He leaned forward, his blue gaze intense. “Alright. The truth?”
I nodded, clasping my cup tightly and letting the warmth seep into my skin. He was going to pretend like he didn’t know I had feelings for him, which was fine by me.
“I was sent to help you.”
Stunned, for a moment I merely sat there with my mouth hanging open, my mind spinning. I wasn’t sure how I felt about this revelation. Who the hell had sent him? And did this mean he was only here because he had to be? “Who sent you?”
He settled back in his chair, as if he was relieved to get the truth out once and for all. “His name is Aaron. For years he’s taken Mind Readers under his wing.”
“Where did he come from?”
Lewis laughed. “Same place you and I came from, our parents. The man is a genius. He’s taught us everything he knows, he’s empowered us.”
Empowered. What I wouldn’t do to feel that way. My excitement was almost unmanageable and I scooted my chair closer to the table. “Such as?”
“How to control your thoughts so other Mind Readers can’t read them.”
That would be really, really good…especially when I was around Lewis.
“How to focus on certain people’s thoughts. How to block thoughts…anything you can imagine.”
He’d already sold me and I wanted to ask him where to sign up but I managed to keep calm. I didn’t really know who Lewis was or where he’d come from, but to me he was an angel.
“You guys doing all right?” A young waitress interrupted our session.
I jumped, startled. I’d been so mesmerized by Lewis, I hadn’t even heard her or her thoughts approach.
He’s cute, but too young, she thought, glancing at Lewis. I frowned, annoyed. How did she know Lewis and I weren’t together? Rather rude, if you asked me.
Lewis grinned, obviously hearing her words in his own mind. “We’re good, thanks.”
She moved on, leaving us alone. I had so many questions it was hard to contain myself. “Mind Readers. That’s what we’re called?”
He shrugged. “It’s what we call ourselves.”
“How many are there?”
“A few hundred, at least. Not a lot.”
But so many more than what I’d known. I sank back into my chair, shocked to my very core. “And they all live with Aaron?”
“No, of course not. Just a few.”
I stared out the window, watching raindrops chase each other down the glass. Overwhelmed, I wasn’t sure what to say, to ask. My entire world had changed in a moment. “All this time I thought Grandmother and I were alone.”
Lewis’ face grew serious. “You’re not, and there’s so much more you could do, if you were trained. So many things you’re missing out on.”
His words were tempting. He’d touched something deep within, a feeling of worthlessness that had burrowed down in my soul. I was different. I was wrong. But for once, I felt right.
“I want to show you something.” Keeping his arm on the table, Lewis opened his hand, fingers spread wide. The clear salt shaker next to me rattled. Startled, I drew in a sharp breath. The shaker slid across the tabletop, stopping directly against his palm. Lewis closed his fingers around the shaker and set it back in its rightful place.
“No freaking way,” I whispered. “How’d you do that?”
“Telekinesis. Moving things with your mind.” He grinned. “It’s amazing what the mind can do if trained properly.”
My heart leapt with excitement. “You’re saying I can do that?”
He shrugged. “We don’t know what you can do, unless you try. Unless you’re trained.”
I took my lower lip between my teeth and played with the cardboard sleeve on my cup. “But my Grandma…”
He sighed. “Your grandma is trying to control you.”
True enough. How often had I thought the same thing? How often had I been so incredibly angry with her because of her controlling and demanding nature that I’d wanted to run away? Heck, I was counting down the days until I could leave for college. Still…
You’re not alone, Cameron.
I jerked my head upright. “What?” I wasn’t sure if he’d spoken the words aloud or implanted them in my mind.
Lewis smiled but didn’t move his lips. You’re not alone.
I looked around, afraid the other two patrons in the café would notice I was talking to myself. “You can talk to me…my mind?”
“Of course I can,” he said aloud this time. “It’s simple, a mere thought directed at you. And you can do the same to me.” He leaned closer, temptation in his eyes. “Try it.”
What to say? I looked around again to make sure no one was watching. I’m sure to the other customers we probably looked like two teenagers intensely attracted to each other, the way we were leaning in close, staring so intently. If they only knew what we were really up to.
I stared into his blue eyes. All right. Here goes. What happens next, if I agree?
He took a sip of his drink. You come with me.
I didn’t respond immediately, too surprised. Leave? Leave this town? Leave Grandma? Leave the only life I’d ever known? Where to?
Aaron’s home.
Suddenly a picture flashed through my mind. A mansion really, of red brick. Rolling green hills, fall colored trees, the blue ocean sparkling in the distance. A beautiful, peaceful looking place.
“Did you do that?” I demanded, blinking the picture from my mind and focusing on him.
The waitress looked our way, hearing the sound of my shrill voice and wondering if something was wrong. I sipped my tea and focused my thoughts on him. Did you send me that picture?
Yes.
But…but how?
It’s easy, when you know the way to do it. We sense emotions, we can hear thoughts, worries, and we can see and send mental images as well.
So many things my Grandmother had never told me. I wasn’t sure if I should be angry or confused. Why was she keeping me in the dark? My God, that’s amazing.
He grinned.
“Why didn’t she tell me? Why hasn’t she let me develop these abilities?”
His smile faded. “Some people are frightened of what they can do.”
I laughed, a forced, hard sound. “My Grandma’s not afraid.”
He looked at his cup, tracing the rim with his finger. “Your Grandma’s different. She’s never fully accepted what we can do.”
I stiffened. “You say that like you know her.”
He looked up at me. “I know of her.” He sighed and leaned back in his chair. “Decades ago, Mind Readers stuck together. Almost like a family. They lived and worked as a group. Unfortunately, there was some falling out and they divided. Some went the way of your Grandmother, going into seclusion and hiding. Others went with Aaron, not hiding, but being proud of what they could do. I don’t really know the details, but I do know your Grandmother wants to keep her powers to herself.”
For some reason I felt the need to defend the old bat. “Maybe she has a reason for hiding. You saw how the school treated me, how it backfired.”
He latched onto my hand, his grip strong and sure. “No. You saved countless lives today, Cameron, don’t ever forget that.”
He was right. I was being selfish by worrying about my social standing and not proud of the fact that I had helped put a murderer behind bars. “But how can we fit in?”
He shrugged, his gaze shining with excitement. “Why should we? We don’t have to fit in. We don’t need others. Humans don’t understand us.”
I pulled my hand from his. I couldn’t think straight when he was touching me. “You say humans like we aren’t.”
He blinked a few times, as if surprised by my comment. Without responding, he glanced outside onto the wet streets, deep in thought. “Maybe we aren’t. Who knows.”
What the heck was he saying? How could we not be human? We were quiet for one long moment, my mind spinning with confusing possibilities. “What do you know?
”
He looked directly at me. We know the ability to read minds is passed down in the family, although it can skip generations.
I nodded. That certainly made sense. My Grandma.
Your dad.
I stiffened. I hadn’t realized Dad could read minds, but then I didn’t know much about Dad and Grandma didn’t speak about him. I’d always assumed it would be too painful, having lost her only child. The only thing I knew for sure was that he’d died in some freak accident.
My dad could read minds?
He nodded. Your father was great, Cam. One of the best. The things he could do… He shook his head, a smile playing on his lips. He’s the stuff of legends.
I wasn’t sure whether to feel proud or confused. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to think about a man I hardly knew. “Why didn’t Grandma tell me?”
“Your father was killed, murdered and she doesn’t want the same thing to happen to you.”
“What do you mean?” My voice was growing shrill again and I had the sudden, odd urge to cry.
“There are people out there who are afraid of our powers, people who want to use us and if they can’t, destroy us. People we call SPI, Society for Paranormal Investigation. Years ago, many Mind Readers used to work with SPI. Then they turned on us, wanted to control us. The battles have died down in the past ten years or so, mostly because we’ve gone into hiding.”
It was all too much. I’d gone from being thrilled, realizing there were more people like me, to terrified I’d be hunted down. “So then my Grandma was right to hide.”
“No,” his voice was hard, insistent. “There’s power in numbers, Cam. Besides, by not being able to use your powers to your fullest ability, you’re just a sitting duck, waiting for them to find you.”
A shiver of unease raised the fine hairs on my arms. “We’ve been okay so far.”
“Have you really?” When I didn’t respond he sighed and raked his hand through his hair, the strands shifting and shimmering under the light of the cafe. “God, Cam, they’re coming. Rumors are circulating that they’re on the move again, searching for ones with the ability.”
Fear settled in my gut. “Why?”
He shrugged. “The world is changing, with everything going on in the Middle East, my bet is the government wants to use us again.”
“Would that be so bad?”
He released a harsh laugh, shaking his head. “Yes. We can’t trust them. Not after what they did to us in the past. You think you have no freedom now, wait and see if they get ahold of you. Your life will no longer be your own. And if you even think of rebelling they’ll know and they’ll make you regret it.”
Regret it. That definitely sounded like a threat. Grandma had told me Dad was accidentally shot by the cops. That memory combined with my newfound knowledge made me suddenly sick to my stomach. “S.P.I. killed my father?”
Yes.
The word whispered softly through my mind and I wondered for a moment if I’d imagined it. But no, there was Lewis looking so serious that it must be true. My father. A man I knew nothing about…dead because of some abnormality he’d been born with. Something he’d passed to me. I wrapped my arms around my belly, my chest feeling suddenly hollow.
Lewis reached out, laying his hand on the table, an offering of comfort. I paused for only a moment, then settled my hand atop his. His grip was strong, sure. “Your father would want this, Cam. He’d want you to know how to use your abilities. He’d want you to be protected and to know how to protect yourself and your Grandmother.”
I didn’t know what to say, who to believe. Lewis, a boy I barely knew, wanted me to believe him, but I couldn’t, not until I talked things over with Grandma. “No offense, but how do you know what my father would want?”
“Aaron knew your father.”
I sucked in a sharp breath. Over the years, I’d thought many times about my dad, what he was like, what he believed in. I’d never even seen his picture. Did I look like him? I certainly didn’t look like my mom. And here was Lewis, telling me this man named Aaron knew my dad.
“Cam, you’re a sitting duck right now. Think what you could do, who you could help. There would be no one to judge you where we live. Come with me, Cam.”
Leave Grandma? The thought was shocking. “Where would we go?”
“To see Aaron. He’ll train you, he’ll protect you.”
The urge was strong. I was like a kid in front of a candy store full of temptation. It would be so easy to merely slip back into my old life. To pretend I was normal. I could laugh off Annabel’s rumor, say she was as insane as her boyfriend, somehow get back into Emily’s good graces. Yet, how happy had I truly been pretending to be someone I wasn’t?
“Think of the people you could help,” he insisted, but I was still bitter about Annabeth’s reaction.
“Maybe they don’t want my help,” I muttered, annoyed at the confusing thoughts rumbling through my mind. Too much had happened in the last few days. I needed time to think.
He was silent for one long moment. “I’m leaving tomorrow, Cam. I’m going back.”
I felt his words like a slap in the face. He was leaving? Leaving me? I’d only just found him and already he was leaving. “What? But you can’t!”
“I came here for you.” His words excited and scared me. He looked out the window and so I looked too. The rain was tapering off, the sun breaking through the dark clouds, but I felt heavy, drained. A police car parked in front of the building, reminding me of my father’s supposed death.
“What about school?” I whispered.
He smiled. “Cam, I’m eighteen. I graduated last year.”
Shocked, I could merely sit there and stare at him. He’d lied to me? To the school?
His face grew serious and he reached out, taking my hand in his. “Tomorrow, I’ll come by your house to pick you up. Eight in the morning. Come with me…please.”
“What about my schooling?” I was frantically trying to find some reason to stay, fear of the unknown sharp and bitter. Yet even as I fought for an excuse, I realized I had nothing holding me here.
“You’ll be home schooled, like I was. You’ve only got half the year left anyway.”
His gaze slid across the café, landing on the waitress who was whispering something to a man seated at a table. She looked upset, he looked angry. “Let me ask you something. Does that woman deserve to die?”
I jerked my head toward him. “What kind of question is that?”
“She has a child, a little girl who’s five. It’s only the two of them. She wants to go to college, but can’t afford it. She’s hoping if she keeps working, she can save enough. But she worries that while she’s working, she’s not spending time with her child. The worst thing she’s done is get pregnant at seventeen. She wanted to keep the baby, her parents didn’t want her to and kicked her out of the house. It’s only been those two since.”
He looked at me, his gaze piercing and direct. “So, does she deserve to die?”
“No,” I whispered, my voice harsh. “Why are you asking me that?”
“Because that man is her ex-boyfriend. He’s jealous, ridiculously jealous. He’s hit her and she broke up with him just last week because of his temper.”
The words shocked and angered me. I knew he was going somewhere with this conversation and I wasn’t sure I wanted to head that way with him. “And?” What wasn’t he telling me?
“That man has a gun. He’s going to wait until she gets off work tonight and he’s going to kill her.”
My heart froze. For one brief moment I saw Savannah’s pale, lifeless face.
“Her daughter will go to foster care, of course, because she’ll have no one to take her in.” He drank the rest of his coffee and then leaned back, letting the words sink in. “So tell me, Cameron, does she deserve to die?”
No! I yelled at him in my head, as tears stung my eyes.
“We can stop it from happening.”
“How?” Dare I trust
him? He’d told me that we could help Annabeth, and look how well that turned out. Sure, George was behind bars, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the town showed up at my house with pitch forks and torches.
Lewis stood, threw a few dollars on the table. “Eight o’clock tomorrow morning.”
He was leaving and as he made his way across the café, I let him go, too stunned to stop him. I watched him out the window as he strolled so confidently down the sidewalk. When he came face to face with the Police Officer, he paused, his lips moving. The officer glanced at the café and pulled out his walkie talkie.
Lewis looked into the window, directly at me. Go, Cam, he’s calling for backup.
He’d told on the waitresses’ ex-boyfriend. He’d saved yet another life, while I sat here like a scared little girl, doing nothing. I grabbed my backpack and calmly made my way out of the café, past the cop who was thrilled to have something interesting to do on this dreary day. They weren’t taking any chances as they’d already had one shooting at the café.
I had to find Lewis. He couldn’t leave me like this, with so many unanswered questions.
I rushed around the corner.
But Lewis was gone.
Chapter 8
I’d stayed out late, sitting in the park until eleven, knowing Grandma would be sleeping when I came home. She couldn’t read my thoughts while she slept. For hours my mind had warred with my heart. I wanted to go, I wanted to know what I could be. But I was afraid. Afraid to leave what I knew.
I finally gave up and returned to our little cottage around one in the morning. But being home, out of the cold and dreary weather, offered no comfort. I paced my room, walking over the wooden floorboards until the sky turned light and mysterious shadows morphed into furniture.
I’d done what I could with my small domain; painted the walls a Caribbean blue, dreaming of warmer climates. But the floorboards creaked and the window leaked cold air reminding me of where I truly was.