The Naturals Trilogy

by Madeline Freeman

  But before she could ask the question, Kellen was holding his cell phone out to her. On the screen played a video. She watched for a moment, confused. But then she realized what she was looking at. It was the street she and Lucas had been on not half an hour earlier. She watched the crowd and saw a fedora flip in the air. Then there was someone in a fedora running down the sidewalk. It was her. She watched, mesmerized, as she saw herself look back, smiling, to see where Lucas was. And then she saw as she was knocked out of the way by the broad-chested man, saw as she tumbled toward the road, directly into the path of an oncoming Hummer.

  Then it was as if she were lassoed. Morgan watched the screen as she doubled over, completely changing directions and landing on the sidewalk.

  Kellen stopped the video. “Well?”

  Morgan was baffled. “How’d you get that video? Are you following me?”

  “I didn’t take the video. We have people everywhere. Someone saw you and wondered what you were up to, so she took this video. A good thing, too.”

  “You have people spying on me?”

  Kellen didn’t seem to hear her. “Weren’t you listening? The only reason the Veneret exist at all is because we keep our abilities a secret. And there you are, out flaunting your abilities on a crowded street.” Kellen sneered. Then he looked at Morgan sharply. “And who’s the guy you’re with?”

  “Lucas.”

  “You say that like I’m supposed to know who you’re talking about.”

  Morgan pointed to the coffee house. “He works here. He’s probably made your drinks before.”

  Kellen squinted at the coffee house for a moment. “Dark hair, always wants to suggest what you should be drinking?”

  Morgan nodded. “Yeah, that’s him.”

  Kellen looked at Morgan, and for the first time since their conversation began, he didn’t look angry. “Really?” he asked, sounding surprised. “And he…”

  “Pulled me back from the road, yeah. And he made a guy give him that fedora.”

  Now Kellen looked baffled. “Seriously?”

  “How is any of this shocking to you? You’re the one who’s been telling me about all these abilities. I saw you—you can move things with your mind. Why is it a surprise that someone else can?”

  “It’s not that it can be done that surprises me. It’s the who that’s doing it. I’ve been coming to this place for a while and I never… I didn’t realize…”

  “That he’s a Natural?”

  “It fits.”

  Morgan nodded. “I did a reading for him, and when I first started, he was kind of… blocked off. Is that maybe why you didn’t realize—”

  But Morgan was cut short by the look on Kellen’s face.

  “If he can block, he’s probably a Feeler,” Kellen said, more to himself than to Morgan. “But if he got the hat and pulled you back, that means he’s a Pusher and a Mover, too…”

  “Is this a good thing, or…? I mean, what does it mean?”

  Kellen glanced at her, seeming almost surprised to see she was still there. “It means I’ve gotta make some phone calls. Morgan, do me a favor?”

  Morgan nodded.

  “Don’t show off. If it gets around that you are…” He looked directly at her. “Let’s just say people won’t be happy. No matter who you are.”

  “And… who am I?”

  Kellen managed a smile. “You’re special.” He turned serious again. “Promise?”

  Morgan nodded again. “Yeah, promise. Kellen… I’m sorry. I guess we weren’t thinking. We just felt so—I don’t know—so powerful. We had to do something.”

  Kellen just stared at her blankly. “You… you both felt like that?”

  “Yeah.” Morgan looked at him quizzically. “Why? Isn’t that normal?”

  Kellen’s face remained expressionless for a moment, but then he smiled. “I’m beginning to think there’s nothing normal about you.”

  Morgan felt herself blush and looked away.

  “Look, I’ve gotta get going in light of… recent developments. What are your plans for the rest of the night?”

  Morgan sighed. “Go home like a good girl.”

  Kellen nodded. “Good girl. I’ll be in contact.” He waved and turned, walking toward what Morgan presumed was his car. He didn’t get three steps before his cell phone was at his ear.

  Morgan rolled up her window, put her car in gear, and headed home. By the time she pulled into her driveway, she was in a pretty good mood. Besides the whole almost dying thing, she’d had fun with Lucas, and she was confident that Ris was having a good time on her date with Corbin. When she cut the ignition and headed toward the front door, she was even able to keep the limping to a minimum. But her good mood dissipated immediately when she opened her front door. There at the kitchen table strewn with papers and text books sat her father and Lynna Rochester.

  Chapter Ten

  “Morgan!” Dylan called jovially when he saw his daughter at the door. “There’s pizza in the kitchen if you’re hungry.”

  Morgan didn’t look at her father; instead, she glared at her cousin. “What’s she doing here?”

  Lynna’s lip curled. “Summer school. If I don’t ace my geometry final’s tomorrow, I’m not gonna pass. Mom says it all looks like Chinese to her, and Dad helped me as much as he could. Uncle Dylan was nice enough to offer his assistance.”

  Morgan made a face. She glanced at her father. “I’ll be in my bedroom.”

  “No, why don’t you have a seat and eat something?” There was a steely glint in his eye. “I insist.”

  Morgan held her father’s gaze for a moment before dropping her eyes and complying.

  “Why are you limping?” her father asked as she sat down.

  “I twisted my ankle—it’s nothing.”

  He nodded. Then he got out of his seat. “I’ll go get you some pizza.”

  Morgan and Lynna watched as Dylan left the room. After a few moments, he called, “Where have you been? Out with Corbin again?”

  Lynna’s head whipped around so quickly Morgan thought she may have gotten a crick in her neck. “Corbin?” she asked, eyes wide. “Corbin Starling?”

  Morgan sighed. “How many other Corbins do you know?”

  “What does he mean, again?”

  “He, Ris, and I went out to a party last night,” Morgan said, enjoying the look of horror mixed with envy that flitted over her cousin’s face.

  “And where’d you go tonight?”

  “I wasn’t out with Corbin tonight.” To add fuel to the fire, she added, “But Corbin and Ris are out on a date as we speak.”

  Lynna just mouthed wordlessly. Before she could form a sentence, Dylan returned with pizza and a glass of pop for Morgan. As soon as Morgan started eating, Dylan drew Lynna’s attention back to the fascinating world of geometry.

  Morgan ate her food quickly and excused herself to her bedroom. She was just laying down on her bed when she heard her door open. She turned to see her cousin standing in the doorway.

  “The hell, Joss? Ever hear of privacy?”

  Lynna rolled her eyes and closed the door behind her. She sat down on the papasan Corbin had fallen asleep on the day before. “So, like, a date-date? Or do you mean, like, a friend-date?”

  “What’s a friend-date?”

  “You know, like, when friends go out. But, you know, a guy and a girl.”

  “Well, they are kind of friends.” When a look of relief spread over her cousin’s face, she quickly added, “But that doesn’t mean he’s not interested in her.”

  “But it doesn’t mean that he is.”

  Morgan shrugged. “Maybe not. Still, how many times has Corbin asked you out—even only as a friend?”

  “You’re a bitch.”

  “Takes one to know one,” Morgan said lazily, staring at the ceiling.

  Jocelyn crossed her arms and stared sullenly at the floor. It was minutes before she spoke again. “So, where were you tonight?”

  “Like you car
e.”

  “I’m trying here, okay?”

  Morgan looked at her cousin. “Yeah? What is it exactly that you’re trying? Are you suddenly attempting to be a decent human being, or are you just trying to make yourself feel better after what your minions said at Corbin’s party?”

  Joss let out an exasperated sigh. “Look—I’m sorry, okay?”

  Morgan sat up, facing her. “Really? You’re sorry? Oh, well, then, everything’s forgiven. Let’s hug.” She rolled her eyes.

  Joss threw her hands up. “Look, I’m sorry that you think I’m a bitch. I’m sorry that you got stuck being the freaky one and I got to be popular. I’m sorry I still have a mom and yours is gone—”

  “She’s not gone.”

  “It’s been ten years, Morgan,” Joss said quietly, averting her eyes. “If that’s not gone, I don’t know what is.”

  “You’re wrong. She’s still alive.”

  A look of pity washed over Joss’s features. “I know that’s what you want to believe. I believed it, too, for a long time—”

  “It’s true, though.”

  Joss closed her eyes and shook her head. “No it’s not.” She opened her eyes. “Morgan, I’m sorry, but sooner or later you’re gonna have to accept the truth. She’s dead.”

  “Get out,” Morgan said quietly. When Joss made no move to comply, Morgan repeated herself, louder this time. And then louder and louder still. Before she knew it, she was on her feet, towering over her cousin and screaming. “Get out! Get out! Get out!”

  Joss finally scurried from the room, slamming the door behind her. Morgan sank down into the papasan, sobbing. Despite Kellen’s assurances to the contrary, Morgan couldn’t help wondering—what if Joss was right? What if her mother really was dead?

  When her father came in to check on her, she was completely unresponsive, but he was undaunted. Morgan heard the scrape of the legs of her desk chair against the wood floor, the sound of the chair accepting his weight.

  Minutes passed. The only sounds in the room were Morgan’s sobs and her father’s even breathing. Slowly, slowly, Morgan felt herself regaining control. It didn’t feel like it did when Lucas calmed her; instead, her father’s magic was simply letting Morgan realize what she was doing, letting her find her way back to center.

  Finally, Morgan was able to look up at him. On his face was the same look of tight control bordering on detachment that he wore whenever she lost it—as though if he let himself be moved even a little he would lose it, too.

  “What’s up, hon?”

  A quick debate took place in Morgan’s mind. To tell or not to tell. Honesty finally won. “Joss said that Mom is dead.”

  He just nodded slowly, pressing his lips together in a tight line. “I’m not surprised. Your uncle’s been telling Aunt Ashleigh for years to give up on your mom ever coming back. He thinks that accepting she’s gone will be easier on her than holding out hope that her sister’s still out there.” He managed to smile at this, a humorless smile. “He thinks I’m crazy for still believing. Lots of people do.”

  Morgan felt words forming on her lips—words that would tell her father about what Kellen said about Chelsea still being alive; words that might even tell him everything about Kellen, and everything about herself.

  But she bit back the words. Instead she asked, “Then why do you still believe it?”

  “I can’t explain it,” he said quietly. “I just think that… if she were really gone, I’d know. And since I still feel like she’s out there somewhere, she’s gotta be.”

  She offered a thin smile. “I think she’s out there, too.”

  ***

  Morgan awoke late the next morning, hours after her dad usually left for work.

  She showered and threw on a pair of jeans and a tank top. Then, after making herself a quick breakfast, she settled down on the couch and flipped on the TV. After the excitement of the last few days, she decided she deserved a lazy day full of made-for-TV movies and Oreos. She channel surfed for a few minutes before landing on a cheesy-looking disaster movie.

  When she heard her cell phone beep in her bedroom, she didn’t bother to get up to retrieve it. She figured she could wait to find out the details of Ris’s date with Corbin.

  Her phone beeped again about five minutes later. Again, Morgan decided to ignore it. She ignored it when it beeped a few minutes later, too. And she ignored it again after that. She was thinking about turning the phone off when it started to ring.

  Morgan groaned. Ris must really want to talk to her. She heaved herself to her feet and padded into her bedroom. By the time she got there, the phone was done ringing. She picked it up and took a double take. According to the missed events screen, the call hadn’t been from Ris.

  Kellen called.

  Morgan checked her text messages. Those, too, had been from Kellen. They all said the same thing: Call me. Now.

  Under ordinary circumstances, Morgan would not respond well to a guy who demanded she call him immediately, but, as Morgan was coming to understand, nothing involving Kellen fell under the umbrella of “ordinary.”

  She placed the call.

  Kellen answered on the first ring. “Where have you been?”

  “Good morning to you, too.”

  “Call your boyfriends. I’m coming to pick you and them up.”

  “Two things: I don’t have one boyfriend, let alone two, and where the hell do you propose to take me?”

  Kellen sighed. “Look, Morgan, I’ll explain on the way. Just… could you call them?”

  Something in Kellen’s voice conveyed the importance and urgency of his request. “Sure,” Morgan said finally. “But I don’t have—”

  Morgan’s phone display lit up, indicating Kellen had ended the call.

  “—Lucas’s number,” she finished, staring at the phone’s screen. Sighing, she went to her desk and opened her laptop. While she waited for it to wake up, she scrolled through her contact list until she found Corbin’s number. As she placed the call, she opened up the web browser on her computer.

  The phone rang twice before Corbin answered. “Morgan?” he asked, sounding groggy.

  “Did I wake you?” Morgan asked as she typed in a search for the Daily Grind. “Kellen needs to talk to us.”

  “Huh?”

  Morgan scrolled through the search results Google provided her. “I don’t know what’s up, but Kellen just called, and he sounded kind of… intense. He wants to talk to you and me and Lucas, like, STAT. He’s on his way to pick me up.”

  “Morgan, you’re not—wait. Lucas?” Corbin sounded baffled. “Morgan, I don’t—”

  “You know what I know,” Morgan said, cutting him off. “I suggest you get ready, because I’m sure when Kellen shows up at your place he’s not going to be in a waiting-around mood.” Morgan sighed. “I’ll see you soon.”

  She ended the call before Corbin could respond and immediately dialed the number to the coffee house. The phone rang four times before someone answered.

  “Hi,” Morgan said to the girl who answered the phone. “Does Lucas happen to be working today?”

  “No. It’s his day off.”

  “Okay, then. Um, would you happen to have his phone number?”

  “We’re not really supposed to give out employee information like that.”

  “But, I’m a friend,” Morgan said quickly. “He and I—were you working last night?”

  “Yes…”

  “Well, you might have noticed me and him… on the couch? Then we left together? Well… I was supposed to call him this morning, but I lost his number.” Morgan was surprised by how easily the lie took shape. “You’d really be helping a girl out.”

  There was silence on the other end, then a sigh. “Okay, but you can’t tell anybody I did this.”

  Morgan let out the breath she’d been holding. “No, never—of course not.” Morgan grabbed a piece of scrap paper and a pencil. “You have no idea how awesome it is you’re doing this for me.”
r />   “Yeah, yeah,” the girl said quietly. “Okay, ready?”

  Morgan took down the numbers as the girl rattled them off and, after thanking the girl again, ended the call. She immediately dialed Lucas’s number.

  Lucas answered on the second ring. “Hello?”

  “Lucas, hey.”

  “Why am I getting ready?”

  “What?”

  “I had the feeling like I should be getting ready for something,” Lucas said matter-of-factly. “And now you’re calling—good job tracking down my number, by the way.”

  Morgan was taken aback. “I have no idea why you know that. How long have you had that feeling?”

  “Dunno. Five minutes, maybe?”

  “That’s when I talked to Kellen,” Morgan muttered. “Can you, like, read my thoughts or something?”

  “Are you thinking that I look good in blue?”

  “No.”

  “Then probably not.”

  Morgan was about to respond when she heard a knock at her front door. “Look, I’ve got to go. We’ll be over to pick you up in a little bit, okay?”

  “I guess so,” Lucas said. “Bye.”

  “Bye.” Morgan ended the call and closed her laptop before leaving her room and jogging to the front door.

  She opened the door to reveal Kellen standing on her porch, looking effortlessly handsome in a pair of jeans and a close-fitting green T-shirt. Morgan was unable to reflect on his attractiveness, however, because Kellen was waving impatiently for her to follow him. Making sure to lock the front door before she closed it, Morgan followed Kellen off the porch and to his car. She and Kellen got in and, wordlessly, Kellen started the car, put it in gear, and backed out of Morgan’s driveway. Once he started down the street, Morgan cleared her throat unsurely. When that didn’t get a response, she spoke.

  “So… what’s going on?” she ventured tentatively.

  “I’d rather wait till you’re all in the car,” Kellen said tersely. “I hate repeating myself.”

  Morgan nodded and sat quietly for a moment, but she found the tension was too much for her to bear. “Who are we getting first?”

  “Lucas.”

  Morgan nodded, but then she realized something: “I don’t have his address. And I only kind of remember where Corbin lives. I could call—”