by Amber Garza
“WHAT TOOK YOU so long?” I ask Delaney as she races up the walkway to her house, her skirt swimming around her legs. She flinches upon hearing my voice. The sky is dark now and the air has cooled down.
Clutching her chest, she glances down to where I’m sitting on the first step of her front porch. “Micah, you scared me to death. I didn’t see you there.”
“Sorry.”
“Were you waiting for me?” Her face holds the defensive look I’ve come to know so well. It makes me sad. When we were younger we never fought. Not until a couple of years ago when we started high school. That’s when Delaney really started to question our calling and we began butting heads all the time. She’d always been resistant to our duty, but I had hope that she’d come around. Now I’m not so sure.
“No, I came over when your dad got home. He said you left right after him. Only that was awhile ago.”
In the dim porch light I can barely make out Delaney’s face, but I sense her uneasiness. “I was talking to Sam, okay?”
“What about?” A sinking feeling descends in the pit of my stomach. I’m almost afraid of what she might say.
“Nothing.” She shrugs.
“Come on, Delaney. Give some credit. You weren’t talking about nothing.” What could that guy be saying to her that she wouldn’t be willing to share with me? The thought literally makes me feel sick to my stomach.
“It was no big deal. We were just talking. It’s none of your business, anyway.”
I bite my lip, taken aback by her response. Since when is anything about her not my business? We share everything. I wish she weren’t so angry all of the time lately. I’m so tired of fighting. It seems like that’s all we do anymore. “Delaney,” I say softly. “C’mere. Sit down.”
She stiffens and remains standing.
“Please? I don’t want to fight.”
Her resolve slips and her shoulders soften. She takes a couple of steps and lowers herself onto the step next to mine. The familiar scent of her apple shampoo follows her, filling me with a sense of comfort.
I reach out and touch her arm. With my fingertip, I trace her tattoo of a bright blue swirl of water. Glancing down I find the matching one on my arm. “Remember that day?”
A smile flickers across her lips. “How could I forget? I almost drowned.” She glances up at me, her eyes locking with mine. “But you saved me.”
“You would have done the same for me.” I’m still holding her arm. “We’re a team, Laney.” I use the nickname I affectionately called her as a child.
Her eyes glisten. “I’m sorry I’ve been so rude lately.”
“That’s okay. I just figured it was that time of the month.” I smile.
She pulls her arm away and jabs me in the side. “Shut up.”
I laugh, grateful that we are back on bantering terms.
The screen door pops open behind us, its hinges squeaking just like the one at my house. It’s fitting, really, how similar our homes are, since I feel that they’re interchangeable.
“Oh good, you’re home.” Delaney’s dad smiles down on us. “I was starting to worry.”
“Nothing to worry about, Dad.” Delaney flashes him a perturbed look.
Her dad doesn’t even seem to notice. He just grins and closes the door.
“I’m so tired of everything, Micah.” Delaney rests her head on my shoulder letting out a groan. Her thick hair spills down my arm. It feels good to have her so close. “I guess I’m just on edge ever since we found Ariel.”
The mention of Ariel’s name sends my heart racing.
“I had a dream about the car chasing her and I keep having this sense that I’m being followed. It’s so frustrating because all I want to do is just enjoy life right now. Not live in fear or have to be on guard. Not to mention the fact that my parents are totally breathing down my neck all the time.”
I have many questions, but I force myself not to interrupt Delaney’s tirade. I’ve learned over the years to just let her vent when she needs to.
“It’s just all a little too much, you know?” She lifts her head and looks at me. She’s so close our lips are practically touching. If I move forward an inch we will be kissing. Not that it would be our first time. We had succumbed to our attraction a few times over the years, but afterward we would always laugh it off as stupid and move on. I’ll never forget our first time. We were thirteen and I had walked in on Delaney practicing on her teddy bear. When I burst out laughing she got really mad at me.
“Well, how am I supposed to practice when I’m not even allowed to have other friends?” Her face was red with anger, her hair wild. “I mean, what happens when I finally meet ‘the one’? I don’t want to kiss like an idiot.”
Her words hurt my feelings. I suppose I always thought I’d be the one for her, and I knew I would be happy with however she kissed. The thought had never crossed my mind before that we might be meant for other people. Regardless, I struck a deal. “You can practice on me.”
So, we did. For weeks we practiced every chance we got. Then our parents walked in on us one afternoon and put a stop to it. After that we had kissed only two other times. Once after an extremely terrifying rescue, and once when Delaney was sad over the death of her cat. Both of us know that in order to stay best friends and partners we need to keep our relationship platonic for now.
I move back a little, swallowing hard. “In your dream can you see the guys in the car?”
She shakes her head. “No, and it’s so frustrating. They could be anyone.”
A shiver runs over me.
“Have you talked to Ariel since the accident?” Delaney turns to me.
I’m surprised by the question. I sputter to come up with an answer. “Uh…uh…no, I haven’t.” Shame burns through me for lying to her.
She narrows her eyes as if appraising me for a second. “Oh, okay. I just thought maybe you’d try to find her.”
“Why would you think that?”
She shrugs “Because she’s our best bet for figuring this out. She probably knows who was after her.”
Now I really feel bad for not telling her that I know where Ariel lives. Delaney and I are a team, and her life is in just as much danger as mine is. I owe it to her to tell her what I know. Only if I share it with her now she’ll get angry again, and we’re finally getting along. Besides that, Ariel made it pretty clear she’s not going to help us, and she seems just as stubborn as Delaney — maybe even more so. Before I can contemplate it any further, Delaney stands.
“I better go in. It’s getting late and I have a math test tomorrow.” She wrinkles her nose.
I stand, too. “Okay. See you in the morning.”
I watch her as she goes inside, thinking about how much things are changing between us. It leaves an ache in my heart and a burning in my chest. Before I can mull on it too long, a rustling in the bushes catches my attention. My muscles tighten as I scour the area. The hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention. I have the sensation of being watched. With quick movements I make my way back to my house, keeping my eyes peeled. The street is quiet. After standing on my front porch a few minutes and watching, I finally open the door and go inside.
As I walk to my room, I wonder if there really is someone outside or if Delaney’s words just unnerved me, causing my imagination to run wild. I hope it’s the latter.
A continuous rapping awakens me from a deep sleep. My eyelids flutter open and I struggle to regain consciousness. The noise continues. I throw the covers off my body and spring out of bed. A light flashes at the corner of my vision. Is someone breaking into our house? The sound is coming from my window. As I move toward it with stealth movements, a buzzing sounds from my nightstand. What the heck? I glance over to see my cell phone going off.
“Micah! Wake up!” Delaney’s muffled voice comes through my window. I race to it and fling it open. Delaney stands outside, a terrified look on her face.
“I had a vision,” she says breathlessly. “O
f an abduction.”
When I catch her expression, I freeze.
“Micah, the vision was of Ariel.”
No, it can’t be.
Chapter 10
Delaney
“I’LL DRIVE,” MICAH says as we run from his house. He is still pulling his shirt on over his head, and I force myself to look away from his chiseled chest, ripped with a multitude of taut muscles.
“Okay.” I pull my Smartphone out of the pocket of my pants. I cringe when I notice what pants I grabbed in my haste. They are not my most flattering pair of sweats with their boxy, boyish look. Not to mention the fact that they’re pretty dirty.
“C’mon.” Micah’s voice is desperate, insistent. “What are you doing? Calling the cops?”
“No, I just did that.” I type in the numbers on the touch screen. My heart is beating so fast it pulses through my fingertips and I feel it on the smooth surface of the phone. “I’m pulling up directions to the address from my vision. I didn’t recognize it.”
“You don’t need to. I know where to go.”
Micah’s words feel like a slap in the face. He hops into the driver’s side of his car and slams the door. The engine revs. I shake myself out of my shocked stupor and race to the passenger side door. I’m barely inside when Micah peels out, his tires skidding on the asphalt.
After wrestling with the seatbelt it clicks into place and I turn to face my friend. “You know where Ariel lives?”
He nods, keeping his gaze trained forward. Light from the streetlamps cast an eerie glow against his dark skin.
“How?”
“I stole it from the hospital records.”
For a minute I’m surprised and actually a little proud. Usually I am the one to go with the unconventional methods. Micah’s the rule follower. Then I remember that he hasn’t been honest with me and my anger returns.
“Have you been there?”
Once again he nods but doesn’t look in my direction. His mouth twitches the way it does when he’s uncomfortable. Betrayal burns through me.
“Why did you keep this from me?” I scold myself for sounding like a whiny kid. I am not super emotional. I don’t get all hung up and sad about everything like a lot of girls. But this is Micah – the person I trust most in the world – and I just can’t believe that he lied to me.
“I’m sorry. I should have told you.”
“Yeah, you should have.” I cross my arms over my t-shirt and lean back against the vinyl seat. “You still haven’t told me why you did it.”
“I don’t know why. I guess I was sort of ashamed about taking it. Then when I went there Ariel was so mad she wouldn’t tell me anything.”
Interesting.
“Do you think maybe she’s working with the bad guys?”
Micah chuckles. “Listen to you. The bad guys. I feel like I’m on a poorly scripted cop show.”
I narrow my eyes at him. He takes a corner at a high speed and my body slams into the door.
“Hold on,” he says belatedly.
I roll my eyes while hoisting my body back up. “Thanks for the warning.”
“Delaney, you saw those guys run Ariel off the road. And you saw what they did to her. There’s no way she’s on their side. They’re after her. If they weren’t, we wouldn’t be on our way right now.”
I sigh. “Yeah, you’re right. But then why wouldn’t she tell you anything? I mean, doesn’t she realize that our lives are in danger, too?” The streets are quiet. No cars pass us. Everyone’s home is locked up, with only the streetlamps lighting our way.
Micah shrugs while still keeping his hands on the wheel. “I don’t know. She seemed scared.”
“Of you?”
“No, just scared in general.”
Uneasiness settles into my stomach. Something isn’t right with all this.
The house is dark when we arrive. It’s clear that everyone inside is sleeping, which is exactly what I wish I were doing. Even though I had been sleeping soundly just an hour ago, I am wide awake now. Adrenaline pumps through me giving me a second wind. I’m sure that I will not get a wink of sleep tonight.
Good luck getting a good grade on that math test. I’ll be lucky to stay awake through it.
Micah and I are on high alert as we make our way stealthily to the house. No cars are on the road, so it’s deadly silent on the street. My eyes continually scour the area. Terror snakes around me at the knowledge that we are most likely dealing with the same guys who ran Ariel off the road the other night. That means that we need to get this family out of the house before the men show up, or Micah and I could be in danger.
“The police aren’t here yet.” I sigh.
“The station is clear across town. They’ll be here soon.”
I’m used to arriving at crime scenes before the police. The truth is that Micah and I can usually handle just fine without them. But this time, I’m not so sure. I have a funny feeling about it.
“So, what’s your plan?” I whisper into the quiet night air. It’s not like we can just march up to the front door and knock in the middle of the night. But we can’t break in either.
Micah moves past me quickly. His face wears a determined look. He disappears behind the house. The hair on my neck prickles. Holding my breath, I inch forward. Where did he go? Standing out here alone I feel exposed. I wish Micah hadn’t just left me. If these guys attack I’ll need his strength to fight them off.
When I round the corner I see Micah talking to someone through a window. That must be Ariel’s room. I fight down the jealousy that pops up.
“Ariel,” Micah whispers. “You have to trust us.”
When I move closer, Ariel’s terror stricken face comes into view. She shakes her head. “I don’t even know you.”
“You know we’re on the same side. We’re here to help.”
Ariel’s cropped hair sticks out all over her head in little spikes, and her skin is pale. “How do you know someone is after me?”
“Delaney saw it. Remember when I told you about her gift?”
He told her about me? When?
Ariel nods. “But-but—”
Panic seizes me. This is taking too long. We need to get them out now. “You have to listen to us,” I snap. “We don’t have much time!”
Ariel’s eyes widen. Micah clamps a hand down on my shoulder, no doubt warning me to calm down. Only it’s too late. She’s putting us all in jeopardy by stalling. I mean, how many times do we have to save this girl before she trusts us? It’s ridiculous.
“My visions have never been wrong before. Hurry and get your family before it’s too late.”
She opens her mouth as if she is going to speak. Then she clamps it shut, narrowing her eyes. I am about to lose it, but then she gives me a resigned nod. “Okay, meet us out front. We’ll be out in a minute.”
Relief washes over me. Ariel’s lips tremble slightly as she turns away from us. I watch her back as she retreats into the hallway, her pale nightgown swimming around her legs. Who wears a nightgown, anyway? What’s wrong with a t-shirt and sweats?
Micah and I walk back to the front porch. I keep my eyes peeled, watching the street for any suspicious movement. A minute passes. Micah wiggles his leg impatiently beside me. My heart quickens more and more with each second. I keep my ears perked, listening for any foreign noises. Normally there isn’t much of a gap between the vision and the actual event, so time is of the essence. Headlights shine from around the corner. Micah and I both jump down. I hide behind a cluster of bushes that hugs the front porch, but I can still see through the leaves. A cop car pulls up.
I breathe a sigh of relief. Still, I know we have to move fast. “What’s taking her so long?”
Micah shakes his head.
“Hey. Any sign of the intruders?” Officer Thomas approaches.
“No.” I glance behind. Just then, the front door opens and a little boy steps outside. The boy looks about four. He has long dark hair, and is wearing blue pajamas. A middle-
aged woman with shoulder length blonde hair, a narrow face and the same large eyes as Ariel follows him. Bending down, she scoops up the child and holds him in the crook of her arm.
The little boy whimpers and she bounces him up and down in an effort to keep him quiet. “Shhh, it’s okay. Everything’s alright.”
The street is still silent and my pulse quickens. With everything going so smoothly we just might beat the intruders. It’s very rare, but sometimes we get lucky and avoid a crime altogether. Ariel comes out last. She’s changed out of her nightgown, thank goodness, and she now wears a pair of sweats. In her arms she carries a duffel bag, and her face holds a grim expression.
Both Micah and I glance back at the house, but the door is closed. We share a confused look. Clearly we’re both wondering if there is a man of the house.
“Um…is there anyone else?” I ask.
Ariel shakes her head, and from the sad look that cloaks her face I’m guessing that the subject of her dad is a sore spot.
“Okay, we’ll stay here in case the intruders show up. Can you take them back to your house?” Officer Thomas asks Micah, who nods in response. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“Okay, let’s go,” Micah says.
Once we are safely driving away from the house and I’m sure that we’re not being followed, I turn to Micah. Ariel, her mom and little brother are sitting in the backseat, a look of shock on their faces. “Why does Officer Thomas want us to take them? Why couldn’t he bring them back to the station or something?” I whisper.
“Who knows? Right now we’ll just do what we’re told.”
“Still, do you think it’s safe for us to take them in?”
“Do you have a better plan, Delaney?”
I slink back in my seat, knowing that I don’t. I catch Ariel’s eyes in the side mirror and see her glaring at me. Turning away, I stare out the window and wonder what trouble we’ve just brought into our lives.
Chapter 11
Sam
WHILE MR. CHAUNCEY drones on, I chomp down on the end of my pencil. Bits of wood get stuck in my teeth and I pull them out. I tap my foot anxiously on the ground until the girl next to me glares hard. Rolling my eyes, I force my leg to steady. All around me are the sounds of pencils scrawling on paper. Mr. Chauncey’s nasally voice is like white noise to my racing thoughts.