Embrace

by Cherie Colyer

  The sight of Mark had Kaylee biting the inside of her cheek. “What if he tries something?” she whispered to me when Sarah went to grab a permanent marker and tape off of the table next to us.

  “He’s not going to try something with everyone here.” At least I didn’t think he would.

  Kaylee nodded.

  Sarah came back, holding the marker and an empty dispenser. “Can one of you run back into school and grab some tape?”

  I had the eerie feeling of being watched, like I’d had the night before at the cemetery. I looked up in time to see Mark look away. A shiver ran down the length of my spine.

  “I’ll go,” I volunteered before Kaylee could. It had to be safer for her to be in a crowd of people.

  Chapter 17

  Kevin

  MRS. SHEPPARD WASN’T IN her classroom when I got there. I grabbed the tape from her desk, turned to leave, and froze.

  Kevin stood in the doorway, twisting a hat in his hands. The muscles in his arms flexed from the simple movement. Basketball had fine-tuned his body, making him lean and toned. He watched me through wisps of russet brown hair. He looked good. So good that I even had to ask myself if I was sure I didn’t want to be with him again. Which I was, but for a brief moment I allowed myself to silently admit that I was still attracted to him.

  He offered a smile. “I saw you head back to the school. I was hoping we could talk.”

  Kevin’s timing was almost as bad as it had been the other day when I ran into him on the stairs. I glanced at the tape I was holding and ignored my inner voice that nagged me to hurry back to the festival.

  “I, uh, yeah. You didn’t return any of my calls.”

  “Sorry about that. I had a lot of thinking to do.”

  We both took a few steps closer.

  “Kevin, I am sorry I didn’t tell you about Isaac,” I said again. “I didn’t want to hurt you. You know that, don’t you?”

  “I know.” His lips didn’t quite make it into a smile.

  He looked so sad and lost. I wanted to close the gap between us and hold him tight, as if that could take away whatever it was that bothered him.

  “What is it?” I asked, “What couldn’t you talk to anyone else about?”

  Kevin stepped further into the classroom and leaned against one of the tables. “Actually, I talked to Josh.”

  All sorts of things went through my mind. Were the people at his new school making his life miserable? What if Kevin was sick? What if he was dying? The possibilities were endless.

  “You’re scaring me,” I said when he still didn’t offer any information.

  He patted the top of the table. My legs carried me, a bit shakily, closer to him.

  “It would be easier for me to show you.” Kevin rested the tips of his fingers on my bare arm and sent a startling jolt into me. In all the time Kevin and I had dated, that had never happened. His fingers glided over my arm in a figure eight, and though it left my skin tingling, it wasn’t in a way that made my heart sing.

  “When? How?” I stammered.

  “A few weeks ago, just before I last called you, and I don’t know how. I didn’t really understand what it was. I wanted to talk to someone, and I knew you and I could always talk about anything. Then I saw you with that other guy, and my confusion and anxiety turned to something else, and I just wanted to explode. I called the only other person I trust enough with this. Josh told me about his powers, and about you recently finding yours.”

  I put my hand on his, to see if maybe the earlier shock had been static electricity, and yanked my hand back when the contact with his skin sent another sting of power through me.

  “But how come our powers are colliding now?” I asked. “You and I dated, and we weren’t shocking each other every time we held hands.”

  “Josh believes it’s because neither one of us had embraced our powers. They would have been dormant, hidden deep inside us.”

  “Do your parents have them?”

  Kevin shook his head. “This doesn’t come from my mom’s side, my step-dad wouldn’t count, and I don’t know much about my birth father.”

  “How did you find out about yours?”

  “It’s been sort of showing itself in spurts.” He shoved his hands into his jean pockets. “The first time was during a basketball game. I got into a pushing match with one of the players on the other team. The coach sent me to the locker room to cool off. I was pissed. The other guy started it, and he didn’t get kicked out of the game. I punched a locker. Left a nice-sized dent. I knew if the coach saw it I’d be off the team. I didn’t know what I was doing. I just rested my hand over the dent thinking I shouldn’t have done it. Next thing I knew, the metal had pushed its way back out.

  “After that, I started to experiment,” he continued. “I tried breaking a plate and resting my hand on the broken pieces to see if I could fix it.”

  “Did you?” I couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for Kevin to wake up one day being able to do magic. He must have thought he was losing his mind.

  “No. But I did keep trying different things. Eventually, I figured out how to summon something small off my dresser or a table, like a pen or my keys. I searched the Internet for any information on what was happening to me. One search led to another, and before I knew it, I was reading articles on witchcraft, which led back to Essex County.”

  Kevin raised his hand, and I pulled in my powers to block the shock when he touched my cheek. His hand lingered for only a moment before he let it fall to his side. “Josh said you went seeking yours. That you embraced them fully and have used them.”

  I nodded. “I was looking for a way to help Kaylee. My search took me from schizophrenia to witchcraft. As hard as it was to believe magic was real, I knew Kaylee wasn’t crazy, that there was something else causing her to be sick.”

  Kevin nodded. “I’m sorry about Kaylee. Josh said she’s better.”

  “Yeah.” I looked into Kevin’s endless blue eyes. “Are you going to embrace your powers?”

  Kevin gripped the edge of the table. “That wouldn’t be good for me.”

  “Why?”

  Kevin was the type of person who’d tell a cashier she’d given him too much change or talk to the ugly girl at the party just so she wasn’t sitting alone. I couldn’t imagine what harm could come from him embracing his powers. With Josh’s and my help, he’d learn how to control them.

  “You don’t understand,” Kevin began, and then stopped when someone knocked on the open door.

  Isaac looked from me to Kevin. The air filled with the bitter taste of orange rinds and steel. Several burners on the stoves lit on their own. Kevin and I pushed off the table and faced Isaac, who turned off the burners with a wave of his hand.

  “Sarah sent me to find you,” Isaac said, without acknowledging the magic that had just taken place. “She needs the tape.”

  “Right.” I looked apologetically at Kevin. “You coming?”

  The muscles in Kevin’s jaw tensed. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

  “You sure?” I looked from Kevin to Isaac, then back to Kevin, wishing there was a way for us all to be friends. I knew that wouldn’t happen.

  Kevin gripped the table tighter, causing his knuckles to turn white. “You go.”

  Talk about awkward situations. I wanted to finish my conversation with Kevin but knew he’d never discuss his powers with Isaac—who he didn’t know and I don’t think wanted to know—there.

  I rested my hand on Kevin’s sleeve so I wouldn’t shock either of us. “Promise me you won’t leave before we get a chance to talk.”

  Kevin took a deep breath, which he held for a long moment. We ignored the bag of microwave popcorn that popped where it was on the counter—I was sure it was Kevin’s untamed powers that caused it because Isaac would never lose control like that. When Kevin exhaled, he nodded to my earlier question.

  Isaac and I walked down the hall. I wasn’t sure how long he’d been watching Kevin a
nd me. But by his stiff shoulders and lack of conversation, I got the feeling it had been a while.

  “Thanks for coming to find me,” I said, hoping to ease the tension between us.

  Isaac had his hands in the pockets of his jacket. I could hear him jingling something, maybe his keys or change. He looked straight ahead, his mouth set in a thin line. When we reached to edge of the football field, I grabbed his arm to stop him. I went up on my tiptoes and kissed him. His response was polite. Robotic even. Like when you let a relative you barely know kiss your cheek hello.

  “Kevin’s going through a hard time,” I said. “He needs people he can talk to.”

  “You can talk to whomever you want,” Isaac replied in a steely tone.

  “Kevin and I are just friends.” I wanted to feel Isaac’s powers wrap around me, comforting me and telling me everything was fine. That didn’t happen. “Say something,” I begged.

  “You didn’t see how you looked at him.” Isaac started walking. “Sarah’s waiting.”

  I had to force my legs to start moving. My relationship with Isaac had just taken a step forward that morning only to take a gigantic leap backward that afternoon.

  Sarah and Kaylee had the cookies in neat rows on the table when we got there. A small tan cash box sat between the chairs. Sarah held a sheet of paper listing the prices. I handed her the tape.

  “I’m going to find Josh,” Isaac said.

  I nodded and watched him walk away.

  Kaylee pretended to fix the skirt around the table. She whispered, “Are you okay?”

  Afraid my voice would crack or I’d break down and cry if I spoke, I nodded my reply, which indicated yes but really meant NO. Kaylee eyed me, so I forced a smile.

  “I’m fine.”

  I saw Kevin walking the long way around the field toward Mark and Ben, who were manning the table near the entrance of the maze. Mr. Chapin—dressed in shorts and a polo shirt—climbed onto the bench in the dunking tank. Paige shut the door as the last bell of the half-day rang, releasing a flood of students who drifted toward the festival. Emma walked past the refreshments and took a seat on the table where Paige was collecting money from a couple of freshmen.

  Sarah, Kaylee, and I sat at the bake sale booth. It didn’t take long for things to get busy. When Josh arrived to see how we were doing, I pulled him aside.

  “Where’s Isaac?” I asked.

  “Don’t know. I haven’t seen him since Gym.”

  “He saw me talking to Kevin and—” I tried to keep the desperation from my voice, but just thinking about the cold and indifferent look Isaac had given me made me want to curl up in a ball and cry. “Can you find him for me? Ask him to come and talk to me? Please.”

  Josh nodded, handed me some money in exchange for three cookies, and walked toward the school.

  We sold more than half the cookies, and Josh still wasn’t back. Nor did Isaac show up. With most people enjoying the activities, sales at our booth slowed drastically. Kaylee took a break and headed to the bathroom. Sarah got up to check how the rest of the booths were doing. That left me to wait for Natalie to relieve me.

  I kept scanning the crowd, looking for Isaac. We’d driven together, and while I knew I could get a ride home from Kaylee and Josh, I just couldn’t believe Isaac would leave without telling me. It wasn’t like he’d walked in on Kevin and me making out. We were talking. No different than all the times he’s talked to Paige. I kept expecting him to show up wearing that crooked smile of his, asking when I’d be free.

  When that didn’t happen, I thought about tracking him down and begging him to talk. But then, maybe he needed time to think. He’d realize he had nothing to worry about. Wouldn’t he?

  “Sorry I’m late,” Natalie said, breaking into my reverie. She had her friend Lauren with her. “We got lost in the maze.”

  “No problem.” I pushed myself up out of the chair.

  I decided that I would let fate take over. If I was meant to talk to Isaac that afternoon, then I’d bump into him. I wandered around the festival. Everyone else was having a great time, laughing and joking with friends. It only made me more miserable. My legs carried me to the maze, and I was thankful that Mark wasn’t there. I really wasn’t in the mood to talk to him. I gave Ben a dollar, my admission to the labyrinth of cornstalks, and walked through the entrance.

  The maze was a lot like my life: a series of paths that led to choices, turns that often led me astray, and dead ends that forced me to rethink where I’d just been. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find the exit or my happiness. I’d get close, but then there’d be one more choice to make, one more obstacle to get past, one more wall of cornstalks blocking the way.

  There were a few other students wandering around the narrow paths. I hadn’t realized just how big the maze was, or maybe I’d kept walking in circles, but after a while it became claustrophobic. I wanted out. My heart raced as I started to pay attention to every turn I took. Before I found the exit, I ran into Mark and Emma.

  Mark’s eyes lit up when he saw me. I would say that I’d imagined it, but Emma’s face burned an odd shade of scarlet as she scowled at me.

  “Hi, Madison,” Mark said with way too much enthusiasm considering Emma was standing right in front of him.

  Emma crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t have enough guys chasing after you, you had to come looking for Mark?”

  “I was just walking…I wasn’t looking…What?” I asked, totally confused.

  She fixed me with an obstinate stare. After the looks I’d gotten from Kevin and Isaac, hers seemed almost friendly.

  I chose to ignore her. “I didn’t realize how big the maze was. I was trying to find the exit.”

  “Around this way.” Mark pointed behind him.

  “Thanks.” I nodded and walked past them. When I got back to the bake sale booth, Kaylee was still gone, so I headed toward the school to find her. I checked the first floor bathroom, which was packed with several girls, none of them Kaylee.

  I headed toward my locker next—thinking Kaylee might have stopped there to grab something from her purse—and ran into Kevin and Paige. They looked at me. I’m not sure what emotion they saw on my face, but Paige’s mouth twitched upward into a smile. Kevin’s gaze didn’t meet mine.

  Out of all the girls in Minnesota and Gloucester combined, would Kevin really go out with Paige? He had to know she would date him simply because he was once mine. He had to know how much it would upset me. Maybe that was the point.

  I quickly composed myself and tried to act natural. “Have you seen Kaylee?”

  Kevin shook his head.

  Paige pointed further down the hall. “She was looking for paper towels.”

  I wanted to grab Kevin by the arm and ask him what he was doing, but I didn’t want Paige to see she was getting to me.

  “Thanks,” I said and walked by them as if I couldn’t care less that I’d found them huddled together in a deserted hallway.

  My pulse pounded in my ears as I forced myself not to run. I slipped into the first classroom I saw, which ended up being Mrs. Parris’s. It was empty. I leaned against the wall, my breaths coming in short bursts. I had to pull myself together. If Isaac saw me so upset over Kevin talking to Paige, I’d lose him forever.

  I slid down the wall until I was crouching and, with my hands over my head, tried to steady my breathing. Kevin was allowed to date whomever he wanted, I reminded myself, even if it was Paige. It wasn’t that Kevin was talking to another girl that upset me, though; it was that he was talking to my archenemy. I was so preoccupied reasoning with myself that I didn’t hear the classroom door open.

  Chapter 18

  Sometimes There’s No Saving Yourself

  “WELL, WELL, WELL. WHAT do we have here?” Emma stared down at me through the parts in her blond hair, one hand on her hip. She had the brass black widow that Mark used to carry with his keys dangling from her belt loop.

  They must be back together. If she weren�
�t such a bitch, I would have warned her not to trust him.

  I looked up long enough to tell her to go away. I was too busy wallowing in my own self-pity to deal with her. I could handle Kevin dating anyone except Paige. He had to know that.

  “What’s wrong?” she taunted. “Afraid Mark won’t take you to that movie?”

  “What?” How the heck did she know Mark had asked me to the movies? I stood back up, my back still against the wall. “There’s nothing going on between him and me.”

  “Really?” Her hand flew to her hip. “Then why did he give you my necklace?”

  Not the frickin’ necklace again. “I was holding it for him. That’s all.”

  “I bet you were.” Emma clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

  “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m seeing someone,” I spat. “So, unless you have another reason for being here, why don’t you find someone else to annoy?”

  “I have a reason to be here.” Emma walked over to the teacher’s desk, running her hand along the top as she moved toward the drawers. She opened each in turn, searching without touching.

  “Look, you have nothing to worry about. Mark and I are just friends.” I grimaced again. We weren’t even that. “He’s all yours.”

  “Problem is, he won’t go back out with me, and I think it’s because of you.”

  I became very aware of the fact we were the only two people in the room, probably the only two people in this part of the school. There was a glint of evil carefully hidden in the look she threw my way. A faint stench, one I couldn’t quite place, slithered through the classroom. It was like a neon sign screaming, DERANGED WITCH IN ROOM. And then it hit me that Mark might be part of a coven, and if he were, Emma and Paige would be logical members. I knew one thing: I didn’t want to be alone in a room with any of them.

  “Well,” I said as I pushed myself away from the wall, “you have nothing to worry about. You and Mark make a cute couple.”

  I reached for the door handle at the same time the lock clicked in place.

  “And you’re nothing but a nuisance to my friend, Paige,” Emma said, picking up the tin pencil holder on Mrs. Parris’s desk. She examined a letter opener and then put everything back down. “Did you know she had the biggest crush on Kevin, but he asked you out and not her?”