The Secret

by A. Taylor, Taryn

  “Get away from me.” I jerked away and started for the doors. This whole situation was insane, and I just wanted to be gone.

  Jake fell into step beside me. “I just need to talk to you,” he said, voice relaxing and softer now.

  I looked at him out of the corner of my eye.

  “I promise, I won’t hurt you.”

  The way he said it caught my attention and I slowed down. “Where are we going?” I wasn’t really scared anymore walking beside him. He hadn’t tried to touch me again, or force me to go with him.

  Pushing the doors open, we stepped outside together. Even though the weather was trying to be spring, cold nipped at my bare arms and I pulled them to my chest. Hadn’t I been warned about getting into a car with strangers—not to mention the fact no one would even know where I was going?

  Jake stopped next to a red Mustang, going to the passenger side and opening my door.

  Could a potential attacker be so chivalrous?

  “Get in.” Even as he said it, I could feel the anger from before still inside him. But underneath that anger I felt something else too.

  I still didn’t move. “Where are we going?”

  Exasperated, he shut the door and stepped face to face with me, his breath hot on my forehead. “I moved here too. Last year. From the…” he purposely trailed, eyes flashing, “…Boston area.”

  Episode 2: Near Miss

  He was from Boston? My chest constricted and I told myself to breathe normally. Pushing the fallen hair out of my face, I crossed my arms, trying to appear casual and not react to the panic I was feeling. “Are you a Sox fan, too?”

  “Andover.” He squinted at me suspiciously, and I couldn’t help but notice a tiny scar under his right eye. He leaned back onto his heels, heaving in a deep breath. “Have you been there?”

  Ignoring the pounding of my heart, I looked him up and down. I knew what he was asking. And it wasn’t about Andover...it was about The Foundation.

  The feel of cold metal against my back and Dr. Luth’s trembling fingers flashed through my mind. Blue, red, purple, gold had almost drowned me, trying to bleed out of the tiny holes left from the tattoo needle. Unwillingly, I touched my left ear and shut my eyes, trying to keep my emotions at a discreet distance.

  “Lanie?” His tone was soft, but he didn’t move.

  “Sorry—got a little dizzy there.” Opening my eyes I forced out a strained laugh, hoping to cover for my lapse. I wasn’t going back there. My compulsory blinking kicked in as I tried to focus on his question and think of an escape route. “Umm…No. Never had a reason to go to Andover.” Denial was my friend right now. “I lived in Cambridge, ya know with all the smart, snooty professors, and the kids that thought they were smart because their parents were smart. You know the type?” Pushing past him, I moved in the direction of the main doors. “I’m going back in.” I didn’t need an explanation to walk away, did I? If he was with The Foundation, I wasn’t getting in his car—he’d have to cause a big scene and I knew The Foundation didn’t like big scenes. The bell rang and I increased my speed.

  “Lanie!”

  Out of nowhere a black SUV tore through the drop off lane, missing me by inches.

  My heart pounding, I put my hand to my chest, watching the SUV turn a corner without slowing down. Idiot. I started off again for the main doors.

  “Are you okay?” Jake was beside me, opening the door for me. Then he stopped, holding onto my arm. His touch was softer this time and his eyes raked over my face. “Are you okay?”

  I leaned away, his warm hand confusing me and the concern in his eyes making me feel utterly mystified. “Yeah.” I tried not to notice that we were staring deeply into each other’s eyes.

  Jake let me go, rubbing his hand across his face. “That scared me.”

  I picked up my backpack, walking past him into the school. “Me too. I need to get to class.”

  Putting his hand up to stop me, his face looked resigned. “I know the smart, rich kid type.”

  “What?”

  “My Mom was a teacher at one of those rich kid schools in Andover.”

  Puzzled, I stopped. “A college prep school?” This wasn’t about The Foundation? My mind raced.

  Looking down and pulling his hand away, he sighed. “Yeah—the one all the rich, snobby kids go to.” His voice mirrored my sarcasm from earlier. “I went there, because of her. But, well…she was murdered last year. I…I didn’t know if you’d seen any of the press coverage. It was pretty horrible.”

  My breathing slowed and a ray of hope leapt into my heart. He wasn’t asking about The Foundation at all…stupid, stupid. Rob always said I made everything about me. Could he possibly just be a normal, semi-tortured guy? No one had sent him?

  Running his hand over his modelesque hair, he looked at me in confusion. “Do you think that’s funny?”

  No, no, no. Realizing the relief on my face was being misread as something else, I frowned. My father’s face surfaced in my mind, bringing with it the heavy grief that always felt like a scab being ripped off of a large, infected wound. Before I realized it, I put my hand on his arm, trying to take on some of his pain. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry for your loss, Jake.” It was ironic; I hated it when people said that to me.

  Jake seemed to relax, but leaned away from me. “It’s just...I don’t want people talking about it—ya know?” His eyes shifted to the throng of students walking past us, and I noticed him reach for a coin-looking thing attached to the chain around his neck. “I wanted to make sure you didn’t know about it or put it together somehow and ask someone. It was just…it was... I don’t talk about it.” Clenching his fists in and out, I could see that Jake was understandably still suffering. “Well.” He looked me up and down cautiously. “I normally don’t talk about it. I guess I just did the opposite of what I wanted to do.”

  When people say they don’t want to talk about it…it makes people want to talk about it. But—I knew how he felt. Giving a solemn nod I pretended to lock my lips. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

  Pondering this, he finally blew out a breath and gestured to the door. “You want to ditch class?” A little mischievousness peeked at the edges of his smile, but his eyes looked wary.

  Leftover adrenaline and grief melted away and I tried to smile, lifting up the class schedule I’d stuck inside of my front pocket. “I gotta go.”

  Snatching the paper, he shook his head. “No you don’t. It’s your first day and they don’t even know you’re supposed to be there yet.”

  Butterflies thumped into my stomach and I laughed. I’d never been asked to ditch the first day. Hesitating, I searched his face. “What did Marsha mean when she said I was your project?”

  “Huh…” Jake let out a little irritated chuckle. “Look, I know how it feels to be the new kid.”

  I looked up at him, a million questions running through my mind. How many times had he moved? Why was he in Colorado? Did he really like me or was he just being nice to me because I was new?

  The hallway had emptied and a teacher started coming toward us.

  “I’ll find you after school?” Jake looked at the teacher, but waited for me to respond.

  I knew my brother, Rob, wouldn’t like this. Being overprotective was his strong suit. “Okay. See you then.”

  Leaving my last class was more of a production than I could have thought possible.

  “Let me give you one more hug.” Senora Sanchez hugged me to her chest, crushing the leather portfolio between us. “Finally—I am sent an artist to work with.”

  I hugged her back, feeling awkward—hugging wasn’t really my thing.

  “Tomorrow you start helping me teach those yahoos how to really draw, no?” Her brown eyes sparkled. “They’ve been drawing fruit for two years. Where did I fa
il?”

  “Okay.” I smiled. How did I tell her that the portfolio was not my best work?

  I left the classroom to find Jake just outside. Metal clinked as he turned his keys in a circle around his finger, leaning easily against the wall with his back to me and his ear buds in.

  I watched him for a second and my stomach knotted nervously. It was just weird that he was waiting for me. Stepping in front of him, I paused for him to notice me.

  His lips turned into a smile and his eyes opened. “Hey.”

  Forcing myself to swallow, I tried to think of something witty to say. But I was completely blank—which never happened to me. I started walking. “Hey.

  Stepping into sync beside me, he reached for my bag.

  “No.” I frowned, twisting a little away from him and feeling uncertain. “I don’t think I’m ready for that much of a commitment yet.”

  Cocking his head to the side, he laughed, sounding genuinely amused by me. “Right—the carry your bag and propose marriage kind of commitment.” Seeming to almost spring with each step, I walked faster to keep up with him and pulled out my phone. There was a message from Rob that I should text him and let him know where I’d be. He was worse than actually having parents.

  “Texting your boyfriend?” Jake’s tone was playful as he glanced at my phone, then stared straight ahead.

  A pang of happiness went through me. Was he jealous?

  I shrugged, trying to keep from giggling. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt like giggling. “Yep, my boyfriend.”

  Looking at me quickly, he took the cue from my smile, opening the door by the main office. “Well, you’ll just have to tell him you’re busy tonight—studying.”

  The parking lot was empty—except for Marsha, Reed, and Karen standing next to his car.

  “Great.” Jake turned to me, rolling his eyes. “They’ll want to come.” Looking at them with annoyance, he turned to me raising his eyebrows. “Is that okay?”

  A dull ache formed in my stomach at the thought of trying to socialize. “Uh…I have to write my report. Kind of the reason we’re studying.”

  Raising his hands in the air playfully, he turned to me. “Oh, is that the reason we’re studying?”

  Confusion swept through me. Wasn’t that the reason? Did he think this was a date or something? “Seriously, I don’t know what I’m doing for Mr. Drake’s class.” We were only three cars away from the group so I dropped my voice. “I don’t want to be behind.”

  Reed pounded the back of the car, looking bigger in, what appeared to be, a bear-skinned brown coat. “Dude, it’s cold.”

  Jake pointed, daring Reed to test him. “Touch the car again—you die.”

  Marsha elbowed Reed in the gut, stepping away and putting her hands on her hips. “You say I’m always pissing him off.”

  Reed slouched, grabbing his stomach and howling.

  Marsha’s satisfied face made me want to laugh. She turned her attention to me. “Hey—I was hoping we could do some bonding.”

  “Oh?” I tried not to sound too surprised. Bonding? With me?

  Tapping on her iPad, Karen looked up, pushing her glasses back and smiling at me. Then she turned to Jake. “Carls? Let’s get hot chocolate at Carls.”

  Jake looked at me out of the corner of his eye, seeming to ask for permission.

  No—I didn’t make friends like this. I should be going home with my brother and spending most of the night tortured because all my time would be going to writing a stupid report.

  “It’s the best I’ve ever had.” Karen looked at me expectantly.

  I tried to smile, knowing it probably looked painful. “Sounds great.”

  Reed snatched Jake’s keys and they all clamored for the doors of the Mustang, Reed calling out shot gun. I followed Jake to the trunk, gently placing my portfolio inside with my bag on top and feeling the thump from the stereo start to reverberate through his whole car.

  “Thanks for understanding. They’re really…” He trailed off, searching for the right word. “Fun?”

  Meeting his eyes, I stepped back from the trunk, and we both burst out laughing. Happiness spread through me—we were sharing a joke.

  A sudden rev of an engine surprised me and I looked up.

  “Lanie!”

  The black SUV came straight for me.

  “Lanie!”

  In an instant, Jake’s body slammed into me, smashing my face into the gravel. My head screamed in pain.

  Jake rolled me onto my back, pushing my hair back. “Lanie.” The sound of tires squealing and doors slamming felt inordinately loud.

  “Jake.” Opening my eyes, he looked hazy, the sunlight shadowing his face and the metal coin from his chain touching my nose. “Jake…”

  Episode 3: The Mark

  The cold fingers were light, fluttering between my hairline and the lobe of my ear. I tried to move my head, but this time, red and black erupted, oozing down the edges of my mind. Fear sucked the breath out of me and I tried to move away from the fingers.

  “I think our girl might be waking up.”

  The smell of medicinal cleanliness filled my nose and I tried to open my eyes. Bright, blinding light ripped knife-like pain into my head. “Hmm.” Cottony dryness prevented any words.

  “Lanie?” Rob was there, his voice instantly calming me like a cold towel on a sunburn. “Lanie?” His voice turned desperate, motivating me to resume the process of opening my eyes.

  “She’ll be okay.” This new voice had a southern accent to it.

  I opened my eyes, peering into a kind face with almond-shaped eyes and dark hair pinned up. Tapping the chart in front of her, the woman leaned forward, clicking her tongue and reaching for my head. “You took a nasty fall, sweetie.”

  I tried to pull away from her touch, but the colors started swirling again.

  Rob put his hand out in front of the nurse. “She doesn’t like to be touched.” The sternness in his voice surprised me. But it shouldn’t have. Not when he was trying to protect me.

  Scowling at Rob, the nurse backed away, dropping the chart into a box next to the door. “The doctor will be here in about an hour.”

  Rob squeezed my hand, smiling down at me with concern.

  Sadness filled my heart. I hated the way I was making him worry over me. “I…” A dry cough came out, intensifying the ache inside of my head.

  Reaching for a cup with a straw in it, Rob pushed a button on the bedside remote to elevate my head. “Let’s get you some water.”

  The initial dizziness settled and I sucked in the lukewarm liquid.

  Stuffing another pillow behind my head, Rob took the water back and smiled at me. “Only my sister could find so much trouble on the first day of school.” He stroked my hair gently away from my face, taking care to stay away from my left ear.

  I tried to smile. “H…how bad is it?”

  Leaning back and folding his arms, Rob raised his eyebrows, his bowl cut, black hair flitting a little into his eyes over his glasses. The black Boston sweatshirt he usually wore looked rattier than usual, and the dark bags under his eyes stretched as he offered me a tired smile. “You’ve been sleeping for about twenty hours. But there’s nothing that seems to be wrong with you other than the head wound.” He leaned forward, narrowing his eyes and lightly tracing the bandage from the middle of my cheek past my ear and into my hairline. “I don’t understand how you hit the front of your head?”

  The image of the SUV coming toward me skimmed through my mind. “I was pushed out of the way.”

  Sighing heavily, Rob nodded. “Your new friends brought you to the hospital and called me.”

  Realizing Rob would not be very happy with me having any kind of friends, I didn’t respond.

  “Jake?�
�� He posed it as a question and I felt my heart rate pick up. “He found my number in your phone and called me.”

  Thinking of Jake made me sad, knowing it would be over before it could begin.

  Rob studied my face and leaned back, exhaling loudly. “You can’t already be attached to this place?”

  I knew I could never explain my feelings to my computer geek brother. I loved him. I really did. But he lived through the lens of a virtual world. Socializing for him was meeting up with his online gaming friends. Plus, it was my fault he was the way he was; moving was hard and he’d coped the only way he could. “It’s fine,” I said.

  Rob slumped forward, peering at me over his glasses. “It’s just how it is, Lanie. I’m having the apartment packed up in a few hours and Stewart has been notified we need new I.D.”

  I relaxed. Stewart was my dad’s oldest friend. The only person we could still trust—he would help us.

  “I.D.?” Jake walked into the room, a police officer at his heels. Excitement and worry rushed through me at seeing him.

  Standing, Rob puffed out his chest like he was bracing for a fight, his tall lanky figure looking off balance.

  Trying to gauge the situation, I looked at the police officer. Why was he here?

  Unaware of Rob’s stance, the police officer looked at me, wincing in pain and touching his head in the same spot mine was bandaged. “I hate head wounds.”

  Relieved, I glanced at Rob, hoping the cop hadn’t heard Jake’s comment.

  Pushing his clipboard under his arm, the officer smiled. “I just wanted to come back and tell you we’ve found the black SUV and the man who did this. He’s being put in jail as we speak.”

  Rob shook his head. “That’s impossible.”