I tried not to wince as the sound from the speakers became almost unbearable as we joined him. At seeing us, he broke away from his impromptu group and pointed out the cooler of drinks and the footpath a few steps from us that led to the pool house on the side of the yard.
I followed Nicole over to the cooler and, true to my word, remained silent as she pulled out a can of beer. I bent down to pull out a bottle of water, then shook my head at what I saw. This was definitely a high school party. Even if Nicole hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have dared put myself through the torment of trying to down anything from the selection in that cooler. And besides, alcohol was off limits for the next thirty-six weeks anyway.
She avoided my gaze as she cracked her can open and took a sip. I rolled my eyes and followed her back to the kids dancing by the fire. A minute later, I smiled politely as she half-heartedly introduced me to her circle of friends dancing off to the side away from the speakers, which made for marginally easier conversation.
“Oh wow!” One of her friends, Heather, tilted her head to the side after our introductions were finished. “You know, has anyone ever told you? You look kind of like Gravita.”
“Weird.” I laughed and furrowed my brows as I took a sip of water.
“Heather, you think everyone looks like Gravita,” another girl chimed in. “You thought Nicky’s mom looked like Gravita.”
I capped the water and laughed with the other girls as Heather pulled out her phone.
“I’m telling you guys!” she insisted, though she was laughing harder than anyone else. “Jackie looks like her!”
I nodded as she waved her phone in front of her for emphasis. On her screen was the picture of me with the President.
“Wow. Weird.” I nodded, then tilted my head to the side. “She really kind of does, doesn’t she? I mean, maybe in twenty years?”
“I’m tired of dancing.” Nicole broke into our conversation by pushing Heather’s phone away. “Do you guys wanna go for a swim?”
It looked like some of her friends still wanted to dance, but it was starting to get late enough that the cold of the night was overwhelming the heat from the fire, so I was unsurprised that we found ourselves a minute later making the short walk across the yard to the pool house. As the other girls pulled their shoes, tee shirts, and pants off to reveal their swimsuits underneath, I took a seat at one of the glass tables along the side of the pool and pulled out my phone to send Jake a quick text to see how he was doing and maybe threaten him a little.
“Jackie?” Heather waved her hand in front of my face, causing me to arch my head back and look at her. “Aren’t you gonna come swim?”
“Oh.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “Maybe later? I just ate.”
“What kind of an excuse is that?” She laughed. “You sound like my mother.”
“Imagine that.” Nicole snorted from Heather’s side.
I gave Nicole a flat look. “Fine.”
I put my phone in my back pocket as I stood up, then pulled my sweatshirt and tee shirt off in one fluid motion over my head. A second later, I kicked my shoes off and unbuckled my belt.
“Damn girl!” Heather whistled as I pulled my pants down past my hips. “What kind of sport gives you abs like that?”
“Umm.” I gave her an uncomfortable smile and held my balled-up jeans in front of my stomach. “I guess I’m kind of a gym rat.”
“Okay.” Nicole rolled her eyes. “Can we go to the hot tub now?”
“Oh.” I looked over at the sauna at the far end of the pool in time to see Ethan stepping into the bubbling water, and my mind raced to come up with a reasonable excuse. “You guys go ahead. I’m not really in the mood for the hot tub.”
“What?” Heather laughed and poked me in the rib. “Jackie, you’re shivering!”
“I want to play volleyball,” I blurted out as I caught sight of two boys stringing a low net over the middle of the pool.
“You do?” Nicole narrowed an eye.
“Yeah.” I shrugged and scratched the back of my calf with my other foot as she studied me.
I crouched down to put my pants and shirt on top of my shoes and tried to ignore the fact I was wearing possibly the most provocative bikini Sam owned. Somehow, it had been the only one she had managed to find. I rolled my eyes as I straightened back up.
“Suit yourself.” Nicole turned and padded over to the hot tub to join her other friends.
“I’m down for volleyball.” Heather smiled, even as I looked down and adjusted my pink bikini top to better cover up.
“Oh, no,” I stammered, looking up at her and holding up my hands. “You should go hang out with your friends. It doesn’t look like any of the other girls are going to be playing volleyball.”
“All the more reason to play.” She winked at the surprise evident on my face. “You didn’t think you were gonna get all those boys to yourself, did you?”
I didn’t say anything as I lowered myself into the water. I was somewhat relieved to see that, thanks to my mere five-foot stature, the water came up to well over my navel.
“Besides.” She jumped into the water next to me with a wide splash. “I’m kind of getting sick of watching Nicole and Ethan making out all the time.” I scrunched up my nose and bore my teeth in an imitation of a smile.
Despite my heavy skepticism, I found myself having fun playing volleyball with a bunch of teenagers. The boys on the opposing team learned the hard way a few minutes into the game not to write us off after I spiked a lay-up from Heather that gave our team an early lead. I stuck my tongue out at the boy who had dived toward the spiked ball only to get a mouthful of water for his trouble, and he blinked and grit his teeth as he slammed his hands down on the water, sending up a wild spray. I couldn’t help but laugh at his childish antics as I gave Heather a high-five.
Within a few minutes of the game starting, a crowd of girls had gathered on our side of the pool to cheer us on, to the chagrin of the other team. The four boys on our team didn’t seem to mind the extra attention, somehow. They were considerably less excited, though, when the game was over and four girls jumped into the pool to replace them for the next matchup.
The boys on the other team seemed determined to not let themselves lose again, especially when facing a team made up only of girls. Unfortunately for them, the girls that had joined Heather and me, I learned later, were all members of the high school volleyball team. The same team that had clenched the state championship only the month before. The boys didn’t stand a chance.
After our second win, I bowed out, wading over to the side of the pool and pulling myself up to sit at the edge of the water with my legs still dangling over the side. Heather, who looked like she was having the time of her life, stayed in for the next game.
“You were really tearing it up out there.” A familiar voice sounded from next to me. Looking up, I was surprised to see Ethan looking down at me with an odd expression on his face.
“Thanks.”
I smiled, feeling strangely uncomfortable as he watched me. I pulled my feet out of the water and pushed myself up. I realized a second too late I had ignored the hand he had extended to help me up.
“Where’d you learn to play like that?” He followed me over to the bench where a pile of towels had been set out.
“Umm...” I glanced around as I sat down on the bench and massaged my scalp with a towel to try and dry my hair. Where was Nicole? “I dunno?”
My eyes were drawn to a boy who was standing in a group of three other boys. His gaze was trained on a girl in a bikini top a few feet away who was facing away from them. As I watched, the knot behind her neck unraveled, pulled apart by an invisible force. A second later, the girl shrieked as her bikini top fell off and the group of boys erupted in laughter.
“He’s a prime.” I breathed, even as Ethan sat down next to me.
“What, Frank?” He followed my gaze. “Yeah. And a total tool. He can move things with his mind.”
“H
e’s a mind smith?”
“No. If he were, I’m pretty sure he’s enough of a pervert that he would have a girlfriend by now. He just has telekinesis.”
“Is he registered?” I scowled as his friends gave him high fives. The girl, meanwhile, covered herself and darted out of the pool house.
“If you were prime, would you register?” Ethan asked. “You know, even though it’s illegal, a lot of employers won’t hire primes. Insurance, rent... it’s all way harder for primes once they register. For a lot of them, it’s worth never using their powers and pretending they’re normal, just for the chance of a normal life.”
“You seem to know a lot about primes.”
“My uncle was one.” His eyes were back on the volleyball game as he spoke. “He died a few years ago on the streets. He was a mind smith, and he registered, and his life literally went down the gutter the next day. Because people couldn’t accept who he was.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I guess life’s not all fun and games for super humans.”
“No.” He laughed oddly as he stood up. “Not really.”
I stood up as well and leaned forward to wrap myself in my towel.
“Oh, come on Jackie!” He laughed and grabbed my towel, then pulled it off me with one smooth motion. “What are you covering up for?”
“Ethan!” I made to grab my towel, but he held it over his head, making me stretch to try and get it back. “Give me my towel back!”
“Not so fast.” He laughed as I hopped in a vain attempt to snatch my towel out of his hands. “I’ll give it back for a kiss.”
“Excuse me?” I stopped and put my hands down as I tilted my head to the side and stared at him.
“You heard me.”
“Aren’t you dating Nicole?”
My tone was subdued, and I worked to keep a neutral expression on my face as I watched him. He apparently didn’t catch the danger in my voice, as he leaned toward me a second later.
“I don’t see her, do you?” he whispered, his face coming within inches of mine. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward.
I made to snap my wrist away, but my mind filled with a strange buzzing which seemed to freeze me in place. It was just like...
My fist caught him on the side of his jaw just before our lips met, which sent him stumbling to the ground. I just managed to keep my footing as I twisted my other hand free of his grip before he could drag me down with him.
The noise of the volleyball game died away as people began noticing what had happened. I heard frantic splashing behind me, and a moment later, Heather clambered out of the pool to put her hands on my shoulders.
“What the hell!” Ethan massaged his chin, then looked down at the blood in his palm. “You bitch!”
“Mind smith.” I couldn’t keep my upper lip from twitching up into a snarl as I glared down at him.
The awful silence that stretched over the room at my accusation went unbroken as I stood over him, my fist clenched at my side. I knew everyone was watching us, but it was all I could do to keep myself from attacking him again.
Movement to my left caused me to turn my head just in time to see Nicole slip through the door out of the pool house with her clothes in hand.
Giving Ethan one more look of unbridled hatred, I stalked over to my pile of clothes and snatched them up before leaving the pool house through the same door Nicole had used.
“Nicole!” I shouted after her as I ran out the front door to the house.
I spotted her half-way down the block a moment later. To my relief, she stopped as I ran after her, though she stayed facing away from me.
“How much of that did you see?” I asked as I stopped next to her.
“I came in when you two were still sitting on the bench.” Her voice was jagged. “Don’t worry, mom. I know that wasn’t your fault.”
“Nicole.” I pulled her around to face me.
“I didn’t know he was a mind smith.” Her face was screwed up by her effort to keep her voice controlled. She took in a sharp breath and a fresh wave of tears cascaded down her cheeks. “You were right, mom. Tonight... he wanted me to...”
“... You didn’t... did you?”
A wave of self-loathing seared across my chest as I saw the barbs of my unintended accusation pierce her soul. With Ethan being a mind smith, there would never be a way to know, regardless of what Nicole had actually done, whether or not she had been in control. The weight of my question was far more damaging than silence would have been.
“I was going to,” she whispered, her voice hollowed out of emotion. “That’s why I wasn’t there when he started talking to you. I was out. Getting this.” She spat the last word, holding out her hand. I put my palm up and caught the packaged condom she had been holding.
“I knew he was a creep.” She took in a shallow breath as I swept her up into a hug. “Even while we were dating, I knew he talked to other girls. Made out with them. Hell, I know he’s had sex with other girls while we were dating. I tried breaking up with him. So many times. But, every time I got in the same room with him, I just... I couldn’t think straight.”
“He never made you have sex with him, did he?” I whispered as I met her gaze. Despite the pain my last question had caused, and the pain I knew my latest question would cause her to answer, I had to know. What she said next would determine whether Ethan would be going to jail or the morgue.
“Mom.” She screwed her face up. “Why does it matter?”
“He just tried to rape you, Nicole. I have to know if he’s tried to do that before.”
“He hasn’t. We haven’t. I’m... I’m still a virgin, mom.”
“Thank God,” I whispered, shaking my head. I pulled her into another hug and rubbed her back. “Baby, why didn’t you tell Jake or me?”
“That would have been a fun conversation to start.”
“Sweetheart.” I held her at arm’s length to get a better look at her, then used one hand to wipe away the tears blurring my vision. “You can always talk to us. No matter what.”
“I know.” She leaned forward and buried her head into my shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”
I gave her a light squeeze. “You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for.”
As we broke apart a minute later, we seemed to both realize we were still in nothing more than our swimsuits. We busied ourselves with getting dressed, then set off walking down the block.
“I guess we need to call dad and have him come get us?” Nicole dug around in her pocket for her phone.
“We could be boring and do that, yeah.”
“Mom, it’s almost midnight. What could we possibly do right now?”
“You’re five-two, aren’t you?”
She nodded, a frown tugging at her lips as she watched me. I smiled and pulled my phone out to make a call.
“Kiara?” I chuckled at the surprise that broke across Nicole’s face as I asked Kiara to come get us.
As we waited for her to arrive, I sent a few short texts to Jake to explain my plan, with the promise that I would give him a full debrief when we got home. Then I sent a few texts to Kiara explaining what had happened with Ethan. His use of power to coerce Nicole into sex, added to his apparent use of that same power on at least a few other girls, was more than enough evidence to launch a full-scale investigation into his past actions. Of all the offenses primes could commit, few were treated with as much abhorrence as mind smiths who abused their powers, and for good reason. While primes were usually ranked according to the physical damage their powers could cause, there was a special categorization for mental-based abilities. Mind smiths had the power to fundamentally change who others were. Nicole came within minutes of being raped, and throughout, she had thought it was her choice. It was a sin so far past mere violence. It was a violation of self-autonomy and self-determination, a boundary that no one, save mind smiths, could breach.
Ethan wasn’t going to see daylight for a very long time. Even just his action agains
t me, which was nothing more than sexual harassment, would be bumped up to a class-four felony under Illinois law, given he had used his powers to try and influence me. If he wasn’t registered, it would automatically become a class-three. Knowing what the investigation would surely find, I had little doubt it would be many years before Ethan would ever be in a position to abuse his powers again. Based on Kiara’s response, I figured there was already a separate unit of arbiters on their way to the house to collect Ethan. A two-minute blood test would confirm his prime status, as well as give enough of an understanding of how his powers operated to show he was a mind smith.
Despite Nicole’s questions about my plans, I remained silent as Kiara picked us up and drove us to a familiar strip mall near our house.
“You’re not taking me to go rent out a porno, are you?” Nicole hesitated as I held the door to the storefront open for her to enter.
“Would you just trust me?” I laughed and kicked her on the butt as she ducked into the store. Apparently, the cleric I had always seen at the store before lived there, as we found him smiling at us as we passed into the hallway behind the store.
“This isn’t a haunted house, is it?” She seemed unnerved by the unassuming broom closet and darkened hallway, and I couldn’t blame her. It wasn’t hard to be overcome by fear in the shadowed and decrepit corridor at night. I made a note to myself to avoid coming back to the store outside of daylight hours again if I could help it.
I smiled at her gasp as I flipped on the light in the broom closet and the back panel to the room slid open.
“You’ve had the chance, quite a few times, to see where I used to work.” I leaned forward for the retinal scanner as I spoke, and we got on the elevator a moment later. “But you’ve never had the chance to see where mom worked, or where I now work.”
“We aren’t... this isn’t...”
“It is.”
I laughed at the look of shock on her face as the elevator doors opened. As she gaped at the pristine hallways in front of us, I put my arms around her and steered her to the women’s locker room.
Prime Identity Page 24