Authors: Mara Valderran
Ariana pushed her arm back through his.
"And since you absolutely adore me and are one of my bestest friends in the whole wide world, you'll do this for me. I promise you'll have a great time."
"There's my Dad," Emma said as she waved to the man in a green SUV. She gave Ariana and Tate both kisses on th
e cheek. "See you guys tomorrow. So excited!"
"Glad someone's looking forward to this," Tate muttered as he rubbed his offended cheek.
"Don't be such a party pooper, Tate," Ariana scolded as she waved at someone a few yards away. "Emma really likes you."
"I've told you a dozen times, we're just friends. I'm not interested in her."
Ariana gave him a devilish smirk and stood on her tiptoes to get a better look at the crowd behind him. "Well, lucky for you I added another member to our party for that reason. I think you'll like her. She’s new here and I don’t know what it is, but I’ve just got this connection with her. We clicked instantly and I think you will too."
Ariana’s
glee faltered at Tate’s reaction. His back straightened, almost as though he sensed Sheri approaching. He turned around almost in slow motion, his every movement weighted before he faced the pretty blonde girl with clear suspicion in his dark eyes.
"Who are you?" he blurted out.
Sheridan’s returning laugh held an edge of nervousness. "Is he always this friendly?" she asked as Ariana hit him in the arm in reproach.
"No," Ariana said apologetically, wrapping her arm around the girl. "Sheri, this is my friend Tate I told you about. Tate, this is my new friend Sheri. She just started
here."
He
shook her hand, though his demeanor was still less than friendly. "So, Ariana's offering to show you around here, huh?"
"She's been so amazing," Sheridan gushed. "I have no idea what I would have done if I hadn't met her today. Actually, I can imagine what would have happened if I hadn't met her, and it isn't pretty," she said with a ponderous look that left her wincing. "It involves lots of
awkward standing around."
"Hey," he said spreading out his hands, "we're teenagers. Awkward is what we do. That's how Ariana and I met, too. I transferred here two years ago, and she took me under her wing."
Ariana beamed. "It's what I do. I see the little lost children, and I take them under my wing, nurturing them back to social health," she joked with dramatic flourish. "Oh, there's Allen. Be right back."
She turned the corner, ready to go flirt up a storm with Allen, but something told her to stop. She eased back against the brick wall, her head turned just enough to still watch the pair from the corner of her eye. She
stifled a squeal of joy as she watched them talk with more ease than she expected given their rough introduction. Unable to resist, she inched closer to see if she could hear what they were saying.
"My parents separated,” Sheridan was explaining. “My Dad left us, so my Mom had to go back to work, and she didn't have the time to teach me anymore."
"I'm sorry. Hey, I'm sorry if I'm coming across as an ass. I'm just really protective of Ariana. She's a good person, but she isn't the best judge of character."
"That doesn't make you an ass. You’re a good friend. She's lucky to have someone like you around."
"So Ariana tells me you're going to the dance with us."
Ariana resisted the urge to squeal with delight at the subject change. Maybe now Tate would stop complaining about the dance so much.
Sheridan nodded enthusiastically. "She's so sweet to let me tag along with you guys. She said some of Allen’s friends think I'm pretty. Not that I'm like looking to go all boy crazy since I'm in public school or anything," she added as she waved her hands awkwardly and then continued to ramble. “No. No way. I mean, I’m not a nun either. I’m not gonna go all turbo-slut, but I’m not against dating. You know? No…I’m not making any sense, am I?” She shook her head in dismay. “I’m not nervous being around boys at all. Not me. Normal as ever. What I meant was…it’s nice that they think I’m pretty, that’s all. I’m not saying they’re right or anything—”
"No," he interrupted with a chuckle, "they're right to think that. You are very pretty." He reached over and pulled on one of her blonde curls. "You're also very different from everyone else here. But I think you already knew that."
She pouted. "I'm weird, aren't I? It's the whole homeschool thing."
"You aren’t weird, but you are different. Who are you really?"
Ariana recoiled with disbelief almost in time with Sheridan. What the hell kind of question was that? And how is that Tate was managing to sound flirty and accusatory at the same time?
"What do you mean?" She
turned to the parking lot and gave a perky wave to someone behind him. "There's my Dad."
He turned around to focus on the man standing next to a blue pickup truck waving back to Sheridan. "I thought you said your parents split."
"They did, but that doesn't mean I never spend time with my Dad," she said with a hint of
duh
in her voice as she gave him an odd look. "I get you're protective of your friends and all, but I think you've watched one too many spy movies," she teased. "Who knows? Maybe one day you can be all overprotective of me too. I should get going. Later!"
Ariana watched her new friend rush off to her father, wrapping her arms around his neck in a hug the man clearly had not been expecting. She turned, ready to pounce on Tate for being so rude, when she overheard the phone conversation he was having.
“We might have a problem. There’s a new girl at school and she’s taken up with Ariana really quick.” Tate paused, his posture shifting to show his impatience at the response he was given. “Because this one is crackling with power…I can’t be certain. She could be an anomaly, but I think we should call off this whole dance thing just in case.”
“Frigging traitor,” Ariana muttered to herself. She was so shocked Tate would be conspiring to sabotage her social life this way. And just because he hadn’t taken to Sheridan the way she’d hoped. Ariana was fuming, but rooted into place as she struggled to understand this betrayal. Her confusion only deepened as the conversation continued.
“I’m sure they wouldn’t. But do you really want to risk the lives of all these other kids? Look, Ariana can throw whatever temper tantrum she wants. At least she’ll be safe…We need to tell them soon, Varrick.”
Ariana’s eyes widened as Tate walked off in the direction of his car. He was talking to Varrick. And they were both keeping some kind of secret from her, and from someone else.
“Oh, I’m gonna throw a temper tantrum, alright,” she said to herself as she glared at his retreating form. “And then you are gonna explain to me what the hell is going on.”
Rhaya was aware of multiple sets of eyes watching her as she made her way
across campus. Their stares didn’t bother her or leave her the least bit insecure. She wasn’t an odd-looking girl, by any means. She looked like the average nineteen-year-old aside from a pair of striking pair of pacific-blue eyes she worried were too big for her petite face. They contrasted against raven black hair that fell to her shoulders with bangs skimming her brow line and lengthening to the shape of her face. She adopted the style years ago to separate herself from the Snow White stereotype her appearance nudged toward.
No, their glances didn’t faze her because she was used to them. After all, someone roller
skating to class wasn’t exactly an everyday occurrence. At least, not on this route. Her usual coffee spot had been closed for renovations, so she had been forced to find a different one on her first morning break, turning many heads along the way. She rolled to a stop and parked herself on a brick ledge near her destination to peel off her skates and trade them for the sandals in her tote. Today she had opted for a pair of teal sling backs to match the teal and black-striped dress she wore.
She
looked up when a shadow stopped in front of her, holding her hand to her forehead to block out the noonday sun. "Hi."
"Hey," a
young dark-skinned man returned with a stunning smile. "So you're the chick who roller skates, huh?"
"That would appear to be me," she answered with a small smile of her own.
"I heard about you," he implied in a tone suggesting his skepticism
She squinted against the glare behind him, trying to
get a better view of his face. He looked young. Almost too young to be hanging around a college campus in the middle of the day.
"You've heard about me?" she asked with surprise.
"Yeah," he adjusted the book bag on his back. "Some guys in my dorm talked about this hot girl who roller skates her way around campus, but I thought they were yanking my chain. Freshman prank, or something."
"Well, I’m not sure about the hot part," she noted as she tried to assess whether or not he was hitting on her and finding something odd about the way he approached her, "but I do roller skate to and from classes and to my job at my Dad's bookstore. So they’re at least partially right. You're a freshman?"
Maybe it was his baby face, but he looked too young to be in college.
"Guilty as charged," he answered
and squinted at her. "You said you work at your Dad's bookstore? Isn't your name Rhaya?"
One of her thin dark brows disappeared under her bangs. "Sounds like you know a bit more about me than my mode of transportation to classes."
"It
is
you," he said excitedly and sat down next to her. "Don't you remember me?" She looked perplexed, so he explained. "I'm Tate. I used to work in your Dad's bookstore when I was in high school. He’s the best boss I've ever had."
"Right...I remember you," she said with a vague recollection of him as she buckled her sandal.
She seemed to recall he had quit without giving her father any real notice, though Raemann didn't seem upset in the slightest when Tate left. Rhaya had been more than a little disgruntled since she had been forced to pick up his shifts until her father hired a replacement. She had been working there ever since, with the sneaking suspicion her father didn’t need the help so much as wanted to keep an eye on her.
"Why did you quit again?"
"I decided to do some traveling before coming here. I guess I needed a change of scenery."
She gave a soft laugh laced with jealousy. "Must be nice. I'd love to get out of here, but I've never actually done it. I guess I'm a townie for life
. My Dad might be a fun boss, but he's a pretty strict father."
The young man struggled to keep his jaw from hanging loose. "Are you serious? You've never gone out of town?"
"Nope," she answered, giving the 'p' a little pop. She spared a glance to her cell phone. "Maybe I'll see you around sometime, Tate. I've got to run to class now."
"Not rolling?" he joked, flashing his hundred-watt smile again. "I’m sure we’ll cross paths again soon, Rhaya. And I think the guys in my dorm were right when they talked about you." He paused at her questioning look. "I always thought you were pretty hot."
"Thank you. Right back at ya," she said with an exaggerated wink. She started toward the science building, slowing when she realized Tate still following her. "Now don't take this as some cheesy way of flirting when I ask this, but are you heading my way?"
"Physics? With Mishra?" he asked in return to her nod. He
lifted the skates she had thrown over her shoulder by their joined laces and slinging them over his own. "Then allow me to escort you, Lady Rhaya."
Something about the way he offered his elbow and his slight bow struck her as odd,
but hooked her hand onto the crook of his arm. The way he had said her name left her inhaling deeply in thought. From anyone else she might take this as a joke, but he had said the words with a respect that bordered on reverence. There was something off about this whole situation, something almost forced, but she couldn't place her finger on what. True, she had never seen him in class before, but with a hundred and fifty other unfamiliar faces in the auditorium she wasn’t surprised. No, something in the way he spoke unsettled her. He gave the impression of a rookie actor; as if he had rehearsed and worried he might get a line wrong.
"Rhaya?"
She shook herself visibly, "Sorry. What did you ask?"
"I asked you why you chose roller skates," he repeated. "Other kids use skate boards, and I've even heard of people using roller blades to get to class, but never old school skates like yours. What's the deal?"
"Oh, I'm good at roller skating, I guess. My father owned a skating rink when I was in middle school before he bought the bookstore, so I spent a lot of time at the rink. It just comes natural to me," she shrugged, "and I love to skate. Rolling around the city makes me feel like a kid again."
"Fair enough," he responded as they took their seats at the front of the classroom.
Rhaya pulled out her notebook and readied herself to take notes, laughing along with others at the jokes her professor made and his references to baby armadillos. She found herself lost in thought as she watched her new friend. He took notes, too, and laughed softly at the mention of elephants and armadillos, but something struck her as off. Somehow, in her usual eerie way, she knew he didn’t go to school here. He was more on edge now than he had been when they had been talking, his insecurities shining bright like neon signs flashing in his mocha colored eyes. Anxiety radiated off him, and she kept catching him glancing around to the other students out the corner of his eye, almost as though he worried he wasn't holding his pen right.
"So what's your deal?" she asked him after
class.
"My deal….
?" he trailed off.
"Yup, your deal." She took him by the arm and led him to a corner near the elevator of the science building. "This might sound weird, but I can tell something is going on. What’s the real reason you stopped and talked to me?"
Tate waggled his finger at her, though his whole body seemed to melt with the release of a burden being lifted. "Your father warned me about approaching you. He told me your gift was stronger than usual, but I had to test you myself."
"My gift?" she repeated, confused.
He narrowed his eyes. "You perceive things, things you shouldn't. You can tell when people are keeping things from you. You sense connections other people don't or ones they're trying to hide. Ever wonder how?"
"My Dad calls me a human lie detector," she offered when she found her voice aga
in, and he laughed. "How do you know what I can do?"
He licked his full lips as his gaze flicked up to the ceiling. "My job is to know these things." He lowered his chin to focus on her confused face. "But not to explain them to you."
"It's my father's job, right?" she guessed. By the look he wore, she was right. "He's keeping something from me, too."
He sighed. "Yes, he is. Give it time." He started to leave, but she stopped him in his tracks with her next question.
"He's not my father, is he?" She waited for him to turn around to face her. She had realized this a long time ago, but never dared to ask her father the question for fear of hurting him. She didn't doubt he loved her more than anything else in the world, but his love held sad weight that had always made her think their relationship hadn’t been a genetic one. "Raemann. He's not my birth father."
Tate
let out a breath and placed the skates he had been carrying for her back across her shoulder. "I think you already know the answer. Like I said, give it time. Do you trust him?"
She thought this over for a minute. Raemann wasn't her true father, but she loved him as if he were. He had always taken care of her. He had loved her unconditionally, protected her endlessly, and instilled in her a sense of curiosity and wonder in the world around her.
"I do."
"Then trust that when the time is right, he'll explain everything to you. A lot is at stake here, Rhaya, and we all need to play our cards carefully or the whole thing will fall to the grou
nd." He paused to give her time to let his words sink in. "I'll see you around, Rhaya. Make sure no one else finds out about your gift. Trust me when I say that now is not the time to stand out."
"I'll be careful," she assured him.
Raemann had given her this same speech time and time again, using the excuse that he feared people would want to use her as a science experiment if they found out about her semi-psychic abilities. The corners of her lips turned down as Tate walked away. When she had figured out Raemann wasn't her father, she had always just assumed she had been adopted. Tate's ominous warning made her think there was a lot more going on than what she’d originally thought.
The entire weekend went by with hardly a word exchanged between her and Raemann. Her father’s constant apprehension told Rhaya he had been made aware of her encounter with Tate, but she still couldn't understand why he continued to avoid the subject. If he sensed she was onto his cloak and dagger routine, why not sit down and talk to her? Honesty had always been such a big part of their relationship. True, she knew he’d been keeping something from her, but she always assumed the lies had to do with her true parentage. To think his secret was something even bigger shook the foundation of her relationship with her father, leaving her unsteady on her feet and uncertain of the world around her.
Whatever the answer to this new enigma happened to be, she was no closer to finding out than to solving the puzzle of Tate.
In the following days, she had craned her neck around the large auditorium of her physics class in the hopes of finding him again, but with no luck. She knew better than to hope he would show up and clarify the mysterious information he’d only partially revealed to her. Even still, she continued to rack her brain with the possibilities.
The many different ideas as to what
the answer could be held her attention as she sat in her current class, staring out the window restlessly as if her inscrutable new friend might pass by at any minute. She hadn’t heard a word the professor said throughout the entire lecture, so lost was she in her own thoughts. She stirred out from these musings as she met the stare of someone else on the sidewalk nearby and she straightened, a chill shooting down her spine.
The man was tall and well built. He looked to be in his late thirties with cropped dark hair and eyes to match. He dressed normally enough, but something about him caused the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. His face twisted into a scowl of hatred and promise, and she found herself tilting her head in curiosity
, watching him watch her. He made the motion of tipping his hat to her, a sickening smile on his face, and walked away right as her class dismissed. She strained to keep watching him even after he disappeared from her view.
"Friend of yours?" her classmate Alexis asked her.
Rhaya struggled to collect herself. "No. I don’t think so."
Alexis nodded, brushing her wavy hair behind a shoulder. "So do you think you might want to work on that project together?"
"What project?" Rhaya asked as they exited the classroom and the building.
Her friend laughed and
switched out her black rimmed glasses for sunglasses. "Weren't you paying attention at all? She told us about the project due before Halloween. I thought we should get started on it now."
Rhaya struggled to
concentrate as Alexis explained the project to her. They made their way across the street to the library, but her mind still drifted to the strange man and the way he had looked at her. He clearly hated her even though she had never seen him before in her life. So why? She pulled the light purple jacket closed as goose bumps ran across her pale skin, as if he might still be watching her. She risked a glance behind her, scanning the crowds around them, but didn't see any sign of the man. She did, however, spot a familiar dark-skinned man standing behind a girl sitting on the brick wall by the bookstore.