“Don’t you dare steal my robe,” she spat viciously as she grabbed for the robe again. “You’re the one who doesn’t belong here. Not me.”
My forehead knotted as I concentrated on turning Mel back the other way, where her decisions had originally been headed. I’d never seen someone change directions so fast to an alternative that had barely existed. But I’d never read anyone with Alzheimer’s before. No wonder they were so unpredictable, even to themselves.
Mel’s hands dropped to her side as shock and regret took the place of her anger. “I’m sorry. I am so sorry, Ms. Lee,” she said humbly. “This wretched disease …” And with that she took her seat, red-faced with a look of concentration, perhaps willing herself to get through the rest of the ceremony.
Rex had joined George Alphonse and Rita Mendez at the front of the stage where the ceremony had continued despite Mel’s outburst. Marci quickly handed the robe to George before scurrying back to her seat with what looked like a giggle. I guess that was her way of dealing with the uncomfortable situation.
“… And will you, Rex Mathiason Brolie, protect all adepts and put their interests and protection above all others?” Rita Mendez asked. I’d missed the beginning of the oath.
Rex panned across the crowd for dramatic effect and gave a cocky grin. “Course I will,” he answered. “I always have.”
With that, George Alphonse placed the blue robe around Rex’s shoulders and introduced Rex as the newest, and youngest ever, member of The Seven. My head swam with the finality of it. Mel was out, and Rex was the new leader.
He stepped forward, as Rita and George fell back to take their seats. A roar of applause swept past me like a wave breaking over the shore. I tried to shut it out, but the sound kept growing. People were pushing forward, jostling to get closer to the stage, pressing against me. I couldn’t ignore them. I could hear the hordes stampeding behind me. Smell the sweat of their packed bodies. Feel their breath on my neck. A hand touched my back. Someone’s elbow grazed my side. I couldn’t breathe. My knees grew shaky, and I staggered a step forward, trapped against the stage. And still bodies pressed in behind me. My breath got shorter and my vision began to cloud. No. I couldn’t pass out here. Not now. I hung on, clutching the edge of the stage. I needed out. Now.
ψ
I was three hallways away, past the dining hall before I stopped running. I’d tripped on my heels once, splayed out across the floor, but ripped off the shoes and kept going. I took deep even breaths now to calm my pounding heart as I tried to remember how I’d gotten here.
The stage.
As the guests crowded behind me, I’d leapt up onto the stage, pushed Rex aside and bolted to the side door. My cheeks, already flush from running, burned brighter. I’d just humiliated myself in front of all of Rothston.
Chapter 23
Kinzie
I sat on the edge of my bed in the dorm, and checked my phone again now that I was back at Hutchins. Still, there was no text. Maybe Curtis had found a girlfriend. I smiled at the thought. He should have a girlfriend rather than texting with me all the time. But my smile faltered. Where did that leave me?
You OK? I texted to him.
Sasha had teased that I had something going with Curtis when the constant stream of texts started from him the day before the Ascension Ceremony. And she was more convinced when I wouldn’t show her any of them. They were reports on where Rex was and what he was doing. Curtis was taking his self-appointed spy mission seriously, and his ability to pick locks and get into places he wasn’t supposed to be was serving him well. I told Sasha that Curtis and I were just friends, but she didn’t believe me. Of course, that was when Sasha was still speaking to me.
She’d acknowledged my existence only twice since the debacle of the Ascension Ceremony. The first was when she’d returned to our tiny, shared room, and screamed at me for ruining the ceremony. She told me The Seven were pissed, that I’d insulted Rex and humiliated Rothston. I wanted to argue back that I’d humiliated myself, no one else, but I just let it be. With Sasha’s drama, I didn’t know whether to take her seriously, anyway. But clearly, she was mad at me. She hadn’t spoken to me again the rest of the week. In fact, not until today after we’d arrived back at Hutchins.
I’d spent much of the rest of my time at Rothston in Mel’s apartment. Dr. Sharma was almost always there these days, attending to Mel’s every need. But she’d sit in the next room, leaving us alone to talk for a few hours, before shooing me away so that Mel could rest.
Our conversations were difficult. Mel would get stuck, repeating over and over that her illness didn’t make sense, that clinically it wasn’t right, but she was never able to explain what she meant. So mostly, I talked. It was strange, but I was comfortable sharing my thoughts with her – and my fears – because I knew she wouldn’t remember. I talked to her about Greg. I told her about the pain of losing that connection to commons, about how clear and focused the turbula became when I was with him, and about how he made me feel that everything was right just by being around. Mel rarely spoke at those times, but held my hand, patting it when I needed comfort. And through my rambling, an inescapable truth rose in me: I was in love with Greg Langston. I’d never told him those words. And now, I never would.
That had made tonight so much harder. Greg had stopped by, returning some books and a shirt I’d left in his room. The finality of it tightened my throat so I couldn’t speak, but I grabbed his arm as he turned to go. He’d stared at my hand on his broad forearm, as the electrical jolt spread through both of us. For an instant, I thought I caught a glimmer of regret, but then it was gone. He snatched his arm away and marched out of the room.
I’d lost Greg. Sasha wouldn’t speak to me. Dr. Sharma said, with the rate her Alzheimer’s was progressing, Mel wouldn’t last very long. I looked back at the screen of my phone – now Curtis was gone as well. I flopped back on my bed, dropping my phone. I had nobody.
I got up and began packing my books so I could spend the evening in the campus library, where no one was expected to talk to me. I slung the heavy backpack over my shoulder, and stopped, hesitating before dropping it to the floor. I’d promised Sasha I’d stay. And since it was important enough for her to acknowledge me, I should keep my promise. And besides, I knew she was right.
Before she headed to dinner, she told me Rex would get back on campus this evening, and was coming to see us. Coming to see me, in particular, expecting an apology. I knew I should. I’d disrupted the ceremony every bit as much as Mel had. But I was still dreading facing him. I had a feeling he was coming to lord over his minions rather than dole out forgiveness.
I searched my pockets for my phone to check the time, but it wasn’t there. It wasn’t on the bed either. I climbed across, stuffing my hand next to the wall to feel around for it. I grasped it where it had lodged half way down when the door snapped open behind me.
“You got a problem, Nicolosi?” Rex’s voice sneered behind me. I pulled my hand up the knobby wall too fast, yelping as I scraped it on the rough paint. I turned quickly.
“Look, I’m sorry I messed up your ceremony,” I snapped back, flicking my hand to be rid of the pain. This wasn’t exactly how I’d planned to apologize, but he hadn’t caught me at my best.
Rex strode over to glare down at me as I crawled off the bed. “I don’t give a fuck about the ceremony. I’ve ascended, and you’re the laughing stock of Rothston. As it should be.”
“Fine. You don’t want my apology. So why are you here?”
He glared at me harshly, then began pacing haughtily across the room. “Heard a rumor that you’ve been sneaking around. Hiding what you’re doing,” he accused.
I laughed at that, understanding now what this was about. I’d proven I could translocate more accurately than he could, and he was here to bully me into submission. It wasn’t going to happen. “Hiding?” I parroted. “I don’t report to you, Rex. And since I translocated the oak tables out of the library for your little ceremony, I don’t think
anyone could say I was hiding it.”
“Drop the attitude, Nicolosi,” he glowered. “I’m in charge, and you better learn your place. This isn’t about …”
“Or what?” I interrupted. “Learn my place or what?”
He glared at me, pissed that I wasn’t intimidated like Curtis. “Fine,” he spat after a moment. He marched over to Sasha’s dresser staring at the fish bowl for a moment before he turned around. “We know what you’ve been doing. You and that sniveling …”
“Leave Curtis out of this,” I demanded. “He’d translocate better than you too, if you didn’t bully him around.”
I could see his blood pressure rise as Rex’s face turned red. “You aren’t better than me,” he spat.
“What’s wrong, Rex?” I poked. “Can’t stand the competition?”
“You arrogant bitch. Can you do this?” he challenged, as Sasha’s comforter rose from her bed, soared across the room and dropped on top of me. Multiple translocations. Impressive but …
I pulled the blanket off, and my hand went through what felt like liquid soap. The silvery substance glittered and disappeared, leaving holes in the pink comforter. I smiled as I held it up to him.
“I don’t destroy what I translocate,” I mocked. “Like the tables from the library. Not a single error. You know, we ought to have a real competition – translocating the similar objects so we can see who is the best,” I offered in my best attempt at a casual tone. If he took the bait, I knew I would win, and then King Rex would have to concede his crown.
Rex’s lips went white with fury. “What the hell!” He marched in a tight circle around the dorm room, looking for something else to move. His eyes lit on the fish bowl again. “Okay. We’ll go head to head. Those fish,” he spat, pointing at Romeo and Juliet innocently swimming in circles. “We each translocate one. I’ll take the one with the bulgy eyes.”
My eyes narrowed as I eyed him suspiciously. “No,” I said. “You’re setting me up. We aren’t permitted to translocate animals.”
“I’m one of The Seven,” he announced, as if I had missed that somehow. “I can do whatever I want.”
“But I’m not.”
“You have my official permission,” he said imperiously waving his hand in a show of making it official.
“Sorry. Don’t trust you.”
“What do you want me to do, write it in blood?”
I laughed at the mental image, thinking it might not be bad – at least I could prove it was him. But an easier idea came to mine. “You’ve got your phone?” I asked. “Take a picture of Juliet – the one that I’m going to translocate – and send it to me in an email that says I have your permission to translocate the goldfish Juliet. Make it that specific,” I requested, figuring it would be easy enough for him to claim that it was Romeo I’d translocated and blame his mangled mess on me. Rex was hesitating, so I influenced him – only needing a slight push to get him to comply.
He snapped the picture and a minute later, the email popped up on my computer. I opened it to make sure it said what I’d asked and had the correct fish.
“Satisfied?” he asked.
“Sure,” I answered. “And whoever’s fish fares the worst has to concede that the other is better at translocating.”
“Deal,” Rex snapped smugly. “And I expect you to grovel.”
My breath took a quick hitch while Rex closed his eyes, straining with concentration. He stretched his palm into the air and a goldfish fell into it. He glanced down at it and a broad smile exposed all of his teeth.
“There,” he said haughtily as he thrust his hand toward me, then laughed. “Perfect. You can’t beat that,” he said noting my empty hands.
I stepped forward to see Romeo unmoving on the flat of Rex’s palm. Not a scale twisted or out of place but … I picked the limp fish up by the tail. “No, I’d say I won,” I said, trying not to smile too broadly. “My fish didn’t die.” I turned toward my desk, pointing to where Juliet was happily swimming around in a half-filled water glass. The edge of one of her fins was bent oddly, but otherwise, she was intact. “Now, I can prove I’m better than you. But I won’t make you grovel,” I said graciously. “You may just refer to me as …”
Smack! Stars burst in my eyes as I staggered to the side. What had … Rex’s chest was heaving with anger. He’d hit me! Slapped me with the open palm that still hung in the air. No one had ever hit me! Time seemed to stretch out infinitely, but my brain wouldn’t do anything but marvel at the new sensation. The skin of my cheek was on fire, pain where my jaw had been knocked to the side, the metallic taste of blood.
“You fucking little bitch,” Rex growled, advancing on me. I scrambled backward, to find myself in the corner. “You’re not going to say a word,” he hissed, towering over me. “Ever.” His open palm turned into a fist and hung in the air. I stared at it, while a thousand half-formed thoughts flashed through my head. Wondering if a punch would feel a lot worse. Thinking Curtis has been right – gloating over Rex wasn’t worth this. Wondering how long he’d keep going, and how long I could take it. Wishing that Mr. Jamison could see Rex now, the way he really was. I closed my eyes as his fist began its arc, bracing for the impact. I wished I had never heard of Rothston. I wished Rex would just go away.
I waited for the punch, but it didn’t come. Rex was probably laughing at me for cowering in the corner like this. Relishing the moment. I waited for his cruel laugh. He was torturing me by making me wait. I listened for his breath, but heard a rustling on the other side of the room instead. I opened my eyes slowly, to see Sasha looking at me in confusion. Her eyes searched around the room, then back to me as I slid down the corner.
Sasha scrunched her nose in confusion and asked, “Where’s Rex?”
Chapter 24
Greg
“It’s good to have you back,” Pete told me, as I tipped my chair back from the table in the Pit. He’d said the same thing a bunch of times last week while we hung in Negril for break, but with the amount of Red Stripes and tequila we’d had, he probably didn’t remember.
I grinned at him. “Good to be back.” Boomer sat in the chair across from me, shaking his shaggy head, before taking a long pull on his Coke. But he was silent. He’d said his piece three weeks ago when I told him I’d dumped Kinzie. He’d said she was good for me – made me more human. I thought that was ironic, since human wasn’t exactly a word that I’d used to describe Kinzie. I glanced down at my arm where she’d touched me this evening. She definitely wasn’t human. But Boomer didn’t know that. And he’d never bug me about it again. That’s just how things were.
The whole thing with Kinzie was like some long bout with insanity. I’d suddenly become that guy who thought he needed a girl in his life – one girl; the guy who got up waiting to see her every morning, the guy whose whole life revolved around her – that dork wasn’t me. I had too much going for me to get stuck like that. Now, I planned to take a break from girls entirely. Not that they weren’t handy to have around, but damn – too much drama. And Pete was right. I hadn’t spent much time just being one of the guys.
Pete and Boomer were planning our run to Walmart in Linton, sorting through the beer and other crap some of our frat brothers had asked us to pick up. They were laughing at the lists and trying to remember who had actually given them money. I scoped out the room as I listened. Sparse crowd for a Sunday night in the Pit, but people were just getting back from break. Around the room, girls chattered away, sharing stories about wherever they had gone. I wondered if Kinzie went to Rothston. She’d said she had to, but wanted to get out of it. I hoped she had. That place wasn’t good for her.
I scanned around the room again. She wasn’t here. That seemed odd. Not that she should be, but it seemed like she always was. Even after I dumped her, she’d been here with me, constantly. A guilty weight sank into my stomach. Maybe I shouldn’t have been so harsh to her before break. But she wasn’t getting it. And every time she was around, I wanted to forget wh
at she was, what she could do, and what she’d become. I wanted to pretend she was still that smart, quiet girl I’d met last fall. But …
“Isn’t that right, Langston?” Pete asked, knocking my elbow where it rested on the Formica table.
Boomer wiped the hair away from his eyes, “Back from dreamland?” he asked with a crooked grin.
“I was just looking to see if Ki…” I stopped as Pete rolled his eyes and Boomer smirked. It was like a kick in the gut. What was wrong with me?
“Nothing. Never mind. What do you want?” I barked. I needed to get a grip. That girl had taken over too much of my life.
“Did you see this?” Pete asked, pointing to the list. “We’re supposed to pick up a fucking TV for Darvin. Did he smash another one?”
I shrugged, not really caring, and they fell back into their conversation as I studied my hands. Crap. Like it or not, Kinzie had left a hole in my life. I needed to find something to do. Intramural soccer was filling teams. Or maybe I’d head down to the fitness center and lift weights. Maybe I’d go for a run. I hadn’t run since Kinzie and I … Damn! Weights. Definitely weights. I needed to distract myself.
I noticed Pete leering at me. “What?” I asked.
He nodded behind me. “Don’t look now, but your shadow is back.”
I spun around in my chair, opening my mouth although I was unsure if I was going to tell her to get lost or ask about her break, but I stopped short. It wasn’t Kinzie. I settled back in my chair.
“Hi, boys,” Jenna White said coyly as she stopped beside me. Her hand came down lightly on my shoulder and her fingers ran across the back of my neck. Staking her claim. God, I didn’t need this crap. “What are you doing?” she asked.
Pete chose this moment to become a chatterbox. “Boom and I are just hanging, having a good ol’ time,” he answered. “But moody, mopey Langston’s a downer.”
“Aw,” Jenna mock pouted with a gleam in her eye. “I could cheer him up.” She leaned down, whispering into my ear, “I know exactly how to make you feel good.” Her fingers ran down my back as she spoke.
Foreseen (The Rothston Series) Page 27