The Secret

by A. Taylor, Taryn

  I ducked into the bathroom and hoped he hadn’t seen me. Reed had been stuck to me the last three days. It was our first week back. Our first week back since…everything. Mr. Drake had made a strong case to all of us that we needed to get back to normalcy. We needed to get back to living our lives. There were only three weeks left of school and all of us needed to buckle down if we were going to see our Senior year.

  And I wanted that. I wanted to forget I’d come back from the dead. I wanted to remember that Nicholi was dead…but it was all wrapped together in this little package of my mom and the past and the original seven and our powers. It made my head hurt.

  I stepped to the side as another student finished washing his hands and rushed by me—tiny droplets of water fell on me as he went past. It didn’t bother me. The normalness of everyday life at school didn’t bother me at all.

  I looked into the mirror and immediate apprehension pulsed through me. The face looking back at me…didn’t look right. I had told them all I was fine. But, I hadn’t admitted that I really didn’t feel that way at all. I’d been having nightmares about my mother. I’d been hearing what sounded like strange whispers at random times. It sounded…crazy.

  And maybe I was. I worried about it. Maybe coming back from the dead had changed me more than anyone realized. More than they wanted to see. More than I wanted to admit.

  The bathroom door swung open.

  I jumped, even though I shouldn’t have been surprised at all.

  Reed frowned at me and stepped inside and grunted. “You don’t avoid me! I’m better than man vs. wild. I could hunt you, trap you, or pick you out of a crowd. Remember that!”

  I could feel his anger, mixed with something like a tangled need inside of him to do something mischievous. That had been one of the most overwhelming things to me since I’d been brought back from the dead—my powers were not only back but…magnified. It was like I could sniff feelings and emotions if I wanted to. I no longer had to be near someone, either, to tell what they were feeling. I could just think about them and know.

  I thought of Lanie and immediately felt her worry for me. I put up a wall against it. Against her. That had been nice, too. The walls I could construct against people.

  I turned to Reed and gave him an innocent look. “Can’t stop nature; I had to use the facilities.” I washed my hands for effect.

  Reed crossed his arms and gave me a bored look. His primal need to do something assaulted me. He was like a big puppy that had to be walked every day. “Do you know how much grief I get if you don’t show up at the lunch table? Seriously? I don’t know why any of them think I should be the one responsible for keeping track of you.”

  I brushed past him and flicked the water at him with a burst of my fingers. “Here I am. See—good job, Lassie.”

  Reed followed me out into the empty hallway and a low growl escaped his lips. “Ha, ha—real funny. You’re such a putz. I told them to stop worrying about you. It’s like you’ve been…it’s like…”

  He stopped walking and I waited for him to say it. To say I was like…death. I turned around and felt the bottom part of my stomach clench.

  Reed let his breath out and punched a locker, making a rather large dent.

  My frustration turned to empathy for Reed. He’d been stuck inside listening to everyone try to talk about their feelings for the last week. Everyone was fighting about what to do—what was the next step in our lives? Where was Molly? Was she alive or dead or something else? Was she a threat?

  And he hated it. Every minute of it made him feel like a ticking time bomb about to explode. He looked miserable…and I could feel just how miserable he really was.

  I relaxed and lifted an eyebrow. “We haven’t put the tubes in the back of the truck and headed up to the river for a long time. You up for it?”

  Reed looked me up and down, but I could feel the excitement buzz at me, almost knocking me over. “We’re supposed to be on a good behavior schedule. Mr. Drake says we can’t have any more absences for the next three weeks, remember?”

  I let his hopeful excitement work through me and turned for the doors. I wasn’t going to disappoint Reed so Mr. Drake could suddenly try to play guardian. “Who cares what Drake says. It’s not like he’s our parent.”

  Lanie

  I paused at the front door to our apartment. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go in. I did. It had just been hard. At one time I thought I could run from everything and get rid of my powers. Now—it stifled me to know there might never be an end to all of it. Nicholi was dead, but the way Molly’s eyes had glowed red still haunted my thoughts.

  I dropped my backpack onto the kitchen table and tried to hide my concern at seeing Rob cleaning a gun.

  I tried not to react too quickly and went to the fridge to get some orange juice. “Think that’s a good idea? A man just out of jail probably shouldn’t be playing with guns.”

  Rob laughed and shifted his weight back onto the two back legs of his chair. It was a pose he often assumed when he was relaxed. “This is one of dad’s old guns. I got it out of the boxes that were delivered from Boston, yesterday. Plus—I just got a call from Mr. Schneider. It appears that the police found lots of things at Nicholi’s house, including evidence that proves he was the one who killed Alana. All charges have been dropped. I’m a free man.”

  I tensed. I didn’t want to think about Nicholi’s house. I didn’t want to think about going there and discovering that the health care workers in charge of my mother had already had her body moved to the morgue. And Rob hadn’t been with me. He’d had to do his little “now you see me, now you don’t” magic trick and sneak back into his cell. Then his attorney had worked more magic to get him out on bail.

  Rob glanced at me and then back to the gun. “I wanted to be there, Lanie. You know I did.”

  I blinked and my body went back into motion. I put the glass down and filled it. “It’s over, Rob. Let’s not talk about it anymore.”

  Rob shrugged and blew into the top of the gun barrel. “We haven’t…talked about it.”

  I sat at the table and took another sip. “What do you want to say to me?”

  He stopped cleaning and stared at me. “I haven’t been here for you. And I know Jake hasn’t been…available.”

  The juice in the glass contained a lot of pulp and I opted to start counting the tiny pieces that clung to the glass instead of meeting Rob’s eyes.

  He cleared his throat. “But Sam’s been there—and here—and pretty much wherever you’ve been…so that’s good.” He focused his attention back on the gun.

  The way he said Sam’s name let me know that he didn’t care for him. Irritation swept through me and the glass started to twitch in my hand. “You’re right. He willingly came to Boston with me and helped me sort through all the police bullcrap. And—then he let me cry on his shoulder at Mom’s graveside service. So, yeah, I guess he’s been with me.” I stood and anger coursed through me. “He should be shot. How dare he be a friend to me when my only brother is trying to get out of jail and my boyfriend is…is…recovering from coming back from the dead.” I threw my hands into the air and started to walk down the hallway.

  “Come back, Lanie,” Rob yelled after me. “We need to talk.”

  I clenched my hand and the glass inside of it exploded.

  I stopped walking and looked at the shattered glass around me. I hadn’t been squeezing that hard. That shouldn’t have happened. Little accidents had plagued me as of late. My powers were easily aroused…without real intention on my part. It unnerved me.

  “Lanie.”

  I turned and saw a silent pity on Rob’s face.

  I realized that tears were falling down my cheeks. “I don’t know what to do, Rob.”

  He grabbed me and pulled me into a hug. “It’s okay, Lanie.
It’s okay.”

  I let myself cry against the safety of him. He’d always been the only safe thing in my life.

  Rob squeezed me tighter. “He’s gone, Lanie. Nicholi is gone.”

  I pulled away from him. “But we don’t know what Molly is capable of. I don’t think she’s gone from our lives. I just don’t.”

  Rob pulled his glasses off and started to clean them on his T-shirt. “Lanie, I know you’re life hasn’t been normal—ever. But I think we need to focus on the blessing that we’re not running anymore. We don’t know if Molly is even around still. And Mom and Dad would want us to live our lives and be free.”

  At the mention of my parents, I tried not to blink too much. We really hadn’t talked about the fact that we might be step siblings.

  Rob seemed to read my mind. Moisture filled his eyes and his jaw clenched. “My father is Thomas Hart. That is the only thing I know.”

  I swallowed down the emotion I saw on his face. “You’re right.”

  Rob paused and then put his glasses back into place. “I’ll get a broom.” He turned for the kitchen.

  “Wait.” I ran into my room and pulled the gold coin out of my jewelry box. I’d put it there for safe keeping. I stepped back out into the hallway where Rob had frozen at my request. “What do you think Ruth meant?” I held the coin out to him.

  Rob accepted the coin and held it up in front of him. “What do you mean?”

  “She said if I used it—it would take Jake back.”

  Rob inspected the smooth edges. “Mom told you this would block Nicholi if you put it with the other coins, right?”

  I nodded. “She told me to put it with the other coins and then I could seal the powers back in the book.”

  Rob gave it back to me and touched the tuft of hair beneath his bottom lip. “It must hold some type of power that can take ours away.”

  A nervous energy wound itself through the bottom of my stomach and made me want to throw up the juice I’d just consumed.

  Rob put his hand on my shoulder. “It’s fine, Lanie. You’re not going to have to use it. Nicholi’s gone.” He shrugged. “Everyone just keeps their powers…no big deal.”

  I knew instantly when he said it, he didn’t believe it. He didn’t believe it was so simple.

  But I didn’t have time to object.

  The kitchen door flew open and Marsha stomped into the apartment. Even though she’d had a hard time the past couple of weeks, going back to school had been good for her. She was decked to the nines in white leather boots with a red sundress that flared out at the waist. Her hair was up on her head with curls coming down her face and matching red lipstick.

  I jumped and then annoyance went through me. “You could knock.”

  Marsha rolled her eyes at me, but didn’t make any snarky retorts. I’d noticed since the small funeral we’d held for her sister, she’d been nicer to me. “Have you seen Reed and Jake?”

  Karen came in behind her and went straight for Rob.

  Rob opened his arms and pulled her into a bear hug. Since everything had happened, they always acted like any separation in their day from each other was almost painful.

  Rob kissed her head. “I missed you.”

  A muffled knock sounded at the door and I looked over.

  Sam stood there. His green eyes already fixed on mine.

  My heart fluttered in that hopeful, happy way that I hated myself for starting to get used to whenever I saw him. Things were different between us. And, while I knew Sam wanted to be more than I wanted right now, I couldn’t help the fact that he was easy for me to have around. Since he wasn’t Nicholi’s puppet anymore, he was sort of pleasant…in an edgy, sarcastic way.

  “Hey,” I said.

  The side of Sam’s lip turned up. He wore a loose, red T-shirt and dark jeans. His hair was short—very short. He lifted his chin in his ‘I’m too cool’ way. “Hey yourself.”

  I studied him. I had gotten used to the shaved sides and long top. Now, he looked more…clean cut. I moved into the kitchen. “You got a haircut.”

  He scrunched up his nose and pulled me into a casual hug. “Observant, aren’t we?” He smelled seductively into my neck. “You smell good.”

  My heart fluttered and I tried to remember that the reaction was nothing. Just the way Sam was. The hug thing had been something he’d started doing since Boston. To me, it felt like what a good friend would do…like Reed. Reed was always putting his arm around me or pushing me or holding me in the air until I would say ‘uncle.’ This was no different. At least that’s what I was telling myself.

  Marsha crossed her arms. “Lanie, did Jake tell you where he and Reed were going today?”

  I was pulled out of thinking about Sam’s new haircut. “Hmm…no. He…” I looked at the floor. “We don’t really talk right now.”

  It felt awkward, admitting it out loud. But they knew it.

  Worry circled inside of me.

  Sam squeezed me to him. “I’m sure they’re fine.”

  Another knock sounded at the door.

  Mr. Drake stood in his teaching clothes, his eyebrows frowned down with concern.

  I opened the door.

  Mr. Drake let out a breath and moved into the apartment. “I have to tell you all something.”

  My gut went into a knot. “Have you seen Reed and Jake?” It couldn’t be bad news about them.

  Mr. Drake stopped and pulled at his mustache. “What? They’re missing?”

  Marsha let out a sigh. “The boneheads weren’t in our last period gym class and they didn’t come home from school today.” Her eyes went into slits. “Pigs. They never think about anyone but themselves.”

  Mr. Drake cocked his head to the side and then crossed his arms. “I have to tell you something about Tim…”

  I was relieved. At least he hadn’t said something had happened to Jake and Reed. Everything was fine. Tim must be showing signs of what his power would be.

  He cleared his throat and looked around at each of us. “He—he told me last night he can see people…like ghosts.”

  Fear bristled at my neck.

  “I...” Mr. Drake’s hand shook and he held to the kitchen chair in front of him. “And last night…he says he saw Molly.”

  Episode 33: Dead

  Jake

  Reed chugged back the last of his Coke and crumpled the can inside his hand. “Dude—we are so dead. I have like fourteen missed calls from Marsha. Not to mention the texts from all of them.”

  I glanced at Rob’s Jeep in the driveway and rolled my eyes. “It’s eleven-thirty. It’s not like we were doing anything against the law.”

  The river had been cold and crazy and just what we needed. But it had taken us longer because we’d gone up into Boulder Canyon as a starting point and then just let it ride for a few hours.

  Reed smiled and I felt pleasure coming off of him as we sat in his truck. “It was totally worth it! Those rapids were da bomb!” He put his fist in the air and held it.

  I knuckle bumped his fist and laughed. It had been ‘da bomb’. It had been the best I’d felt in a long time.

  Reed didn’t move to get out of the truck. I didn’t move either. Neither of us was keen on facing our executioners.

  Reed leaned back in his seat. “Soo…Sam and Lanie have been hanging out a lot.”

  I pushed my hand through my hair and looked out the passenger side window. I knew that. I may have been dead, but I wasn’t blind. “Your point?”

  Reed smacked me on my bare chest. I hadn’t bothered putting my shirt back on after swimming.

  I grabbed my chest. “Oww!”

  “She like…you should have seen her when she thought you were dead.” His voice dropped off and he took a shaky breath. “We were
all stunned, but she…she would have done anything to get you back.”

  A smothering pain ripped through me and felt like it would unhinge me.

  Reed clicked his tongue. “She got you back. And now you won’t even talk to her. What’s your dealio?”

  I smacked him as hard as I could on his bare chest. “Don’t you think I know that? Don’t you think I hate that? She should have let me die…” I pushed open the door to Reed’s truck and jumped out.

  Reed did the same and stomped up the deck beside me. “Dude, calm down, okay.”

  “Don’t talk to me.”

  Reed put his hand on my shoulder and applied pressure.

  I stopped.

  “I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but you’ve got to stop this…this…”

  I shrugged away from him and moved for the door.

  “Get ready for the Spanish Inquisition.”

  “Do you even know what that means?” I knew I was being mean to deflect from his questions, but I didn’t care. I flung the door open.

  He grunted and hit me in the shoulder. It was a play punch, but coming from Reed—it would leave a bruise. He gave me a look that told me not to mess with him or I would pay. “Jerk face.”

  There wasn’t any time to respond to Reed, however, because the agitated energy I’d been blocking from the group assaulted me en masse as we entered the house.

  They all sat on the couch and looked up at us with different versions of angry.

  Marsha fixed a glare into place at me and then at Reed. She punched the mute button on the television. “I’m glad to see you have no respect for others—or for the fact that we have been worried about the two of you all afternoon.”

  Her voice held an edge to it. An edge that I wasn’t in the mood for. I moved past Reed and headed for the kitchen. “No one asked you to worry.”