* * *
On lunch break, I meet up with Brianna and sit with her and Matt. I’m relieved that Adam isn’t here—one less thing to deal with.
“Have you talked to Adam since Friday night?” Brianna asks.
“No.”
“Livia, I was there. I saw Lindsay getting closer to Adam, but I also saw him pushing her away.”
“I think our problems are way beyond Lindsay at this point.”
“He was devastated after you left, honestly. I’ve never seen Adam that upset over a girl.” Brianna smiles. “I think whatever it is, you two need to work it out,” she proposes, taking a bite of her sandwich. I look at my plate and I push the tray away. I’m not a bit hungry today. “Next weekend is homecoming. I’m sure he’s planning on asking you to go with him.”
“I don’t think so, Bri.”
“He was nominated for king!”
“And you for Queen,” Matt says. “And you’ll be the most beautiful queen this school has ever had.” He kisses Brianna’s cheek. For a moment, I’m jealous.
“We don’t know if I’ll win,” Bri says, but she’s confident. “So Livia, will you think about giving Adam a second chance?”
“It’s just not a good time for me and Adam right now, Bri. It’s not that I don’t believe him.”
“It happens.” Matt says, taking a bite of his pizza.
“It’s a shame; you two make a beautiful couple.” Brianna lets her lips curls into a melancholy sulk. “But I don’t think it’s over; not for him, anyway.”
Before my next class, I head to the library to get some books to take home. Reading keeps my mind off things. I walk into the library, but I stop short when I see Adam and Kyle on a computer. I sneak behind them, hoping they don’t see me. I hurry down to the biology aisle, desperate for a book on human genetics. I want to look into it again and do some more research—my parents and uncle have that territory mapped out already, but who knows? I might find something they overlooked.
If only Adam knew more than I do, then he could be of help. But from what he said, he has no clue why we have these abilities and, for now, I have to avoid him. I have to keep him safe.
I take three books with me; they are big, but I can get through them by the end of the week. I open the door to leave the library, but just as I do, a strong pang like an electric shock spreads through my left arm, and I drop the books on the floor.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you,” a male voice says, and it takes me a moment to realize that someone bumped into me. I recognize him from the football practice last Friday. He’s the coach’s new assistant. Brianna was right: he’s very good looking. Tall with bright green eyes, lean but strong, and his head is shaved. He’s already kneeling to get my books, but offers me his hand to shake.
“Hi,” he smiles. “I’m Daniel.”
“I’m Livia.” I shake his hand and a vision flashes through my mind at the contact.
It’s raining and he’s soaking wet, standing in front of my building in New York. He keeps tapping his hand against his leg, anxious, waiting for someone. A black Lincoln approaches and honks. He walks towards the car, pulls the door open, and glances at the building one more time. He didn’t find who he was looking for and disappointment overtakes him.
I stand, frozen, staring at him. This is the second time I’ve gotten a visual picture when touching someone, but this time it was so much clearer, as if I was watching a movie. And, in a way, I was in it.
“Here,” he says, returning my books.
“Have I met you before?” I say absently.
“No, I don’t think so.” His brow furrows as he watches me. “Hey, on second thought, do you need help with those?”
“You probably just remind me of someone,” I say, pulling the books closer to my chest. “I’ll see you around.” I wave goodbye and walk out the door. I glance back once—he is entering the library, and Adam is staring out the doors, right at me.
* * *
It’s 2:40 p.m. when I enter the detention room. I’ve never been in detention before. I guess there is a first time for everything. I sit down and wait for Ms. Johnson. Hardly a minute passes before the door opens and Adam walks in.
“What are you doing here?” I demand.
“I was late for class. I was waiting for you at the school entrance this morning, but you never showed.” He sits in the desk next to me. “Why are you avoiding me? You can’t really think that we’re safer apart.” He raises his eyebrows, waiting for an explanation, but I don’t say anything.
The door opens again and Ms. Johnson walks in. “Adam, your seat is over here.” She points to a desk closer to her. He looks at me and rolls his eyes. “I want you both to read the poem in Chapter Eight and analyze it. You must write at least a full page. You have forty-five minutes.”
This shouldn’t be hard; I’ve already read this entire textbook. I start writing my paper and I’m done in less than thirty minutes. I walk up to the teacher’s and hand in my response. Ms. Johnson keeps her emotions shielded as always, but today the shield is oscillating more than usual. Even so, I can’t find a loophole, and wonder how she keeps her defense so solid.
“You’ve completed the paper far too quickly,” she says as I gather my stuff.
“I’m sorry. Didn’t I do what you asked for?” I ask.
Adam frowns at me.
She looks at me now and a slight smile surfaces. “I’m sorry, are you talking to me?”
“I was just replying to you,” I say. She and Adam look at me, puzzled. “You just told me that I finished too quickly.”
“I didn’t say a thing,” she says, and now I’m the one confused. I look at Adam for support, but he shakes his head slightly.
“Your work is impeccable,” Ms. Johnson continues. “I don’t recall the last time I saw someone interpret poetry as easily as you do. It’s like you truly understand what the writer was feeling.” She looks at my paper and then back at me. “How do you do it?”
“I just think about what I read,” I say, and she nods.
“I was going through your school records. Both of you.” She glances from me to Adam. “You have one of the highest GPAs in the school, Adam. And you too, Livia, on your transcript from New York.”
“I study a lot,” I say.
“Do you? Or does it just come naturally to you—like a photographic memory or some special ability?” She lingers on the word ability and my stomach cramps. I look at Adam and he’s staring at me, a hint of anxiety in his eyes.
“Well,” Adam says, “to me it comes naturally, I guess. Some people just have it better than others.” Adam gets up and hands the teacher his work. “Can we leave now that we’re done?”
“Yes. Don’t be late for my class again.”
He nods and walks out. I follow him, eager to get out of the room. We walk together in silence until we reach the end of the hallway, where he stops and looks at me.
“I think she knows about us.”
“I think so too,” I whisper, afraid to hear it myself.
“If she is the one after us, she isn’t alone,” he says and fear spreads through me, making my hands shake. “You’re avoiding me and I know you think you’re protecting me that way, but you’re only making things worse. We need to stay together, can’t you see that?” His eyes are fixed on mine and they’re pleading. I decide to study the floor.
“That guy told you to stay away from me. He was trying to protect you and so am I.”
“As far as we know, this guy could be a total psycho.”
I meet his gaze with sudden resolve. “A psycho that knows our abilities? I don’t think so, Adam. This guy knows what he’s saying.”
He’s shaking his head. I won’t be able to persuade him to stay away from me, and now I’m not sure if I want him to.
”Look, if you want be alone, if you need time to process all of this on your own, I’ll give you space. But you have to promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“If you think that you’re in any danger for whatever reason, you’ll come to me.”
His tone is frantic and I have to give him my word; that is the only way to keep him away, at least for now. “Okay, I promise.” I turn to leave before I act on impulse and throw myself into his arms to comfort him.
“One more thing,” he says, stopping me. I want you to be my date for homecoming.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.”
“You don’t have to tell me right now.” He rakes his hand through his hair. “But you are coming to the game on Friday right? It would mean a lot me.”
“Yes, I’ll be there.” I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.
* * *
I arrive a little late for my training lessons with Alo, but he doesn’t seem to mind. I’m happy with the little distraction, and Alo has good news about Aphrodite. “I don’t think we’ll have problems with her anymore,” he says, happy with her recent behavior. “All she needed was a different bit. I mentioned that to Adam before you moved here.”
“I didn’t give him a chance to change it. I took Aphrodite out before he made it to my house. It wasn’t his fault,” I say, and Alo smiles.
“I never thought it was. Adam is great with horses—it just comes naturally to him. He’ll be an exceptional veterinarian.”
There’s a lot about Adam I don’t know, and these little things that I’ve never known reveal a lot about a person. Only someone with plenty of empathy could be a veterinarian. I feel a hole growing inside of me and I wish I could have him by my side when I take Aphrodite for our first proper ride.
After Alo leaves, I try to call my uncle but it goes straight to his voicemail. He must be in surgery or avoiding me. This doesn’t help the fact that I need to clear my mind, so I make the decision to change my clothes and go for a run.
I don’t hold back this time; I run as fast as I can, trying to put some distance between my worries and me. I run faster, jumping over roots and fallen branches as I see them. My reflexes are getting better, more accurate—it’s like I see things in slow motion. As I approach the lake, I slow down and I hesitate to get closer. What if Adam is here? I turn around and continue to run, but in a different direction.
I’m angry, and when I’m angry, I run faster. This whole situation is getting on my nerves. I have to avoid the one person I want to be with for reasons that I don’t understand; the only thing I know is that he’ll be safer away from me. I don’t know why and I don’t know for how long. I don’t even know how long I’ll be able to avoid him; just thinking about him makes my body ache for his touch.
I slow my pace just a little. I feel someone’s presence just behind me and I stumble to a stop. My heart starts to really race—not just from exertion, but from fear. I turn around, but I don’t see anyone.
I sprint back towards the lake and I sense the same lurking presence behind me again. As I run faster, the feeling slips in and out of my grasp. Whoever it is, he or she is keeping up. I get to the border of the lake, but my instincts tell me to keep running, so I take one loop around the lake and then reach the rocks by the water. I climb to the top of the highest rock. I’m breathing heavily and I feel like my heart is about to burst out of my chest.
I don’t feel anyone close to me. I can see the entire shoreline from up here, and my surroundings are clear. I take this opportunity to sneak down from the rocks and make a dash back towards my house. This time, I feel nothing. As I reach the back door, I glance back and everything looks fine. My heart slows down and my breathing evens out, but I’m not about to take any chances. I lock the door.
27 Adam
It’s been almost two weeks since I talked to Stevens. I’ve been back to that motel, but he hasn’t returned. The front desk won’t even tell me if he is a guest anymore. I’ve been to the hospital, but I can’t find a record of him ever being a patient, let alone get an address or phone number. He said he would come looking for me, but he hasn’t. I want him to; I need more information about my family and the possibility that they might not be my family. I’ve been avoiding home and my father, but at some point, I’ll have to bring this up. I just need to find the courage to face the pain, if it’s true.
And then there’s Livia, and the distance she insists putting between us. I know she’s trying to protect me, as if I need it—I can handle my own. But I’m giving her space; I know she’ll come to me when she needs me. It’s just taking a lot of effort to keep my distance. She’s all I want right now.
“You’re one unlucky son of bitch!” Kyle tells me as we walk to the locker room. Today was our last practice before the big game tomorrow, and I just sprained my wrist. It hurt when it happened, but I feel fine now.
“It was nothing big. It doesn’t even hurt anymore.”
“Good, then you can focus on the game tomorrow. We need you!”
“I know, and I am focused,” I lie.
“Adam, are you in here?” Matt calls from the other end of the room.
“Yeah, what’s up?”
“Livia is looking for you outside. She says it’s important.”
I immediately get up and hurry outside, still wearing my football pants and undershirt. I run my hand over my hair in hope to fix it up, but I’m sweaty and strands of hair are stuck on my face. Livia is sitting on the sidewalk, still dressed in her toga outfit, which is the theme for the homecoming week events. She looks like a Greek Goddess.
She stands up when she sees me.
“Hey! What’s going on?”
“There’s someone following me,” she says, looking both ways as if someone’s listening, too.
“What? Are you sure?”
“I am positive, Adam. I first noticed it the other day at the lake. I was running and someone was following me. And today after I left school, I had this feeling that I was being watched.” She purses her lips and shakes her head. “I didn’t drive home. I kept on driving around and the same black car was behind me in each turn I took. I ended up in a dead-end road and, after I turned around, that car was waiting by the main road.” Her voice is starting to shake. “I went to the market and stayed there for a long time, and when I got out, I saw it again—a Mustang, I think. Then I drove here, the Mustang followed me to the entrance of the school, and then drove away.”
“Did you call the police?” I murmur.
“And say what?
I sit down on the sidewalk and take a slow, calming breath. She’s right—what would we say? “Could it have been Stevens? I’ve tried to find him but there’s no trace of him.”
“I don’t know. What does he drive?”
“Don’t know.” I reach for her hand, holding it tight in my own. “I don’t want you to be by yourself anymore, Livia. If something happens to you—“
“Nothing will happen to me.”
“Then we’ll stick together ’til we figure this out.”
“I don’t think—“
“Livia, enough with that. I know what you’re thinking, and your nightmare is not coming true.”
Livia sighs and pulls her hand away from mine “I wouldn’t have come to you if I hadn’t given you my word. I don’t want to be the reason you’re in danger.”
“But you’re not! We’re in danger because of what we can do, not because we’re with each other. You need to talk to your uncle. From what you said, he might be able to help.”
“I’ve tried to talk to him, but he doesn’t answer my calls. He’ll be here Friday evening, though.”
“Okay, I’ll follow you home and make sure that car’s gone,” I say and she nods.
We get in our cars and I trail Livia to her house. I don’t see any black Mustang behind or around us. I pull in Livia’s driveway and wait for her to park her car. A moment later, she gets out in the garage and jogs up to me.
“My mom’s car isn’t in there. I don’t think she’s home,” she says, picking up her cell phone. “You mind waiting until I call her?”
I listen as Li
via talks to her Mom. She seems to get along fine with her parents and the rest of her family. Her uncle, as well—they have this strong bond that I wish I had with my parents. Dad and I have always been distant. I used to have a good relationship with my mom, but lately I feel like she’s more on Dad’s side than on mine, insisting that I have to follow Dad’s footsteps and study pre-med. If it comes down to my father not actually being my father, then it’ll all make sense. I’ve never felt like I’ve belonged. I’ve always tried because I do love my parents and I wanted them to love me back.
“My parents went to Bellingham to see my grandma,” Livia reports. “They’ll be on their way home soon.”
“I’ll stay here until then. You can’t be here by yourself.”
Livia seems ready to object, but then says nothing. I enter her house and I scan the place top to bottom. I find her in the living room and give her a reassuring nod. “All clear.”
“Good.” She is leaning against the wall, her blue eyes searching mine, drawing me closer. She takes a step closer to me until we are close enough to touch. I reach for her, tangling her hair through my fingers and guiding her closer. I can no longer keep my lips away from hers.
We can’t seem to let go of each other. It feels like we’ve been apart for months and not weeks, and now we’re a catching up for all that lost time. Before I know it, we’ve moved to the couch and our kisses get stronger, more intense. She lies down and I linger over her before she pulls me against her. We hold each other close and kiss as if the world is ending tonight.
The doorbell rings and Livia is fast to sit up, hitting her head on mine.
“Ouch!”
“Oh, I’m sorry!” She says, putting her hand over her head.
We both scramble to our feet and make for the front door, and when she opens it, my assistant coach is standing outside.
“Daniel? What are you doing here?” I ask frowning at him. I look at Livia, who seems even more surprised to see him here than me. “I didn’t know you two knew each other,” I say, and a flash of memory comes to me: them talking outside the school library.
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