The Nexis Secret: YA Fantasy Romance (The Nexis Angel Series Book 1)

by Barbara Hartzler

  Bryan nodded.

  She turned to me, wisps of black hair sticking out of her cap. “You think you can walk there, miss, or should I call for another car?”

  “I can make it.” I glanced around the empty quad. How did I not know where campus security was? When I shifted to my right, pain sliced across my shoulder and seared through my brain. “Unless it’s really far away.”

  “Young man, get her to the road. I’ll call for backup. It should only take a few minutes. I better get back and help Dan.” She jogged away, barking orders into her walkie-talkie.

  Bryan turned to me, arms sliding around my waist, lines creasing his face. “I’m sorry I didn’t answer sooner. I feel so terrible.”

  The images of him and Colleen zoomed into focus, but I let them fade away. It didn’t matter now. None of it mattered. He’d come to my rescue. Even my angel trusted him.

  I met his eyes, pressing my finger into his soft lips. “I’m just glad you came when you did. I don’t know what would’ve happened if you hadn’t shown up. My angel fought off so many shadows, but still Jake wanted to take me somewhere. I don’t even want to think ...”

  My own pulse pounded in my ears, but even the throbbing in my shoulder couldn’t drown out the scary what-ifs. God knows what could’ve happened, what Jake the evil ex would’ve done to me. That’s why my angel came. My lips curled at that thought—my angel.

  “Shush, honey.” He cupped his hand around my waist, steadying me. “Let’s not think about it, okay? Everything’s all right now. Everything’s fine.”

  “Okay.” I rested against his chest, slowing my breath to match his.

  Heels clicked behind me. “Lucy, what happened?” Shanda gasped, her jaw dropping to the pavement as she checked out my right cheek.

  I lifted my chin to show her my good side. “I’m fine now. Can you guys help me to the road? I think he dislocated my right shoulder.”

  Another set of red and blue lights streaked across the dark sky.

  “He did what?” Shanda screeched. “Here, let me help you.”

  She put my left arm around her neck while Bryan braced his forearm against my back. But every movement, each little jostle, inflamed the fire in my shoulder. I couldn’t help but wince with every step.

  He paused. “Let’s take it slow.”

  “This isn’t working.” Shanda’s words jumbled together. She ran out of breath and bent over. “You should just carry her.”

  I turned to Bryan, lifting my good arm to his neck. With one fluid motion, he scooped me up without a word. I muffled a moan into his jacket, but his strong arms told me one sure thing. It was over now. I was finally safe.

  He marched with slow and gentle strides to the security car as Shanda’s stilettos clacked on the pavement behind us.

  Students decked out in full Montrose colors milled around the car, as if they’d just come from the game. Lights flashed, illuminating their faces with blue and red. Maybe they assumed I started the fight or something. Let them think what they wanted. It was better than the truth.

  For a second I glimpsed a set of familiar gray eyes, a dimpled frown. Wasn’t he the one who was supposed to call campus security? But then I saw his swollen eye. “What happened?” I called to him over the sirens, but no one heard me.

  The female officer opened the back door for me and Bryan, pointing at Shanda. “You get in front.”

  Bryan lowered me into the backseat.

  The officer shut her door and put the car in gear. “We’ll stop at the nurse’s office first, then take you back to the station.”

  “Wait, officer.” My voice sounded shakier than I thought it would. “There was someone else with me, and I think he’s hurt, too.”

  She turned to look at me and I pointed out the window at Will. He mouthed something that looked like, I’m sorry, I tried.

  “I see.” She spoke some kind of code into her walkie and started driving again. “Another officer will come pick him up and get his statement. He might have to come to the infirmary, too. But he doesn’t look as bad as you.”

  “Thanks,” I muttered under my breath. She either didn’t hear me or ignored me as she rolled the car through the crowd a slow as a parade.

  “Will was there?” Bryan stared me down, but I just shot him a look. “No, first things first. I’m so sorry about Colleen. Shanda chewed me out good for that one. She can write some mean texts.” He inched his hand along the backseat until he found mine. “Monica told me she had something on you, something she was going to post on Instagram. But it was all a lie. Instead, Colleen showed up drunk.”

  “She what? I’m going to kill that girl,” Shanda hissed. “Both of them.”

  My head throbbed with beats of pain, and I rubbed my good hand into the back of my neck. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

  “I’m sorry. I never should’ve gone.” Those blue eyes lost their light, filling up with such sadness. How could I still be mad?

  “You could’ve told me first, but I’m glad Shanda was right about you.” I tried to force a smile, but he still stared me down. “What? Will was in the library when I couldn’t get ahold of you guys. He called campus security, then when they didn’t come he said he was going to take care of it. I guess Jake got to him first.”

  “Likely story,” Bryan muttered. Shanda snorted in the front seat.

  “I don’t know what happened to Will, honestly. He didn’t come back.” I leaned my aching head against the seat. “So I tried to sneak out on my own, and it backfired. Big time.”

  And then it came to me in a whisper, delicate as butterfly wings. Maybe that’s why this happened, because I tried to do it on my own. I should’ve asked for help sooner. Because that’s when my angel came. Would he come again when I called?

  “Hey, honey, don’t worry. You’re safe now, and that’s all that matters.” He squeezed my hand, a pained look on his face like he’d been beaten up right along with me.

  The car stopped in front of a tiny gray shack behind the gym. The lady guard opened the door and Bryan carried me to the front.

  A nurse in scrubs rushed out with a wheelchair and he cradled me into it. I squeezed his hand, smiling my thanks.

  His lips twitched, his face disappearing as the nurse wheeled me away.

  When I closed my eyes, all I saw was that face, full of heartache. And I finally knew how I really felt about him.

  The next time I opened my eyes, I was in a white room, another flashback to nine months ago. Would I ever stop repeating history?

  A kind woman smiled down at me. “Let’s see if we can get that shoulder back in place.”

  I nodded, grinding my teeth together as she stuck a needle full of something in my shoulder. She waited for my arm to relax and yanked it with one swift motion. Pain sliced through me like a scalpel at first, then disappeared in an instant. I laid back against the crumpled paper of the doctor’s bed. Finally, I could breathe easy.

  * * *

  With one great exhale, I fogged up the glass of my favorite perch. Flakes of pure white snow floated from the gray sky, trickling down the windowpane.

  So beautiful, so vulnerable, here one minute then melted away in an instant.

  That could’ve been me, but it wasn’t. Thanks to Bryan, and the angel who came when I asked. Especially thanks to whoever sent him. Would my golden-eyed angel always come when I asked, or just when I needed him?

  A speck of red bobbed in the field of white, that silly hat his sister made. Bryan looked so small from up here.

  I pressed my fingers against the cool glass. If only I could just tell him, if only those three little words would actually change anything. Yet I knew they wouldn’t.

  “You ready, Rapunzel?” Shanda wheeled a giant suitcase toward the door.

  “Wasn’t Rapunzel blonde?” I curled my lips, answering her question with another question. It didn’t bother me like it used to. Hoisting my duffel bag over my good shoulder, I dragged my suitcase behind me.

 
My parents agreed I couldn’t come back to Indiana for Christmas. Jake was out on bail. He even got special permission to leave the state because he was a minor. So much for the justice system. Still, they hadn’t been happy about me staying with Shanda, especially Mom. But I couldn’t face my mother and pretend everything was okay. Not with a crazy man running loose in my hometown. It was too much to ask, even for me.

  “You’re the new Rapunzel.” She cackled as we lugged our bags down the hall and stuffed ourselves into the elevator. When the doors, closed she turned to me. “Besides, all the blondes at this school are crazy. It’s time for a new reign.”

  “Hear, hear.” I raised my right fist to the ceiling, happy to have full movement again, only a slight twitch of pain. “To the reign of Shanda and Lucy.”

  “I second that.” She clapped as the bell dinged. We both cracked up all the way to the lobby.

  Bryan rested against the Fiat, that red ski hat covering most of his dark hair. When he looked at me with those aqua eyes, I wanted to melt away with the snowflakes. Instead, I just let him load my luggage into the tiny car.

  “I guess I’ll see you girls in January.” He closed the trunk, shaking Shanda’s hand. “Take good care of her.”

  “Don’t worry, I will.” She punched his shoulder, ducking around to the driver’s door. “I’ll give you two a minute.”

  As the engine roared to life, I huddled next to Bryan. “I’ll miss you.”

  Biggest understatement of the year. A trio of words waltzed into my head, but I held them in check. I couldn’t take it if he didn’t say them back.

  His arms wrapped around me, holding me close. “I wish I could take you home with me. Promise you’ll be careful.”

  “I will.” Squeezing his hand, I forced myself to get in the car.

  As we drove off, I stared at the mirror until I couldn’t see that red ski hat any more. When I closed my eyes, even Shanda’s swerving and sudden braking couldn’t distract me. All I could think about was that stupid red hat and all the things I should’ve said.

  Chapter 31

  We drove through the white city frosted with gray-edged streets. Shanda slushed to the curb in front of her condo. Snowflakes landed on the windshield, slowly melting as they slid down. In the distance, a speck of red dotted the white landscape of Central Park. It couldn’t be.

  “How on earth did he beat us here?” I turned to Shanda.

  She had a huge grin all over her face. “What? I took the long way. So sue me.” She nodded out the window. “Go on. I’ll be inside.”

  As I opened the door, she nudged me into the cold wind, toward Bryan. I crunched through the snow until I reached him. His face lit up like a Christmas tree as I approached.

  “What are you doing here?”

  He pulled a bouquet of fresh-cut red roses from behind his back, holding them out. “These are for you.”

  I lifted the soft petals to my lips, inhaling the sweet scent. “They’re beautiful, but I still don’t understand.”

  His gloved hand took mine, drawing me close. “I couldn’t let you leave without telling you the truth … about how I really feel. It wouldn’t be fair.”

  The air froze in my lungs, I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. I just stared into those eyes, biting my tongue. He pressed his forehead into mine, his breath warming the air between us.

  “Lucy, I love you.”

  My heart soared as if it suddenly grew wings. I couldn’t believe it, he said those words I’d longed to hear so badly. I threw my arms around his neck.

  “I love you, too.” Finally, I had told him the truth. It felt good, like a heaviness sloughing off my back.

  “You do?” He inched back, then wrapped his arms around my waist. “I thought I was all alone here.”

  “How could you possibly think that?” Butterflies did a little jig in my stomach as he lifted me off my feet with the lightest touch, spinning me around like a china doll.

  He lifted his head toward the sky. “She loves me!”

  Chaos, confusion, and all sorts of emotions fluttered around me with the snowflakes. He loved me, so why couldn’t I be happier about it? He stopped and set me down on the snow-packed sidewalk.

  Something inside me snapped, and I knew I wanted more. “What does this mean? We can be together, now—bring down Nexis together. Right? I can’t do it without you.”

  His gloves brushed my face, smoothing my hair back. “I know, honey. Someday you’ll have to do it on your own.”

  I jutted out my chin at him. Sometimes I wished I could smack some sense into this boy. “You always tell me to believe in myself. Well, I believe in you. I just wish you would, too.”

  A muscle in his jaw twitched even as those icebergs sizzled. “It’s not me you have to worry about. You can’t rely on me like a crutch.”

  Cold air slapped my face as I jerked back, yanking my hand away from his. “You don’t really think that’s what I’m doing. How can you say that to me?”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” His eyes softened, but stayed on me. “I just don’t think you see how much I distract you.”

  I arched forward, inches from his face. “And you just don’t see how much you help me.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying.” His exasperated half-smile wasn’t going to calm me down, not in the least.

  “No, it’s not.” I shook my head so hard my nose grazed his. “I’m talking about something completely different. Without you, I wouldn’t know how to trust people again. There’s no way I can be the Seer all on my own. After all, it’s about teamwork, right? Why don’t you get that?”

  He planted his hands on my shoulders. “But you can do it on your own, you’ll see. My parents want to train you.”

  His lips were bright red from the cold. Maybe he was right about distractions, but not in the way he imagined. Not to me.

  I couldn’t think about that now. I had to get to the bottom of this. “What are you talking about?”

  Those lips curved into his adorable little-boy smile. “I want you to come back to Pennsylvania with me to start your training.” He searched my face.

  “You mean like Seer training?” That had a really cool ring to it.

  The idea rolled around in my brain, the workings of a brilliant scheme forming in the corners of my mind.

  I could meet his parents, his sister, get closer to him. Maybe they could even help me control the visions, or at the very least help me figure out what to do when they came. I could learn how to protect myself. Only one question remained.

  “What about us?”

  He enveloped me in his arms. “I don’t know. I’ll talk to my parents, see if we can work something out as long as you don’t become a Guardian. But there’s no guarantee the council will go for it.”

  “Fine.” I stamped my boot in the snow. “We’ll figure it out at the end of break. Before we go back to Montrose.”

  “Tell me something, do you wish I hadn’t told you I loved you?” His Adam’s apple bobbed against my forehead. He was silent for a long time. Then he cleared his throat. “If we can’t be together.”

  “No way.” I arched on my tiptoes to get a good eyeful of him. A spark of hope danced in those baby blues. For the first time since Jake returned, I finally felt safe and loved. “I’ve been thinking about it for too long now. I’m glad it’s out there. It’s the truth after all.”

  “And the truth shall set you free.” His face lit up, making the whole world brighter.

  “I’m tired of hiding, so let’s be honest. Right now.”

  “I can handle that.” His mouth smashed into mine. Then he murmured against my lips. “This is a much better way to study your visions.”

  “Quiet, you.” I kissed him back. Those candy-cane lips made me feel alive, like I was exactly where I needed to be. When he pulled back, I stared up at him. “I can’t wait to meet your parents.”

  Puffs of laughter blew into my face. “Not exactly what I wanted to hear ri
ght now. Does that mean you’ll come with me?”

  I met his eyes and nodded. “Absolutely.”

  His hands clamped on my waist, and he hoisted me into the air again. We spun around and around, snowflakes dancing along with us. “She wants to meet my parents. You hear that, New York?”

  “Yeah, yeah, get over it,” a cabbie yelled out the window as he passed.

  Bryan lowered me back to the snow. “I don’t think so, buddy. Not ever going to get over this one,” he yelled at the yellow car as it zoomed past.

  My plan was already working out beautifully. Pennsylvania would be even better.

  * * *

  An hour later, the cold wind bit at my cheeks as a bus sped past. Shanda didn’t notice, her arms squeezing around me. “I can’t believe you won’t be here for Christmas. What am I going to do without you?”

  I patted her dark braids and squeezed back. “Plot some grand scheme to get back at the blondes.”

  Her shoulders bobbed as her breath puffed in my face. “Ha, intriguing idea, diabolical even. I must be rubbing off on you. What would your parents say?”

  She pulled back, a huge grin plastered on her face. We looked at each other and busted out laughing.

  Curtis loomed large over her shoulder. “Don’t worry about your parents. I called them and took care of everything.”

  His hand clamped down on Shanda’s shoulder and she hugged him, such a Kodak moment. They looked like the perfect family.

  “Really? Thanks, Mr. Jones, I’m surprised they caved so easily. Who did you talk to?” I watched Bryan stuff my luggage into his tiny trunk, hoping Shanda’s dad wouldn’t read too much into my question.

  “Your dad.” His low voice rumbled over the traffic noises. “He sounded okay with the change of plans, but you’re supposed to call him as soon as you get to Pennsylvania.”

  “Of course.” I exhaled, my breath steaming out in a cloud in front of me.

  “Go on. Get out of here.” Shanda tapped my shoulder, pushing me to the car. “I’ve got tons of scheming to do. Don’t worry, I’ll think of something. Believe me, it’ll be good.”

  “Better be.” I pulled her in for another hug. Behind me, the trunk banged and we both flinched.