“No. But I know what you mean. I love watching those giant flakes come down.”
“Anyway, we spent some time free riding at the park, did some double blacks, then decided to cool it a bit on some of the more popular blues. We were going to work on our jumps. The day had been perfect, until it happened.” Cam fiddled with the pocket flap on his cargo shorts. “I headed down first, and as I approached the jump, was distracted by a couple of beginner skiers downhill of me. They looked like they were about to crash into each other, and right in my path. I was near the edge of the run with only trees to my left. At the last second, they both somehow glided to the side without falling. But at that point, I was already at the apex of the mound, and when I tried to make the jump, I didn’t have time to put my full weight into it. What happened next was a blur. But the second time I experienced it, I got every detail of what had happened.”
“So you’re sort of in the moment, but then you get stuck or something?”
“Sort of. I get a slow-motion replay. After I’d already crashed was when I got to really see what happened.”
“So you didn’t make the jump?”
“I’m usually fine at jumps, but those skiers totally screwed me up. When I went for it, my board was too far ahead of my body, and most of my weight was over the back end instead of centered. I caught air all right—the embankment was high, and I probably made it six feet off the ground. It was like I was hanging upside down for several minutes, frozen in midair. I could see the trajectory of each hanging snowflake. I saw every skier and snowboarder on the slopes, heard their breathing, smelled the recent lunch on their breath, all that. The two skiers had crashed after all, to my right, and one dude lost his hat. In that frozen pose, I saw the boulder poking out from the snow, right where my head was going to hit.”
“Yikes.” Jade winced.
“I don’t know how long I was unconscious. All I know is that in the time they got me onto a stretcher and down to first aid, I had experienced the same accident nine times. Each time the details got clearer, more precise. I began to recognize the people on the slopes, to remember that this one must have eaten something with garlic for lunch and that one was listening to 80s music on his MP3 player. I finally woke up in the ski hospital with people examining my head.”
“Man. Good thing Josh was there, huh?”
“Yeah. I blacked out a few more times, reliving the CT scan and other random moments. I didn’t know what was going on, I thought maybe they were double checking the results or maybe I was having some sort of déjà vu. At first I couldn’t figure out what was real and what wasn’t. I didn’t really get a handle on it until after we left.”
“You didn’t have to stay the night?”
“No. I was coherent by that point, and all the tests came back normal. They said I had a concussion, but I’d be fine at home.”
“But then you kept having episodes? Why didn’t you go back?”
“I did. Several times. They could never catch it happening, and none of their tests ever showed anything irregular. I finally just gave up.”
Jade remembered the tests she’d had to endure as a small child, and how horrible the whole experience had been.
“Was it difficult getting used to your déjà vu?”
“A little.” Cam put on a wry grin. “I consider it my own personal sideshow trick. Although not being able to control it makes it less cool.”
Jade could connect with Cam’s story, and the struggle of being so different from everyone else. She’d never had a normal life, but he’d been normal once. What would it be like to suddenly have that stripped away? They weren’t two of a kind—their weird issues weren’t at all related—but they were two people who didn’t quite fit in. It struck her how Cam was so much more comfortable with his flaw than she was.
Josh and Chloe returned with the food. After wolfing down lunch, the foursome decided to make their way to a new spot in the park. Cam decided Jade was ready to step it up a little, now that she’d had some practice. The area they climbed next was slightly more challenging, with some faces that were nearly impossible. Jade watched with amazement as Josh climbed up an inverted section of rock, at one moment hanging by only his hands.
When he was back down, Cam walked over to his brother. “Nice stunt you pulled there. You think you’re something else, eh?”
“Think? Of course not. I know it.”
Cam tackled his brother, ruffling Josh’s hair once they were down. Josh was taller than Cam, but Cam was stronger and had caught his brother off guard.
“Dude! What do you think you’re doing?” Josh hollered and fought to wriggle away. Once he was free, he brushed himself off and ran his hands through his hair. He shot Jade a sideways glance under his tousled hair, then looked away.
Cam was grinning widely, pleased with himself.
Despite the harassment from his brother, Josh’s anxiety had lightened up a great deal since the morning. He smacked Cam on the back of the head and then spryly jumped out of the way before Cam could hit him back. Jade watched them dart around, trying to catch each other. They reminded her of five year olds.
“Immature, isn’t it?” Chloe rolled her eyes at her brothers.
“Is this how they are all the time?” Jade asked. “I’ve always wondered what it would be like to have siblings.”
“Pretty much, yeah. It’s either this or the competitive feuds. But it’s not that bad having two older brothers. They’re usually a lot of fun. Except when they get overprotective.”
They spent the rest of the afternoon climbing, and finally headed back to the car around dinnertime. When they pulled up at her apartment, Jade climbed out of the vehicle and the others joined to say good-bye.
“It was good to meet you,” Jade said.
Chloe hugged Jade. “You too! Stay in touch. We should get together again sometime. And I’m not just saying that.”
When Chloe turned to enter into the car, Jade walked up to Josh. She made a quick decision, hiding her own hesitation, and opened her arms to him.
His mood traveled from calm to confused to anxious and then finally settled on a quick rush of happiness as he stepped forward to return the hug. He embraced her briefly, and she felt the overflow of his joy, even stronger than Chloe’s. She hadn’t been very near him all day, and she realized she’d misjudged him. He had a lot more going on beneath the surface than she’d assumed. As he pulled back from the hug, he actually smiled at her. From what she could tell, that was another first for Josh.
Cam walked her to the door. “So, did you have a good time?”
“It was great. But I’m beat.”
“What did you think about the sibs?’”
“They’re awesome. You’re very lucky.” She sighed softly. “I think I may be jealous.”
“You aren’t the only one who’s jealous. Josh wishes that he was the one getting to sit by you every day in biology.” He winked.
“What?” His statement threw her off guard for a second. Then it all made sense. “Was that why he was acting so shy in the beginning?”
“Well, he’s always a bit quiet, but having an attractive woman in our company didn’t help his nerves much.”
“Well, tell him that he doesn’t need to be. Hopefully I’ll get to know him a little better next time.”
Cam laughed. “He’ll love that.”
Once he’d said good-bye and she was inside, Jade spent a lot of time pondering the day and writing in her journal.
Even though she enjoyed Cam, she wasn’t ready for a relationship with him, or anyone, for that matter—despite what Lauren and Sydney thought. This realm of closeness with a man was something new to her. Subjecting herself to a relationship with someone that she didn’t fully trust could be very dangerous.
Trust. It was key, vitally important to every aspect of her world. There were so many ways that she could be taken advantage of without the perpetrator even realizing it. Even if that person had only the best of intentions.
But he wasn’t interested, right? So what did it matter at this point? She shook her head. Sydney, you’re getting to me.
~
Ethan Black sat on the street corner, a perfect image of morose poverty. He wore an androgynous mixture of clothing—a gaudy, patterned shirt, ill-fitting, generic khakis, and a tattered trench to top it all off. He tapped his cane on the pavement whenever someone walked by.
Sometimes he pretended to doze between crowds of passersby, letting the sounds of the busy city play through his mind. His ears captured it all. The staccato footsteps of businessmen in their high-dollar suits and shoes. Yelps and cries ricocheting off nearby buildings, the audible evidence of rambunctious children—and dogs. The uneven sounds of thudding boots and dragging fabric, belonging to namby-pamby, wanna-be emo teens and tweens who had no idea yet who they were.
Years ago he might have wondered what the heck they were all thinking, but over time he’d learned to go with the flow. Accept the loophole life had given him to glean what he wanted, without asking questions. What he wanted was the same as always. And what he needed was cash to make it happen.
Denver had been decent, but he was ready to move on. Maybe head back south. Unfortunately, he hadn’t been as careful as normal last night. And now he needed to leave town, at least until things settled down a bit.
So Ethan held out his cardboard sign pathetically, taking it all in stride. Playing the part of a weakling was an easy way to acquire what he needed—in more ways than one. And not a single one of his tenderhearted donors suspected the truth. Their simple minds would never fathom the wily intellect and hidden power that lay beneath his pitiful façade.
And that was the beauty of it. In an almost ethereal way, he was all-powerful. Like a god.
The next week followed Jade’s normal pattern of biology class in the morning, work in the afternoon, and homework in the evening. On Thursday, she and Cam were in the lab doing their assignment—or rather he was filling in the answers while they talked about other topics, as was now typical. Even though they could turn in the work after the first five minutes and earn a perfect score, Jade always insisted that he at least explain the assignment to her so that she wouldn’t be completely lost later. Cam agreed sulkily. He wasn’t fond of homework.
“So,” he asked in between topics, “do you have any plans for tonight?”
“Other than racing home from work and faithfully diving into my homework?”
“You know, you really should get out of the house more. You’re going to do fine in biology class. Why don’t you take a night off from studying? It’s almost the weekend.”
“It’s not like I have anything better to do. I wouldn’t know what to do if I did take a break.”
“I could probably help you think of something.” Cam gave a mischievous grin.
“What did you have in mind? You’re working tonight, right?”
“Well, it will only be Ben and me working tonight. My manager’s away until Monday. I was thinking maybe you could stop by.”
“Stop by the gym?”
“Why not? Maybe I could teach you how to play racquetball.”
“Well…” It would be nice to avoid her biology book for one evening. And the hopefulness exuding from Cam was hard to resist. She hated the thought of disappointing him.
“Come on. I know you don’t normally do stuff like this, but remember how much fun you had rock climbing? You were skeptical then too.”
“I did have fun. All right, I guess I can skip studying for one night.”
“Great! Why don’t you stop by after dinner?”
“All right. See you then.”
~
“Dude, you gotta try mountain biking sometime. It’s awesome!” The voice came from the kid at the front desk. He’d been going on about his hobbies since the beginning of Ethan’s workout and it was growing old. Ethan had neglected to bring his MP3 player, so instead of the accompaniment of classical music, he had to listen to stories about camping trips, rafting, biking, and surfing. Who was this guy, anyway? Nobody from Colorado went surfing. Ethan shook his head and muttered insults under his breath.
“I gotta save up enough to get some wheels first,” the other guy said. “In the meantime, we should totally go wilderness exploring.”
“You mean like extreme camping?”
“Yeah, take only what we can fit in a backpack. Survive off the land for a few days. Live like men. It’s awesome.”
Ethan was done with this. It was the first gym he’d tried since moving back to Colorado Springs, but maybe he should shop around more. He didn’t think he could take listening to these two clowns any longer. Plus, he preferred gyms with more female employees.
He wiped the sweat off his face with a towel, grabbed his cane, and left. He could feel dusk settling outside, the air cooling down and energizing him. He was always eager for nighttime. As he walked across the lot, a car pulled in, parked, and a woman got out. At first she didn’t faze him, but when he noticed her face, he darted behind a car. It was her!
His heart pounded wildly. It was the same young woman who had caught his eye last time he was in the city. The one that got away. The faint whiff of spring flowers met his nostrils, the scent sending chills of pleasure down his spine. He imagined it mixed with the odor of rat feces and trembled with anticipation.
He might have thanked fate for sending her his way again—if he believed in fate. Instead he calculated his next move. He glanced around. No one else in sight. He locked his gaze on her as she crossed the lot alone. Completely helpless. He needed to move before she reached the door.
Ethan silently laid down his cane. He stuck his foot out from behind the car, poising himself to lunge across the space between them, when the front door of the gym burst open and someone ran out and tackled the girl with a bear hug.
He got a waft of the surfer guy’s cologne and nearly gagged. The stench was as bad as the camping stories.
“I’m so glad you came,” the kid said. “Racquetball, here we come.”
The young woman said something, but Ethan didn’t hear it. He was too irritated that he’d lost his chance. He seethed for a moment.
Again, the sensation that she looked like someone he knew hit him, momentarily interrupting his anger. He’d seen that face somewhere before. On someone else.
A sudden pang arrested his heart, surprising him with a blow to the area that had been dormant for quite some time. The petite, dark-haired girl bore a striking resemblance to a girl buried deep in his past. Someone he hadn’t thought about in years.
Kelsey.
Studying the woman, her dark hair, pale face, and piercing eyes, was like a blunt reminder of all he’d once had—and lost. For a moment he watched her, the desire building. He had to have her. A rush of adrenaline slowly overtook his body as a plan took shape in his mind.
~
Jade leaned against the door for a moment, dragging in a long breath. The neighbors must all be away, because the serene emptiness of her apartment surrounded her. She closed her eyes, wincing and rubbing her back. She had a feeling she was going to be in even more pain tomorrow.
The phone rang, jarring her from her thoughts. Moaning, she trudged into the bedroom, grabbed the handset, and plopped onto her bed.
Ow. She grabbed her hip, reminding herself to ease down next time.
Jade rolled onto her back, sprawling across her bed at an angle and answered the phone. “Hi, Mom.”
“How’s it going? What have you been up to lately?”
“Mostly just keeping busy with school.”
“I tried to call earlier but you weren’t home.” Her mother’s voice was colored with curiosity, but Jade could hear the tinge of worry hiding behind it.
“I took a night off to hang out with Cam.”
“Ooh. A date?”
Get straight to the point, Mom. “No. We just hung out at the gym where he works. He tried to teach me how to play racquetball.”
“How was it? Di
d you do well?”
“I was dreadful. You know I don’t have one athletic bone in my entire body.”
“I’m sorry, dear. Was he disappointed?”
“Not at all. He’s super nice. Even though I missed practically every ball he hit to me. And hit myself with the racquet a few times. But I had a really great time.” In order to make her feel better, Cam had improvised an entire sketch of evil racquets taking over the world, in which his own racquet viciously attacked him, leaving him wounded on the floor. Jade grinned, just remembering.
“That sounds like fun, other than getting hit with the racquet. I’m glad you’re making some good friends, sweetie.”
“It’s easier than I thought it would be.”
Piece of cake, she thought later on as she was getting ready for bed. It looked like she was finally learning to adapt. Maybe her troubles were all behind her.
The next morning Jade jumped out of bed, refreshed and only a little sore. After her shower, she threw on a top and a casual, knee-length skirt. Energized, she headed to class early to try to make up some of the reading she’d missed.
She’d covered about ten pages before feeling the familiar rush of happiness that washed over her every time Cam approached.
“Hi,” he said.
“I’m trying to catch up on some of the reading I wasn’t able to do last night.”
He gave an exaggerated groan. “Jade, come on! You’re going to be fine.”
“Probably. But it can’t hurt.”
“Need some help?”
“Well, if you can give me the Cliff’s Notes version of pages 62 through 89, it would be helpful.”
“No problem.” Cam didn’t even flinch. From memory, he covered the material, and had almost finished when the instructor entered the classroom.
“Wow,” Jade said under her breath, “it sounds like your real ability is a photographic memory.”
He shrugged. “Goes with the territory, I guess.”
Empath: The Flawed Series Book One Page 6