Wearing an expression I can’t read, Seth goes to the desk and digs through the papers again. “I’ll keep looking through this stuff. I know you’re probably bored—you can check up on Hector’s progress with destroying the element if you want.”
For some reason his words make me uneasy, or maybe it’s his pain-filled expression. It’s obvious he’s hurting in more ways than one, and I don’t like the idea of him being alone with all that stuff on his mind. “Is your vision still being weird?”
“It’s fine,” he says, though he blinks rapidly.
“You don’t look fine. Can’t you tell me what’s wrong?”
He shoots me a biting look. “We don’t have to tell each other everything, right?”
Anger flares, hearing my own words used against me. “Seriously, are you gonna be like that right now? I’m worried about you!”
“And I’m worried about you!” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “You’re getting…I don’t know, like, distant from me lately, and now you won’t even tell me what I’ve done wrong.”
My eyebrows rise. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”
“Really?” Seth leans on the desk, staring me down. “Then why do you always pull away from me when you should want to be close? And you can’t seem to stand the thought of me seeing you undressed. Not that I’m incapable of waiting, but how do you think it makes me feel to see you recoil like that?”
I fold my arms, not expecting this sudden change in topic. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re doing it right now!” he points out.
Crap. My hands drop to my sides. “This really isn’t the time—”
“When is the time then?” Seth rounds the desk and grabs my hands. “I can’t do this. I have to tell you everything, and you should tell me what’s wrong because if this keeps going…what then?”
I know he’s right. There’s no way I’ll get past this invisibility barrier without telling him how strange it is for me, but I’m so scared of how he’ll react.
“Fiona, please, tell me.” His eyes beg me so badly that I have to look away.
“Sometimes…when we’re…it’s just…” I can’t seem to get words past this lump in my throat. But he wants me to tell him. He’s asking for it. “Sometimes it’s weird, okay?”
Seth’s brow furrows. “Weird? Like, me touching you is weird?”
I wince, but force myself to nod. “I mean, I can’t see what you’re touching or kissing. It’s just you and the air and…”
“Oh.” He drops my hands as he steps back. I have never seen him look this embarrassed, and I regret even the few words I said. “Well, I’m sorry it’s so weird to be with me. Not sure I can fix that.”
“No, Seth, that’s not what I meant.” I try to grab him, but he jumps behind the desk.
“Maybe you should go.” He sits in front of the computer, not looking at me. “I need to think. By myself.”
“Um, okay.” I head for the door slowly, hoping that maybe he’ll call me back. But every time I turn to glance at him, he’s still staring at the computer screen. So I leave, and I manage to keep my tears in for five whole blocks. But when they come I can’t seem to get them to stop.
Chapter 25
When I compose myself enough to talk without breaking down, I call Bea. Though it’s only the late afternoon, the short winter days make it so evening is almost upon me.
“Hey, Fi! What’s up?” Her voice is warm and happy when she answers, and it makes me want to be with her even more. Maybe some of that will rub off on me.
“Oh, just wondering if you could pick me up at SuperMart.” That’s as far as I made it before I realized walking from Mitchell Construction to my house would take longer than I wanted it to. With the ever-watchful eyes of Juan’s men to follow me the whole way to boot.
There’s the smallest pause, and I picture her confused face. “I thought you were with Seth.”
“Well…um…he needed some space.” I hope this is enough information for her to understand that things aren’t exactly going well, because I’d rather not explain more.
“Aw, Fi, of course I’ll come get you. Except now I’m worried. Just hold tight—I’ll be there in like ten minutes, okay?”
“Sounds good.” I lean back on the bench, wishing I could close my eyes and put my guard down. But I can’t, not with the two Jaguar-tattooed men standing just on the other side of the SuperMart entrance. They don’t even pretend not to see me; their glares are strong and unwavering. Finally one puts a cell to his ear. Great.
I haven’t seen or heard from The Phantom since he offered to break me out of jail Monday night. It’s only Saturday, but it feels like a long time with everything that’s happened this week. And if Juan was the one behind the bugs, you’d think they would have come after us by now.
Or maybe they’re waiting for us to make a move.
Bea arrives very loudly, honking Sexy Blue’s horn way too many times. As I get in, she says, “Juan’s guys are really pissing me off. I’d pop all their eardrums if it didn’t also hurt you guys.”
I can’t help but smile. “That would be awesome.”
“So is everything okay? You sounded upset.” Bea peels out of the parking lot at her usual breakneck speed.
“It’s not okay. At all.” I lean towards the window to get more air, since the afternoons in Arizona are still warm even in winter.
“Say no more. I know what you need.” She heads to the main street diner, and we sit at the bar. Bea orders the biggest ice cream sundaes they have—it might be a small gesture, but it really is just what I need. She’s the best friend a girl could ask for. “Alright, we have sugar. Now spill it, chica.”
I sigh, wondering where I should start and how much I can tell. Sure would be nice if she just knew Seth could see me, then I wouldn’t have to give half truths. “Lately I don’t know how Seth feels about me anymore. Like, there’s all these little things that aren’t a big deal on their own, but together it’s just…”
Bea frowns. “He’s crazy about you. It’s probably all the stress from what’s going on. You should have seen him when you were locked up. He was a mess.”
I know she’s trying to comfort me, but I don’t feel like being comforted. “Maybe, but that doesn’t mean it was easy before this happened.”
“I get that.” She digs into her sundae, and I do the same. The cool ice cream is perfect after sitting out in the hot afternoon sun. It makes everything just a little bit better. “Did something happen?”
I pop a maraschino cherry in my mouth to stall. Seth took my admission about our physical relationship so hard—the last thing I need is for Bea to tell me I’m being stupid. “Yeah. I think I really hurt his feelings, even though he asked me to be honest with him when I knew he’d get upset.”
“Hmm, what did you tell him?”
“Well…” I cringe just thinking about how Seth pulled away from me. “I told him sometimes it’s weird to see him making out with me when it looks like he’s kissing air.”
Bea coughs on her ice cream. “You really told him that?”
“Yeah.” I put my head on counter. This is bad. I can tell by her reaction. “What if he wants to break up with me because we haven’t…you know?”
It feels like an eternity before Bea answers. “I don’t think Seth’s like that, but he’s probably not feeling so great about what you said.”
“I messed everything up.” I stuff more ice cream in my face. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No, you have to be honest about it.” Bea looks away from me, seeming embarrassed. “I mean, it’s hard to take sometimes. Brady is always pushing me away physically because of his worries about hurting me. And I know that’s a real fear for him—that I should be respectful of it—but it doesn’t mean I like having to deal with that distance.”
I stare at her in surprise. I never would have guessed they had issues at all. “I didn’t know you felt like that.”
She shrugs. “I didn’t know you felt weird about the invisible thing. Now that I think about it, that’d be really hard.”
“You and Brady don’t have it so easy, either, though.” My ice cream is beginning to melt, so I take a last bite because I can’t stand when it gets goopy. “Gotta admit I’ve been kinda jealous of you guys, getting to take pictures together and stuff.”
“Aw, chica.” She leans in to whisper. “And I’m jealous you and Seth can make out without risk of death!”
To my own surprise, I laugh at that. Bea does, too. I’m so glad I called her, because while it doesn’t take away my problems it’s nice to know that she has some as well. Maybe that’s just how it is, trying to be with someone who has a crazy ability. “Wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to deal with these stupid abilities?”
Bea nods. “If only. People with minimal mutations don’t know how lucky they are.”
“Seriously.” My life would be so much easier if I weren’t invisible. Sometimes I wonder why it had to happen to me. It sure isn’t fair. “It would be way easier to be with Seth if I could just see myself.”
“You guys will be okay,” Bea says with confidence I can’t even begin to muster. “You’re just going through a rough patch, and all this syndicate crap isn’t helping. Once this is over, you’ll both chill out and be back to your happy selves.”
“I hope so.” Because the alternative is something I’m not prepared to deal with. As mad as I can get at Seth, the thought of not having him in my life is the worst possible thing.
“Don’t wor—” Before Bea can finish her sentence, someone in the diner lets out a horrible screech. By the time I turn towards the noise more people are screaming, and that’s when I notice two hands coming through the glass windows just behind me.
I grab Bea’s arm and run for the door just as The Phantom’s face appears through the wall.
Chapter 26
I keep waiting for The Phantom to grab us, but we make it outside with no problem. Which is when I see those two guys from SuperMart. They not only followed us, but they brought a whole bunch of other friends with them, too. Several of them swallow Radiasure, which only proves they’re here for a fight. As if we weren’t outnumbered, now we have to deal with power-boosted abilities.
The Phantom’s dark eyes almost meet mine, and I wonder if he can sense my fear as he grins. “Someone has been a very busy bee since she got out of that jail cell.”
I gulp. “If by busy you mean sitting around my house recovering from starvation, then yes, super busy.”
The smile drops off The Phantom’s face. “The queen bee doesn’t have to move to get work done, does she? That’s what her…” He glances at Bea. “…workers are for.”
“You’ve been watching us—all we do is go to school,” Bea says with a heavy helping of attitude. “Stop making up crap just so you have an excuse to bother us. Don’t you have anything better to do?”
“School, yes.” The Phantom tips his chin up. “Where there is a lab full of supplies.”
Shit. Maybe he can’t see my expression, but Bea’s is enough to give her away.
He takes a few steps closer. “You think I don’t have eyes in that school? Don’t think for one second that this town is yours, because there’s only one syndicate boss around here and that’s Juan.”
The men around him cheer, and I get the sense that they’re not here for show. They’re here for blood.
My heart races, but I try to steady myself. “Can you at least tell us what you’re getting at before you attack us?”
Bea glances at me. I hope this hint has her ready to scream, because we don’t have a chance otherwise. The Phantom looks from side to side, as if he’s unsure about talking in the street. In broad daylight, no less.
“We know your friends stole lab equipment and chemicals from the school,” he says. “What could they need such things for?”
This is not good. Either there is a student or teacher who’s a spy at the school for Juan, or they have someone there posing as an Army official. That would be even better for them, so I’m betting on that. “I don’t know. Maybe you should tell me.”
His upper lip curls. He has reached the end of his patience with me. “Seems they needed to test something. A certain element, perhaps.”
“What element?”
“Playing dumb won’t work. The Army already suspected you knew where it was—this proves they were right. I suggest you cooperate with me while I’m still feeling merciful.”
Part of me wants to give in, because I know all too well what outright defiance of a syndicate will do to us. If Bea and I run now, none of us will be even remotely safe. I can’t make this decision for everyone, but I have to.
“Let’s make one thing clear, Phantom,” I say, though it doesn’t come out quite as strong as I’d like it to. “No one is getting that element.”
His eyes go wide. “Excuse me?”
I grab Bea’s arm. “Bea, remember what you said in the car?”
She nods.
“I’m plugging my ears.” I slam my hands on the sides of my face and brace for the sound. It’s just as horrible as I remember, indescribable in its pitch and ability to cause pain. But it levels Juan’s men. Several already have blood coming out of their ears when Bea stops.
“Let’s go!” Bea runs for Sexy Blue, and I’m right behind her.
The Phantom barely picks himself off the ground as Bea revs the engine. His lips move, but I can’t make out what he says over Sexy Blue’s roar and my ringing ears. It doesn’t matter—I already know things are about to get violent. As Bea makes a sharp U-turn, I already have my phone out.
Upset as I am at Seth, still he’s the first one I think to text. Phantom ambushed us. Knows about test. Had to fight out. Coming to get u.
Seth’s text comes quickly. Are u ok?
Stupid, confusing boy. Still worried about me even when he practically shoved me away. Yeah, but we’re in big trouble.
Calling Brady. Hector texted me and said element probably wouldn’t explode. We need to destroy it now.
I couldn’t agree more. Okay.
By the time Bea and I pick up Seth, I’ve gotten a hold of Hector, Carlos, Mom, and Miles. Graham has his phone off, and I keep trying back every couple minutes. It’s the first time I wish I had Allie’s number, because they must be together. I don’t know her, but she’s in danger for being with Graham anyway.
Seth sits directly behind me in Sexy Blue, and it’s annoying because I can’t see his face or tell if he’s still hurt by what I said. I want us to be okay. I shouldn’t be thinking about this right now, but it’s all my brain wants to focus on.
“We’ll need Bea, Hector, and Carlos to come up with some kind of diversionary tactic,” Seth says. “They’ll be tailing us for sure if they can.”
Bea nods. “We’ll watch your backs until you get to the edge of town, then figure something out.”
“Sounds good,” I say.
The Pack is already outside when we get to Seth’s house. They cram into the car, and the extra weight makes it difficult to go as fast as Bea usually does. Everyone is quiet as we head in the direction of the cave, mostly because they’re playing lookout. Hector has his eyes closed, focusing on sounds none of us can hear. Carlos scans the quickly-dimming horizon, his diamond pupils expanded and round like a cat’s.
“Looks clear,” Carlos says.
Hector nods. “But it won’t stay that way.”
“Yeah,” I say quietly as a new wave of panic washes over me. “Don’t get cocky, okay? They way outnumber us. If you can avoid a fight, do.”
Bea pats my knee, then says in my voice, “We know the difference between diversion and attack.”
“Do we?” Carlos asks. “Because I’ve been wanting to beat up Juan’s dudes for years.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Hector says. “Seriously.”
Carlos makes a face. “It was a joke, man. You know, trying to lighten up t
he situation. Being tense won’t get us anywhere.”
“We have to be on our guard.” Hector runs his hands through his hair, and I wonder if he’s more scared than he lets on. He tries to act tough, but the more I get to know him the more I don’t buy it.
Bea slows to a stop at the city limit. Hector and Carlos take a few minutes to listen and look before they clear Brady to start running. Once they do, Brady carries Seth and me to save time, and we’re off at a ground-breaking pace. The sun has just set over the distant mesas, making it harder to see because the moon isn’t quite up. Everything is gray and hazy and passing by so quickly I barely have time to prepare.
The pools. They’re about to be gone. I want one more chance to swim in them. One more chance to be there with Seth when we’re not in this weird place, but happy like before. This is happening too fast. I’m not ready to say goodbye.
But what else can we do? If we don’t get rid of them tonight, chances are The Phantom will figure it out. He’s already too close.
The mountain that hides the pools grows bigger and bigger as Brady closes in, but about a mile off he skids to a stop, spraying pebbles everywhere. He doesn’t put us down. Just stares out at the shadowy landscape with a blank look on his face. Seth digs his knuckle into Brady’s head. “Uh, earth to Brady? What’s the hold-up?”
“I…” He squints. “Is it just me, or can you guys see the blue, too?”
“What?” I say, my eyes immediately on my best guess for the cave’s location. “There’s no light anywhere.”
“Are you sure?” Brady says. “I know that mountain like my own house, and I swear I can see the cave opening. Opened. Am I nuts?”
“Maybe you’re just so used to where it is that—”
Seth swears under his breath. “More to the left, Fi. That’s definitely brighter than it should be.”
I turn my head, looking for what they see. It’s very faint, but I finally catch the soft, deep blue spot against the mountain’s shadow. My stomach threatens to lose it as the implications set in. “Oh no.”
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