“Knowing them, it’d be microwave popcorn and beef jerky every meal,” Chloe said.
“Give me some credit. I can cook, when forced,” Cam said with mock annoyance.
The three of them chatted for a while before Jade told Chloe good-bye and Cam walked her to her car.
“Are you going to class tomorrow?” she asked.
“I should be there. They are supposed to discharge her first thing in the morning, so I’ll have time to get her home and then make it to class. Have I missed much?”
“Yeah, but I wouldn’t worry about it. After all, you have guaranteed perfect grades until page 198. The rest of us have a little more difficulty.”
They arrived at her car, and she delayed entering, leaning against it as they continued their conversation. Cam stepped closer so that he was standing over her.
“I’m sorry you’ve had a hard time. But you know I’ll help you study. You’ll do fine.”
“Thanks, Cam.” She sighed. “I’ve really missed you there.”
In their nearness, Cam’s heartbeat quickened. Jade looked up at him, almost as if in response to his escalating heart rate. She was beautiful in the dim lighting, illuminated only by the streetlights far above them. He took her hand, which lay against the side of the car. She didn’t pull away when he held it lightly in his, softly caressing her palm with his thumb. He searched her face for any hesitation or reluctance, but the only thing he saw was a mirror of his own emotions.
He wondered if this was the right time. He leaned closer, smelling the sweet scent of her hair, her skin. He closed his eyes but at the last moment changed course. Instead of kissing her on the lips, he turned to kiss her lightly on the cheek. She wrapped her arms around him, and he sank into the embrace. They stood in each other’s arms for a few moments before he released her.
“Good night, Cam,” she said softly.
“’Night.”
She climbed into her car and drove away as dusk fell around him.
Friday when Cam returned home after class, Chloe was sprawled across the old, orange sofa and Josh reclined in Cam’s oversized leather armchair. They were laughing at something on the television. Cam thought how relieved he was that things were back to normal.
“How was class?” Chloe asked.
“Uneventful,” he said. “Jade’s coming over after work tonight.”
“Oh, good.”
Cam was amazed at how casual she seemed, almost as if she hadn’t been in an accident. If it weren’t for the bandage on her forehead, he wouldn’t have been able to tell.
Cam walked over to the couch and sat down by Chloe, picking up her feet and placing them on his lap to make room for himself. “How are you?”
“Great,” Chloe said.
“No pain?”
“Nothing. Why don’t you chill out for a while and watch Star Wars with us?”
“Sure.”
After lunch and the movie, Cam and Josh cleaned up the apartment while Chloe took a nap. Jade arrived later that evening with several bags of takeout and a delicious smell that made Cam’s stomach scream for food.
“I hope you guys like Pad Thai,” Jade said.
“Sounds awesome.” Cam took the bags from Jade and carried them into the kitchen.
“How are you doing?” he heard her ask Josh.
Cam couldn’t make out his brother’s response. Through everything that had happened the last few days, it was normal for her to be worried about Chloe, even to wonder how he was handling the days away from home, sleeping in a recliner. But who else would think to ask Josh how he was doing?
If Cam hadn’t been by Chloe’s side every moment, he would have gone crazy with worry. Josh had stayed at Cam’s apartment and driven over an hour to come visit Chloe every day.
“Hi!” Chloe said a moment later, running in to give Jade a hug.
“Chloe, take it easy,” Cam said. “You know you aren’t supposed to overexert yourself.”
“Oh, chill out, Cam. I feel fine.” Then turning to Jade she added, “That’s the overprotective side I was telling you about. But he’s only that way with me. He pretty much lets Josh do whatever he wants.” Chloe shot Cam a smug look.
Someone has to worry about her, Cam thought.
“I’m so glad you’re feeling better,” Jade said. “I thought you might be stuck in bed or something.”
“I’ve been taking it easy, but I feel perfectly fine.”
“How’s your head?”
“It doesn’t hurt,” Chloe said, and then added with what almost sounded like pride, “Want to see the damage? I need to change the bandage anyway.”
Cam couldn’t believe she was already bragging about her battle scars.
“Umm…” Jade squirmed. It looked as if she was afraid to hurt Chloe’s feelings by refusing.
“Come here.” Chloe grabbed Jade’s hand and pulled her to the sofa. “Cam, can you get me a new bandage?”
“Sure.” Cam went to the bathroom to retrieve the gauze, medical tape, and ointment. When he returned to the living room, Chloe already had the bandage off, and Jade was staring at the wound, her complexion slightly paler than normal. The gash was about an inch above Chloe’s left eye, approximately a five-inch diagonal arc. Six metal staples held the skin together snugly. The wound looked clean. She would have some scarring, but her bangs would hide it—until she changed her hairstyle, anyway.
Cam brought the supplies over and knelt at the sofa in front of the girls. “This may hurt a bit.”
Chloe’s jaw tightened as she braced herself. Cam worked on the wound, but after a few moments Chloe relaxed. A puzzled look crossed her face.
“Geez, you’re tough,” Cam said, impressed that she hadn’t even blinked at the pain. She didn’t respond. Instead, she sat pensive for a few minutes. Cam wondered what was on her mind.
Chloe’s brows remained furrowed in thought. She held out her wrist. “Cam, pinch my arm.”
He stared at her. “What?”
“Just do it.”
Cam reached out with his hand and pinched his sister’s arm gently.
“Harder.”
“I’m not going to hurt you, Chloe. What’s going on?”
She sighed as if exasperated and reached over with her other hand to pinch a large chunk of her flesh between two fingers. With eyes on her arm, she pressed her thin fingers harder and harder until her hand shook with the force.
An alarm went off in Cam’s head. “Chloe! Stop!” He grabbed her hand, tearing it away from her arm. “That’s masochistic! What are you doing? Are you trying to hurt yourself?”
“Nothing.” A large red welt was forming on her arm. She was inexplicably calm, and it was both odd and frightening.
“Nothing at all.” She stared at the red blemish.
Cam brushed her arm with his fingertips. It was sure to leave a bruise. He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself before he spoke. “Chloe, what’s going on?”
“Something… is… wrong with me.”
The room was silent as they waited for her to explain.
Chloe’s head tipped up and her eyes met Cam’s. “I can’t feel any pain.”
“What?”
“I can’t feel pain. I can feel this.” She gestured to his hand, which still lay on her arm. “I have a sense of touch, but I can’t feel any pain.”
Cam felt one question rising above the rest, the words forming in his throat, but before he could ask, she answered it.
“It’s been like this since the accident. Not one moment since I blacked out have I felt even the slightest physical hurt, ache, or pain. When you were cleaning my wound, I could feel the pressure, and I knew you were touching it, but there was no burn, no sting in any way.”
“What are you saying? Like the part of your brain that sends warning signals has been deactivated?”
“Yeah, maybe. Something must have happened in my brain—maybe the trauma somehow wiped out part of my nervous system.”
The four of them sat pondering the
possibilities. Josh was the first to speak. “That’s a trip.”
“Dang,” Cam said.
Chloe snapped out of her reverie. “I guess I silenced the room. How can I test this?” She tapped her fingers on her leg as she thought.
“What? You want to try and hurt yourself? No way,” Cam said.
“But if it won’t hurt, what’s the big deal? This could be an incredibly cool side effect.”
“Cam’s right, Chloe,” Josh said. “This is insane.”
“Just because you can’t feel pain doesn’t mean you can’t be harmed,” Cam said. “This isn’t some cool trick you can do. It’s a liability. If you can’t feel pain, you might put your hand on a stove and get burned without realizing it. You’re more at risk of getting hurt than before.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not an idiot. I’m not going to put my hand on a hot stove.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You think I can’t take care of myself.”
“That’s not it. I just want you to be careful.”
Chloe crossed her arms and glared at him.
“Maybe we should take you back to the hospital.”
“I’m not going back, Cam,” she said, shaking her head.
“Maybe if they reexamined you…”
“They already did an MRI and everything was normal. Remember? How would you feel if it were you, Cam? You never went back to be reexamined after your accident. Maybe they should check out your head, too.”
Cam sighed. He had no desire to visit the hospital either.
“I don’t want people messing around in my head.” She looked pleadingly at Josh. “You understand how I feel, don’t you?”
Josh patted Chloe’s knee.
“Please don’t tell Mom and Dad,” she said.
“Why?”
“You remember how freaked out they got after the stuff with Cam? I can trust you guys, right?”
How could he forget? They still didn’t look at him the same way. Cam resigned himself and nodded.
“Thanks guys, you’re the best.”
That evening after dinner, Jade pointed at the corner of the room. “Whose guitar is that?”
“Josh’s,” Cam said.
“I didn’t know you played.” She raised an eyebrow at Josh.
He looked down, a bit sheepish, as if he had been caught withholding information.
“All the time,” Chloe said, “but I love it. I remember when I was a kid—Josh would practice piano and Mom would dance around the house to the music. Sometimes Cam would dance with her.”
Jade looked at Cam and his face grew hot. “Well, yeah. You can’t really say no to Mom when she’s like that.” He rubbed his brow with a hand. “She’s a lot like Chloe. Very persistent.” He shot a look at his sister.
“Piano, too?” Jade asked Josh.
“Yep,” Chloe said before he had a chance to answer. “Josh is quite the multi-talented musician. And he writes his own music.” It was true, of course, but Cam wondered if Chloe’s shining pride ever rang that true for him.
“Wow.” Jade looked impressed. “Would you play something for us?”
Josh hesitated, looking awkward for a moment, his eyes flicking around to each person.
“Yeah, Josh. Please?” Chloe said.
Without a word, Josh stood, grabbed the guitar, and sat down in one of the dining chairs. Strumming a few notes, he checked the tuning, tightening a few strings. The sounds lingered in the air of the quiet room. Then he began to play.
At once, his entire demeanor changed. While in his element, enraptured by the music, Josh was transformed. His posture straightened. His face morphed from tentative to confident. With words, Josh may have lacked precision and wit, but with music, the audible expressions flowed freely, gracefully.
Cam recognized the pattern of chords. It was a song his brother had written.
As the music flowed around them, Cam’s thoughts lingered on Chloe, who so closely resembled their mother. When she was born, he‘d immediately taken her under his care, even though he he’d been only four years old. Ever since, he’d felt responsible for her. And now, more than ever, Chloe needed him.
With this strange problem, she’d need someone to keep her levelheaded, to stop her from taking risks that had been normal activities only last week. In a way, he and Chloe had something in common now. But he feared she would wind up in trouble and end up hurting herself seriously, even fatally. He couldn’t let anything happen to her.
Josh’s music continued to flow throughout the room, but the tone had changed. It was now melancholy—despondent, but beautiful. The chords struck a sense of yearning in Cam, and he wondered if it was the same for the others. His eyes slowly panned the still faces until they landed on Jade’s. She sat on the edge of the sofa, her chin in her hands, listening to the music. The mood overwhelmed Cam with longing. He was lost in Jade’s beauty, her mystery. She was so unlike any woman he’d ever known. He imagined what it would be like to kiss her.
When the music stopped, Cam’s eyes shot open. He hadn’t realized they had closed during his daydream. His face grew hot, but fortunately none of the others seemed to realize it. They were all similarly waking out of the trance.
~
Jade had been completely mesmerized by Josh’s music. The music combined with his flood of unspoken emotions had nearly hypnotized her. His feelings had danced in waves around the notes like a silent harmony—the most beautiful expression of emotion she’d ever witnessed.
When the music stopped, she couldn’t come off the emotion buzz. The sensation changed, though, and she tasted a new flavor, one of intense longing. She could barely pull herself together enough to think what it meant.
“Josh, that was lovely,” Chloe said with a sigh.
“It was,” Jade said. She forced herself up from the chair, still feeling thick and clouded with inner intensity. She needed to get some air. “Well, I’d better head out. Thanks for having me over. It was fun.”
Chloe took that as an invitation to attack Jade with a hug. “Thanks for coming, and for bringing dinner.”
This time not even Chloe’s sunny disposition made a dent in the emotions flooding Jade. When Josh and Chloe headed to the kitchen to clean up, she struggled to the door. Cam was at her side. That was when she realized what she was feeling. It was all him.
“I’m really glad you came tonight.” His voice was husky and enticing.
“Me, too. Your family is… incredible.”
“So are you.”
Jade’s heart was pounding. She stared into his face. His longing flamed up within her, stoked by the yearning soundtrack of the evening. He bent down to kiss her, his lips brushing hers with the lightest touch. She froze but didn’t pull away. His lips were soft, warm, and they pulled at her. She was only dimly aware of her own mouth moving against his.
When he drew back and tried to meet her eyes, she turned her face into his shoulder and embraced him. What just happened?
He responded by pulling her in tighter, and his feelings swirled around her, even stronger now. She breathed deeply into his shirt for a moment, trying to take control of herself. He held her a minute, and leaned down to softly kiss her forehead.
At that break of contact, she somehow managed to pull away. She said good-bye and made it to her car, shaking all over. One last glance at him before she drove away told her that he had no idea what he’d done to her.
~
Forward women weren’t Ethan’s favorite, but there was one thing about them. They made the catch easy. He could deal with a few minutes of acquiescence in return for the satisfying prize he would receive later.
This one—he’d forgotten her name already—was tall and slender, about his height. Dark-haired and lovely—he wouldn’t settle for anything less—she was at the moment entwined around him with her tongue down his throat. His fingers twisted in her soft hair as he breathed in the musky smell of perfume smeared on her neck. Along with it, he picked
up the more appealing natural scent of her skin. Making out with her wasn’t an altogether unpleasant experience, but it also wasn’t the thing that stirred him to his core.
A writhing mass of hands and lips, the two of them clumsily made their way through Ethan’s front door, into his apartment, and to the bedroom. He hadn’t turned on the lights, since his preference was for the dark. And he doubted his date noticed much of the inside of his dwelling, her focus being entirely on him. If she had been aware enough to notice the sparse interior cluttered only by several moving boxes, he doubted she would be offended by the lack of decoration. The pre-furnished apartment contained only the basics—a small dining set, a sofa, and a bed. It was bare bones, but met his needs.
Still kissing him feverishly, she plopped onto the bed, pulling him along with her. She removed his dark glasses and tossed them across the room. Some women were attracted to weakness more than others. Temporarily enjoying the moistness of her lips, he decided he would appease her desire for only a few more minutes. Then his games would begin.
“Mmmm, Seth,” she sighed in his ear.
He smiled.
And then the phone rang. At first Ethan ignored it. Whoever was trying to contact him was tenacious enough to wait through twelve rings before hanging up.
“Probably a wrong number,” he muttered when his date pulled away for a moment, a quizzical look on her face. When the ringing stopped, she resumed kissing him. But after only a few minutes, the phone buzzed again.
“Maybe I should get it,” Ethan said on the fourth ring. “I’ll be right back.” He gave her a suggestive smile. “Don’t go anywhere.”
She replied with a coy arch of her back.
He shut the bedroom door behind him and walked to the kitchen to answer the call. No one had this number, but if someone was trying to call him, it most likely wasn’t a conversation he wanted to have within his guest’s hearing.
“Hello?” He kept his tone cool and free from irritation.
“Who is this?” The voice on the other line was high and scratchy.
“What’s it to ya? You called me.”
Empath: The Flawed Series Book One Page 10