by Lily Cahill
And there was that awful feeling too, that feeling like he wanted to do it again, make the ball bigger. It was like he could feel Butch’s energy simmering underneath his skin, waiting for him.
He wanted to drain him. End him. Hold the shimmering contents of the man in his palm and let his friends watch as he used it to destroy them too.
Clayton closed his eyes, tried to focus. He couldn’t do this. Couldn’t. He backed away from Butch before the desire to touch him again took hold.
Butch’s eyes opened, he started to sit up, still groggy. He was fine. He was going to be fine.
But Clayton was still holding part of Butch in his hands.
Cora turned her attention from Butch back to him, her brow furrowed, that same anxious expression on her face.
Oh God.
What was he going to do? There was no way to get rid of it. But he couldn’t show her either. Not here. Not in front of everyone. Not before he’d had the chance to tell her.
Beads of sweat formed on his brow.
There was a bang at the door and Cora’s father stepped outside.
Clayton could feel the intensity of the energy pulsating behind him. How big was it? He didn’t dare look.
“What the hell’s going on out here?” Huck Murphy said. Clayton realized he had never seen the man up close. He was big and burly, built like his son but weathered with age. The bedroom in back must belong to him. “Get your ass off the ground, boy.”
Butch struggled to his feet, his movements slow and woozy.
“Cora’s little boyfriend is making trouble,” Butch said, turning his back on Clayton.
Everyone’s attention had shifted toward Huck. Clayton knew he wouldn’t have a better chance. He tossed the energy ball hard against the old dirt road behind him.
As it flew through the air he saw that it was as large as a basketball. And he’d only touched Butch for a fraction of a second.
The sound of its impact nearly stopped his heart. Everyone turned to look. He tried to make his expression as even as possible.
“What was that?” Ralph asked.
“What was what?” Clayton asked.
“That noise?” Ralph asked.
“How should I know?”
Ralph stared at him suspiciously, but no one said anything.
“I asked a question,” Huck said, rubbing a worn hand over his worn face. “What the hell is going on out here? I’m trying to sleep.”
“Clayton isn’t bothering anyone. Butch attacked him for absolutely no reason,” Cora said.
“You reconsider our talk, girl?” Huck asked.
Cora paused, seemed to gather her strength and stand a bit taller. “No,” she said. “My answer is still the same.”
What was that about?
“Then I guess this little spat is none of my business.”
Huck turned to Butch. “Do what you want, boy,” he said, then walked inside.
Cora rushed over to Clayton, tried to tug him away as Butch sauntered toward them both. At the look on Butch’s face, he felt the desire rise in himself again.
He had to get ahold of himself. Had to calm down. Had to—had to—Jesus, what had he almost done?
He hated this, hated feeling like he didn’t have even basic control over his own body.
Butch got closer, closer. Clayton struggled to quell the desire to use his power. But he could tell it wasn’t working. Everything around him felt alive, ready, like a gun waiting for him to pull on a hair trigger.
He wanted it. He was hungry for it. His appetite hadn’t gone anywhere. Clayton tried to breathe, tried to focus, but Butch was getting closer, too close. What would happen if he touched him again? Could he stop himself a second time?
Just as Butch was about to take another swing at Clayton, Danny darted through the yard and pulled him away.
“He’s not worth it, man,” Danny said. “Hitting a Briggs? That rap’s not going to roll off like any other bar fight.”
Then Cora got between the two of them, putting her arms on his shoulders, looking into his eyes. For a moment, he was worried he would hurt her too, but his anger was pointed only at Butch. He could never, ever hurt Cora, lay a hand on her in anger. The very idea of it was sickening. She kept his gaze and he felt himself calm under her influence.
“We’re going,” she said to Clayton, holding his eye. Then she turned back to Butch. “We’re going.”
Before anyone had a chance to protest, she took Clayton’s hand in hers and led him back to his car.
Butch eyed Clayton with a fierce glare. “You come back here again and I’ll kill you. I swear.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Cora
As Clayton sped away from the house, Cora’s heart seemed to speed up, not slow down. It should be slower, slower, slower. But she couldn’t stop it.
This was it. This was the last time she would be this close to him. Things had already gone too far. They didn’t fit in each other’s worlds. His fight with Butch had been the last push she needed. She’d left with him only so she could do this the right way.
“They’re awful, Cora,” Clayton said. “You’re not safe there. You can’t go back. I’m buying you an apartment in town.”
Anger flared in Cora. “You’ll do no such thing.”
“I can’t just let you go back there. I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you. Don’t you see that?”
“I’ve been living with Butch my whole life. I know how to handle him. Nothing’s going to happen to me.”
“How can you say that after what just happened back there?”
“You don’t understand how he is. He’s angry now, but by the time I get home, he’ll have cooled off.”
“That’s not normal behavior, Cora. It’s sick.”
“Well it’s mine to deal with, not yours.”
Clayton slammed his fist against the steering wheel and pressed the pedal harder.
“Why can’t you be reasonable for once? Why can’t you just let me help you?”
Let him help her? More like make her completely dependent on him for everything. Cora could imagine what it would be like. She’d get soft, learn to like the way Clayton lived, forget all about what it took to survive on her own. And then one day—one day he would go. How long would it last? A month? The summer? Then where would she be? She and Bethany wouldn’t even have the meager roof over their heads they had now.
“I’m not going to live in some apartment you buy for me, Clayton. That’s insane. I can’t be your—your mistress.”
“That’s not what it would be,” he said, and she could hear the edge of anger in his voice. “I would never—”
Maybe it was better this way, him so angry at her. Maybe she could goad him into breaking up with her now. Then she wouldn’t have to be the one. Would that be better? She wasn’t sure.
“You can’t tell me you don’t like the idea of it, Clayton. Someone there, just waiting for you whenever you wished?”
“For goodness sake, Cora. What kind of a person do you think I am?”
“I think you like to have things, Clayton. To own them,” she spat back. “Cars. Boats. Me.”
His expression hardened.
“Then I’ll buy the damn thing in your name. You wouldn’t be obliged to me in any way.”
“You don’t understand how it is, Clayton. My father won’t give my sister up without a fight and I can’t just leave her alone. They’d put her to work. She wouldn’t be able to finish school. Her life would be ruined.”
“But it’s okay to ruin yours in the process?”
“I can handle them. She can’t. I won’t leave her, Clayton. I just won’t.”
“Then you’ll fight them for custody. My brother is a lawyer, Cora. There has to be something we can do. No court would side in their favor if you told them how things really were.”
“And your brother’s just going to help me? A Murphy?”
“He’s not unreasonable. If he saw what I just saw �
��,” Clayton’s voice trailed off. He seemed unable to finish the thought.
Cora sighed. There was no convincing him, no making him understand. He was so used to things being solved so easily. He had never come up against anyone like her father, like Butch. They were conniving, manipulative. They’d find a way—some way—to destroy her and win. And putting Bethany through all that? Just to lose her forever? She couldn’t risk it.
“No,” she said. It was all she could muster. Didn’t he realize how much she wanted to go, wanted to leave home forever? How difficult it already was for her to stay? No. He couldn’t possibly. They were too different.
She had to do it. She had to do it now.
“This isn’t working,” she said.
“What do you mean?” he asked, but his glance told her that he understood exactly what she was saying.
“Don’t you see? My family doesn’t want us to be together. And I can’t imagine yours is any more supportive, are they?”
She wasn’t about to tell him what his mother said. She could protect him from at least that.
Clayton was silent next to her.
“See? It’s a mess. Do you really think it’s worth all the pain we’re causing everyone?”
“Don’t talk like that.”
Cora braced herself as Clayton rounded a mountain switchback. “I’m serious. We both knew, didn’t we? That it would turn out like this? We’ve just been fooling ourselves. It’s better to end it now.”
“I don’t accept that,” Clayton said.
“This is my decision,” she said. “It’s not up to you.”
“You don’t want that. I know you don’t. And I won’t let you throw this away just because our families disagree. There’s a way to fix this.”
Clayton veered sharply and came to an abrupt stop. They were surrounded by tall pines, by midnight pressing in on them.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a box. “I got you something.”
“You said you wouldn’t. You promised.”
“Just hear me out,” he said, opening the lid and pulling a necklace away from its bed of soft, black velvet.
Cora’s breath caught in her throat. It was gorgeous. She reached for it without thinking, drawn by the sparkle of the sapphire and the sheen of pearls. She stroked the delicate gold chain, her heart sinking with the realization that she could never, ever wear it.
“Please put it on,” he said. “For me.”
“I can’t take this,” she said, her breath short. “I just can’t. I’m a Hollis, not a Murphy, and I’m not going to take advantage of you. Especially not now.”
“Oh, Cora.” He closed the box and let it drop to the floor in his desperation to grab her hands in his. “I didn’t understand before—about your family, about everything you have to put up with. All I really considered were my own troubles. You don’t have to take it. I want to give you everything, but I would never want to make you feel ashamed of taking it. And I’m so, so sorry. You must think I’m the most selfish person you’ve ever met. But will you just let me see you in it? Just for a moment?”
She didn’t know what to say. She desperately wanted to try it on, feel it against her skin.
He didn’t wait for an answer. He took the necklace from her and leaned in close to fasten it around her neck, skimming her skin lightly with his fingers as he brushed aside her hair.
Cora could hardly stand this. If she didn’t do it fast, she was going to lose her nerve.
“We can’t do this,” she pleaded.
But then he reached up and turned his rearview mirror to face her, to show her. Her own image made her stop. Even with her red-rimmed eyes she looked different, regal. The necklace transformed her somehow.
“This is how I see you, Cora. Just like this. A woman who deserves to be treated with respect, who deserves to be given beautiful things. A woman with so much potential it hurts to watch it wasted. A woman who can be whoever she wants to be.”
Cora could hardly breathe. He took her hands in his.
“That’s the woman I want to introduce to my parents. I know if they met you—if they gave you a chance—they would see you exactly as I do.”
But Cora knew that wasn’t true. She knew exactly what his parents thought of her. Good, maybe. But not good enough.
“Please stop,” she said.
“No. I don’t want to hide anymore. I want us to be out in the open. Your family already knows, and so does mine. They need to see—everyone needs to see—that I want to be with you, not hide you away like you’re a shameful secret. Because you’re not, Cora. You’re everything. And I’ll do whatever I can to protect you, no matter what happens. I’ll do whatever you ask, handle it however you want. Just please, Cora. Please don’t ask me to take you back to that house.”
“Clayton—”
Cora looked out into the night sky. She couldn’t stand to look into his eyes anymore. It was only then she realized they had parked near the cliffs over the lake. They were at the spot where Clayton had been parked just a few short days ago, when he had seen her under water. It gave her an idea.
She knew a way to convince him. Maybe the only way.
She got out of the car, headed toward the path. It was dim inside the trees—the moonlight barely poking through the branches over her head—but she had walked this path many times before. His car door slammed behind her.
“Where are you going?” he asked. “Can’t we just talk about this?”
But Cora had nothing else to say. Words wouldn’t work. He wasn’t listening. She unbuttoned her dress, pulled it over her head. She thought about the red swimsuit hidden under her mattress. Remembered she was still wearing the necklace.
“Cora, what’s going on?”
She kicked off her shoes. The breeze coming down the mountain cooled her, helped her focus.
Clayton caught up, touched her shoulder, his voice as gentle now as his words. “Talk to me. Please.”
“Are you coming?” she asked.
He scanned her face, seemed to consider. Then he pulled his shirt off. She tried not to remember what his chest felt like under her fingers.
He kicked off his shoes, unbuckled his belt. She hadn’t thought about this part, about how hard it would be to see him like this—so intimately—one last time. She turned away, walked faster. Finally, she reached the cliff’s edge.
Clayton met her there, and she took his hand.
“Ready?” she asked, clutching the necklace at her throat. She couldn’t bear to take it off. Not yet.
“Always,” he said.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Cora
They plunged down, down, down, the air sailing past them as they plummeted toward the glassy surface. It was so still, so perfect, like they were diving right into the middle of the moon.
They slid into the water more than hit it, the cold stinging Cora into an icy awareness of everything around her. Cora couldn’t see above her head, but it felt like their entrance was so smooth they hadn’t even made a splash. It was as though the water just accepted them—folded over them without a ripple.
Cora looked at him one last time, savored the moment before it would be over forever—his face in the shaft of moonlight filtering through the darkness of the deep, the warmth of his hand on hers amidst so much cold.
She knew what she had to do. Still holding Clayton’s hand, she commanded the water to part over their heads.
The lake opened like the zipper on a dress until their heads were free to the air and bathed in moonlight. Cora’s power had created a ten foot deep canyon inside the lake that cradled them, at least a hundred feet of water still beneath their floating bodies.
Just to be sure no one who happened to wander by the cliffs above them could see, Cora closed a ceiling over top of them so that they were inside a bubble of air. It was essentially the same thing she’d done the day Clayton had pulled her out of the water, only on a much larger scale. She had gotten stronger. She had been getti
ng stronger every day.
“Holy hell,” Clayton said, his voice raspy and deep. It echoed off the walls of water like they were in a cathedral. Moonlight made the walls shimmer like glass around them. He waded in a slow circle as he took it all in. Then he looked back at Cora.
She couldn’t even look at him, couldn’t face what he would think, the judgment in his eyes, the fear. “Now you know. We can never be together, Clayton. I’m a freak,” she said.
Incredibly, he laughed. She was confessing her biggest secret to him, and he was laughing?
“I knew it!” he shouted gleefully. “I knew you had powers. I just didn’t know how powerful you really were.”
“You … you knew?”
He plunged his hand into the wall beside him, pulled it out again. He looked above them, around them. He floated to his back and kicked at the water at his feet.
“This is amazing. It’s unbelievable. It’s—hell, Cora—it’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen!”
Then he was kissing her. Those strong fingers wound into her hair, his wet, hard chest pressed to her, his mouth engulfing hers.
Cora didn’t understand. Why wasn’t he running away? Why wasn’t he screaming at her, calling her names? Could he actually be accepting what she really was?
She met his kiss with confusion. But as his hands drew her closer she lost herself in it, lost herself in him. He was so warm, so strong. It was so hard to keep her guard up around him. She wanted to melt into him, be in his arms forever. All she could think about was how good it felt to be touched by him, to touch him back. At that moment—deep in his kiss—there wasn’t room for anything else.
She realized it a second too late, heard it before she saw it. She had lost her concentration. The water came crashing down around them, closing in over their heads in an icy flood before they had a chance to take in a breath. Instinctively, she clutched the necklace to her heart to keep it safe.
He held her through the crash as the force of the water sent them deeper and deeper. Her lungs were screaming for air, but there was none. The pressure of the water that deep pressed against them, causing her head to ache. But he kicked hard, pulling her up with him. She kicked too until they broke the surface again—gasping for air and gripping each other tighter than ever before.