‘Abbie!’ she cried suddenly, spotting her friend across the cafeteria.
‘Who?’
‘Come on, you need to meet my friend. I’ll introduce you.’ Charley hurried Marcus over to where Abbie was standing, stuffing her face with greasy chips.
‘Marcus, I would like you to meet my best friend, Abbie.’
‘Heh, ice oo eet ou,’ she spluttered, spraying Marcus with soggy potato as she shook his hand.
‘Eh, yeah, you too.’
‘Sorry about her, she can be so rude.’ Charley glared at Abbie who returned her gaze with a ‘What have I done now?’ look.
‘Yes, that’s me. Rude, rude, rude. And to be even more rude . . . I have to go. I said I would meet Connor for lunch and I’ve kind of started without him. Nice meeting you, Marcus.’
‘Abbie!’ Charley yelled after her friend, who was already darting around the corner and out of sight.
‘Just you and me then,’ Marcus smiled, his eyes glinting as the light bounced off them.
‘I guess so. Anything you wanna do?’
‘I can think of one thing.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Come on, I’ll show you.’
They’d been walking for ages, and Charley was pretty sure they weren’t going to make it back to school for their next class. The sun was peeking out from behind a cloud but the air was still cool – crisp and refreshing, just the way Charley liked it.
‘Em, Marcus. Maybe we should think about heading back.’
‘Ah,’ he scratched his head and gave her an innocent smile, ‘I wasn’t really planning on going back.’
‘Oh.’
‘Don’t tell me you’ve never ditched school before?’
She shrugged impassively.
‘Come on, Charley, live a little.’
‘It might help if you actually told me what we were planning on doing.’
‘You’re in luck. We’re here.’ He gestured to the space in front of them and Charley looked on in astonishment. They were standing above the river, looking down at the still, blue water beneath them. Marcus climbed on to the bridge and hooked his legs through the gaps.
‘What are you doing?’ Charley gasped, taking in the distance between him and the water – it was quite a drop.
‘What do you think? We’re jumping.’
‘We? Are you insane? I’m not jumping off a bridge.’
‘It’s fine. It’s not as high as it looks and the water’s deep enough. Trust me, it feels amazing.’ She could feel herself shaking – she wasn’t really going to do this, was she?
‘You’re serious, aren’t you?’
‘Deadly. At least come and sit next to me. If you don’t wanna jump, I promise I won’t make you.’ She stood there for a moment, tempted to just say, ‘What the hell!’ and join him on the bridge. But her sensible side took over and she shook her head, backing away in the other direction.
‘I can’t.’
‘The only reason you can’t is because you keep telling yourself that. Why not say, you know what? I can do this. I can and I will.’
‘Why are you so desperate for me to jump off a bridge?’
‘Stop analysing everything, Charley. Don’t think and just do.’ She looked down at him hanging casually over the edge, his long legs swinging back and forth. He didn’t seem fazed in the slightest.
‘All right, why the hell not?’
‘Really? I wasn’t expecting that to work,’ he laughed.
‘Yes, really. Let’s jump off a bridge.’ She flung her bag to the ground and carefully made her way over to where Marcus was sitting, his hand already outstretched for her to grab on to.
‘You sure about this?’ he smiled, dimples forming in his cheeks.
‘Nope,’ she said, utterly petrified. ‘On the count of three?’
‘One . . .’
‘Two . . .’
‘Three!’ they said together, and all of a sudden they were in mid-air, the wind slamming against their chests as they fell towards the water.
Everything seemed as though it was in slow motion. Charley could feel the air rushing through her fingers, her hair, against her cheeks. Her eyes were streaming and her lips felt dry. She wanted to scream, not out of terror, but from excitement. Marcus was right, it felt amazing. She could have sworn she was flying – at that moment, anything felt possible.
The next thing she knew, she was underwater, her body suddenly aching from hitting the river’s hard surface. She was a perfectly good swimmer, but now her arms felt heavy, her legs like lead as she slowly sank. She wasn’t worried though; she could feel the exhilaration pulsing through her, the rush from jumping still with her as she floated in the freezing water.
All of a sudden, two strong arms linked hers, hoisting her up towards the surface. Air filled her lungs as she gasped, flailing her arms as Marcus steadied her. How long had she been under? She didn’t care. She felt incredible.
‘That was unbelievable,’ she yelled, sweeping the wet strands of hair from her face.
‘It’s a good feeling, isn’t it?’
‘Good? That’s an understatement.’
‘Let’s get you out, it’s pretty cold in here.’ They swam side by side over to the verge, Marcus giving Charley a boost before pulling himself up on to dry land.
‘Can we do it again?’
Marcus laughed, still out of breath from the swim back to shore. ‘Take it easy, you. I think that’s enough for one day.’ His T-shirt was sticking to him, his body showing through the wet cloth. Charley blushed and he smiled back, moving closer as he pulled the shirt over his head.
She was sure he was about to kiss her – did he want to kiss her? Did she want him to kiss her? Her mind flashed to Aiden, and she immediately felt guilty. What was she doing?
‘We should get going,’ she said quickly, making her way back up to where her school bag was sitting. ‘If we get caught–’
‘Yeah, I get it. That’s enough risks for one day.’ He grinned, hiding his disappointment well. He knew exactly what was in the way – or rather, who.
Marcus could tell Charley felt uncomfortable on the walk back. They weren’t heading for school; the wet hair and soaking clothes might prompt a few hard to answer questions. They reached the turn off for Beaton Road, where Marcus slowed to a halt.
‘This is me.’
‘Oh, you live here?’ Charley looked along the street at the row of enormous, identical buildings, all complete with hanging baskets and driveways housing expensive cars. Did all the guys in her life have rich parents and live in mansions?
‘Yep. Not exactly unique, are they?’
‘They’re lovely though.’
‘I guess I can’t complain. I’ll see you at school tomorrow, yeah?’
‘Yeah, see you then. And thanks, Marcus, I really did have fun.’
‘Anytime. If you ever wanna take a risk, you know where to find me.’ He gave her a wink before heading towards the house, his smile disappearing as soon as his back was turned.
Charley strolled along the street, in no hurry to get home. Her mum was bound to be finished work and she couldn’t be bothered explaining why she was dripping wet.
Looks like I have some time to kill, she thought, pulling her sodden shirt away from her skin – it was starting to itch and she half-wished she hadn’t jumped off the bridge. Okay, she didn’t wish that at all, but she did at least hope the sun might come out and help her dry off a bit – not likely though.
‘Where the hell have you been?’ came a deep voice, making her jump.
‘Aiden. What are you doing here? Why aren’t you in school?’
‘I should ask you the same thing. Why are you all wet?’ He took in her damp hair that looked like rats’ tails, and then became embarrassed as he glanced down at her almost see-through sh
irt. ‘Well, I see you don’t care too much about your dignity.’
‘What?’
He raised his eyebrows, nodding down towards her chest.
‘Shit, I didn’t even realise.’
‘So what were you doing?’ Aiden frowned, his deep blue eyes boring into her.
‘I . . . I was down at the river. I kind of . . . jumped off the bridge . . . with Marcus.’ She attempted an innocent smile.
‘You what? What the hell were you thinking? Do you know how dangerous that was?’
‘It’s fine, it wasn’t that high, and I’m a good swimmer.’
‘I don’t care if you can swim or not, that’s not what I mean. That kind of thing is the perfect way to set off your powers. Do you want the world to find out what you really are?’
‘What I am? No, of course not.’
‘Jesus, Chambers, you need to be more careful. What were you doing with that new kid anyway? Why weren’t you in school?’
‘Oh my God, Aiden, what’s with all the questions? It’s not like you’re my boyfriend.’ She hadn’t wanted to let it slip, but for some reason she couldn’t help herself.
‘No, I guess you’re right, I’m not.’ Was she really seeing this? Did Aiden Cunningham actually look . . . upset?
‘I mean . . .’ – what did she mean? – ‘It’s not like we’re . . . you know. . .’ She was babbling again. Why did she always prattle on when she was nervous?
Before she could continue rambling, Aiden pulled her close, his hand cupping the back of her neck. He placed his other hand on the small of her back, holding her body just inches from his. Then he kissed her. If she’d tried to imagine a better feeling, she’d have failed. It was perfect.
‘Wow,’ she said, pulling away to look up into his gleaming eyes. An orange tint ran around his pupils; she’d never noticed before. ‘Aiden, that was . . . wow.’
‘Shut up, Chambers,’ he whispered, his lips once again finding hers. She didn’t object – she’d never dreamt anything could feel so magical. And for someone with powers, that was saying something.
Marcus closed the door, sighing to himself as he kicked off his shoes. He took a seat at the large wooden desk and opened his journal – a small, brown, leather-bound book – and began scribbling on the first empty page.
He cursed. It had all been going so well, until . . .
Sunlight poured in through the window and he glanced up, dropping the pen as he set eyes on Charley, seconds from where he’d left her, locking lips with none other than Aiden Cunningham. His jealousy spiked and he could no longer contain it. He got to his feet and launched the stool he’d been sitting on across the room, laughing as it bounced off the wall and fell to pieces. He’d known this was coming, she’d made that much clear. But this soon? Had the afternoon they’d spent together really meant nothing?
‘Game on, Aiden,’ he muttered, looking at them a last time before stalking off, leaving his journal lying open on the desktop. His messy writing covered the two visible pages, but only one word was written. Over and over again: Charley.
Charley gripped Aiden’s hand as they walked along beside each other. His jacket was wrapped around her shoulders, and even though she was just about dry, she wanted to keep it there.
‘Charley,’ Aiden said, gently pulling his hand away. She immediately felt embarrassed.
‘What? Oh my God, you didn’t . . . I’m sorry.’
‘I just think we should take this slow, what with me teaching you as well.’
‘Yeah, I get it. Sure.’ She tried to shrug it off but she was mortified. Of course he didn’t want a relationship. How could she have been so stupid?
‘Don’t be like that.’
‘Like what? I’m not being like anything. You don’t want anything serious. That’s cool. Listen, Aiden, I really need to get going. Thanks for the jacket and . . . well, bye.’
She shoved the coat into his hands before he could argue and took off down the street, desperate to avoid yet more embarrassment. He stood, watching her go.
Tell her how you feel, a voice in his head screamed. If only it were that easy.
Charley unlocked the front door, relieved to find that no one was home. She didn’t know where her mother was, but she didn’t really care; she was just happy to be alone.
She still couldn’t believe she’d been so naïve. To think Aiden would want to be with her, after only a kiss. Idiot, she thought to herself, climbing the stairs.
‘Charley? Is that you?’ The voice came from the room next to hers.
‘Jess? What are you doing here?’ The sound came, muffled. She was crying. ‘Jess, are you all right?’
‘I’m fine. Don’t tell Mum, okay?’
‘Can I come in?’ Charley went for the handle, but as she turned it she heard the lock click.
‘No! I’m sick. Just leave me alone.’ Her tone was brusque but she didn’t sound angry. Nor did she sound sick. Charley considered trying to use her powers to open it again, but decided against it. If Jess wanted to be alone, that was up to her. Besides, it probably wouldn’t work anyway.
‘All right, but if you need me, just shout.’
There was a loud bang from the other side of the door before Jess called back, ‘Go away. I don’t need anyone’s help.’
Charley gave up and went into her own room, pulling off her crumpled clothes, and got into the shower. She thought back to the days when she and her sister had got along, the time when they could spend more than five minutes with each other without getting into an argument. They used to be close – she couldn’t remember when that had changed.
She’d only been in the shower for a couple of minutes before she started feeling light-headed. Her vision clouded and as she reached to steady herself, she knocked over the tray of toiletries that sat to her right.
I really shouldn’t have skipped lunch, she thought to herself, blaming lack of food for her dizziness. Or jumped into the river.
But the dizziness was just the start. Moments later, she began to feel sharp pains all over her body; it felt like hundreds of tiny electric shocks all at once. She called out as they pricked her skin, an ache forming in her stomach. She climbed out of the shower and grabbed a hold of the sink with both hands. She was going to throw up. She was sure of it. She was going to be sick . . .
But as quick as it had come on, it disappeared again. The pins and needles eased off and the pain in her stomach vanished.
Strange, she thought, wrapping herself in a towel and making her way back through to the bedroom.
She stopped dead.
Her room was trashed. Books were scattered across the floor, clothes everywhere – all of her jewellery, photos and trinkets lay on the ground in a heap.
‘What the . . . ?’
She opened the bedroom door and her jaw dropped – it wasn’t just her room. The pictures that usually hung on the hall’s pale, cream wall were now broken on the floor, plants knocked over, ornaments damaged.
Please say I didn’t.
Who was she kidding? Of course it was her fault, how could it not be? But her powers had never been this strong before – they’d never caused her physical pain. She had to talk to Aiden. As much as she hated to admit it, she needed him.
‘Chambers, hey,’ Aiden said quietly, glancing over his shoulder and stepping outside before his parents could hear. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘I need your help. I don’t even know if you can help, but I need someone to talk to.’
‘All right, but not here. Let’s go for a walk.’
He shut the door and followed her down the steps, looking back to see if he was being watched. His mother stood by the window, shaking her head as he continued walking. He would deal with her later.
‘What’s up?’ he asked as they started down his street. ‘Must be important, you only left me
an hour ago.’
‘It is, I think.’
‘Go on.’
‘Something strange happened when I got home. I was in the shower and I started feeling weird: dizzy, sick, just really odd. Then I felt all these shocks over my body. It was like pins and needles, only much worse.’
He gave her a look. She knew that look.
‘Have you called a doctor?’ He was mocking her.
‘I’m not ill. When I got out the shower, it all went away. I felt fine again. I went through to my room and it was ruined.’
‘What do you mean, ruined?’
‘Trashed. The place was a mess. Then I went through to the hall and it was the same. I must have done it . . . somehow. But it’s never been like that before. I’ve never felt pain with my powers.’
‘And you shouldn’t.’
‘So what’s going on?’
Aiden sighed and said, ‘I don’t know. But it doesn’t sound right.’
‘Will it happen again?’ She desperately hoped it wouldn’t.
‘I have no idea. If it does, you need to call me straight away. Understood?’
‘Understood,’ she mimicked sarcastically, causing him to throw her a disapproving look.
‘I mean it, Chambers. I’ve never heard of that happening before. I’ll look into it, all right? For now, just . . . keep out of trouble. If you can.’
‘What kind of trouble am I likely to get myself into?’ she asked, crossing her arms.
‘Oh, I don’t know. Maybe try and stay away from rivers, bridges, guys like Marcus.’
‘Are you jealous or something?’ Charley smiled, secretly hoping that he was.
‘No, I’m not jealous. I don’t like the guy. And okay, yeah, I guess it kinda sucked knowing you decided to ditch school and have a laugh with someone else.’
Charley Chambers Page 5