by Bria Berg
Milo caught up with her. “Shouldn’t you tell them you’re leaving?”
“By the time they notice I’m gone, they’ll have forgotten why they were in the hospital to begin with.”
Milo fell into step with her. He wanted to laugh at her statement as if it was sarcasm, but she was completely serious, it was written all over her face and tone. He opened the door and helped Tessa into his truck. Her tense expression and shoulders immediately began to relax the further they got away from her parents. She realized Milo had no idea where she lived, so she gave him the address with some quick landmark directions and then they both fell silent for several minutes.
Tessa’s thoughts were on Milo, the stranger she got into a car with, who happened to be the last person she saw when she fell asleep at the hospital, and the first person she saw when she woke up. Why was he acting like he cared so much? And why was she so willing to just hop in the car with him and give him her address? He saved your life her inner voice chided. That might be a little dramatic since she only had a concussion, but she supposed she could have very easily frozen to death had he not shown up.
While Tessa was battling with herself, Milo was also having a conversation with himself. He couldn’t figure out why someone with magic had been targeting her, enough to try to kill her. He had called his brothers the second she fell asleep last night, and they all agreed they needed to learn more about her. She didn’t seem to know that someone had tried to kill her and she hadn’t done anything of the magical sort which she would have if she felt at all threatened. There was something about her though, he could feel it. It was a thrumming power that lay beneath the surface which made him somehow feel stronger and he didn’t understand it. He still had the overwhelming need to protect her, yet another thing he couldn’t fathom. She was beautiful, that was for certain. Even covered in blood, and unconscious in baggy clothes it was still clear as day, but that didn’t explain his feelings. He berated himself for even thinking of her in that way. She was still in high school for crying out loud. She could be sixteen or even younger for all he knew!
Finally she broke the silence. “Sorry about my parents back there, especially my mom.”
Milo risked a glance at her. She seemed so small and delicate. “No need to apologize, they were probably just worried that’s all.”
Tessa snorted, “Oh don’t tell me you missed the part where my mom was practically throwing herself at you.”
He thought about it. Sandra had to be close to twenty years older than him, maybe even more. “I’m pretty sure I’m not her type,” he mused.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-Two.”
“Then you’re exactly her type,” Tessa laughed. “Pretty sure you’re every girl’s type,” she added in a mumble. She was horrified the moment it came out. She had spent so much time talking to herself as of late; she hadn’t even realized when she was about to say something outside of her head. Obviously, her concussion had messed with her brain. Her cheeks turned a furious shade of red and she turned to rest her head against the cold glass window hoping that he hadn’t heard the last part.
Milo heard, and was tempted to ask if he was her type too, however, he saw how mortified she was so decided not to embarrass her further. “I take it your parents are divorced,” he said instead.
“Is it that obvious?” she joked.
“So how old are you then?” he asked, changing the subject while needing to know the answer at the same time.
“Eighteen.”
His stomach did a little flip. She’s legal, but he pushed the thought away. She was still in high school, which meant still off limits. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“A sister, Hailey. She’s fifteen,” Tessa replied while gazing out the window. The sky was gray but no storm clouds in sight. Even the snow looked as if it had melted considerably. The blizzard yesterday came out of nowhere.
Milo wasn’t surprised when he pulled into the driveway of a massive house. Mostly everyone in the area was wealthy, and Tessa’s parents exuded wealth with everything from their clothing to their attitudes. This house was white, two stories tall, and Victorian in the craftsmanship with modern elements. He put the truck in park and turned to Tessa. She had he hand on the handle, but hadn’t opened the door yet.
“Thanks for the ride,” she said shyly. “And I never told you thank you for taking me to the hospital. Who knows what would have happened if you didn’t see me in the ditch.”
“I’m glad I did,” Milo said and stared back at her. “Are you going to be alright? Can I walk you to the door?”
Tessa smiled, and the gesture transformed her entire face. It was the first time he saw her smile. “No, you don’t have to do that. I’ll be fine, but thank you though.” She swung the door open, and hopped out.
“Tessa wait,” Milo implored halting her mid step. He jumped out of the truck and ran around to meet her. Without any spoken words, he gently grasped her elbow with one hand, and put his arm around her shoulders so she could lean on him. Tessa accepted the help, trying to ignore the scent of his soap that had faded considerably, but the hint of it along with the faintness of sweet musky cologne was enough to keep her happy right where she was.
They made it to the very large, wide front door, where she typed in the code before stepping out of his arms, and into the threshold if her house. Her hair had come out of its ponytail sometime in the night, and she brushed a strand out of her eye and tucked it behind her ear.
“Thanks again,” she said awkwardly shifting her weight.
Milo hesitated, feeling equally uneasy about the situation, and not at all sure what he was doing still standing on her porch. Why was he acting like a complete moron? “Well I need to get home and shower and get out of yesterday’s clothes.” He needed to get home and see what his brothers had found out if anything.
“You were at the hospital all night.” It wasn’t a question.
He nodded, feeling a little disarmed from her intense stare.
“Why?” she exhaled.
He wished he had the answer to that question. When his brothers told him to come home, he said he wanted to stay and make sure the person who attacked Tessa wasn’t going to try and find her to finish the job. That was his excuse but was it the whole reason? He shrugged casually, “I just wanted to make sure you were ok. Nobody else was there, and I felt bad leaving you alone.” There, that was the truth, well at least some of it.
She nodded seeming to accept his answer. After mumbling a quick goodbye she turned back into the house, and shut the door behind her. Milo let out a deep breath, tugging on his shirt feeling flustered. Who was this girl and what was she doing to him?
Chapter 6
Tessa locked the door behind her and slid down to the cold marble floor. What just happened? The most gorgeous guy rescued her from the snowstorm then stayed with her through the entire night when her own parents couldn’t even find the time or care to, and she had to ask why. What did she expect him to say though? Of course it was just because he felt bad for her because she obviously had crappy parents. She put her head in her hands and groaned.
“Tessa?”
Tessa jerked her head up too fast making her dizzy. Hailey stood there, eyes puffy as if she’d been crying.
“Are you okay?” Tessa asked concerned, struggling to stand up. Hailey hadn’t looked so vulnerable for a long time, and Tessa’s older sister protector gene kicked in.
Hailey quickly nodded. “Of course.” She took a step towards Tessa, and then threw her arms around her in an embrace. Tessa didn’t even grimace at the pain; she was so surprised and happy at the same time that her sister was acting like she cared.
“I’m just glad you’re alright,” Hailey squeaked letting her go and stepping away again.
Tessa immediately missed the warmth that her sister had given not only her body but her heart as well. She gave Hailey a small smile of reassurance. “I’m fine Hailey.”
; A tear leaked out of Hailey’s eye. “I was just so scared. I knew you had been trying to call me, but I was ignoring you, and then I heard you were in an accident, and I thought it was my fault because knowing you, you were rushing home to find me.”
“I was,” Tessa admitted. “But I was stupid. I should have pulled over, it wasn’t your fault.”
Hailey sighed in relief, and her normal features began to return. “Well, Jade is coming to get me right now and we’re going to the mall.”
Tessa nodded, feeling her throat tighten. She was having an actual sisterly moment and she didn’t want it to end. Couldn’t Hailey sacrifice one Saturday and stay home, especially after her only sister had been in a car accident?
Hailey gave Tessa one last squeeze and turned to leave. Right before she walked out of the door she paused. “Gosh Tess I can’t believe you almost died yesterday!”
Tessa grunted, “That’s a little intense Hailey. The car rolled a couple times, but I was wearing my seatbelt. I bumped my head, that’s it.”
“Yeah but then your car exploded right after that guy got you out!”
This was news to Tessa. “Wait, what? My car didn’t explode.”
Hailey was in shock since her sister didn’t know just how close to death she had been. “Yes it did. Witnesses said that a mysterious man pulled you out of the car seconds before it exploded. I read it online.” She looked out the open door. “Oh Jade is here.” She hesitated before asking, “You don’t want to come, do you?”
She quickly shook her head no. “You go ahead, I need to rest.”
For a moment it appeared as though Hailey might change her mind and stay with Tessa, but then she turned towards the door. “I’ll see you later okay?”
Tessa nodded, gaping at what she had just learned. Milo did save her life, and he risked his in the process. Why hadn’t he mentioned it to her? She felt guilty; her quick thank you wasn’t even close to being enough to the gratitude she owed him.
Chapter 7
Milo’s brothers were in the kitchen, eating last night’s leftovers for breakfast. He slumped down in an empty chair at the table, and Ethan passed him a to-go container with leftover chicken and potatoes. He took a bite. It had been warmed in the microwave, so the chicken was slightly chewy, but he was used to food being like that. The peak of the brothers cooking skills was pouring milk over cereal, so they had a lot of take out.
“Did you find anything?” he asked between bites.
Sam ran a hand through his hair. “Not much. Her name is Tessa Grant, she is a senior at Winston High, parents are loaded, and that’s about it. What did you learn?”
Milo stifled a yawn. “There is power in her, I can feel it, but I don’t think she even knows she has it. It felt as if it made me stronger, and more powerful because ever since I dropped her off, I haven’t felt it. When her car exploded, I didn’t even have to concentrate to hold the flames back, it just happened.”
“Interesting,” Sam pondered.
“You don’t think she an amplifier do you?” Ethan asked in reverence.
Both brothers looked at him. “There hasn’t been a known amplifier for decades,” Sam stated.
Ethan shrugged, “True, but she could be. It makes sense with you having more power when she was around.”
“That could be why someone was trying to kill her,” Milo agreed after a thoughtful pause.
“If she is an amplifier then this is some serious stuff,” Sam conceded. “We could take down the enemies using her as a boost, but that also means that she will be their number one target if they know what she is.”
“We need to protect her then,” Milo decided, although he had pretty much already accepted that he was going to keep an eye on her before the theory of amplifier even came into play.
Tessa needed constant protection, and since she was still in high school the brothers had a somewhat hard time coming up with ideas as to how to get into the place without people questioning their motives. They couldn’t pose as students, the obvious concept, because Ethan had just graduated from Winston High two years ago and Milo and Sam would never pass for teenagers, even though they weren’t that much older. They brainstormed several different possibilities until they decided on one. Sam was a gifted hacker, and on the school’s website, it noted that the Board of Directors was going to be performing an overall review of the school soon. Sam easily hacked into the correct emails, and sent out messages to the Principal and Vice Principal that two members of the board would be there over the next month. Forging the paperwork wouldn’t be a problem, and with Ethan, a wealthy alumnus personally introducing Milo and Sam as on the board, they could pull it off. They went to work at once duplicating the proper paperwork and making it all look completely legitimate.
“What about when she’s at home?” Ethan asked some time later as they ate two large pizzas.
“I placed what protections I could around her house, but I think it would be safer if you sent Hero to keep an eye on her,” Milo implored Sam.
Sam nodded and left the room with a slice of pepperoni pizza in hand.
Ethan cast Milo a sly smile. “This girl really made an impression on you, didn’t she?”
Milo shrugged coolly. “If she is in fact an amplifier she needs to be protected.”
Ethan didn’t buy it, but didn’t press the subject either, to which Milo was grateful. He still wasn’t sure why he had such a strong response to Tessa, but Ethan was right, she had made a deep impression.
Chapter 8
Sandra came home later that night to find Tessa curled up on the couch in her pajamas with a bowl of honey nut cheerios watching some superhero movie. “Hey sweetie, you disappeared at the hospital today.”
Tessa glanced at her mom before turning her attention back to the television screen. “Yeah I didn’t want to be there anymore.”
“How’d you get home?” her mother asked a little too sweetly, and that got Tessa’s undivided attention.
“Milo drove me.”
“Milo, the man from the hospital?”
“The man who saved my life,” Tessa ground out suspiciously wondering where this was going. Her mom hadn’t asked her so many questions in a row for years.
“He sure is handsome. You didn’t happen to get his number did you?”
Tessa’s face burned in anger. Why didn’t it surprise her that he mom was still trying to score with the guy who saved her life? “Nope, didn’t even get a last name.”
“That’s too bad,” Sandra sighed.
“Why?” Tessa questioned unable to help herself.
“I’m just surprised, that’s all. He must have known who I was for him to stick around the hospital, waiting all night until I came. When your father showed up, I’m sure it made Milo uncomfortable, but I thought that he’d at least leave his number with you to pass on.”
Tessa fisted her hands trying to contain her anger, but it didn’t work very well. “Did you ever think that maybe he was worried about me, because I don’t know, my parents hadn’t even shown up to see how their daughter was, who almost died? He saved my life and all you could think to do was come onto him like a slutty cougar right in front of me. Maybe for once in your life it wasn’t about you!”
By the time Tessa had ended her outburst she was in tears. She jumped up from the couch spilling her cereal on the floor, and ignoring her mom’s shocked face ran up the stairs to her room. She flung herself into bed and sobbed. What was going on with her? That was like a chapter straight out of Nicole’s book. If Tessa ever had kids, she vowed she would love them, and they would always know without a doubt that their mother loved them. Isn’t that how it was supposed to be? She cried herself to sleep wishing so much that things were different. Outside of her window, a hawk perched on the tree, watching her every move.
Tessa stayed in her bedroom for most of Sunday, only coming out to grab a couple water bottles, a bag of chips, some grapes and an apple. Hailey stopped by her room for a few minutes to make sur
e she was still alive, and then left with her friends. After her sister was gone, Tessa glanced out the window and saw the large bird right outside on the tree. She moved closer to get a better look since she had never seen a hawk so up close before. The bird was a bit disconcerting; it seemed to stare right back at her, even angling its head curiously. A few minutes passed by before she finally turned away from the window.
Tessa considered going to church; she thought some thanks was is order since she had been so close to death, but her body was too sore, and then she remembered she currently didn’t have a car to get around in and groaned. She’d go to the car dealership first thing in the morning since she didn’t mind missing first and possibly second period of school.
Chapter 9
Less than a half of an hour after she stepped inside the dealership, Tessa drove to school in her brand-new midnight blue Subaru Legacy. It didn’t take at all long since she had bought from the dealership before, and knew exactly what she wanted. She walked in, pointed to the car and said, “That one.” It had to be the easiest commission ever for the giddy, freckled, car salesman who was lucky enough to greet her first.
To her relief there was absolutely no snow on the roads today. She made it to school just in time for second period chemistry to start. The first thing she noticed was that Mr. Evans wasn’t there today, but a young substitute sat at his desk. She couldn’t have been more than a few years older than Tessa and the rest of the seniors, and many of the boys whispered about how “hot” she was, and Tessa agreed the woman was pretty. She wore a black pencil skirt with a baby blue top emphasizing her blue eyes. Her dark hair was done in wavy curls hanging loosely to her shoulders. Tessa took her spot at the back table next to Nicole in silence; neither girl acknowledged each other.