we met. How had I forgotten?
Twisting into him, I pressed a hand to his chest and stood up on tiptoe. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
He sighed, but let me be the one to join our mouths. The kiss was soft, gentle. But it throbbed. He wanted more, and I had no idea how to give it to him, yet he wasn’t pushing it. I knew, from the way he was, the ease in his body, his sensuality, that he was no virgin, but he never pressured me. Ever. He was content to touch me, to hold me, to kiss me chastely. I knew at some point that would change, but for the moment, he never took things too far. I felt like he was waiting on something, only I had no way of knowing what that was, and I didn’t know how to ask him.
Sure, most girls might be that forward, but I wasn’t. Even though I’d lost ties with my culture at eight, certain rules had been ingrained in me from what felt like birth.
Pushing his forehead into mine, he whispered, “I love you, Thea.”
My throat felt thick with emotion. “I love you too, Adam.” I reached up with my other hand and wrapped it around the back of his neck. “No one’s ever done anything like this for me before.”
“You deserve the world, Thea, and if I have my way, I’ll give it to you.”
“I just want you,” I whispered, meaning it. Possessions didn’t mean as much to me as they did to Adam, and I didn’t mean that in a bad way, but it was just the difference in our upbringing. Still, the bike was wonderful because he was right—Laurence was dangerous, and having a bike would make me safer.
Above The Surface Page 10