Soulmated

by Shaila Patel

  My mind wandered to a vision of what Laxshmi’s eyes would look like if I kissed her. It caught me by surprise, making me cough. Grand. Now I was the one with the concentration problem. If I kept this up, I’d have a hard time blocking out my classmates’ feelings. I stretched my legs a bit and tugged at my jeans. Jaysus. Was I thirteen again?

  Keeping other people’s emotions out of my head was like blocking calls on my mobile. Normally, most empaths had about a ten- to twenty-foot reading range, so it wasn’t too taxing on me, having been an empath since childhood. Unless my concentration was shot to hell, blocking was as simple as breathing. Soon, staying open to Lucky meant she’d have her own ringtone in my head, and I’d be able to lock on to her feelings without having to do anything at all.

  When the class bell rang, Lucky bent to pick up a small pile of textbooks from the floor. I hoped she wasn’t one of those geeks who carried her books around with her all day. Then again, maybe she was avoiding her locker because of me. The thought left me frowning.

  As she got ready to leave, I waited for her. “Going to your locker?” I pointed at her books.

  Her surprise came over to me in a gentler ripple than had her other emotions. The gentleness reminded me of a calm day on Galway Bay—the sand, small waves nipping at my toes, and the sun, glorious on my back. The surprise felt like a warm ocean spray I hadn’t been expecting.

  “Yeah,” she said with a sheepish grin.

  “Brilliant. I’m heading there too.”

  She bit back a smile, her excitement feeling like a frothy surf tickling my toes.

  When we approached the door, she rushed to catch it before it shut, almost dropping her books. Most girls would’ve stood back and waited for me to make a dash to open it, making sure I was being attentive. Lucky didn’t seem to want any such nonsense, and I felt a bit off, like I’d put my trainers on the wrong feet. I couldn’t shake the feeling of being in unchartered waters.

  She stepped to the side and held the door open for me—for me—and I had to dive forward to help her steady the load of books threatening to fall.

  “Here,” I said. “I’ll help you carry these—”

  “No. I mean, that’s okay. You’ve got your own to carry.”

  I sensed a genuine concern from her, as if she were afraid to be imposing on me, not something I’d been expecting. I stepped closer, meaning to convince her to let me help, but then her eyes snapped up and met mine. The softness and sincerity in them froze me to the spot. Lighter and more vibrant than the other brown eyes I’d forced myself to stare into—all in the name of being romantic—her eyes drew me in like a kaleidoscope, with amber and black flecks peppering her irises. A soft gasp escaped her lips, and I understood how she felt. With each blink of her long eyelashes, it felt like an eternity before I’d see her eyes again. I had a strange urge to brush my finger over the tips of her lashes.

  I swallowed against the dryness in my throat. “I–I just have one book. In my bag.” Jaysus Christ. What is she doing to me? I couldn’t get sucked in. I wouldn’t. If I expected anything, it’d only turn into another disappointment.

  She stood there, blinking, and dropped the weight of her books into my arms. She was throwing out all kinds of emotions, enough so that I couldn’t concentrate on a single one.

  “Thanks,” she said. Her cheeks became rosy, and she averted her eyes. “I, uh, didn’t get a chance to get back to my locker.”

  A wavy vision of her, like a reflection in disturbed water, told me she was holding back the whole truth. It only confirmed she was avoiding her locker because of me.

  We headed toward the main artery of the school, as they called it, back to our lockers. She followed while I led the way through the crowd so she’d not get jostled. When I couldn’t sense her clearly, I turned around to make sure she was still there. A small smile played on her lips, but then she looked down and a curtain of silky, black hair hid her face. When the crowd thinned, I turned and waited for her again. She tried to hide another smile, but wasn’t fast enough this time. I nearly returned the smile, but I kept my expression impassive.

  “I can take it from here if you have to get to class,” she said.

  Why was she fighting me? Was she trying to get away from me? Had I misread her attraction to me?

  “Is it that bad to accept my help?” I asked, genuinely curious.

  “What? I mean, no. Thank you. I just, uh, thought you might have to get to class.” She bit her lip and fidgeted on sandal-clad feet, obviously embarrassed. I also felt some regret coming off her now. Did she think she’d insulted me?

  “Relax, Lucky.” Her nickname had the effect I’d been after. She let go of the chaos in her mind and focused on me.

  Amazing.

  She had pretty decent control of her emotions if she focused. We started down the hall again, this time side by side.

  “So, do you always read the lines of your books out loud?” I asked.

  Her eyes widened, and I sensed her shock, as if I’d stepped into frigid water.

  I was about to continue, but Jack called over from the lockers. “Hey guys, what’s up?”

  He moved over to Lucky and slung his arm around her shoulder. She flinched and spun out from underneath his arm, pointing a finger in what I assumed was some silent warning. She muttered something about headlocks. Jack laughed and held up his hands in surrender.

  She darted a glance at me, and an awkwardness rippled outward. Was I making her feel that way, or was Jack stirring her up? I hated not knowing the reasons behind an emotion. It was the most frustrating thing about being an empath.

  Lucky sorted away the books I’d returned and blushed when she caught me studying her. Jack was still hanging about behind us. He mentioned having the next class with Lucky, and I gathered he’d be walking her there. I wondered if I’d be seeing Lucky in any of my other classes.

  We closed our lockers at the same time, but she left her hand on the lock like she was needing support.

  I leaned in to keep my voice from Jack. “I expect an answer later, yeah?” The way her eyes bored into mine tightened my throat.

  “Later, then.” She blinked her gorgeous eyes and looked at me as if all her hopes were resting on my shoulders. The weight of it felt comfortable, like I was invincible. It surprised the bloody hell out of me. All I could do was nod and watch her walk away.

  Damn. She’s a target like all the rest, Liam. You’ll do well to remember that.

  CHAPTER 8

  Lucky

  I left for lunch from AP Biology with a textbook at least four inches thick. Would Liam be there at the lockers? Did he have someone to eat with today? I didn’t like thinking he’d be alone on his first day of school, but with his smile—his real smile—he could sit on the garbage can, and girls would be lining up to eat with him. I pushed away a pang of jealousy at the thought.

  Jack had to talk to the teacher about this year’s science fair, so I went on ahead. He was going to meet me by the lockers, and then we’d pick up his sister by the elevators.

  Should I ask Liam to join us if I see him? Would I even have the courage? Ugh. Why was I even thinking like this? He was as healthy as eating a bag of chips for dinner, but who cared about being healthy when seeing dimples like his? When he’d leaned in close earlier, all I could think of was touching him and feeling that tingle again. Stupid, stupid hormones.

  I sneaked a peek before turning the corner and spied Liam leaning against the lockers. He had one foot propped against the metal and was fiddling with his phone. Sunlight streamed from the windows at the end of the hallway, illuminating him from the side like a halo in one of those Renaissance paintings. I couldn’t catch my breath. Would my heart ever beat normally around him? I was sure a heart machine would show permanent damage to the way mine worked.

  All my familiar anxieties whirled around in my head like leaves caught in cross winds. This would never be a simple crush. No way. He was affecting me
physically, for crying out loud.

  I wiped a clammy hand against my hip and walked up to Liam, searching for every ounce of confidence I had. He gave me a grin, showing off his dimples, and turned his body toward me. He was even closer to my locker now—close enough for me to touch those dimples, or his lips, or his hair …

  Breathe, Laxshmi. I refused to sound like a breathless fangirl.

  He waited for me to open my locker. “So?”

  “So … what?”

  “Are you going to answer my question?”

  I looked at his phone. “What were you listening to the other night?”

  He slipped it into his pocket. “No fair now, not when I was asking you first.” He stared at me with a smug grin and crossed his arms.

  “I wasn’t talking to myself.” I finished with my locker and slammed it shut a little too hard, startling myself. “I was reading certain passages out loud.” He didn’t need to know I enjoyed practicing my British accent.

  He narrowed his eyes like he doubted me.

  Whatever. I crossed my arms and turned away from him to wait for Jack. Liam had his answer, so why was he still standing behind me? My guilt got the better of me though, and I bit my lips together. What if he didn’t know where to go? Should I ask him to lunch? I looked over my shoulder. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him looking at me with a devilish grin.

  Ugh.

  “And by the way,” I said. “You still haven’t answered my question.” I didn’t dare turn around to face him.

  Liam stepped forward, close enough that I could feel his heat warm my back. Before I could move away, he leaned over my shoulder, his lips brushing my hair and the edge of my ear.

  “I was listening to music,” he said, his voice soft.

  His scent overwhelmed me. He smelled like the fresh crisp air after a rainstorm. All I wanted to do was nuzzle his neck and take a deep breath. On an inhale, I inched my face around, met his beautiful light-green eyes, and gasped for the second time today. He was so close I could’ve kissed him. My face probably looked like a blotchy tomato. His eyes darted to my lips, and I reflexively jerked back, bashing my head against the lockers with a loud clang.

  Ow. Klutz. Klutz. Klutz! The other students turned to look at us, and I imagined their thoughts like headlines: Gorgeous Guy Looks at Bumbling Brown Girl Near Locker.

  We both reached for my throbbing head, but he stopped short of touching me. It was like he’d made a conscious decision not to touch the weird girl.

  “Mind yourself,” he said, his voice raspy.

  I stared into his eyes and froze. They weren’t filled with the cocky playfulness from before. They looked concerned, which made me feel worse. How was I supposed to avoid getting my heart crushed if he was nice on top of everything else?

  He studied my face, focusing on my lips. The thing with my lower abdomen happened again, just like before, and I swallowed my gasp.

  His after-a-rainstorm fragrance, or pheromone, or whatever it was, obliterated what senses were still working, making me feel more naked than if I had taken my clothes off. I tried my best to push oxygen into my body so I could regain some control, but it was useless. I was floating on a cloud of eau de Liam.

  Somehow I sidestepped him and caught sight of Jack speeding toward us.

  “Are you okay?” Jack asked, glancing from me to Liam, his eyebrows gathered tight. Jack must have seen what had happened. “I thought we were meeting by the elevator,” he said to Liam.

  “Got done with gym early,” Liam said, shrugging. “So I came here.”

  Liam’s joining us for lunch? I reined in my excitement. Jack turned back to me, waiting for an answer.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. Just bumped my head. Let’s go get Shiney.” Something had to distract me from Liam’s scent before I threw myself at him. In a desperate move, I linked arms with Jack and dragged him down the hallway with me. Liam followed, but my eyes stayed glued straight ahead.

  We met Shiney at the elevator. She waved to me in her usual flinging-her-hand-about motion and widened her eyes when she saw Liam. Oh, this’ll be interesting.

  “Liam,” Jack said. “This is my little sister, Shiney, and yes, that’s her actual name. Shiney, this is Liam.”

  “Hey,” she squealed, lending credence to the nickname Jack had given her years ago—Piggy. A huge smile appeared on her face, and her black curls bobbed. “Although, I’m not that little. I’m only a year younger.” She let out a high-pitched cackle. Was she nervous? “I mean, I am little, like short little, but I guess you can see that for yourself.”

  Yup, definitely nervous. Even Jack shoved his hands in the pockets of his cargo shorts and shook his head.

  “A pleasure to meet you,” Liam said, offering a tight-lipped smile. I wondered why he didn’t shake her hand.

  “Oh, you’re Irish?” She giggled.

  “That I am.” He shot me a sideways glance, catching me staring, and his lips turned up slightly. My cheeks warmed, making me bow my head and check out the carpet stains.

  “That’s so cool.” Shiney drew out the word so and giggled again. Geez. No chance she’d tone it down now, but it didn’t bother me. She’d had a major crush on a guy from her Bible study group for years.

  Did I really just think that? I shook my head clear.

  We split off in pairs when we got to the lunch line, and all Shiney could talk about was Liam’s Irish accent. I gave her a brief rundown of the moving truck and how his locker happened to be near mine too. I left out the rooftop and the unexpected heart palpitations. The lunch line really wasn’t the place for that kind of analysis.

  “It’s a sign,” she whispered.

  I grimaced. If it were, it’d be a bad sign. I knew where this was headed. Months of parsing his every stray word, sentence, and gesture, months of longing and daydreaming, and months of thinking I wasn’t good enough for him.

  I touched my ear, remembering how close he’d been.

  We all took our food to the tables nearest the tray return. Shiney and Jack sat on one side, leaving me and Liam to the other. Jack and Liam were talking about soccer, and I watched as Shiney made some futile attempts to join in. She would unleash a million questions any moment now. I was almost embarrassed for her.

  When the conversation lulled, she exploded. “So, Liam, where did you move from? And are you a senior like Jack?”

  “Memphis. Atlanta before that. And, uh, I’m a senior, minus a credit or two.” He shrugged. “Transfer issues.”

  Undaunted, she continued. “Oh. So you move around a lot? Why did you move here? What do your parents do?”

  I’d seen this side of her. She wasn’t going to stop. I wondered idly if she should consider journalism as a career.

  Shiney stopped for a breath after a dozen more questions and then continued, asking about Irish sayings, leprechauns, and the difference between clovers and shamrocks. Liam squirmed in his seat, and I wanted to burst into laughter. I took a bite of my apple pie, wondering if I should save him.

  “If you stay in America, will you go to college here?” she asked.

  “My heart’s set on going back,” Liam said. “I’ve got loads of family waiting on me to return.”

  Oh. My bite of pie felt as heavy as lead, dropping into my stomach after a hard swallow. Seriously, Laxshmi. You hardly know him.

  Jack put an unopened vanilla pudding on my tray. I scrunched up my nose and threw it back with a bit too much force. “Why are you giving it to me? You know I hate vanilla.” The snap in my voice surprised me.

  “Since when?” he asked.

  “Duh, since always, stupid,” Shiney chimed in.

  Jack shrugged one shoulder, peeled back the lid, and began eating. Liam turned to me, concern like before back on his face. I focused on my pie and ignored him. Why was he affecting me so much? I took a deep breath to relax.

  Shiney leaned forward, as if getting ready to start her questioning again. Out of the
corner of my eye, I saw Liam fidget, and a strange awkwardness blew through me. I held my fork midair for a moment. Why would I feel awkward? Liam and I turned to each other, his head tilted as if he were curious.

  “So, Li—”

  “Hey, Shiney?” I interrupted. “Weren’t you going to the mall this weekend?” Liam obviously needed saving.

  She took the bait, and I thought I heard Liam sigh in relief. My strange mood lifted at his relief, and I wanted to laugh.

  “Oh, yeah,” she said. “On Saturday though. We have a church thing on Sunday. Don’t forget, Jack. You promised to take me.”

  “I haven’t forgotten,” he said, his mouth full.

  “Ooo, Liam, why don’t you come? You too, Laxshmi,” Shiney said.

  I choked on my water. Crap. Let the weeklong obsess-fest begin.

  “Ahh, the mall.” Liam’s eyes were fixed on me. “Will you be going, Lucky?”

  Jack and Shiney fell silent. An understatement really. It felt like they’d stopped breathing too. Liam didn’t seem fazed though. Shiney stared at him, and Jack smirked with his I-warned-you face. They knew I didn’t react well to people calling me Lucky. Well, other people. The way Liam said it seemed to connect us. Judging by how I was reacting to him, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was just wishful thinking.

  He leaned over, his well-defined biceps propped on the table, and looked right into my eyes. I had no doubt he was taking full advantage of his good looks, and—God—was it unnerving. I wondered if he could tell my heart was racing.

  “Lucky?”

  “Why do you ask?” I felt my eyes narrow. If he kept staring me down, my food was going to lurch back up.

  “Just curious.”

  Shiney broke the spell. “Pft. Of course she is.”

  He turned to Jack and Shiney. “Can I get back to you on it?”

  That settled it. If he was remotely interested in me—one iota interested—he would’ve jumped at the chance of coming with us. But he didn’t, which had to mean he was only being nice to me. Doesn’t it? Or maybe he was just being diplomatic.