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I felt miserable. More than miserable. I felt like someone had drained me of all energy. I’d always been able to at least dim the thoughts coming from people by focusing on other things, but not today, not now. Every feeling, every thought burst into my brain like an explosion, leaving me weak, trembling. I knew why, too much had happened. My defenses were down. I needed to go home, be alone with my thoughts and no one else’s. I needed sleep. Unfortunately, first I needed to get through French class.
Hefting my books in my hands, I left Biology and started down the crowded hall. Emily stood at her locker, which was near mine. I couldn’t ask her if she’d happened to hear anything about me, oh, say, reading minds. I knew she was done with me even before she glanced over her shoulder, as if sensing my presence. She smirked and turned away. It was a direct cut and a lot of people saw it happen. I kept my face passive, not daring to show how crappy I felt, but my hands were visibly shaking.
“You think it’s true?” someone whispered as I moved by.
“Oh please, no way,” someone else responded.
God, what if she can read my mind?
I stumbled and glanced back. Tara leaned against the wall, watching me. She jerked her head down, focusing on the floor. Does she know what I’m thinking?
I froze there, in the middle of the hall, the scent of lemon cleaning product sharp and strong, making me want to gag. They all knew. The roar of conversation became a muffled murmur. No. This was not happening. Frantic, I looked up and down the hall. More than one student was looking at me, whispering, some giggling as they moved by, careful not to get too close.
Can she read minds? Emily thinks she can.
Oh shit, what if she knows I cheated on that math test?
Will she tell Emily that I really hate her?
I wanted to throw my books to the floor and scream for them all to shut up. I didn’t care about their stupid, insignificant problems.
Instead, I lowered my head and made my way toward class. This was horrible. Worse than horrible. Why had I trusted Anne?
“Excuse me,” someone snapped.
I looked up. Anne stood in my way. She’d changed, no longer meek and shy, I could see that in the hardness of her gaze. Life had turned her. No one seemed to notice her wrinkled outfit anymore. Her hair had been combed back, and her face was its natural color. Throwing me under the bus had given her strength.
At least now they’re talking about her and not me.
My heart stopped, for a brief moment as realization struck hard. She’d done this on purpose…spread the rumor that I could read minds. She’d wanted to hurt me because she still thought I’d been responsible for turning George in.
“You did this,” I seethed.
“Did what?” She lifted a brow, daring me to respond.
I bit my tongue, refusing to give in. She had friends behind her. Friends who had previously been my friends as well. Friends who looked uneasy, unsure. They were wondering if they could trust me. Wondering if Anne was lying. Wondering if I could really read minds.
“You’re in my way.” She glared at me.
This morning Anne had been a pariah, but there were those few who felt bad for her and those few were supporting her now. This afternoon, I was the one with leprosy, but the difference was that I had no one to back me up. Alone. Everything I’d worked so hard for was gone. I realized, in that moment, I had no idea what to do.
“Anne!” Sarah came to a skidding halt beside us. “It was just on the news…they’ve found evidence, it’s not looking good.”
Anne’s large brown eyes filled with tears. My heart actually clenched for her. She dropped her books with a loud thud and raced down the hall, disappearing around a corner. Her friends didn’t follow. Some friends.
“Are you serious?” Toni asked.
“Yep.” Sarah was more excited about being the first to know, than being worried about Anne’s welfare. They darted a glance at me, but realizing they didn’t know what to say, they wandered reluctantly away.
I sniffled, my nose burning from unshed tears. How I wished I could go home and cry. If I went home and gave into my tears, Grandma would immediately wonder what had happened. Not that she wouldn’t read my mind tonight and know anyway. She would realize I’d told Anne about my ability and then there’d be hell to pay. Would she make us pack up and leave? Had I ruined everything once again, just as I had in Michigan?
The bell rang, indicating the start of last class period. The hall emptied but I still stood there. Confused. Lost. Alone. So much for wisdom with age.
The thud of footsteps sent my heart racing. Lewis? I spun around, but it wasn’t Lewis. No. It was Trevor. Slowly, he looked me up and down, a smirk playing on his lips. No thoughts of me and my mind reading abilities flashed through his brain. Thank God. Same old Trevor, wondering if now that he and Emily had broken up, he could get some from me. He thought I’d be happy to take Emily’s place because he was, well, Trevor. School star athletic. Of course I wanted him. Not.
“Hey, Cameron.” He paused in front of me, too close. I really didn’t have the time to deal with him right now.
“Hey,” I muttered, brushing past him and heading toward French class.
“What’s the hurry?” He latched onto my arm, pulling me to a stop.
“I’ve got class,” I said, trying to shrug off his touch. “Don’t you?”
She’d be easy, he thought. Screw her and move on. She won’t say anything, she’ll be too worried about Emily finding out.
I sighed and tried to jerk my arm away. “Listen, I gotta go or I’ll be late.”
“So,” he shrugged, grinning that grin that made many a girl’s hearts flutter. Fortunately, I was totally immune. He pulled me back. Off balance, I stumbled and fell against the wall.
“Aren’t you ever bad?” He took the opportunity to step closer, his body pinning mine to the wall.
I was so stunned, I let him. The idiot didn’t think he was doing anything wrong. He actually believed that I would be so grateful to have his attention, I wouldn’t mind the fact that his hands were currently traveling down my waist and creeping dangerously close to my ass.
“You know I’ve always liked you.”
“Bull,” I snapped, using my French book as a barrier between us. I wish I could have explained his actions away because his parents didn’t love him, or deep down he felt insecure. But nope, he was just an ass. “You’ve never liked me; you’re just horny and have some delusional belief that I’m so desperate I’ll let you use me.”
I saw the surprise flash in his eyes, heard the mental curse come from his thoughts, but he recovered quickly. He was good, and if I couldn’t read minds, I might have actually fallen for his crap.
“Cam, it’s always been you I was interested in. I only dated Emily to be close to you.”
“Wow,” Lewis’ voice suddenly reached out, a beacon of hope. “That is the worst pick up line I’ve ever heard.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall not ten feet from us.
Trevor looked unimpressed. “We’re having a private conversation here, Newbie. Might want to make yourself scarce.”
Lewis glanced at me, a quick glance, but I didn’t miss the look. Something was there in his eyes. Something I’d never seen before. A hardness, a darkness that surprised me. He was angry at me, or maybe Trevor.
“Really? Because Cameron doesn’t look like she’s enjoying the subject of conversation.”
“I think I know Cameron better than you.” Trevor turned back to me. “As I was saying…”
Lewis gripped the man’s shoulder and spun him away from me so fast I barely had time to register the movement. Before I could even blink, Trevor—big, tall, strong Trevor—was pinned against the wall.
“You touch her again, you’ll regret it,” Lewis said softy, yet the quietness of his voice only somehow added to the threat.
“Bac
k off, man,” Trevor said.
Was it my imagination or had his voice quivered? How the hell was Lewis, preppy Lewis, holding Trevor immobile? But then I noticed it, the hardness of Lewis’ body, the muscles that bulged under his shirt, the way he held Trevor’s arm pinned behind the idiot’s back.
In that moment I realized two things: Lewis was much stronger than I’d first thought and Lewis knew some sort of martial arts. I was no Kung Fu expert, but I knew a trained person when I saw one.
“I’ll back off when you swear never to touch her again.” Lewis’ voice was calm, as if he was in complete control. And he was. I wasn’t sure whether I should find his protective nature sweet or ridiculous. Shocked, I just stood there like I was watching a movie.
“Fine,” Trevor snapped, grimacing as he struggled in Lewis’ hold.
Finally Lewis released the man and stepped back.
“Freak,” Trevor whispered as he rushed down the hall, horrified and embarrassed. Silence lengthened between us, an odd, uneasy silence. The only sound was the soft murmur of teacher’s voices behind closed doors. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“Maybe I wanted to.”
“Oh.” For one long moment we just stared at each other. My body felt odd, hot and trembling. My heart raced and in my mind was this desperate need to be closer to him. The one person who understood me. “Thanks.”
He nodded, a short, curt nod.
“Annabeth told everyone,” I blurted out, because he needed to know and because I wanted him to stay with me just a little longer.
“I know,” he said, his blue eyes softening. “Emily’s helping spread the rumor.
“To get back at me,” I whispered. It was bad enough having Anne as an enemy, but Emily would be a million times worse. “Why is she doing this to me?”
“Self-preservation.” Lewis leaned next to me, so close I could feel his warm breath. “Humans will always try to protect themselves; always throw another under the bus if it will save them. She’s hurting, to her you’re the cause of that hurt. Plus, if people are whispering about you then they aren’t about her.”
I clutched my French book tightly to my chest. “I don’t believe that. People can’t be that horrible.”
“You’ve read their minds.” He shrugged. “You know how dark their thoughts can be.”
He was right; I’d heard things that would make people question the whole of society. Was it true, would people always think about themselves over others? Mom didn’t care about me, she’d dumped me first chance she got. What kind of parent would do that? Grandma wasn’t any better, keeping me under her constant control. Maybe Lewis was right.
“I am.” He grinned.
I sniffed, finding no amusement in the fact that he could read my mind. It wasn’t fair. In the span of a week my life had completely changed, and why? Because I’d tried to help someone. Grandma was right about one thing, it was best to keep your powers hidden. And Lewis was right…you couldn’t trust anyone. I wasn’t even sure I could trust him.
“Lewis, why can’t I read your thoughts?”
“Cam,” Lewis sighed and leaned closer to me. “It doesn’t have to be like this. There’s a way to be able to use your powers and at the same time feel safe and protected. There’s a way to be around others like us.”
Startled, I looked up at him. “How?”
“The café,” he said, taking a few steps backward. “Where you go after school—”
“How’d you know about that place?”
He grinned. “I know a lot about you. You think my being here is just a coincidence?”
I started toward him, my heart racing. “You knew about me even before you arrived?”
He shrugged. The hall was empty so we didn’t have to worry about being overheard. “Meet me after school at the café. We’ll discuss things.” He turned and started toward the exit, apparently skipping his last class.
“Lewis!”
“We’ll talk later,” he called over his shoulder.
And with that he was gone, leaving me in the hall frustrated and alone. But I knew one thing… for the first time in days I had something to keep me going. I had hope.