Connected: Book 1 Connected Series

by Kat Stiles

  Judy was finishing up with another student. She handed him a hall pass, and then turned to me. “Nice to see you back so soon, Emily.”

  Despite the sense of ease I felt around her, I still wondered about her. How did she become a healer? And if she really was a healer, why was she working at a school as a nurse? How did she know about me, and why did she want to help me? But none of those questions meant much next to the revelation of this newfound ability.

  “I wanted to find out…I mean, I…” I began to fidget with a lock of hair, twirling it nervously around my finger.

  “You want to know more?” Her warm grin surfaced.

  I nodded.

  “Come on, let me show you.”

  She had me sit down on one of the beds, and then she positioned a chair next to me. I began to feel more relaxed the moment she sat down.

  “So far you’ve been healing injuries, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It can be so much more. Sometimes when you heal, especially if you’re close to the person, it’s more than just healing an injury. It’s healing their minds, their emotional pain. Connecting with them on a deeper level.”

  I looked at her sideways. Was she for real?

  She laughed. “It’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s a good thing, I promise.”

  I should’ve been anxious. I mean, everything she said was so bizarre. But that calm surrounded me, it’s like I knew I could trust her. I felt perfectly at ease.

  “I think the best way to understand is to experience it yourself,” she said. “Can I heal you?”

  I was confused, but definitely curious. “Yes.”

  “Lie down.” She positioned her chair behind the bed.

  Her hands enclosed my head, one on each side. A warm sensation radiated from them, spreading slowly throughout my body. My breathing adjusted to match her rhythmic breathing, and I could’ve sworn I’d dozed off a time or two. The calm was like nothing else I’d ever experienced. It was so comfortable, so safe in that tranquil warmth surrounding me.

  She withdrew her hands and asked, “How do you feel?”

  It took a minute for me to answer. The relaxation was difficult to shake off—my whole body tingled, like a chill had run through it and lingered. “That was incredible.” I took a couple of deep breaths to try to clear my head. “What period is it?”

  Judy smiled and pointed to the clock.

  Only twenty minutes had elapsed. I’d thought for sure it was longer. I looked down at my hands, as if seeing them for the first time. I whispered, “I can really do that?”

  “Of course. You are a natural healer.”

  The words were fantastical, like out of a comic book. But I couldn’t deny what I experienced, the sensation was amazing. A healer? I still wasn’t used to the idea.

  “You must have noticed it before,” she said knowingly. “Anything…unusual happen lately?”

  Unusual has been the norm. But she had a point. From the monster zit, the scrape in gym, even the accident—all of it was leading up to this—discovering the truth, the silver lining to my bizarre life.

  “What about the first time you felt the heat? You have to remember that.”

  I recalled the accident and the shock wave of heat that moved through my body. “So that’s what happened. I was wondering how I was able to walk away with no injuries after getting hit by a car.”

  She laughed. “Pretty amazing stuff, isn’t it?”

  “I…I can’t believe it’s all real.”

  “I want you to try something. Hold your hands out in front of you, with your palms facing each other about six inches apart, and keep them there for a moment.”

  I did what she said and the heat started to build, along with that tingling again, this time concentrated in my hands.

  “Now move them slowly apart a few inches, and then try to move them close.”

  My eyes grew large as I felt the energy. Moving my hands closer together felt like trying to join two repelling magnets. “Too cool.”

  “When you’re ready to try this on a person, come back. I’ll give you a few pointers.” She took my hands in hers, and the smile that surfaced on her face was so genuine, I couldn’t help but smile in return. “That’s what all of this means, Em. It’s a gift, not a curse.”

  * * * *

  I had trouble getting into my locker again after school. After several unsuccessful attempts, I rested my head against it in defeat. “Why won’t you open?” I said under my breath.

  “Need some help?”

  I turned around to find Tommy standing right behind me. “Oh, hi,” I began, feeling like an idiot. “I, uh…”

  “Mine’s broken, too. You have to coax it open,” he said. His proximity caused a surge of heat to travel through me. He nudged the dial with one hand and pushed up on the latch with his other. The locker door fell open.

  “Wow, how did you do that?”

  “You have to feel it get into the groove on the last number in your combination. Once it’s there, it’ll open every time.” He closed the door and had me reenter my combination. It took me a couple of tries before I got even the first two numbers right. I finally got to the last number and tried to open it again, but it wouldn’t budge.

  “Turn it slowly on the last number.” He placed his hand on top of mine to move the dial. My heart began to pound at his unexpected touch, and the warmth of his hand radiated down my arm, reigniting the heat within my entire body. “Did you feel that?” he asked when it clicked into the groove.

  As a matter of fact, I did. “So when it gets there, it magically opens?”

  He laughed. “Try it.”

  The locker opened once more. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

  “My pleasure.” His gorgeous green eyes were a sea of warmth, calming yet inviting at the same time. He stood there, smiling for a bit longer than necessary. Finally, he scratched the back of his neck and looked down. “Uh, guess I’ll see you at the park.”

  “Yeah.”

  He walked off, and it took me a few seconds to stop staring and remember what I was doing. I finished gathering my books and headed to the bus.

  I made it to the park in record time after the bus dropped me off. The ducks were particularly hungry, stepping over each other to get closer. I had only begun feeding them when Tommy approached on the trail. He ran over to where I sat, carefully navigating around the flock of ducks.

  He sat down next to me. “Hello again.” He glanced off to the bench.

  I smiled nervously, tucking some hair behind my ears. “Hi.”

  He edged a fraction of an inch closer to me, leaning in as he asked, “So, uh, did you do anything fun over the summer?”

  Besides getting run over? “Not really. How about you?”

  “I went hunting with my grandfather.”

  “Oh, you hunt?”

  “He has some land in west Texas. Bow and arrow,” he said, making a hand gesture to illustrate the weapon.

  “Did you, uh…” I struggled to come up with the right verb. “Get anything?” The ducks quacked and fidgeted in reaction to my diverted attention. I threw them some more bread.

  He nodded. “Two bucks.”

  I felt him staring at me, before he took a deep breath in and exhaled. Then he said, “What are you thinking?”

  The fact I hadn’t passed out yet spoke volumes of my concentrated effort to simply breathe. “Nothing.”

  “I don’t believe that,” he said, his expression turning more serious. “I know you’re not vacant like the rest of the tarts at school.”

  I was never very good at thinking on my feet and even worse at lying. So I told him the truth. “I’m trying to remember to breathe.”

  His warm laughter rang in my ears. “There’s no reason to be nervous around me.”

  Are you kidding me? Nervous doesn’t begin to explain what I’m feeling. “Aren’t you nervous?”

  “No. It’s the strangest thing,” he said, his brow wrinkling. “I usually a
m around other people, especially girls. But not you.” His face relaxed, and an innocent smile appeared. “I don’t know—it’s like this calm kinda falls over me.”

  I remembered feeling the same way around Judy. It must be my ‘gift,’ I reasoned. How nice it puts everyone else at ease.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone so confident,” I mumbled.

  “Well, I already know you’re interested in me,” he said, as he leaned back, stretching his arm along the back of the bench. “Makes it easier.”

  “Excuse me?”

  He choked back a laugh. “You were…checking me out hard that first day. On the trail.”

  It took a few seconds for what he said to register. Checking him out? My heart began to pound. Of course it was totally true, which only made the situation worse, me being the inept liar that I was. But I had to say something. “I–I was not.”

  He smirked. “You’re not going to try to deny it, are you? I mean, you stared at me the whole time.”

  Turning my head to the side away from him, I remained silent. I can’t believe he caught me watching him.

  “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I’d have done the same thing if you were running around without a shirt on,” he said. “In fact—”

  “I get your point,” I interrupted. He must think I’m totally desperate, I thought. I sighed, thinking about that luxury—to know for sure that someone is interested, before all the nervousness and awkward conversations. “Must be nice,” I muttered.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  “No, you gotta tell me now.”

  “What you said before, why you’re so confident,” I said. “It would be nice to know.”

  He looked into my eyes, and as embarrassed as I was, I couldn’t look away. In the sunlight, his green eyes were even more incredible. “I’m here with you now. That should tell you something.”

  I blushed, finally breaking eye contact. “Kinda hard to believe after that first day.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “In English class,” I said, and when his confused look remained, I continued, “What happened with me and Angel.”

  “Oh, well, she’s an idiot,” he said, shrugging. “I filter her out most of time. She was being a bitch, right?”

  I focused on the bread bag, beyond embarrassed to be talking about my tormentor. “Yeah, but she’s always like that with me.”

  “My grandfather told me people will be mean, usually because they’re unhappy with themselves. He told me, ‘Stick to the truth, and you’ll be okay.’”

  “The truth?” I looked up, and he wore a satisfied grin, an expression I found both adorable and alluring.

  “That’s the best part. The truth is you’re perfect the way you are. You never have to change for anyone. Only have to breathe and be yourself.”

  “I wish it were that simple.” I noticed a mallard eyeing the bread bag. He was about to pounce on it, but I quickly grabbed a piece of bread and threw it to him. He bobbed and weaved through the crowd to the back, towards his mate.

  “It is simple, once you get the hang of it. You think I can’t hear them talking about me all the time?” He snickered. “If I cared what they thought, I’d be suicidal.”

  Tommy had been the favorite topic of discussion amongst Angel and her pack. “Guess we’re in the same boat, then, huh?”

  He smiled at me, and then closed his eyes and took another deep breath in.

  “Are you having trouble breathing or something?”

  “No,” he answered, his eyes still closed. “Enjoying your scent.”

  My expression must have been bizarre, because the moment he opened his eyes, he burst out laughing. “You have no idea how incredible you smell, do you?”

  “What are you talking about?” I didn’t think I smelled like anything.

  He moved closer to me on the bench and leaned his head next to mine, before inhaling deeply through his nose. “Some kind of flower. It’s nice.”

  The pounding in my chest became unbearable. I took a couple of deep breaths myself.

  “Are you having trouble breathing?” he asked.

  The death stare I shot him was my meanest one, but he laughed it off and slid back down the bench. “Don’t want you to hyperventilate.”

  “Thanks.” The anxiety settled down enough for me to look back over at him. He lounged with his arm propped on the back of the bench. Why can’t I be that calm?

  “They’re gray today,” he said. I knew he meant my eyes.

  So focused on staying calm, I didn’t pay attention to the hungry bird population surrounding me. A goose got tired of waiting and bit me in the leg.

  “Ow.” My reaction was more of surprise than pain, but I put a hand over the spot anyway while I shooed the goose away.

  “Are you okay?” he said, laughing. “You see why I don’t do this?” He knelt down at my side. “Let me see, is it bleeding?”

  “Oh it’s fine. Just nipped me.” I lifted my hand to reveal the skin was broken but not bleeding. “Occupational hazard.”

  He rubbed my leg gently. “I would’ve sucked out the poison for you.”

  “Very funny.” I felt the strength of his hands on my leg, and his touch set off a wave of heat that warmed my whole body.

  He stood. “Guess I’ll let you get back to duck feeding. Before they strike again.”

  “Okay,” I said, unable to mask the disappointment in my voice. Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, “Are you running tomorrow?”

  My God, did I really say that? I started rambling out of control, “I’m sorry, it’s…uh, I see you here a lot and I’ve been coming here so much lately and I thought if—”

  “No, there’s nothing to apologize for. I was wondering when I would run into you again myself.” He flashed a coy smile. “Yeah, I’ll be back tomorrow,” he said, before he took off running. I watched until I couldn’t see him anymore.

  I smiled at the goose that bit me and tossed him some extra bread. “I owe you one.”

  Chapter Five

  I was actually looking forward to school the next day, in hopes of catching a glimpse of Tommy before I had to leave for my first class. When I didn’t see him at his locker, I stalled at mine.

  “Hey there.”

  I smiled at his voice. He slowed when he neared, walking unusually close to me. Then he inhaled deeply while he passed by me. The smile I wore became a huge grin. How desperate am I, I wondered, that a boy sniffing me is the highlight of my morning?

  “Hi,” I said, before I heard the irritating sound of a shrieking giggle.

  “You do have a crush on him.”

  I turned around to see Angel by her locker, staring at me with this stupid smug expression.

  “That’s none of your business.”

  “You know what kind of trouble he got into, right?”

  I ignored her and left to meet Roz at her locker.

  “He’s dangerous,” she yelled after me.

  Why won’t she leave me alone? It’s not as if she actually cares about me anyway…

  “Ow,” Roz cried out, and her books toppled to the floor.

  “Are you okay?” I asked, before I noticed the gash on her right hand. The cut wasn’t deep but it was long, and bleeding.

  “Caught it on the locker door,” she said. “Must be a sharp edge or something.”

  I was surprised to feel the heat fire up in my hands. Do I tell her? She’s my best friend. She would understand and keep my secret. But what if it scares her? I mean, how many people in the world can heal?

  “If I was really different from anyone else, would you still be my friend?” I said.

  “Em, you are really different from everybody else,” she said in a dismissive tone. “You know I don’t care about that. What’s this about? You’re not thinking of shaving your head again, are you?” She tilted her head, looking at me somewhat apprehensively.

  Here goes nothing. “Come with me. We’ll get your cut wash
ed out.”

  Once we made it to the bathroom, she washed her hands. I waited for everyone to clear out before I placed my hand on top of hers.

  “What are you doing?” Roz said. “Your hand is so hot…”

  “This is why I walked away from the accident.”

  “I can’t believe…” she began, her eyes large. “What is going on?”

  “I…I’m healing the cut.” It sounded so strange to actually say it out loud. For a second it felt like I was somebody else, like it wasn’t me speaking or performing that small miracle.

  “You’re what?” She let out a laugh of disbelief, but it had a twinge of nervousness in it.

  The heat subsided completely and I lifted my hand off hers.

  “What the…” She inspected her hand. Not a trace of the wound remained. “That’s…”

  My heart dropped at her bewildered expression. Did I make a mistake in telling her?

  She looked at me, then at her hand, and then back at me. “But you just… And my hand…”

  What do I do now? I can’t lose my only friend. “Roz, I thought…”

  Her eyes were still large with astonishment and possibly fear. She finally lowered her hand.

  “I’m still the same person, only a little…” Oh, who am I kidding? I’m a total freak.

  “Em… That’s like, the most awesome thing you’ve ever done.” She gave me a big hug.

  I laughed. “So you’re cool with it then?”

  “It’s amazing!”

  “You have to promise not to tell anyone,” I said.

  “No duh. I promise. Not a word.”

  We exited the bathroom, and a strangely familiar voice called out to Roz from down the hallway.

  “Hi,” Roz greeted him when he caught up with us. “Em, this is Scott. He’s in my math class.”

  Though his voice seemed familiar, his face wasn’t. He looked like any other boy: short brown hair, brown eyes, average height. I couldn’t see a single distinguishing feature. Why does this one have a name?

  “Hi,” he said, without acknowledging me visually at all. He was focused on Roz. “How crazy to see you.”

  I wondered for a second if his outburst was part of some awkward setup to ask her out.