Colliding Skies

by Debbie Zaken

  But all too soon, the feeling of being watched sliced right through me. I tensed in Taylor’s arms, every nerve in my body on alert. The paranoia, however, had become an almost constant presence in my life and I’d gotten better at lowering the volume and ignoring it. Like a demented person pretending not to hear the voices screaming in their head. Taking control back, I restrained the feelings of anxiety and focused on Taylor’s lips molding hot and soft on mine.

  The familiar magnetic pull that I felt whenever Ethan’s gaze held mine came next, ambushing me from all directions. It grabbed me like a rope. Then the magnet unleashed its full force, pulling me away from Taylor.

  I felt disoriented, and hot, and completely insane. Ethan had to be nearby for me to feel that pull, but he was in D.C., miles away from here. Panic rose in my chest. Holding on to Taylor like a lifeline, I tried to resist the powerful surge that was on the verge of sending me into complete insanity. And he, as if sensing something prying me away from him, put his hands around my waist, holding me in place. The magnet amped up its unyielding power and my body began to physically tilt away from Taylor. I tried to fight it, but the pressure was overwhelming. My heart hammered too fast. I couldn’t breathe.

  He’s here. He’s got to be here.

  “Stop,” I mumbled when Taylor’s lips went back to my neck.

  But he didn’t hear me because his mouth pressed down on mine again, cutting off the little oxygen that I had left. Everything around me began to spin. I was going to pass out, asphyxiated by the unbearable force of the magnet and smothered by Taylor’s lips. Just as his mouth was about to come down on mine again, I writhed, shoved my hands hard against his chest and yelled.

  “Stop it! I can’t breathe!”

  No sooner had I uttered the words than both Taylor and the magnet released me. I covered my face in my hands, heaving. When I looked back up at Taylor, he was staring at me like the air had been knocked out of him too. And then anger sharpened his features.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you trying to drive me up the wall?”

  At his sudden outburst, I drew back. “Take me home, please,” I whimpered, my heart still throbbing in my ears. I had to get away from there. From Taylor. I had to regain my sanity, because either Ethan was here or my dreams had become full-blown hallucinations.

  Taylor rubbed his face hard. “Skye, I’m sorry. I —” He reached out to touch me, but I turned away.

  “No. I just want to go home.”

  Cold anger froze his face. He nodded and without another word, we walked back to the house. Inside, the party was still in high gear.

  “Do you want to say goodbye to them?” Taylor’s harsh tone grated against my eardrums as he glanced at Lucas and Emily dancing in the middle of the crowd.

  I shook my head, and we left.

  In the car, a dead silence accompanied us the entire ten minute drive back. He kept his eyes glued to the road while I stared out the window, caught in a torrent of emotions: the ever-present paranoia, fear, sadness, shame and now regret. When he stopped the car in front of my house, his face was still taciturn and his eyes dark.

  “I’m sorry for yelling at you like that, Skye. I just… don’t know what to do here.” He rubbed the back of his neck, his head slumping back on the headrest. “We should take a break.” At the look of confusion on my face, he added, “Cool off for a while until you figure things out.”

  Take a break? He meant break up.

  Oh, no. I just screwed everything up.

  Pain stung my chest. I dropped my gaze to my lap, hoping he couldn’t see the tears pooling in my eyes, and nodded.

  “Goodnight, Skye.”

  It dawned on me then that he was waiting for me to get out of the car. I was so used to the well-mannered Taylor—the one who always opened the door for me, always walked me to my front door, always kissed me goodnight—that his sudden asperity struck me like a sharp slap in the face. I couldn’t look at him. Instead, I opened the door and walked to the house without turning back, feeling two sets of eyes on me— the observing gaze of my paranoia and Taylor’s hard, stony glare.

  MONDAY AFTERNOON, EMILY stood by the wall of yellow lockers watching me stuff my gym clothes into my backpack. Last period P.E. had been cancelled and we had some time before we needed to pick Chase up from school. Since Taylor had broken up with me, she’d insisted on driving to school together.

  “Skye, it’s been a week. Why don’t you just talk to him?” She folded her arms over her chest, her tone more reprimanding than soothing.

  Concentrating on the t-shirt in my hands, I refolded it and shoved it into the backpack. She’d asked me that question about one hundred times already. “Because he broke up with me. Remember?”

  Emily shook her head, her disapproving eyes zooming in on me. “No, he said to cool off for a while. That doesn’t constitute an official break up.”

  “Oh, okay. Next time I’ll make sure to get it in writing.” I huffed and pushed back a lock of hair behind my ear. “He didn’t say ‘get out of my effing car’ either, but it was pretty much written on his face.”

  “Fine, that was a little douchy on his part. But his ego was probably just hurt. Why don’t you just tell him how you feel? You clearly still like him.”

  I shuffled the contents of my backpack around, arranging the sneaker so they wouldn’t mess up my Advanced Physics textbook. “It’s complicated. I really messed things up between us. ”

  Emily knew Taylor and I had argued, but she didn’t know about my little mental breakdown at the party that had pushed Taylor over the edge. And she definitely didn’t know about my dreamlationship with Ethan or how it was messing with my emotions and my sanity. Despite spending all week crying over Taylor, at night, I still dreamed of Ethan. And I searched for him everywhere, because after the party, the feeling that Ethan’s eyes were the ones following me only grew stronger. I was a hot mess. Taylor was right to break up with me.

  Emily slapped a palm to her forehead. “What exactly are these complications? How could it be complicated when it’s as clear as day that the guy has fallen for you?”

  I jerked my head to her. “What? You think Taylor is in love with me?

  “Oh, my God, Skye. Get your head out of your telescope. You’ve got to know he is. I mean, the words are practically tattooed on his forehead.”

  I clutched the backpack, a trace of anticipation fluttering in my stomach. It faded when I recalled the number of calls and texts I’d received from Taylor since our breakup. That would be zero. My shoulders tensed. “Emily, I haven’t heard a single word from him since last Saturday.”

  She waved me off. “That’s just him needing time to heal his bruised male ego. Just call him and get back together with him.”

  “I’m not sure he wants to.” The words squeezed my throat even as they left my mouth.

  “Of course, he does,” Emily said. “Haven’t you noticed the way he looks at you?”

  If by that she meant ignoring me every time he saw me, then yes. I noticed how well he pretended I didn’t exist when I walked into class, or passed him in the hall. Or how he’d taken to having lunch outside as opposed to the lunch room all that week.

  “I don’t know.” I dropped my chin, slammed the locker door shut, and slung my backpack over my shoulder.

  Turning to Emily, my gaze landed behind her. Taylor made his way down the hall, and he wasn’t alone. Next to him, wearing a smug grin, was Julia. His eyes met mine. Curiosity wedged its way through his mask of indifference, the first acknowledgment of my presence in a week. But all too soon, Julia stopped in front of her locker and his attention was once again, focused on her.

  I clenched a lock of hair between my fingers while my ribs compressed my chest. “Yeah, Em, I think you’re wrong about this one.”

  Emily looked behind her. Taylor leaned against the neighboring locker doors, while Julia shoved her books inside.

  “Dumbass.” She rolled her eyes. “Okay, another douchy move
. But it’s not a big deal. He’s talking to her. So what? Trust me; it’s you he likes.”

  I tugged my eyes away from Taylor and back to Emily as realization hit me. “Ugh. How stupid of me not to have seen it. Em, haven’t you noticed that Julia hasn’t sat with us all week?” Her best friend, Andrea, still joined our table, but there hadn’t been a sign of Julia in the cafeteria since Taylor had disappeared, too. “Don’t you see? They’ve been having lunch together since we broke up.”

  Emily held her hands up in front of her. “Whoa. You’re reading way too much into this.” She held me by the wrist and led me down the corridor. “Come on. Let’s just go outside.”

  We made our way out the doors and down the steps. The familiar gaze of my paranoia hit me, followed by a loud shrill, like that of a fast car burning rubber. We twisted to see a black car with dark tinted windows driving our way at an alarming speed.

  “Jeez! That maniac is going to kill someone,” Emily exclaimed just as the car came to a screeching halt right in front of us.

  I took a step back, almost tripping on my feet when I recognized the car. The door opened, and Ethan got out. My heart dropped to my Chucks.

  “Hello, Skye,” he said. “Please excuse the rude interruption, but I was wondering if you had some time to speak with me.”

  My brain tried to grasp what my eyes saw. I marveled at this alien. The hoodie, baseball cap and sunglasses he wore did little to hide his impossible beauty. A cloud of minty energy surrounded me, and I was certain that this was no figment of my imagination. This was the real Ethan looking composed, as if appearing at school was a common thing for him.

  I wanted to respond, but my mind muddled from my recent encounter with Taylor and Ethan’s sudden appearance, wouldn’t connect to my mouth. He gave me a strange look and went on. “There is a pressing matter that I would like to discuss with you… privately.” His eyes drifted for a moment to Emily standing with mouth agape as she gawked at Ethan.

  “Holy effing spaceships, Batman!” she exclaimed.

  “Uh, a pressing matter?” I mumbled like an idiot.

  “Yes. It won’t take long. I promise.” Even from behind the sunglasses, Ethan’s eyes danced with sparks.

  “That is one major, major complication.” Emily’s head bobbed back and forth from Ethan to me.

  “Well, Skye? Would you be kind enough to give me a few minutes of your time?”

  Just looking at him made my eyes burn. And that inescapable magnetic force drawing me to him…it was all too much.

  “Uh…uh…yes,” I mumbled

  Ethan’s face broke into a devilish smile. He glanced over his shoulder and his jaw tightened. “We should go. I would not want to take up too much of your time.”

  I took one step toward the car.

  “Skye, wait!” With her hands on my shoulders, Emily turned me so that I could face her. “Are you sure this is a good idea? Are they really…Is it…safe?” she whispered, throwing Ethan a nervous glance.

  Emily, the number one Celeian fangirl, now had doubts. And could I blame her? This was her first time actually seeing a Celeian in person and I knew full well what an overwhelming experience that could be.

  I followed her gaze to where Ethan stood, staring back intently. The moment our eyes met, it was like a bolt of lightning striking my very core. “Yes, it’s safe.” Doubt didn’t exist in my voice.

  “What about Taylor?” she murmured.

  Taylor. His name poked at the fresh wound in my heart. But Taylor had moved on, and I had to too. I lifted my shoulders and let out a deep breath. “It’s too late for that. Just cover for me, Emily. I’m going to ask my mom to pick up Chase because you had a Lucas crisis.” I couldn’t believe I had just come up with such a convincing lie with such ease. “Please, Emily…”

  Uncertainty darkened her face. Her reluctant gaze traveled from me to Ethan, who stood still as he watched me. “Okay,” she finally said. “Just be careful.”

  I nodded.

  Ethan’s face had creased into a smile. “Come. We do not have much time.” His voice was as smooth as silk, but there was a little strain just underneath the surface.

  “Wait.” My eyebrow snapped up as he opened the passenger door for me. “You said you didn’t want to be my friend. Is that still true?”

  Ambivalence swept across his face, and I held my breath.

  “Yes. I did say that.”

  The words cut off the remaining oxygen in my lungs.

  An impish smirk flitted across his face. “But now it would appear that I am…caving in.”

  MY FINGERS TWITCHED on my lap, trying to control the urge to touch Ethan’s hand lying casually on the armrest, inches away from mine. Currents flowed from where our elbows almost touched. I glanced at him wondering if he could feel it too, but he kept his concentration on the road. His left hand clutched the steering wheel. He hadn’t said a word since we’d left school. When we pulled into Great Falls Park, I broke the nervous silence.

  “What are we doing here?”

  “We need to go somewhere not crowded. Somewhere we won’t attract too much attention.”

  “So we’re going hiking?” My voice pinched. I looked down at my blue Chucks, suddenly regretting having changed out of my sneakers.

  “Yes. Not too far… Just enough to get away from people.”

  The falls of the Potomac River was a popular spot. But the long hiking trails through the woods offered some seclusion. And I’d seen how easily Ethan could draw a crowd.

  “Is that all right with you?” He slid his glasses down the bridge of his nose.

  The power of his galvanizing stare made me lose my train of thought. My heart galloped in my ears.

  His eyes narrowed, forming a little wrinkle on the bridge of his nose. “Are you…frightened?”

  “Huh?” I blinked, noticing the look of concern on his face. “Afraid? Why would you think that? It’s not the first time we’re alone.”

  “No, but you look a little agitated. And I have noticed we make Earthlings uncomfortable.”

  If I was agitated, it had nothing to do with fear. But he was waiting for an answer and something about his penetrating gaze told me he was going to gauge my reaction.

  “True. Some of you can be a little…” I searched for the right word. “…intense. But I’ve never been afraid of you.”

  Rubbing his chin, he mused over my words. “Good. I do not want you to be.” He took a baseball cap from a backpack and handed it to me. “Here, put this on. Probably best you not be recognized either.”

  I still didn’t know why we were here or what he wanted to talk about. A tiny bubble of hope rose in my stomach. I burst it with an imaginary finger before it expanded. The wound Taylor had made was too fresh for my heart to take another one so soon. I took the cap, pulled my ponytail through the back and put it on without saying a word.

  His lips twitched. “Not to worry. No alien abductions. At least, not yet.”

  Again, Ethan’s words made my pulse race, but not out of fear.

  With the luring sound of the clear blue water crashing over the rocks, we followed the Potomac River along the tops of the cliff. His pace was fast, but I kept up with ease. Soon, we found ourselves alone on the trail.

  Ethan came to a halt. “The lagoon is down there, just beyond the forest.” He pointed to the trees in the distance. “We are going to have to go off trail to get there quicker.”

  He led the way as we climbed down the sides of the cliff. For every step he took, he looked back and waited with patience until I climbed down. We reached the bottom and crossed a narrow valley to where the rushing waters of the river came to rest in a serene crystal pool. Luscious trees towered overhead. We plopped down on a patch of grass. I took off the baseball cap, loosened my hair from the ponytail, and wiped the beads of sweat from my face.

  “Drink.” Ethan took off his sunglasses, and handed me a bottle of water and a granola bar from his backpack. “I brought you food, too.”


  “Thanks. What about you? I mean, I’ve heard about your special diet, but…” Everyone knew by now that the Celeians were primarily vegetarians, still it struck me as odd that I’d never seen any of them actually eat or drink. “Aren’t you at least thirsty?”

  Ethan gave me a peculiar look, grabbed a second bottle of water and took a sip. I gulped mine down. We sat in nervous silence, taking in the rocky cliffs, luscious trees and clear blue skies reflecting on the lagoon like a watercolor painting.

  “You have a magnificent planet,” he said. “Such diverse beauty. It is a shame you do not know how to preserve it.”

  “How different is your home from Earth?” I’d Googled the question a number of times and couldn’t find any reliable information. The Celeians claimed to be all about sharing their knowledge, but when it came to their home planet, it seemed like they weren’t as forthcoming.

  He didn’t respond right away. His gaze stayed on the picture perfect scenery. “The two planets have many similarities. Much like Earth, Celeia is covered with vegetation. It certainly has its unique beauty, but Earth is a rare gem in the universe.”

  A long pause followed while I waited with bated breath for him to speak again.

  “You know, until recently, finding you alone proved to be hard. He never left your side.”

  If I hadn’t been paying close attention to him, I would have missed the way the corners of his eyes tightened slightly.

  My brows scrunched together. “You knew about Taylor?”

  His gaze shifted to me. Every feature on his perfect face was now unreadable. “It is not the first time I looked for you at school. I have gone there every day since I took you home.”

  My hand flew to my chest, my heart drumming underneath my fingers as the pieces came together. “Oh, God. I’m not paranoid. I’m not crazy. It really was you. At school, on the way home…You’ve been following me. ”