I missed my parents and Cody. I wished we were all sitting around the table in Iggy’s kitchen, talking and eating food that Cody was clueless about. I’d give anything to go back to chopping firewood and riding four wheelers with Iggy. I’d even let her convince me to ride Black Jack. And mom and dad would love her. They’d be surprised at how she had changed and grown into a beautiful, young woman – still headstrong sometimes, but also kindhearted. My parents would expect to see a mischievous troublemaker who was tough as nails. But like me, they’d be surprised to find that Iggy had a heart, she had a softness born not from weakness, but from having risen above the painful experiences that would have pushed others past the breaking point. I wanted them to experience Iggy’s infectious laughter and the way she made you believe you could accomplish anything you set your mind to. I wanted them to understand that just sitting on a bed watching movies or playing cards while sharing MREs and a jar of Jif with Iggy was an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.
I had fallen asleep. The single horn blow to announce dinner woke me up. Iggy’s eyes flew open as if she’d been startled, but she didn’t move. Her eyes darted around as if trying to soak in her surroundings.
“Cael,” she breathed.
I wrapped my arms around her, relieved at the strength I felt in her arms as she hugged me back. “How do you feel?”
She scowled. “Like I’ve been asleep for a week. What day is it?”
“It’s Saturday evening.”
“Why am I in bed?”
My eyebrows drew together. “Don’t you remember drowning?”
“I didn’t drown, Cael. I went swimming.”
“Do you remember breakfast this morning?”
She looked lost in concentration a moment. “I’m not sure. I think so. But the memory isn’t right in my head.”
“Then do you remember being all friendly with Alex and drinking her chocolate milk?”
“That would be a stupid thing to do. She already hates me. Unless her milk was poisoned, I can’t imagine her letting me share.”
“Iggy. Your memory is screwed up. What happened after you were taken to the infirmary?”
“I was really thirsty. A nurse started an IV.” She stopped, as if that was it.
“What else? What about the days after that?”
She gave me a worried look and shook her head. “I don’t know.”
I sat up and dragged a hand through my hair, sighing with the frustration of the whole situation. “Are you hungry? It’s dinner time.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think you can walk okay?”
She threw her legs over the edge of the bed. “I’m not an invalid, Cael. I just overslept.”
“You should take it easy, Iggy.” I stood beside her, arms out in case she got dizzy.
She pushed my hands down. “What are you doing? I don’t have a broken leg. You don’t have to act like I’m going to fall over.”
“You drowned in the pool about nine hours ago. I shoved on your chest to get the water out of your lungs while Wes breathed air into you. I’m sure you can understand that I’m a little concerned.”
“You’re kidding.” She looked stunned. Then she pushed against her own ribs and arched her back a little. “That’s why I’m so sore?” When I nodded, she stepped into me and my arms automatically went around her. “This is so strange, Cael.”
“It sure as hell is. You can bet I’m going to demand answers from Jensen on Monday morning.” Remembering we were on camera, I whispered in her ear, “I understand some types of tests, but if he pulls another stunt like the last test, or if I find out he’s fucking with your brain, I’m going to kill him.”
“Fucking with our brains is the whole point of this place.”
The daytime lights switched on, and we squinted against the brightness. Then the nurse walked in with her machine on wheels and insisted on another set of vitals and a quick exam before saying Iggy could go to dinner.
We were late, so when we walked into the cafeteria, everyone was already there, and they stopped and stared. Iggy immediately leaned into me, wide eyed. “Why are they looking at us like we might go psycho on them?”
Wesley was giving me a questioning look, and when I nodded at him, relief washed over his face a split second before he put his usual mask in place. Then he left the table and walked up to give Iggy a hug. “You all right?”
She said softly, as if embarrassed for anyone to hear, “Yeah. Just a little sore. Apparently I have some memory loss. But I swear to you that I didn’t try to kill myself.”
Pippa peeked around Wesley’s shoulder. “Hey, you. Glad to see you’re up and at it.” Her smile was wobbly, as if she was unsure of Iggy’s reaction. “Are you, uh, normal now?”
“I’m fine, Pippa. I don’t remember much, so all this drama makes me feel a bit weird.”
“Okay. Just one last piece of weirdness before you go get dinner.” Pippa pulled Iggy to her for a hug and whispered, “You’re never going swimming by yourself again.” Then she released her and walked back to her table.
Iggy and I filled our trays and then sat down at a table by ourselves. She glanced over at Wesley several times. I knew it bothered her that he spent time with Alex, but I knew Wesley had an ulterior motive. He had a theory that Alex either wanted Iggy out of the picture or wanted her to use her power. And it had nothing to do with him, but it might have something to do with Jensen. At first, he’d thought she and Brodie were collaborating on some kind of revenge plot, but now his attention was on Gavin, and he wasn’t sure revenge was the motive anymore. If there was one thing I’d learned about Wesley, it was that he was very astute at picking up on other people’s behaviors and motivations. When Alex had first started hitting on him, he hadn’t shown much interest. But after the incident at the pool, when Iggy had accused Alex of lying and using her power on Pippa, Wesley had decided to get closer to Alex so he could keep an eye on her. He thought he might catch an idea or overhear a slip of the tongue regarding any plans the girl had that might hurt Iggy, Pippa, or anyone else. He’d made me promise not to tell Iggy because he didn’t want to worry her; she had enough to deal with.
Ibram came over to our table to ask Iggy how she was feeling. She gave him that shy, I-don’t-know-what-I-did smile and told him she was fine. I could see she felt more awkward the longer we sat there, and before she was even half way done with her food, she said she was going back to her room. I insisted on going back with her.
I sat at one end of her sofa, and Iggy lay down with her head on my lap, looking up at me as we talked about anything that didn’t have to do with why we were here or what had recently happened. I played with her hair, twisting tendrils around my fingers. She held my other hand against her stomach, idly tracing patterns across the back of my hand. I loved the simplicity and casualness of the situation because it made me feel closer to her.
We stayed that way for a long time. I didn’t want the moment to end. I was perfectly content to stare at her beautiful face and cave into her requests to hear about my adolescent years, which she thought was quite funny. Maybe it was difficult for her to reconcile the kid she once knew with the man I was now, and that’s why the stories amused her so much. Or maybe it was because most of her teenage years were traumatic, and she wanted to know what normal early-teen torture was like.
We talked about Cody and our parents and the fact that Christmas was coming up soon. That brought up a conversation about our different traditions – my mom was so obsessed with Christmas trees that she put one in every room, including the bathrooms. Kim’s idea of tradition was hunting a deer on Christmas morning and opening presents only after it had been gutted and cleaned for dinner.
Then Iggy sat up, faced me, and surprised me by saying, “Thank you for saving my life.” She tilted her head to one side and murmured, “I seem to be relying on you a lot lately,” as if she felt ashamed for it.
I brush
ed some hair away from her forehead. “You’re welcome. Just don't ever do that again.”
After looking at me sadly for a minute, she stood up. “I need to thank Wesley. I’ll be back in a little bit.”
“I’ll go with you,” I offered, still not wanting to let her out of my sight.
Hand in hand, we walked down to his room. His door was cracked, so she knocked. When she didn’t receive an answer, she pushed it open. I stopped her. “Maybe he needs his privacy.”
Iggy understood my meaning. “If Alex is in there, she’ll have to deal with it. He’s my best friend, and I’ve barged into Wesley’s room for years now.” But she squeezed her eyes shut as she inched her way inside. “Wesley?”
I laughed at her. “You can open your eyes. He’s not there.”
Iggy figured out he was in the shower; she heard the water and saw his clothes laid out on his bed. She knocked on the bathroom door as I shut the main door as far as it would go.
“Iggy? Is that you?” he called out.
“Yeah. It’s me. Just wanted to let you know I’m waiting in your room to talk to you.” She turned to me and smirked, “See? Told ya so. He’s used to it.”
I laughed and sat down on Wesley’s sofa, pulling Iggy down to sit on my lap. She leaned against me and closed her eyes. We were quiet for a while until Wesley swung open the bathroom door, letting out the steam. He was wearing only a towel wrapped around his hips, which wouldn’t have bothered me, but Iggy sat up and stared at him.
“What’s up, Iggy? I guess you really need to talk to me or you wouldn't be waiting.” He reached for the clothes on his bed, but she walked right up to him and put her hands on his back. Wesley’s eyes went wide and he turned to face her before glancing up at me with his hands up in the air. “What are you doing?” He stepped back. Iggy stepped forward. He said to me, “I'm not doing anything, Cael.”
“I remember,” she breathed, trailing her fingers through the water over Wesley’s skin.
“Iggy? Are you freaking out again?” he asked her, but she ignored him.
I was already on my feet, starting to get seriously pissed off. But the look on Iggy’s face was the same weird, happy one she’d worn this morning. Wesley exchanged another look with me, and I shrugged, willing to let this play out another thirty seconds or so.
She slid her hand around Wesley’s neck and thrust her fingers into his hair. He muttered something about not being comfortable with what she was doing, but I don’t think she heard him. And I sure as hell didn’t believe him. She squeezed the hair and then pulled her hands back, examining the water on her palms with a smile.
“I can remember.” She rubbed the water in her left palm with the fingers of her right hand. Then she turned and headed toward the bathroom. From the doorway, she motioned that we should come in. And once inside the small bathroom, she shut the door and positioned me and Wes beside each other near the sink. Then she turned on the faucet and stared at it with a big smile.
“Iggy, please don’t weird out again,” I pleaded. But her smile just widened. I was shocked into silence when she touched her lips to Wesley’s. I thought he’d pull away, but he didn’t. Before I had time to react, she stood on tip toe and pulled my head down to kiss me. Maybe some morbid curiosity kept me from shoving her angrily away. Or maybe it was because she looked high.
Wesley rumbled, “Iggy. Are we about to have a threesome here? Because I really didn’t think you were that kind of girl.”
I glared at Wes. “I don’t share.”
Iggy backed up a step and practically squealed with delight. “No, it’s okay. I love you both, and I want to show you something wonderful. It's...beautiful.”
Iggy loved me? Did she really mean that? Or did she say that because of the strange mood she was in? I prayed it was real, but she’d been acting so different, and I was scared they were just words to her.
Wes and I looked at each other. Neither of us was prepared for this. But then Iggy put her hands into the faucet water, giggled like a little girl, and said, “Watch.”
She moved her hands away and the water followed. Then it divided into three small streams which curled around her fingers. She laughed like a child playing with her favorite toy. I stumbled backwards, hit the toilet, and plonked down on it. Wesley stood frozen. Iggy moved her arms up and down and in circles, and the streams followed like living creatures under her spell. She spread her arms in different directions, split the streams again, and then she sent them traveling in S-shapes from the ceiling to the floor.
She breathed, “This is what I was doing underwater this morning.” She looked at her own creations with adoration, swirling and twisting them. “I figured out how to do this, and I made a beautiful world.”
Wesley reached out, grabbed her arms, and shook her. “Stop it, Iggy!” The suspended water dropped instantly, splashing all over us and the bathroom. The look on Iggy’s face changed from the strange happy one to her normal self. Wes slammed his hand on the faucet handle to shut the water off, and then he stepped back and stared at Iggy, breathing as if he’d just come back from a run.
She backed up, looking hurt, and then she sat on the edge of tub with her bottom lip sticking out and quivering. “I thought you’d like it. I thought you’d be proud of me for figuring it out on my own.”
He knelt down in front of her, grabbed her arms again and snapped, “You can’t let Jensen or anyone else know you can do that. Do you understand? Ever.”
“I know that. I would only tell the two of you. This is such an important discovery, and thought you would think...” she trailed off, scowling. When he didn’t respond as he stood up, Iggy buried her face in her hands.
I pushed Wes aside and pulled Iggy to her feet. She wrapped her arms around my waist and hid her face against my chest. “You’re not helping her by yelling at her,” I griped at him.
“She can’t let this power slip. We’re not supposed to be able to control anything that isn’t a living organism. This defies everything we’ve ever known about…Jensen’s research would…he’d do anything.” He balled his hands into fists and slammed them against the door, then he leaned his forehead against one arm.
Iggy flinched, and Wesley stared at the wall, trying to get his temper and his breathing under control. I rubbed Iggy’s back and kissed the top of her head. “You can’t go swimming anymore. Doing this with the water makes you different somehow.” I felt her nod.
Wesley turned back around to face us. “Give Cael permission to read your records, Iggy. I’m desperate, here. I don’t know what to do or what to think. This is a nightmare.”
“Fine. He can read them.”
To Cael, he said, “I want to know why she’s been acting strangely since the last test and if it has anything to do with this new manifestation.”
“Jensen’s not going to tell me shit. But if I ask too many questions, he will get suspicious. I think she just needs to go on as if the last three days never happened.”
“Maybe Jensen is the one who triggered this new thing she can do. But if they’re giving her some new medicine and we don’t know about it, how can we figure – ”
“Will you both please stop talking about me as if I’m not here?”
“Are you here?” Wesley snapped.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Iggy stepped away from me and planted her hands on her hips.
“You keep checking into the funny farm. Getting this weird, space cadet expression and smile on your face. Being stupidly happy. Just a minute ago, it was like you were looking at me, but you weren’t seeing me.”
“Of course I’m seeing you. But sometimes I just see more clearly, and everything I don’t need to see becomes background noise so I can focus on what I’m doing.”
“In other words, you zone out.”
Self-deprecation washed over her. I could see it clearly on her face. I scowled at Wes and said, “Don’t start labeling before we even know what exactly is
going on. She sees things differently. Let’s start with that instead of accusing her of ‘zoning out’ or being ‘stupidly happy’.”
Wesley threw his arms up in the air. “We don’t have time to be politically correct.”
“Well how about you try being a little understanding then? I get that you function best in asshole mode, but why don’t you calm down and think about what this is like for Iggy? It has to be scary for her to lose her memory, ‘zone out’ as you call it, discover she can do something new and amazing, and then have you throw it back in her face.” I stepped closer to him. “Damn! The girl drowned this morning! Cut her some slack!”
“Exactly my point. She should be put on suicide watch now because trying to drown herself is obviously part of zoning out!”
Iggy's arms snaked out and she shoved Wesley backwards into the door so hard that he bounced off it. “I did not try to commit suicide!” Then she yanked open the door on him and stormed out.
I gave him a thumb’s up. “You handled that one really well, asshat. She loves you, trusts you with the most important discovery she’s ever made, and you call her a suicidal, stupid, space cadet. You’re a great friend.” I gave the door another hard shove into him and followed my girlfriend.
Iggy had just passed Alex’s open door as I rounded the corner at the nurses' station. Alex came out, took one look at Iggy's wet hair and clothes and said, “Did you just try drowning yourself again, Iggy? Not getting enough attention these days?”
Users Page 24