Seclusion (20 page)

The conversation at the
table was light and happy. Caleb’s family discussed work and school. I felt as
if I almost fit in, but I had to remember that I was here to glean information,
not enjoy myself. The conversation had temporarily distracted me from my pain
for a moment, but every time I felt it surge back up, I pushed it down deeper
under more locks.

When Mr. Travers walked
into the room, he looked quite stressed and aggravated.
I desperately need
to shake his hand! If only I could do it without making things awkward
.
When he walked in, everyone stood. Mr. Travers walked straight to me, smiling.
I stuck my hand out, and he grabbed it, placing both of his around mine.

“I’m very pleased you were
able to make it here,” he said. “It’s a pleasure to meet someone Caleb speaks
so highly of.”

Caleb looked a little
sheepish, and I blushed. He reached for my hand and stroked my fingers as we
all sat down. This was just not right on so many different levels.

The information I had
gathered from the hand shake was so shocking, I had to force myself to get a
grip. He was innocent! He was working with the FBI to help take down a
diamond/drug smuggler!
What side are we on then?
I was so confused.

I excused myself so I could
find Damen. I walked toward the bathroom as quickly as I could, and thankfully
it was down the hall and around a long corridor. I yelled for Damen and pounded
on his door several times, but nothing happened. I knocked louder. All of a
sudden, I heard a knock at the bathroom door. I opened it, and Damen came in. I
closed the door and locked it again. I couldn’t help but wish we were meeting
here for a different reason.

“What’s wrong? You really
didn’t need to pound on my head like that. I could easily hear you,” he said.

“They are innocent.”

“What? That can’t be. Why
would Dr. Zeke send us here? He wanted that shipping schedule, remember?”

“You don’t think Dr. Z
wants the diamonds for himself?” I asked nervously.

“I don’t know. But you have
to go back out there and continue to be yourself. We’ll discuss this with the
others and decide what to do,” Damen said as he squeezed my hand in
reassurance.

I knew he was upset, not
just about this situation, but about us. He dropped my hand immediately like he
was shocked we were touching and lightly pushed me toward the door.

I was so confused. The
brunch was perfect, and Caleb was very happy. He was dragging me all around the
house and showing me family portraits and memorabilia. I felt even worse than I
already had knowing I was lying to an innocent family.

It seemed to take forever
to get back to the lake house. Damen and I struggled to figure out how we were
going to meet without Caleb and his friends noticing.

“Damen, why don’t you meet
with the others and tell them what we know. I’ll keep Caleb busy,”
I said.

“I’m sure you don’t mind
that,”
Damen mumbled.

“I don’t mind. He’s a good
guy,”
I
replied, frustrated.

“Fine. Whatever, Raegan. I
think we are about over.”

“Wait, Damen, I’m
confused.”

“This isn’t working. I
can’t do this.”

“What does that mean?”

The whole lake house group
was watching Chase and Connor play a game on the Xbox, and Damen and I were
struggling to keep the conversation in our head without looking at each other.
To make matters worse, I was sitting on Caleb’s lap and his arms were around
me.

“It means I’m done being
your secret boyfriend…again.”

“You know it’s not like
that,”
I
complained.

“Well, your real boyfriend
seems to be fine with the situation.”

Caleb was nuzzling my neck
and smiling contentedly.

“What do you want me to do,
Damen?”

“I don’t know, but I’m
through with this,”
he said.

I couldn’t handle the
emotions building inside me. I turned around and whispered to Caleb, “I’m going
to go take a bath. I’ll be back in an hour or so. I’ll find you.”

I rushed out of the room,
and Chase gave me a concerned look. He was about to come after me, but Damen
grabbed his arm and, shaking his head no, pushed Chase back to his place.

I turned the shower on as
hot as possible and threw my walls up as high and as strong as I could make
them. Not that Damen’s abilities weren’t stronger than mine, but I had to try.
My heart felt like it was being ripped from my chest. I didn’t know what to do.
The explosion of feelings in my gut would no longer stay hidden. I cried till
there were no tears left. My throat was aching and raw. I just wanted to go
home.
I have never missed my aunt so much in my life,
I thought. Why did
my relationship with Damen have to be so confusing? I knew he was just jealous,
which meant he still cared, right? But he was so cruel about it. Maybe we just
needed time. But my pride would not let me grovel for his love. I felt selfish.
We all had a big problem, and here I was feeling sorry for myself.

I was wrapped in my robe
with my towel doing the turban thing around my hair, and I sat down on my bed
feeling comatose. There was a knock at the door.

“Who is it?” I asked.

“It’s me,” Elsie said.

I opened the door and she
hugged me. Apparently I had a reserve of tears waiting just for her.

“Raegan, he’s just hurt. He
struggles watching another guy all over you when he has to hide his feelings.
Give him time. He knows it’s not your fault,” she said.

“How much time?”

“I don’t know, Raegan. But
we need to figure out this Travers thing first.”

The guilt re-emerged and I
had to shake myself into reality as I realized the importance of our new
information.

“Did Damen tell you?” I
asked.

“Yes, he did. Caleb was
doing something on his computer while you were up here, and Damen was able to
give us the story.”

I couldn’t help but switch
the subject again. “He won’t even talk to me,” I cried.

“He will. He will.”

“How can you be so sure?” I
asked.

“I can tell he already
loves you. His actions show he loves you. He might say he is done with you
guys, but the truth is he would do anything for you. Take note of his actions
and you’ll see. Would he have followed you to the Travers’ if not?”

Her theory about him
choosing to love me was a comfort to me.

“I better get dressed. We
leave tonight, right?”

“Yep, leaving early since
you’ve accomplished our mission,” Elsie said.

“What did you guys decide
to do about Caleb’s dad?”

“We decided to tell Taylor everything, but Damen is going to keep tabs on what she’s thinking, and if we are
saying too much, he’s going to take over the conversation. Before we leave,
Connor is going to play around with the computers and see if he can get any
more information.”

“Okay,” I said.

“Now go get hotter. Remind
him what he’s missing out on. Friend, you are wonderful, and don’t forget we
all love you.” Elsie smiled.

One final tear slipped down
my cheek. I sniffled and looked at Elsie, who had glassy eyes.

Back in my room, I searched
through the closet, but nothing stood out. There was a knock at the door.

“Yes, who is it?”

“Hi, miss, it’s Alfie. Mr.
Caleb had me bring this up for you.”

I unlocked the door, and he
handed me a grey and gold Nordstrom box. There was a note on the box.

Zoey,

I’ve had so much fun with
you. I hope we can do it again soon. I know you can’t miss too much more class.
This is just a little good-bye present to go with your earrings. I’ll miss you.

Caleb

I opened the box, and there
was a grey, printed chiffon dress – sleeveless and short! I laughed to myself.
I
guess I don’t have a clothing dilemma anymore
. I put the dress on, and it
fit perfectly. I wanted to dress it down, so I wore my blingy sandals. I worked
longer than usual on my hair, curling a billion ringlets into it and pinning
some of it up. It looked natural and sorta sexy. I was pleased with the half
up, half down do, and I made my eyes pearly and smoky to match my skin and the
dress. I grabbed my neutral gloss, which made my lips look pearly and wet.

I hurried down the stairs
and literally bumped into Damen. Both of us had our walls so far up that we
didn’t even feel each other coming. He stopped and looked down at me. Then he
picked me up and set me on two stairs higher so we were at eye level. I saw his
eyes almost glaze over in a daze as he stared at me, and the butterflies
resumed their fluttering. Damen brushed his hand up and down my cheek and
rubbed a curl through his fingers as if he were in a trance.

“You look beautiful…Caleb
will appreciate the effort,” he said before storming up the stairs.

I tried to hold my head up
high and continue down the stairs, even though my stomach and heart were being
trampled. I willed the tears welling up in my eyes to stay put as I walked down
to meet the others.

Chase immediately jumped up
and asked if I wanted anything or needed a drink.

“Sure,” I smiled.

“Rr…Zoey, you look great!”
Chase stuttered as he grabbed the soda.

Caleb came from across the
room and twirled me in circles. “Gorgeous, just gorgeous! I knew it! Do you
like it?”

“Yes, I love it! But tell
me someone helped you choose it because I’m starting to wonder which team
you’re playing for.”

Caleb laughed. “I do have a
personal shopper,” he whispered in my ear.

“Explains a lot,” I said as
I smiled.

Caleb looked at the others.
“You guys don’t mind if I steal Zoey for the rest of the day? You guys are
welcome to anything, you know that. I have to admit, I’m jealous you all get to
leave with this princess.”

My heart shuddered inside
at the princess comment because my heart only belonged to one person, and it
wasn’t Caleb. I was also pretty sure Damen didn’t consider me a princess at the
moment. My stomach dropped with that thought.

We spent the day shopping
nearby and dining at Caleb’s favorite places. He took me on a tour of the
little town. I had so much fun, and I was able to hide my pain away for a few
hours while with him. Caleb spoiled me by buying anything he thought I liked. I
had bags of stuff when we returned.

When we got out of the
limo, Caleb was getting my bags, and Damen was sitting out front.

“Where were you?”
he demanded in my head.

“What do you mean? The
others knew I left. I’m fine,”
I said.

“You’re fine? What if Dr. Z
is right and these people are criminals? All that stuff he’s bought you could
be from illegal gains. What if something happened to you? What if he did
something to you?”
he growled.

His actions reminded me of
E.’s earlier comments; he wanted to protect me, and my heart yearned to let
him.

“Like what, Damen? What
if…he kissed me? You have no say anymore. You said you were through with me.”

My throat was burning and
the emotions were beginning to spill over. But I held my head up and stormed
past him into the house.

I watched Damen help Caleb
put all my new items into the school’s jet. Chase came up alongside me and
wrapped his arm around my shoulder as we watched them put my things into the
jet through the window.

“You really care about him,
don’t you?” he asked.

“What? Caleb? Sure, he’s a
nice guy,” I stuttered.

“No, Damen. I see the way
you look at him. If he breaks your heart, I will make sure he is unable to
break anyone else’s ever again,” he threatened.

I looked at Chase, shocked,
and then noticed the boys were walking up. Chase clasped my arms and turned me
to him. “I will always be here for you, okay?” He gave me a quick kiss on the
forehead and left to board the jet.

“It’s time,” Damen said as
he grabbed his iPod and sweatshirt and headed to the jet.

Inside the lake house,
Caleb pulled me onto his lap. “I know we haven’t known each other long, and I
don’t expect you to be exclusive with me, but know that I’m around. You can
call me whenever. I really like you, Zoey.”

I had tears in my eyes for
so many reasons. Caleb thought they were good-bye tears and kissed them off my
cheeks as he wrapped his arms around me.

“Don’t break too many
hearts,” he whispered into my ear as he traced kisses down my face. I returned
his final kiss and said good-bye.

Our return was uneventful.
I did fall asleep against Chase, but Damen never showed up in my dream. I
waited on an empty beach, willing myself not to cry and watching the waves
crash over and over again. The ache in my chest radiated through me and my
despair was crushing me.

My friends and I discussed
our plan about Taylor. Connor said he wasn’t able to find more information from
the computers. The others were still unsure if the Traverses were really
innocent, but I knew that if they weren’t, they were unaware of their actions
or had been tricked somehow, and in my opinion that meant they were innocent.
The team seemed to trust Taylor, but I was hesitant to tell her everything;
after all, Dr. Z was her boss.

Our group was supposed to
meet in Taylor’s office a few hours after we landed. I felt completely drained
and numb to my surroundings. I wasn’t planning on talking much during our
meeting.

I went to my room in a daze
and started unpacking all my new clothes that Taylor had purchased and my new
items from Caleb. I grabbed some black skinny jeans, my black heeled boots, and
a teal, off-the-shoulder sweater. I kept my new necklace on. I wasn’t in the
mood to talk to anyone, so I just holed up in my room waiting.

I was lying on my bed
listening to my iPod when I heard Damen pounding on my wall. It felt like it
was about to break.

“WHAT?”
I said.

He pushed through my mental
barrier.
“You have stuff here. What do you want me to do with it?”

“Oh. Is it time to pick up
the break up box?”
I asked sarcastically.

“Raegan, let’s just get
this over with.”

I was walking out the front
door when Elsie caught my attention. “Rae, before you leave, you have a letter
here. Looks like it’s been overnighted.”

“I do? Thanks.”

I knew Damen was waiting
for me, so I hurried up the stairs, even though I really wanted to read the
letter I had received. When I got to Damen’s room, the door was open. He was on
his bed reading. There wasn’t a box, so I had to walk around his suite and
gather my things

“What are you so anxious
about?” he yelled. “I can feel your anxiety from here.”

“Not that it’s any of your
business, but I got another letter from my granny,” I sighed.

“You
did
?” Damen got
up, walked over to the front door, and shut it. “We might not be together,
Raegan, but I told you I’d help you with this. I can feel it’s torturing you.
Sit down and read it. I’ll grab your things.”

“Thanks,” I choked.

Raegan,

I’m not sure if I can answer
all your questions, but I will do my best. I hired a private detective when
your mother first disappeared, but there was a dead end in New Mexico. The
detective says he believes she was kidnapped or killed there. He also had
reason to believe that she was going to do research somewhere. The most recent
credit card action had to do with research materials. As you know, Jane was a
science teacher. She was always searching to find out why she had these
abilities and why others did, too.

Before she went missing,
she told me she was making progress in that area and that she had recently met
other scientists who were making new discoveries in her field. That’s where I
thought she was going when she left, to meet with these other researchers.
That’s as much as I know.

However, she did discover
that the majority of people with abilities that she had done research on all
had family in another research facility. The research facility was making
discoveries in gene mutation using stem cell research. I believe I must have
been one of the participants in the study, and so were many of the other family
members of people with powers. I did not receive any powers, and I wasn’t
supposed to. Your mother was the one to discover that this was a side effect
from the study. She was in communication with other participants of the study. Unfortunately,
the only thing I know is that the study was done on an island in Canada. According to your mother, we might have all been involved in this study; however,
none of us remember anything about an island. Since your mother told me this,
my memories of that time in my life have been extremely fuzzy. It’s like a
dream. I’m really not sure what happened. I know this is a lot of information.

I will send you the
research your mother had in her safe that I’ve been keeping for you. However, I
warn you to be careful how you proceed with this information. I think your
mother might have been killed due to her research. I advise you to not do
further research, but accept what you find and that’s all. Good luck, my
sweetheart, and be careful.

Love, Granny E.

I read the letter twice.
Damen was sitting near me, waiting. I handed him the letter and just stared
into space. This was crazy! My mother had been killed. Tears ran down my face.
I had always thought there was a good chance that she had been, but after that
letter, I had to accept it. Why would they kill her? What did she know? I was
wishing I had a knack for science. I knew I might get that file and be
clueless.

*
* *

DAMEN

This letter changes
everything, and confirms my suspicions. It might be time for me to leave the
school and start searching for my parents again. Did the same person who
murdered my parents also murder Rae’s mother? How much do I tell Raegan? If I
tell her the truth, she’ll wait for me, or worse, want to come. I might not
even return! Plus, there’s Jay’s prediction. I would leave now if it weren’t
for our link. I’m hesitant to put her through that kind of pain, but I don’t
know what other choice I have. When Jay called at the lake house, it scared the
crap out of me. I trust him, and his new warning, which I neglected to tell
Rae, is pressing down on me hard. Jay said he foresees horrendous pain and
danger for Raegan, and it’s connected to me. I would never intentionally hurt
her! But Jay said it was beyond my control…it was going to happen. His call was
like a slap in the face. The only thing I could think to do was break up with
her, but this has been killing me. I made the choice to tell her as little as
possible, but this letter changes things…

*
* *

I glanced over at Damen,
and he looked as shocked as I felt. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He
walked over to the couch, sat down next to me, and grabbed my hand.

“If I tell you something,
it will be in strict confidence.”

“Yes, of course!” I
responded, taking comfort once again in the feeling of his hand in mine.

“Growing up, I always had a
recurring nightmare about an island. I was little, like five or six, and I
remember my parents trying to leave the island, but we never could get off,”
Damen said. “At age six, I was found floating in a boat in Canada. My only relative was my grandfather who lived in Washington. The nightmare was the only
memory I had, and that was fuzzy at best. My grandfather spent the rest of his
life searching for my parents. He was convinced they were trapped on the
island. But I could remember nothing, and my abilities made me seem crazy. The
beach you and I go to…that used to be the island. I just chose to make it a
tropical island. But when I fall asleep, I always go there first… like your
cave.”

We stared quietly into
space.

“Maybe we need to
experience that dream together, Damen. Maybe we’ll find some clues.”

Damen quietly shook his
head in agreement. “Your dream, too,” he said.

I shivered, and he squeezed
me.

“I think we should tell the
others.”

“Let’s wait until we see
the file,” I said.

Damen just looked at me and
nodded.

“When do you want to do the
dreams?” I asked.

“Tonight is fine. You can
use the extra room.”

I squeezed his hand
tighter, and he let go.

“We need to get to Taylor’s office,” he said.

*
* *

A few moments later, we
were all seated around Taylor’s desk.

“Hi guys,” she said. “You
all look well, and you’re back early, so that’s good news.”

Elsie began the story, telling
Taylor about Caleb’s infatuation with me and that we all believed he was
innocent. Damen encouraged Elsie to continue with a nod.

“There is a delivery being
made by Caleb tomorrow,” Elsie said. “While Raegan was meeting his parents, she
discovered that they are working with the FBI and they are completely innocent
in everything.”

“REALLY?” Taylor was
shocked.

“Yes.”

“Well, that is interesting.
I’ll report it to Dr. Zeke immediately. He’ll need to let the local police know
that the FBI is involved and that it looks like they have things under control.
Well, great job, team,” Taylor said.

“After summer fling,” she
continued, “I have another assignment for you guys. I know you are all missing
your summer classes, but I think you should get as much practice for finals in
before the school year starts.”

We all nodded and walked
out. I followed the others through the corridors to the elevator.

“I think that went well. But
the situation they put us in was a little on the questionable side. I hope our next
assignment is only a simulation,” Connor said.

We all nodded in agreement.

“I really didn’t appreciate
that we had to drink alcohol as part of our act! I don’t have a problem with
drinking, but underage drinking is another thing. I feel like the school is
getting a little sheisty,” Elsie said.

“I know,” Damen said, “and Taylor was completely clueless about everything! She was definitely shocked about the FBI
involvement. I think she’s going to give Dr. Z an earful.”

As we headed toward the
elevator, Elsie asked, “Hey, Raegan, was that letter from your grandmother?”

“It was, but before we
discuss it together, I’m waiting for some more information. But thanks for
asking.”

“Of course! Let us know if
we can help in any way!” Elsie said.

“Hey Connor, is there any
way you can check the school records through the computers and see if my mom’s
name comes up at all?” I asked.

“Of course I can. I’ll
check tonight and let you know. What’s your mother’s full name?” he asked.

“Janell Ann Miller,” I
said.

“That’s a good idea, and
maybe check your grandmother’s name, too, Raegan,” Damen said.

“My granny’s name is Edna
Marie Miller. Thanks, Damen.”

“Does Damen know something
we don’t? What does your granny have to do with this?” Chase asked.

“He was there when I got
the letter. Trust me, I’ll explain everything as soon as I figure it out, which
hopefully will be any day now,” I said.

“I’ll definitely check on
those for you, Raegan,” Connor said as he and Chase stepped off the elevator at
the cafeteria floor.

“The new letter has some
heavy stuff in it, doesn’t it? I can feel both your moods are even lower than
usual, and lately they have been pretty bad. I’m struggling to keep you two
functioning,” Elsie said.

We all looked at each
other, and I shrugged. “Yes, the letter was hard to read, and we are sorry. We
haven’t been good friends,” I said. Damen nodded.

We arrived at our floor,
and he looked at me hesitantly.

“I’ll be down in a couple
of hours,” I said.

“Bring food,” Damen said
with raised eyebrows as he walked out.

I looked at E. “Maybe you
should come tonight. I don’t know if we should be in the same room together
with our moods. That’s the friendliest he’s been,” I said.

“Maybe you should butter
him up with sexiness and food since he does have a food addiction. Those
muscles must inhale meat,” she said with a cheesy grin.

“Man, I think I need some
Elsie time!” I laughed.

“Mani-pedi before Damen?”
she suggested.

“Make-over and E. Sure
thing.”

A few minutes later, I was
digging through my closet and my new clothes. Elsie was watching and digging
with me.

“What should I do about
food?” I asked her.

“Mmm... Italian always
seems romantic to me.”

“How will I get Italian
food? I don’t even know if I want to be back with him. I mean, I’m obviously in
lust with him and I adore him, but he doesn’t get me.” I wasn’t ready to admit
out loud that I did love him.

“You can always figure that
out later. It’s the catching him again that we are working on. Plus, I just
want you two to enjoy yourselves. Be friends and have fun,” she said.

“You don’t even know why
I’m going over there! I didn’t tell you,” I said.