The next day found Morgan in the park, reading fortunes as usual. And though the day was just like dozens before it, Morgan was acutely aware of one difference: she was preoccupied. In between every client, she surreptitiously checked her phone to see if there was a missed call or a text from Kellen.
Morgan hadn’t told Ris about the previous night’s events. She couldn’t find a way to tell her about one part without bringing up the others. And though she’d asked if she could bring Ris to whatever party Tesin had suggested she come to, she wasn’t entirely sure how she’d explain the situation surrounding the invitation to Ris.
As late morning wore into early afternoon, Morgan’s mind began to wander to different scenarios to explain Kellen’s lack of contact. Had she entered her phone number incorrectly? Had he lost his phone? Had he forgotten? Had it all been a joke?
So wrapped up in these thoughts was Morgan that when her last client of the day sat down across from her, she didn’t immediately register who it was. It wasn’t until the client cleared his throat that Morgan actually focused on him.
“Corbin?” she asked incredulously.
Corbin smiled, flashing his straight, white teeth. “And hello to you, too.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Investment banking. What do you mean, what am I doing here?”
Morgan just stared at him for a moment, unsure how to respond. Her first reaction was to say something snarky, but, she quickly remembered, he was a paying customer, so she bit back her words. Instead, she shrugged. “Nothing… It’s just… I’ve been doing this for years and you’ve never had a reading.”
“Well,” Corbin said slowly, “you came out to support me last night, so I figured I’d come support you.”
Immediately, Morgan looked around to see where Ris was. She was relieved, but not surprised, to find Ris was sitting discreetly out of earshot, her attention on her cell phone.
Corbin glanced toward Ris, too. When he turned back to Morgan, his eyebrows were knit together. “Clare doesn’t know you came out to see me last night?”
Morgan shook her head. “She doesn’t know.”
Corbin raised an eyebrow. “Does this have anything to do with the guys you were sitting with? And what was going on between you and Lynna Rochester? I didn’t think the two of you were exactly friends.”
Morgan forced a laugh. “Wow, Corbin, did you come for a reading or did you come to gossip?”
Corbin held his hands up innocently. “Fair enough. Let’s get on with it. I’m signed up for a palm reading, I think.”
Morgan put her hands out on the table, palms up, and after a moment, Corbin placed his right hand in both of hers. As usual, Morgan leaned over the palm in her hand and began running her thumbs over the different lines. Then she let herself begin the reading.
All day, her distraction had kept her from feeling much from any of her clients, but it didn’t divert her now. She laid aside the concern about Tesin’s invitation and Kellen’s impending phone call and allowed herself to get lost in the reading. She drifted, at first, around the sorts of information that usually came to her—Corbin had an older brother to whom he never quite measured up; he chose to play guitar mainly because his brother had never touched one; there was a soft spot in his heart for Ris, who was his first kiss back in fifth grade.
But then something happened that Morgan never experienced before. It was as if any walls between them were suddenly transparent: Not only could Morgan see inside Corbin, Corbin could see inside her.
Morgan pulled her hands away. The connection snapped.
Corbin looked at Morgan, bewilderment clear in his green eyes. “Was that… normal?”
Morgan barely heard him. His voice seemed to be coming to her from a great distance. Darkness hovered in her peripheral vision, threatening to envelop her. She braced her palms against the edge of the table in an attempt to keep upright. Her breaths came in short, shallow gasps. She felt as though she’d just run a mile.
“I’ll take that as a no,” Corbin said quietly.
Morgan hazarded a glance over at Ris, but Ris seemed blissfully unaware that anything out of the ordinary just occurred. Morgan knew she needed to get herself under control before Ris noticed anything was amiss, otherwise Ris would not rest until she made Morgan explain what happened.
For a minute or so, Corbin stared at a fixed spot in space, a look of bewilderment on his face. Then he gave himself a little shake. “I should take Clare home.”
“What?” Morgan managed to ask.
Corbin met her eyes. “Do you wanna try to explain what just happened to her?”
Without waiting for a response, he stood up. He wobbled a little when he first got to his feet, but as he walked over to where Ris sat, his steps were sure and steady. “Hey, Clare,” he said as he approached. “Gypsy said it’d be okay if I walked you home today.”
Ris looked up at him, confused. “Okay,” she said slowly.
“Great.” Corbin held his hand out to Ris. With a small smile, she took it and stood.
As they walked past Morgan, Ris glanced at her. Morgan was able to pull herself together enough to smile until Ris looked away again.
Once Corbin and Ris were a fair distance away, Morgan rested her elbows on the table and buried her face in her hands, trying to figure out what just happened. She thought back to what Wen explained to her the previous night, about her being a Feeler. Was this just an extension of the things she experienced before? And why was it happening now? It was almost as if learning about her supposed ability had made it stronger.
How long she sat like that, Morgan wasn’t sure, but the next thing she was aware of was someone saying her name. When she looked up, she saw the wide green eyes of Corbin Starling studying her.
“What?” Morgan asked after a minute.
Corbin didn’t say anything. Instead, he sat down next to Morgan and continued to look at her.
Morgan stared back. Then she began to get irritated. “Stop it. You’re creeping me out.”
Corbin laughed humorlessly. “I’m creeping you out? Right.”
“Look,” Morgan said, “I don’t know what happened.”
“I read your mind, that’s what happened,” Corbin said.
Morgan nodded. “Yes, I’m aware. What I meant was I don’t know how it happened.”
Corbin didn’t say anything for a long while. He opened his mouth a couple times as if he was going to say something, but nothing came out.
“If you’re gonna say something, do it,” Morgan snapped finally.
Corbin put his hands up incredulously. “What the hell can I say to something like this? I just read your mind.”
Morgan shook her head—an unwise move, considering it brought on a wave of dizziness. “If you don’t have anything to say,” she said, bringing a hand to her face, “then leave.”
“I don’t think that’d be the best idea right now,” Corbin said. “You don’t look like you could even stand up.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re lying.”
Morgan didn’t respond, and for a few minutes Corbin didn’t speak either. But Corbin didn’t have to express himself in words for Morgan to know what he was feeling: his emotions radiated off him like heat from the sun and Morgan could feel them all: unease, panic, concern for Morgan. Embarrassment. Curiosity. Wonder.
“You doing okay?” Morgan asked, breaking the silence.
“Processing,” Corbin said. “I kinda feel like I should be waking up soon, you know?”
“Freaked out?”
Corbin shook his head, a look of nonchalance on his face. False bravado, Morgan knew, but she didn’t think it appropriate to call him on it.
“I didn’t know you and Lynna were cousins,” Corbin ventured tentatively.
Morgan made a scathing noise.
“Wow. I mean, you guys don’t exactly seem like relatives.” Corbin looked down at his hands. “I’m sorry about your mom,” he said quietly. “I mean, I remember b
ack in sixth grade when some kids were calling you a psycho and saying your dad killed your mom, but I… I mean, I knew your mom wasn’t around; I just kinda figured your parents broke up or something and kids were being, you know, stupid…”
Morgan looked at him, reminded that he was one of the few people who hadn’t made fun of her during those dark months. “She just… disappeared. Didn’t say anything, didn’t leave any kind of note. There wasn’t even any evidence to suggest she’d been taken. Just dropped me and Joss off at school and never came to pick us up.”
“I’m sorry,” Corbin said. He looked up at Morgan. To his credit, his gaze was devoid of pity. After a moment, he spoke again. “I invited Clare out to the party tonight.”
Morgan raised an eyebrow. “What party?”
“The party Kellen and Tesin and Wen invited you to last night,” Corbin said matter-of-factly. “You’re right—you shouldn’t go alone. And now I’m giving you a way to have Clare there. And me.”
“Yeah? How do you plan on that happening?”
Corbin smiled. “That’s easy. When Kellen calls you, you’ll call me with the details. I’ll call Clare and she’ll ask if she can invite you.”
“What, you think you’ve got me all figured out now or something?”
“Not even close,” Corbin admitted. “I just wanted to help.” After a minute, he added tentatively, “What did you see?”
Morgan sighed. “More than I ever wanted to.”
“Oh, come on,” he pressed.
Morgan threw her hands up. “You’re… kind of unsure of yourself. You’re not really good in school or basketball, like your older brother was… You don’t mean to flatter everyone… it’s just the way you are. You like making people feel good about themselves.”
Corbin shrugged. “Well, yeah—”
Morgan cut him off. “But you also realize that by making people feel good about themselves, you can get away with things more easily.” She closed her eyes. “And… you—thought about kissing me. The night of your party when you chased me and Ris to my car.” She looked at him. “Like, full-on. And that’s nothing compared to what went through your mind about Ris.”
Corbin shifted uncomfortably but didn’t look away. “Sorry. What can I say? I’m a guy.”
Morgan rolled her eyes. “What I don’t get,” she said, “is why you don’t do anything about it. I mean, clearly you like her. You’re not dating anyone—even though you totally could be. You know there are at least a half dozen girls into you. You’re most definitely not gay.”
He shrugged. “I dunno. It’d be kinda weird, me and Clare dating. I mean, she’s got her friends, I’ve got mine.”
Morgan groaned. “You sound just like Joss.”
“Joss. It’s weird to hear you call Lynna that.”
“Not really. Her real name is Jocelyn. She wanted an –a name after she started hanging out with Marya and Shayna. So they’d all match. She said she thought Joss sounded like a boy’s name.” Her lip curled. “Everything she does is to fit in and be popular.”
Corbin shook his head. “That’s not fair. I’m not like that.”
Morgan shrugged. “Maybe not entirely. But you’re enough like that.”
Corbin didn’t seem to have anything to say in his defense. After a few minutes of silence, he cleared his throat. “Well… we should probably get going, then.”
Morgan couldn’t disagree. She stood up. “My car’s by Ris’s house.”
“I’ll drive you,” Corbin offered immediately.
“It’s not far.”
Corbin nodded. “I know. I’ll drive you.”
Morgan was about to decline, but the idea of riding instead of walking was appealing. She felt unsteady on her feet. As she started toward the parking lot, she stumbled slightly.
Corbin was at her side immediately. He put an arm awkwardly around her waist, which he promptly removed when Morgan gave him a death glare. He then proffered his arm, which Morgan took. Though she felt silly, she honestly wasn’t sure if she could make it to the car unaided.
When they got to his car, Corbin opened the passenger door for Morgan, helped her in, and closed the door for her. All very gentlemanly things to do and Morgan knew—knew—that he would behave similarly even if she weren’t feeling weak. It just wouldn’t occur to him not to. Morgan watched Corbin as he walked around the car to the driver’s side, not sure how she felt about having this insight into his personality.
Perhaps Ris wasn’t so far off when she’d insisted he was a good guy.
The drive to Ris’s house was brief and neither of them spoke. Morgan opened the door and got out of Corbin’s car slowly. By the time she stood up, Corbin was beside her, guiding her by the arm.
“You’re treating me like an invalid,” Morgan muttered, but she didn’t shake off his hand.
“You look like hell,” Corbin said simply.
Morgan used the remote to unlock her car door and Corbin helped her into the driver’s seat. He eyed her dubiously as she put the key in the ignition.
“I can drive,” she said.
Corbin held his hands up innocently.
Without waiting for another comment from him, Morgan pulled the door closed. She started the car and drove down the street. The act took more concentration than usual. Morgan felt completely drained, not just physically but mentally. She was lucky, really, that her house was only a few miles away. She pulled up to a stop sign at the end of Ris’s street. When she got home, she decided, she would take a nap. She put her foot on the gas pedal to make a left.
A horn blared. Morgan looked toward the sound and saw a car stopped mere inches from her passenger side door. The driver of the other car was gesticulating wildly. Morgan felt her heart race. Where had that car come from? She had looked both ways before turning, hadn’t she?
Morgan completed her turn onto the street—there was nothing else she could do—and immediately pulled to the curb. The other driver pulled past, wheels squealing, horn blaring, and middle finger flying. Morgan cut the ignition and rested her head on the steering wheel. She was wrong. She couldn’t drive. She needed help.
Morgan pulled out her cell phone. But who could she call? Her first thought was Corbin, but she realized she didn’t have his number. She could call Ris—she was mere blocks from Ris’s house, after all—but Ris would be full of questions that Morgan both couldn’t and didn’t want to answer. She opened her phone’s address book and began scrolling through the entries.
There was a knock at her window, and Morgan’s first thought was that it was the driver of the other car come to curse her out, or worse. So when she looked up at the knocker, she was actually relieved to see Corbin. She pushed open the door.
“Okay to drive, huh?” he asked.
“What, are you stalking me or something?” She attempted to sound irritated.
Corbin gave her an odd look. “What—you mean…? You called me.”
Morgan looked at her cell, then back at Corbin. “No… I don’t have your number.”
Corbin shook his head. “Not like that. I… uh… I heard you in my head.”
Morgan was too shocked to fully appreciate how ridiculous Corbin’s assertion sounded. “Really?”
He laughed. “Yeah. It was, uh, pretty freaky, actually.” Then, without warning, he leaned into the car, across Morgan’s body and unlatched her seatbelt. Somehow, he managed to pull Morgan out of the car and set her on her feet. “I’m driving you home,” he said simply. “Lock your car. We can come get it later.”
Morgan opened her mouth to protest but immediately realized it would be useless. Besides, hadn’t she just been trying to figure out who could do just this for her? She locked her car and Corbin helped her to his.
Morgan didn’t give directions as Corbin drove and didn’t ask how he knew where she lived. When they got to her house, Corbin helped her to the door and then inside to her room. When Morgan lay down on her bed, Corbin picked up the cell phone she had placed on her bedsid
e table.
“I’m putting my number in,” he explained, “so when Kellen calls, you can get the party information to me… in a more conventional way.”
“Ha, ha,” Morgan muttered. She watched Corbin as he entered the information. When he set the phone back on her table, she said, “You know, you’re taking all this pretty well.”
Corbin shrugged. “I’m trying. What are my options, really? Either freak out or deal with it.” He gave a small smile. “I should probably…”
“Yeah,” Morgan agreed. “I need to sleep. Speaking of which—why aren’t you… you know? Completely wiped?”
“No clue,” Corbin said. “Because you’re the gypsy and I’m not?”
Morgan managed a small laugh. “Maybe.” She sighed.
“What?”
She shook her head slightly. “Nothing. Just… I’m thirsty…”
“I’ll get you something, if you want,” Corbin offered.
“No, it’s okay—”
But Corbin was already out the door.
Sighing, Morgan snuggled down into her bed and pulled the blanket over her for good measure. She was exhausted…