“Is that how it feels?”
“No,” she admitted. “It doesn’t. So, a good sign. I’d feel better if I could talk to her about all this, find out what’s going on with her. I have so many questions and no way to answer them.”
“Yeah, I know it’s frustrating,” he agreed sympathetically. “I’m sure she’ll be back soon.”
“It’s been three weeks,” she retorted. “We’re past ‘soon’. I only hope she’ll be back before I reach thirty.”
His lips twitched. “Let’s not get dramatic.”
“I feel dramatic.” She complained. “There’s still no word from my absent mother, and I’m facing a weekend with a telepath, training my weird ability to read emotions. My life is completely abnormal.”
She felt his laughter before she heard it and tried not to smile in response.
“You’ll get used to it.” He patted her hand before getting to his feet. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”
Leaving him had been getting harder all week. The thought of not having him around for two days was painful. She wondered if she’d ever be comfortable with that.
It was ironic that, after all her protests about relationships distracting her from her school work, she was now so fixated on a guy that she couldn’t even see past a weekend when he wouldn’t be in town. Under any other circumstances, it would be humiliating.
There were times she wanted to kick herself. He never pushed, never so much as hinted that he wanted to take things to the next level. As he’d promised, this friendship-relationship seemed to be enough for him, even knowing how she tortured herself, hearing her debate each time they parted. Like every night that week, she watched him drive away, her hands shoved deep into her pockets as she stood motionless on the driveway.
Feeling like a fool, Libby stomped up to her bedroom. Just a kiss. That’s all it would be. How hard could it be?
How much would it really change things?
It was that question that scared her the most.
Friday seemed quiet. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that it was Jackson’s absence that left her feeling bereft. By the time she slogged through the corridor to Biology she was almost miserable.
“I meant to ask you if you’d sensed anything odd since that night at the Arms,” Kelly murmured, trying not to attract the teacher’s attention. “You know, that dark edge you mentioned. The folks haven’t rubbished our theory about the experimenting, which speaks for itself.”
Shock spilled like poison in her stomach, an instant distraction. “Someone’s really doing that?”
“So it seems.”
Libby shuddered as she stared blankly at the textbook in front of her. The idea that someone in the town was twisting people’s emotions, pushing them into situations they might not otherwise have found themselves, was sickening. She thought of Mark, of the darkness that had threatened to take her under that day, and she could hardly believe that someone would have pushed that button, accelerated his own emotions to the point that he would have taken his own life.
It wasn’t a game.
She thought back over her encounter with Mark, and the fight at the pub that weekend. They had felt the same; some extra texture to the emotions, like a jagged edge that didn’t ring quite true. Yes, there was a signature to this person’s work, if she could label it such a thing. Kelly was right. Libby tuned out most things now, a new and welcome habit, but she could easy keep it muted so she could watch out for anything that felt out of place. She’d recognize it now, she was certain.
“I haven’t been looking, in all honesty.” It was lowering to admit that she’d been so self-involved that she hadn’t considered it. She would now, she vowed. After all, what was the point in having a super power if she didn’t put it to good use? “I’ll let you know if I get anything over the next few days.”
“It’d be good to keep an eye out.” Kelly mused. “I thought we could head down to the pub this weekend, scout around a bit.”
“Sure.” Libby agreed immediately. If she could help someone, she would.
Still, she tuned out with more care than usual as she made her way down the crowded corridor. Recognizing that someone’s emotions were being manipulated wasn’t something she looked forward to, even though she knew she’d have to start checking soon. She glanced at Kelly, saw the distracted way her friend glanced at her watch.
“See you tomorrow?”
“Yeah. I’ve got to see Ms Hammond about the rehearsal schedule. Come over early tomorrow, okay?”
Kelly hurried off to an interview with her music teacher, agitation pumping off her in waves.
Shielding was more straight forward than she’d expected. Not easy exactly, but it was simply a matter of understanding the technique. And Anna was a much better teacher than her children, which probably helped.
Libby glanced up, not seeing any sign that the older woman had heard any of her thoughts.
“Well?”
“You were amused, that’s all I could read.” Anna leaned back in her chair, smiling. “You’re a natural.”
No one had ever said that to her before. Still, she was amazed that by the end of the three hour session she was able to keep the shield in place without much thought. How it would work when she was with Jackson would be another experiment altogether.
Her chest tightened at the thought of him and she felt herself frown.
“Will Jack be okay when he gets back?”
Anna’s lips thinned into a narrow line. “The sessions help in the long term, but sometimes he can be difficult for a few days after.”
Libby winced and wondered exactly how difficult he was likely to be…and why. She knew he had a bad enough reputation at school due to his usually defensive demeanor, but she hadn’t been at the receiving end of that for long and wasn’t sure she wanted to be again. However upset he was, she reminded herself, he would need her support.
A slamming door had her glancing up, lips curving as Kelly bounced into the kitchen. She was grinning, her expression smug.
“I have finished the essay,” she crowed as she filled a glass with iced water. “Science rocks and I’m going to get my best mark ever.”
Anna laughed as she watched her daughter down the drink in a few gulps. “I hope so. When are you two heading out this evening?”
Libby glanced at Kelly, shrugged. “I don’t mind.”
“Ahh, the lethargy of the lovesick and abandoned,” Kelly sighed dramatically, ignoring Libby’s eye roll. “We’ll grab dinner at the pub if that’s okay, mum?”
“No problem. Do you need the car?”
“I’ll drive,” Libby offered. Her dad had caught the train into London, leaving her with transport. “Unless Danny wants the honours?”
Kelly shook her head, grinning at Libby’s unspoken question. “Nah, he’s at home with his dad tonight. It's just you and me.”
Anna got up from the table. “Well, that saves me cooking. I’ll be at Julie’s for dinner, but I’ll be back by eleven.”
Make sure you two are as well. The unspoken words seemed so clear that for a moment Libby wondered if Anna could actually put thoughts into people’s heads. Both Kelly and Anna laughed then and Libby flushed, forgetting that she’d abandoned her shield when her friend had arrived.
“It’s just a mum thing,” Anna winked, heading for the door. “I’ll leave you girls to it. Have a good evening.”
Still grinning, Kelly slid into the seat her mother had vacated. Libby slid the shield into place and regarded her friend solemnly. “Go for it.”
She allowed her mind to wonder, not always in an advised direction considering she was waiting for Jackson’s sister to break the shield. Yet she couldn’t help it. He was always in her thoughts, if only somewhere in the shadows.
After a few minutes Kelly slumped back in the chair, defeated. “Nothing. Were you thinking anything good?”
“Absolutely,” she teased. “Sorry you missed it.”
“Meanie. You
know, that’s a pretty impressive shield for a newbie.” Reddening, Libby didn’t answer and Kelly took the hint, slapping her hands down on the scarred wooden table. “Right, let’s get ready. I’m starving after all that work.”
They shared a pizza at the Beauton Arms, large and loaded, whilst sharing the latest gossip. Kelly’s seemed to be gleaned mostly thoughts she’d overheard, whereas Libby had to add a disclaimer to hers.
“Jackson says it’s mutual,” she added, waggling her eyebrows, after describing Mr Gilbert’s reaction when the librarian came into class chasing up overdue books. “But apparently getting involved is a no-no. So sad.”
“She did check him out the other day,” Kelly recalled. “Nice arse. That sort of thing. Forget Jack; perhaps we could engineer some sort of meeting between them.”
“Yeah, because we have that sort of control over their lives.” She shook her head on a sigh.
Libby frowned as Kelly lost focus for a moment, her eyes narrowed.
“What’s wrong?”
“Something…” She shook her head in frustration. “I just had a glimpse…he’s here.”
“Who?” Concerned now, Libby looked around, trying to see what had alarmed her friend. She opened up, but felt nothing unusual. Everyone seemed pretty upbeat this evening, even the barman who often seemed weary more than anything else.
“Look.”
The brunette was familiar. After a moment, Libby placed her. “Sophie something.”
“Yeah. She’s in the orchestra. She's in Year 11, and has a very protective older brother – Mike, I think.” Kelly frowned as she watched the girl dancing closely with an older guy. “Doesn’t that seem…not like her?”
From what she’d seen of the girl, Libby had to agree. She was a quiet student, more often than not in the library studying with a friend, which was how Libby knew of her.
“Maybe. It’s not as though we know her.” She grimaced and opened up. She tried focusing on the girl, but it was too confusing with what felt like half the population of Beauton enjoying a night out.
They watched as the dancing became more intense and Libby felt her stomach lurch unpleasantly as the girl stumbled.
“She’s not drunk.”
She knew it, knew that the drunken behaviour was nothing to do with alcohol and everything to do with an outside influence. As they watched, Libby felt her skin prickle unpleasantly.
“We have to do something,” Kelly pushed to her feet, Libby following close behind.
Sophie wrapped herself around her partner like a vine. Sickened, Libby picked up her pace, threading through the others on the makeshift dance floor until she reached the couple.
“Sophie.” Glazed brown eyes flickered over her face, with no recognition.
“It’s your brother,” Kelly placed a firm hand on the girl’s arm. “He’s outside.”
“Mike?” Panic turned the dull eyes sharp in an instant and she stepped back in some confusion from the man she danced with. “Sorry, I-”
“We’ll take you to him,” Libby didn’t want to wait a moment longer. She threw an apologetic smile at the man, not caring if it was unconvincing, and hustled Sophie out onto the street.
“Where’s Mike?” Sophie glanced around, shivering in the cold air. “What’s going on, Kelly?”
“I’m sorry, we thought-” Libby glanced at Kelly, stuck.
“We think your drink was spiked,” the redhead filled in quickly. “How are you feeling now?”
Sophie put a hand to her head. “Not good actually.”
“We’ll drop you home if you like.”
Her eyes met Libby’s. “You…you’re Libby. Jack’s girlfriend.”
The wistfulness emanating from the girl in front of her had Libby speechless. Wistfulness and longing. Jealousy left a bitter taste in her mouth. Had Jack and Sophie been together? For the life of her she couldn’t think why his love life hadn’t crossed her mind before now.
“I – no. No, we're just friends.”
Suddenly her protest seemed ridiculous and petty. She caught Kelly's eye roll and flushed in embarrassment.
“Tell him hi.”
“Sure.” She put Jackson out of her head, determined to focus on the problem at hand.
It didn’t take long to drop Sophie off at her home and get back on the road to Kelly’s house. Libby shook her head as she thought about the direction Sophie’s dancing had been headed.
“How far would he have taken it?”
“They wanted each other. They weren’t thinking about where they were.” Kelly’s voice was filled with disgust.
It seemed unbelievable. “Would that have worked? Could he really have made them lose control like that?”
Kelly shrugged, her gaze fixed on some distant point in the darkness as Libby drove out of town. “I don’t know. I guess that’s the point of his experimenting, isn’t it?”
They drove the rest of the way in silence. As they turned into the driveway, Kelly hissed in annoyance.
“Damnit.”
“What?”
“Danny.”
“Ah.” She’d forgotten the link they had. No doubt he knew exactly what had happened. Given his advice to his girlfriend on staying out of trouble, chances are he wasn’t happy that Kelly had gotten right in the middle of it. A dark estate was parked in the driveway. Libby pulled up behind it and they made their way indoors.
A welcoming committee was convened in the hall, but no one was smiling. Anna’s face was etched in concern, Danny’s in fury. A tall lithe man, who given the family resemblance could only be Danny’s father, looked annoyed.
Kelly winced. “I know, I know. But really, would you have stood by and done nothing?”
“Yes.” Danny’s father said, his voice harsh. “You put yourself and Libby in danger. There was no need. What did you think would happen?”
“It was pretty obvious.” Kelly replied tartly. “And it wasn’t fair to them.”
“Nothing would have happened,” Danny interjected. “Someone would have stepped in, the barman or doorman, and ended whatever this guy was trying to start. You should have stayed out of it.”
“Would you have?” Kelly voiced trembled and Libby could feel her friend’s anger, her distress. “If so, you’re no better than he is. If it is a guy doing all this.”
“That’s enough.” Anna held up her hands as if in surrender. “Kelly, there’s no need to be cruel. We’re all worried. Until we know what is actually happening here, we must all be cautious.”
“Intervening was one thing, but you were both extremely foolish, casting your talents around trying to identify this person,” Danny’s father growled. Libby shrank back in the coldness of his glare. “Let’s hope your actions haven’t exposed you.”
She felt a little ill at the thought of it. “Is that likely?”
The man’s face softened a little as he saw her fear. “I haven’t picked up on anything that would indicate so. Most likely he was too caught up in what he was doing to notice. People like this tend to be very single-minded, and arrogant too. With luck, he wouldn’t even consider that a couple of teenagers could be deliberately interfering.”
“I’m sorry.” Kelly didn’t sound particularly apologetic. “But I’d do the same again.”
Libby glanced at Danny. His expression was a mixture of fear and fury. Kelly would have her work cut out for her this evening. It was clear that Danny had been listening in to the whole event and had no doubt already filled in the parents. There wasn’t much left to be said at this stage.
Danny set his jaw. “This talent is obviously here to stay. After what’s just happened to that girl, I don’t think either of you should go out alone from now on.”
Seriously? Libby pulled a face and edged backwards. She didn’t really want to be a part of this conversation.
“Are you kidding me?” Kelly’s voice hit top pitch.
“I might just go and get a glass of water.” Libby muttered, heading for the kitchen. Anna an
d Danny’s father followed immediately behind her.
“I do wish Danny would try for a more subtle approach on these matters,” Anna sighed ruefully. “I’ll be hearing about this for days.”
“There’s no point beating around the bush,” his father replied, winking at Libby. “No point, when you’re surrounded by mind-readers. I’m Paul.”
“Nice to meet you.” She shook his hand. “I’m sorry about this.”
“You weren’t to know.” He pulled out a chair and gestured for her to sit down as Anna filled the kettle. “You’re having something of a trial by fire, aren’t you?”
“It’s…” She cast around for a word that would appropriately describe her life right now. “It is what it is.”
He nodded. “It’s nice to see that you have your head screwed on.”
Anna laughed. “If you want to maintain polite relations with my daughter, Paul, you’ll have to stop making references to her impetuous nature.”
“She knows my feelings on the matter,” he glanced at Libby. “She’s very good for Danny.”
She could see that, how they balanced each other. Nodding, she thought about Danny and Kelly’s relationship for a moment and wondered at how relaxed their parents seemed to be about it, considering how intense it was.
Anna placed a mug of tea in front of her. “Here you go, sweetie. You’ll be wanting to head to bed before long, I imagine.”
“Yes, I’m pretty worn out.” She smiled. “Life’s never dull with Kelly around. Should I wait for her to finish arguing?”
The sound of raised voices had faded, but she had no doubt that matters were far from resolved.
“Lord, no,” Anna laughed. “You’ll be asleep long before she forgives him for that last comment.”
Grimacing, she took her mug and headed to the spare room. She had a lot to think about, and not just what had happened to Sophie. The thought of the girl had her glowering.
No, Libby wasn't Jack's girlfriend, but for the first time she realized how ridiculous that was. She wanted him. He wanted her. They had spent so much time together, and she was still studying. Suddenly she wasn't sure why she had been so adamant that having a relationship with Jackson would ruin everything she wanted to achieve.
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