“I’m sure he won’t mind, Kevin. Just ask nicely.” It’s Mom.
“Mom!” I shout, but no one comes.
I’m breathing heavily now, drooling and shaking. The pain is so strong that, if I don’t get a hold of myself now, I’m going to pass out.
I concentrate and manage to control my breathing. I sit up and rock back and forth. The soothing movement somehow helps, and the hurt starts to subside. The shower water is gone, the birds are no longer chirping, and I don’t hear anyone’s steps.
I open my eyes and the horror is gone, just like that, as fast as it came. I struggle to my feet and open my bedroom door—there’s no one there! I walk through kitchen and into the living room. Mom and Kevin are coming downstairs. They both stop when they see me.
“What’s wrong with you?” Kevin asks.
“I just have a headache.”
“Your eyes are bloodshot and your face is red. Are you sick?” Mom asks.
“It’s just a headache, Mom,” I say as she puts her hand on my forehead, checking my temperature.
“Well, take an aspirin, then, and go get ready. I’ll get breakfast on the table.”
I slowly walk back to my room, trying to make sense of what just happened. Kevin follows me.
“Hey, I wanted to ask you if you can give me a ride to school today.”
“Sure, but don’t get used to it, dude.” I peer at him from over my shoulder. “You need your own car.”
“I won’t turn sixteen for another year.” He frowns.
“Right.” I should’ve known that.
I guess that’s what he was talking to Mom about. But if they were upstairs, how did I hear their conversation? I sit down on the couch, resting my elbows on my knees and covering my face with my hands. I close my eyes and try to listen to what’s going on in the kitchen. No one is talking, but I can hear the sizzling from the frying pan, the ticking from the timer and the opening and closing of the fridge. I take a deep breath. Oh, God—this is a new ability.
I can hear everything.
That realization brings me back to yesterday in the woods. I heard footsteps, now I’m sure of it.
Kevin talks football the whole way to school, but my mind is hazy and I can’t pay him much attention. I get to school just in time for the first bell and I see Kyle standing by his locker.
“Where were you this weekend?” he asks. “You didn’t show up for the game and didn’t even bother to call.”
“I’m going through a dilemma and I—”
“Is this dilemma called Livia?”
“No, dude, it’s serious and I need to talk to you later. I can’t be late for class.”
“Okay.” He narrows his eyes at me. “I’ll be at the library on lunch break.”
I walk down to my class and manage to get in before the second bell, and also before the teacher herself. I groan as I see Livia. She’s reading her book and doesn’t see me, or chooses to ignore me. I sit next to her. She doesn’t glance my way.
I had hung around outside her house last night after she left, hoping she would walk back outside looking for me. When she didn’t, I had to fight the urge to run after her, to hold her in my arms and tell her I believed in her and that everything I said was crazy. But I would be lying, and the last thing we need is another lie.
I have to visit Stevens before I lose the chance to find out what this is all about. After I figure everything out, I can tell Livia about him and maybe she’ll tell me what’s going on with her. If my suspicions are true and she can feel people’s emotions and regenerate herself, then her secrets are not that different from mine. I hope she doesn’t take long to acknowledge my existence again. I’d rather have her by my side with all of her secrets than not have her at all.
Ms. Johnson enters wearing sunglasses. She lays her book on the table and sits on her chair. “Read Chapter Seven,” she says, and places her feet on top of her desk. I would say her behavior is weird, but this lady is always weird. She never teaches us anything, and always tells us to just read the book. Livia is slightly shaking her head, staring at the teacher. From her growing anger, I can tell she’s not fond of Ms. Johnson, either.
When class is over, I wait for everyone to leave so I can talk to Livia, who’s writing in her notebook and ignoring me. Ms. Johnson is still here, but I’ll be late for my next class if I wait for her, too.
I get up my courage and sit on the desk in front of Livia’s, who still doesn’t look at me. “Are you giving me the silent treatment?” I ask, keeping my back to the teacher. She raises her head.
“No, I just don’t have anything to say to you.” She holds my gaze but she’s not angry, which is a relief.
“When will you?”
“Adam.” She presses her lips together and looks away. I shake my head, pushing the chair out of my way as I walk out of the room. This is ridiculous. Why does she have to make it difficult? Why can’t she just tell me the truth?
When it’s lunch break, I head to the library to look for Kyle. I spot him sitting all the way in the back, withdrawn from everyone within hearing range, which is good, considering what I’m about to tell him .
“Hey man!” He says as he sees me approaching. I sit next to him and I sigh. A lot has happened in my life in a week and I don’t know where to start. I lean back on my seat and look at him.
“Come on, dude; spit it out.”
And that’s that. I tell him everything: what I heard between my dad and Stevens, Livia’s uncle seemingly knowing Stevens, his ambushing Livia and me at the beach parking lot, and finally, my suspicion about Livia.
When I’m finished, Kyle takes a minute, rubs his face, and looks at me. “Do you think Stevens knows about what you can do?” He raises his eyebrows. “And are you sure about Livia? How can that even be possible?”
“I know, Kyle. But if I can do these things, maybe someone else can, too.”
“Yeah, but Livia? I find it hard to believe,” he says with a hint of a smile. “I think you should talk to that guy. If he knows about your abilities, he probably knows why you have them.”
“Yeah,” I agree, lacking the enthusiasm I was going for. “I’ll go look for him sometime this week.”
“I’ll come with you! Just let me know when.”
He doesn’t know how comforting it is to hear him say that. “Thanks, dude. By the way, this morning I got super-hearing, so don’t you dare go talking behind my back—I might be listening,” I joke with a smirk, getting up from the chair. Kyle gapes at me, his eyes wide open. “I’ll see you at PE.”
I walk out of the library holding my head just a little higher, heading to my next class.
The day goes by fast, and I haven’t seen Livia since first period. She’s doing a good job avoiding me. I walk into the locker room to change clothes for PE, and I see Kyle and Matt getting ready to leave. “Hey!” I sidle up to them. “Know what we’re doing today?”
“Yeah, meeting at the track, us and the girls,” Matt says.
“What? Why?”
“Their teacher called in sick, so we’re having joint class.”
When I go outside to the track with the rest of my class, the first person I see is Livia, leaning against the rails and talking to Brianna.
“Ready?” Kyle asks walking up to me and punching me in the arm. “I’m going to time you!”
“Not here, Kyle. People will notice.”
“Come on, just keep your pace under control, but don’t let anyone beat you.”
“Fine,” I say, turning around and walking to the starting line.
“Girls to the left, boys to the right,” Mr. Garth, the PE teacher, says. “Teams of four, the first team to complete the run wins the first round of today’s drills!”
I’m in the last team to go and I’m the last one to run. I look to my left and I see Livia and Brianna on the next lines.
“Oh, we got this!” Matt shouts. “Give up now, Bri. There’s no way you’re beating me!”
“We’ll see about that,” she says.
I watch Livia as she is looking down, rubbing her hands together. There’s something bothering her, and I wonder if it’s my presence or if it’s something else. Brianna comes closer to her and I try to listen to what they’re saying.
“…We are not breaking up, Bri. We’re just having some trust issues.”
“You don’t trust him or he doesn’t trust you?”
“Both, I’m afraid.”
My attention snaps back to Mr. Garth, who says we’re next. It looks like I’ll be pairing up with Livia, who stands in last on her team. I see Kyle standing on the sidelines holding a timer in his hand. Matt takes off first, beating the girls’ team with ease, but Brianna is quickly catching up on her leg of the race. Waiting for my turn, I glance once at Livia and I see her hiding a smile.
And then we’re up. I start running, picking up my pace as I see Livia keeping up with me. I run faster but she’s there, right there keeping stride. That’s a sign I’m not running fast enough. I push myself onward, running faster and faster as I see her passing me.
When I get to the finishing line, Livia is already there.
I look at her and she’s staring at me, confusion plain as day on her face. We eye each other for a moment too long, but when I start walking towards her, she takes off, heading to the locker room.
“Hey, Adam?” Mr. Garth calls out.
“Yes, sir?” My focus is still on Livia’s retreating form.
“That was impressive! You and that new girl can run. Have you timed yourself?”
I finally glance to the coach. “Uh, no, I haven’t.”
“Well, next time, I’ll time you. I think you two probably beat the school records. You should think of signing up for track,” he praises and walks away, redirecting his attention to another student.
I’m sure I didn’t run that fast, or Livia wouldn’t have beaten me. If I did, then my suspicions just might be correct.
Kyle comes jogging up next to me. “Dude, what was that? Livia beat you!” he says, and I see a perplexed look on his face.
I wave it off. “Yeah. Whatever.”
“Adam, that was the fastest I’ve seen you running in public. You ran 100 meters in 9.0 seconds, and she beat you!”
I look at Kyle, who’s still staring at me. “Do you still find it hard to believe?” I raise my eyebrows at him. “She and I might have a lot more in common than we know.” And this is just another reason why I need to find Stevens.
I turn to walk back to the locker room and I see Ms. Johnson sitting on the bleachers, looking my way. I frown and Kyle follows my eyes.
“Dude, she’s watching you.” He looks at me and laughs. “That’s a cougar you should go for.”
“Shut up, Kyle. One evil look from her and you’ll run away like a scared puppy. I would stay away from that one.”
I’ve been studying in the library since I finished PE class. I’ve read most of my history book—I guess it’s one fewer class I need to worry about. Reading keeps my mind busy, and I don’t think about Adam so often.
I’m not sure what surprised me more out there: that he kept up with my pace on the track, or that he felt the need to try so hard to beat me.
When the library closes, I walk down to my car and hear loud music and voices coming from the end of the parking lot by the football field. I see Matt, Kyle, and Adam sitting in the bed of Kyle’s truck. Next to them are Brianna, Amber, and Lindsay, who is way too close to Adam. Adam laughs and Lindsay flirts with him. I swallow hard and turn to march to my car. I get in and sigh loudly, resting my head on the steering wheel.
I need to think of something to tell Adam. He’s expecting me to open up, and I’m seriously considering it. I just don’t see any other option. If I don’t, then he’ll move on. From what I just saw, it seems like he already has.
I turn my car on and a knock on my passenger window startles me. I turn to look, and it’s Adam, gesturing me to unlock the door. I do and he gets in. He looks at me and I hold his gaze. There’s a flicker of sadness behind it.
“What are you still doing here?” he asks.
“I was at the library, catching up with the classes I missed last Friday.”
“You did a good job avoiding me today.”
“And you did a good job keeping up with me today.”
“You still beat me,” he says, frowning at me. “How did you do that?”
I shrug. “What can I say? I’m good runner.”
“And that’s all that there is to it?”
“What else could it be?”
He nods and doesn’t say anything. I can’t read his expression. Adam’s proximity makes it hard for me to maintain composure and not fidget.
“Livia,” he sighs, “You know you can trust me. I don’t want any secrets between us. They’ll eventually ruin our relationship.”
“I’m not the only one keeping secrets here, Adam.”
“I’ll tell mine if you tell me yours,” he says, reaching for my hands and holding them tight between his palms.
I shake my head. “They involve other people, Adam. I don’t know what the consequences would be if I told you.”
He lets go of my hands. “What I have to tell you also involves people that I love, but I trust you to keep it between us.” He looks at me, waiting for my answer, but I break eye contact. I don’t want to lie, but I’m not ready.
“I see,” he says, reaching for the door. “You don’t trust me?”
My head snaps up. “How can you think that?”
“How? Your actions say it all.” His jaw is tight. “Fine. You know, do whatever you want. Obviously this distance between you and me only bothers one of us. But just so you know, I won’t wait forever.” He gets out and shuts the door behind him.
I drive home and run straight to my bedroom, where I cry until I’m out of tears. When I hear my bedroom door opening, I close my eyes and pretend to be asleep. It’s probably my mom checking if I made it home—I didn’t come downstairs to eat dinner and she’s likely worried. But I don’t feel like facing anyone. I just want to lie here until this nightmare is over.
The rest of the week flies by. I continue to avoid Adam, and he doesn’t come looking for me. He sends me texts messages every night before he goes to sleep—he says, “Good night,” and I say the same. My Uncle Henry is also keeping his distance—he doesn’t answer my calls, and when he does call back, it is always during class, when I can’t answer.
I spend most of my lunch break alone in the library, and by Friday, I think I’m done with all of the course materials for the entire year.