“You ready to get back to it?”
She shrugged. “Sure.”
He strummed the next song, squeezing his eyes shut as he began to sing.
If Benji was this arrogant and fake all the time, Alex wasn’t sure she’d be able to deal with him.
Halfway through the chorus, Benji stopped playing abruptly and scooped up his phone from bed. He answered a call. “Yeah?” A pause. “When? Now?” Another pause. “Right, okay. Be there in a few.”
“What’s up?” Alex asked with a frown.
“Band emergency.”
She stared at him.
“Other band. I have to go.” He began packing up his guitar into its case.
“Now? But we just started working on this one.”
“Sorry, toots, gots to go.”
Toots?
Again she suppressed her anger. “So when are we going to get this one ironed out?”
He shrugged. “Later.”
“When, later?”
Benji’s brow wrinkled into an angry scowl. “I don’t know, okay? Just lay off. I’ll get to it when I get to it. Stop being so high maintenance.”
High maintenance? Alex was too stunned to react, and before she could think of a response, Benji slammed his case shut and banged the end of it against the doorframe as he walked out.
Alex ground her teeth, watching him leave. She threw a pillow across the room and nearly knocked over her desk lamp.
Why couldn’t they have gotten someone normal to join the band?
~
Nic was tingling with anticipation. Waiting around for a Denver University student to abandon a library computer without logging off had paid off. Now he would find her. He typed what he knew into a search in the student directory—her first name. He scanned the list of Alexes and Alexanders, skipping past all the male headshots, lingering a moment on each of the few female students. Then he found her—freckles and all. That wide, toothy smile was overconfident, haughty, as if she were flaunting her powers to the world. Her name was Alexandria Hailey. Bingo.
He was just about to search for her address when his cell phone rang. “Yeah?”
“I’m at your apartment now—where are you?”
Crap. It was the last person he wanted to talk to—his landlord.
“Something came up,” Nic said. “I can meet you tomorrow.”
“You said that yesterday. And the day before. I’m done waiting on you. Your time’s up. I’m evicting your sorry ass, and I’m well within my legal right to do so.”
“If you’ll just give me another week, I can come up with this month’s—”
“Why should I believe anything you say? It’s not just this month’s rent you owe me. I’m not sure how you managed to convince me to defer your rent for so long now, but I’m putting my foot down. You better be out of my house by the end of the day unless I have the full two years of rent you owe me.”
“Two years? I don’t—”
“Don’t try your tricks with me. This time I mean what I say. Your stuff isn’t out in the next six hours and it’ll be in a pile on the curb.” He hung up the phone.
Nic envisioned his prized bottles of wine and the Cubans he’d worked so hard for getting thrown into a dumpster. He pushed away from the computer with a flourish and strode out of the library. This was not what he needed right now. His posh apartment was a haven—a tribute to the success he’d created for himself—and he was about to lose it all. It was all that stupid witch’s fault. He ground his teeth.
She would pay what she owed—and her tab was growing.
~
The late afternoon sun cast its last rays over the skate park, creating long, distorted shadows across the concrete. It threatened to merge with the hazy mountains far on the horizon as Josh watched the kids skate on Saturday.
One boy who couldn’t have been more than five feet tall rode up the half-pipe and did a three-sixty in the air. For a split-second he hung upside down, supported on the edge of the half pipe by only a hand and his own momentum. That would be so cool to learn—just not quite yet.
In a way, being here made Josh feel out of place—most of the kids were at least five years younger than he. But where did he fit in? He pulled out the photo of Alex and examined it. Oddly, it felt like this new girl from California was finding a place here better than he was.
One of the skater kids sat down near him—it was one of the younger ones, probably not older than ten or eleven. The kid poked a finger through a hole in the toe of his sneakers, fiddling with the broken rubber and glancing over toward the other skaters periodically. After a bit, he met Josh’s gaze, then looked down at the picture.
“She’s pretty.”
Josh cleared his throat. “Yeah.”
“Your girlfriend?”
“Uh, no.”
“Why not?”
“It’s complicated.”
“What’s complicated? Does she have a boyfriend?”
“I don’t think so, no.”
“So, what?”
“It’s just…well, a lot of weird things have been happening lately.”
The kid arched a brow. “Weird how?”
“Like…” Josh took a deep breath. What the heck, it was just a kid, and he probably wouldn’t believe it anyway. “Like my brother and sister sort of have these powers.”
The kid’s eyes went wider. “Like the Avengers?”
“Uh, sort of, but not quite that handy.”
“Cool.”
Josh waited for more questions, but apparently his admission hadn’t come off as strange to a kid as it has sounded to his own ears.
“And her?” The kid pointed at the photo.
“She has an ability, too.”
“So she’s one of them. That’s cool.” He nodded in understanding.
“But I’m not,” Josh said.
“You’re not in the club?”
Josh shook his head. “No powers.”
The kid shrugged. “So?”
“So…I don’t think I have much of a chance with a girl like that.”
“Sure you do.”
Josh frowned at the kid who was dead serious, even in the midst of this bizarre conversation.
“Chicks don’t care about powers.” He held up a hand, preparing to clarify his thought. “Okay, they do sometimes. But mostly they just care if you’re cool.”
“Um…okay,” Josh said.
“You know, like Batman.”
“What about Batman?”
“Well, he doesn’t have any powers, but he’s cool. He can always get a girlfriend. You know?”
“But I’m not Batman.”
“You don’t have to be Batman. You just have to be cool like Batman.”
“And what makes Batman cool?”
“Well, he wears black.”
“Okay. Is that it?”
The kid hesitated, his forehead wrinkling like he was thinking hard. “Batman, like, thinks he’s cool, no matter what Superman says. So he is.”
“So…he has confidence?”
“What’s confidence?”
“It’s…I guess, knowing you’re cool no matter what.”
The kid nodded. “Yeah.”
Maybe there was something to this.
“You like her? Like, really like her?” the kid asked.
“Yeah. I’ve never met anyone like her.”
“Then go for it.” The kid stood and picked up his board.
“I just might.”
“And don’t forget to wear black,” the boy said. “So you can be cool.”
Josh was about to ask what his name was, but before he could, the boy had already skated away to join the others.
He thought about what the kid had said. Maybe he just needed to exercise his confidence a bit. He smiled, thinking of the wisdom that had come from a random little skater kid. He just had to be like Batman—no problem.
Josh had to pick up Chloe from class that afternoon since her car was out of commi
ssion for the moment. It was ironic that his hand-me-down vehicle was outlasting her fancy new car. Grabbing his board, he headed out of the park.
~
He’d hit rock bottom. Out of cash, Nic found himself sitting on the curb, holding a cardboard sign. Never since he’d acquired his ability had he envisioned himself panhandling for a living. He’d only done that for a few weeks right out of high school, before his eye enhancement.
Nic had lost the apartment after all—his wine collection, too. He’d even had to sell the Excalibur Quatuor to pay off his landlord, and letting go of the watch had been incredibly painful. Problem was, if Nic had just disappeared without paying, the man would report him, and Nic couldn’t afford his name to get to the police. Not with all the other people he’d taken funds from. Though people couldn’t remember what had happened after his magic eyes did their trick, they couldn’t miss finding out about their depleted bank accounts and missing debit cards. Nic did his best to cover his tracks, but there was a limit to what he could get away with. To be safe, he never hit the same person twice, with the exception of Mrs. Marshall, whose Alzheimer’s made it convenient.
Now he was living out of his car—and that, too would be repossessed before long if he couldn’t pay up. Money was crucial for so many things—something his parents had never understood. If they had cared more, maybe they wouldn’t have been so poor. Maybe they would’ve given their son gifts for his birthday and Christmas instead of loading up on booze (his dad) and antidepressants (his mom). They had never understood why gifts were so important or how having nice things was empowering, or how it made people respect you. Good riddance to them both.
After getting enough cash to tide him over, Nic would head over to the campus to complete the search on Alex Hailey. He just needed to download her schedule and figure out which classrooms she would be in and when.
He’d been sitting on one of the busiest intersections in Denver for three hours and all he had to show for it was thirty-two dollars, a handful of change, and half a pack of cigarettes. His rewards weren’t even in threes, which was the only reason he was still sitting here. Late afternoon had turned into early evening and the sunlight that had given him stamina enough to persevere for a while. But now the light had turned to dark gray shadows, chilling him to the bone. He pulled his ripped coat tighter around himself, the icy wind stabbing through the holes in his gloves like needles. The getup was hardly worth the effort, he thought. Panhandling wasn’t for the faint of heart.
He folded up his sign, shoved it in the tattered bag, and threw the pack over his shoulder. He glanced both ways and jogged through a hole in the traffic, heading the few blocks away to where he’d stashed his BMW in a deserted parking lot behind an office building. But before he could get far, he noticed another panhandler sitting on the opposite corner. Nic was sure the man hadn’t been there earlier. Even as Nic crossed the intersection, no fewer than three cars stopped to hand the man cash. So that was the problem. Nic had some competition. A flare of irritation made him forget the cold.
When he got a little closer, he realized why the man, dressed in a tattered trench and dark glasses, had been so successful. He was blind. Son of a…
How dare some freak take his territory? Nic clenched his teeth. He’d get that guy. He’d wring his neck. Gouge out his sorry, sightless eyes. The thought made him feel a little better.
He crept up to the man but something felt wrong. The man’s head turned as if he was watching Nic. He could see? This was just getting better and better. That conniving little…
More furious than ever, Nic strode up to the man and ripped off his sunglasses. “What do you think you’re trying to pull—” Nic growled, but stopped short when he recognized the face that stared back at him. The man had short, dark hair and piercing coal-black eyes. The anger flickered for a moment, interrupted by surprise.
“Ethan Black?”
The man straightened his hunched back and looked him in the eye, frowning. “Do I know you?”
“It’s Nicodemus Zachau. Never thought you’d still be here, after we ditched Florida together.”
“Nic?” Ethan asked, squinting a bit. He looked him up and down.
Nic nodded at Ethan’s sign. “Makin’ some serious dough off your ‘handicap,’ I see.” He shook his head. “You could see this whole time? How’d ya manage to get into the school for blind kids?”
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“I had low vision. Couldn’t see jack unless it was three inches away. But I got that fixed. Guess you did too, eh?”
“No. I didn’t get mine ‘fixed.’ I like them the way they are.”
Nic shrugged. Obviously the man was lying. He was staring right at him—plain as day. Nic’s irritation was beginning to flare again, and he wondered if he should just off the guy and get rid of his competition. Convincing Ethan to follow him into a dark alley would take more effort than normal, though, and before Nic could think of a quick way to get rid of him, another idea came to mind. He didn’t make a habit of maintaining alliances, but maybe in this instance it would benefit him. He’d already realized things were a lot harder to acquire without his ability, and it might be a good idea to keep Ethan as a contact in case of emergency.
Squelching his annoyance for the time being, he decided to keep it casual. “So, what have you been up to lately?”
“Traveling,” Ethan said.
Nic realized why he hadn’t recognized Ethan earlier. Normally Ethan was crisply dressed and groomed, always with a confident smirk on his face. This time, he was different. Scraggly, even for the homeless getup. There were the details, and Nic never missed the details. Ethan’s nails were ragged like they’d been bitten off instead of precisely clipped. His hair was a bit on the wild side, overdue for a trim. There were bags under his eyes. And the look on his face said anything but “confident.” It screamed depressed, torn up, and worn out. Something was seriously wrong with the guy.
“I was just calling it a night,” Nic said. “Streets are kind of rough tonight. You want to go grab a bite to eat? There’s a place down the street.”
Ethan shrugged.
He looked like he could fall apart at any moment.
“Come on. You look like you could use a coffee. I’ll buy. I want to catch up on all the news.”
Ethan glumly nodded and followed him down the street.
Josh thought about the little skater’s advice all weekend. It was still on his mind Monday all through work and when he came back to relax at Chloe’s apartment that evening.
Chloe was on the couch glancing at one of her textbooks. “Drinks in the fridge.”
“How are classes?” Josh asked, grabbed a soda from the kitchen and scavenging for snack items.
“Mostly lame,” she said. “Except for the fashion design ones.”
With a bag in hand, Josh turned and collided with Alex.
“Whoa,” she said, grabbing his arm to avoid falling. She nodded at the pork rinds in his hand. “Nice choice.”
His bicep felt hot where her fingertips held on. She released his arm, pulling away awkwardly. He followed her back to the living room, planting himself on the couch by his sister.
Chloe wrinkled her nose at his choice of snacks. “Eew, those things are gross. If you’re going to eat those, just don’t breathe on me. I can’t believe Alex likes them.”
Alex shrugged. “Can’t help what I like.” She stood near them, glancing at the television.
“So, you headed out to practice?” Chloe asked her.
Alex shook her head. “No. We cancelled it. Benji was busy. Thank God, I don’t know if I can handle band stuff right now.” She hovered near the armchair, not quite sitting, looking unsure for a moment. Then she turned to head for her room. “Well, I guess I’ll go catch up on homework.”
“Wait—” Josh said quickly.
Alex turned and arched a brow at him.
“You could hang out with us if you want. Unless you have a deadl
ine or something. I mean, I’m not trying to make you slack off on your homework. We’re just going to be watching a movie.” Josh ignored Chloe’s stare, forcing himself to keep eye contact with Alex.
“Okay,” Alex said. “Maybe I will. Thanks.” Her smile started with her eyes and slowly lit the rest of her face. Josh felt faint for a moment.
Alex plopped down in the armchair and pulled out her knitting.
He’d gone this far, might as well try to be conversational. “What are you making now?” he asked, sure that Chloe must be all but gawking now.
“A Doctor Who scarf,” Alex said with a sheepish flick of her gaze his direction.
“You like Doctor Who?”
“Yeah. But don’t tell Benji. He can’t stand it.”
“Which doctor is your favorite?”
“Ten. Yours?”
“Nine.”
“Nine? Really?”
Josh shrugged. “I like bananas.”
“Are you geeks done comparing notes yet?” Chloe asked. She started the movie, then looked at Josh. “Jade said to tell you hi.”
“Oh? When did you talk to her?” He glanced sideways at Alex who was still knitting away, focused on the television.
“She called last night. She invited me to come down and see a play with Logan and her this weekend. It’ll be fun to spend some time with her, anyway…it feels like it’s been forever.” She turned back to the television. “I told her you’d come too.”
Josh stared at his sister. “You told her what?”
“I can’t be the third wheel.”
“What makes you think I want to be the fourth?”
“Oh, come on. Don’t make such a big deal of it.” She smirked. “It’s not like I can invite Cam. You know how awkward that would be.”
“And what if I have plans?” He glared at her.
She shook her head and rolled her eyes without looking away from the television. “You don’t.”
“How do you know?” His fists clenched.
Outsider: The Flawed Series Book Two Page 7