Seclusion (23 page)

I can hear Chase’s mind
wondering what he should do, and I hear his confusion. According to Chase,
Raegan is all over some Trojan warrior. I know she’s not a slut, yet according
to Chase, she’s having a good time with that guy. I can see Chase attempting to
dance with her, and she denied him.

Even though I don’t want to
go, here I am stalking up the stairs. The thought of her arms all over someone
else is enough to make me start moving.

Now Chase is freaking out.
His original impulse was to break Rae and the warrior apart, yet it seems
obvious that it’s Raegan’s choice to be all over the warrior. I wonder if she’s
just trying to make me jealous… If that’s the case, it’s working. I know she
thinks I can’t reach her through the link, but she doesn’t expect me to spy on
her through other people.

*
* *

DAMEN

As I headed to the
stairwell, I was feeling somewhat betrayed, even though I had no right to those
feelings. Then I heard a voice around Raegan – some random girl’s voice.

“OMG. Is that Raegan with Carson? Wasn’t she just dating Chase? That girl gets around! Wow, I think she just gave him
a hickey.”

CARSON
! That asshole!
I felt rage take over.
That bastard had really done it. I’d heard him contemplating it before, but not
since my last threat. I thought he’d given up.

I was only halfway up to
the main floor when Chase started arguing with Raegan about leaving with Carson.
Good job, Chase. Just keep them at the dance,
I thought. I tuned into Carson’s head and could see that he was now using compulsion on Chase, too.
SH*T!

Carson and Raegan were
leaving. Carson was taking her to his suite; unfortunately, I couldn’t tell
what suite that was until he got there. I was so pissed. I couldn’t stop my
fist as it connected with the stairway wall. My fist was bleeding, but it felt
good. As soon as I saw the suite number, I took off as fast as I could.
I’m
really gonna kill that asswipe!

*
* *

I had tears running down my
face. I couldn’t believe Carson was doing this, and there was no one to stop
him. I couldn’t show my feelings because he told me to be calm. He pushed me
into his bedroom and told me to start stripping. The tears were flowing
steadily, and I was screaming in my head. I felt like I was going to puke. I
couldn’t stop my body from doing as he said. I hoped beyond reason that Damen
could hear me.

I felt Carson’s hands on
me. He pushed me down onto the bed. He was instructing me with new words, and I
was fighting with my mind as hard as I could. I heard a door slam behind Carson, and I watched as he rapidly flew across the room and hit the wall with a loud thud.
I was slowly gaining control over myself again. I saw a dark blur that I knew
was Damen.
He heard! Thank God!
Damen must have used his powers to
throw Carson like that.

By the time my thoughts
were connecting correctly with my body, Damen had Carson pinned to the floor
and he was pounding a bloody fist into Carson’s already bloody face.

“I’m going to kill you!” he
yelled. “You f-ing bastard! I warned you!”

I jumped up and grabbed
Damen. “STOP! Stop, he’s had enough. He’s passed out Damen, stop.”

Damen looked up in
surprise. He stopped immediately, grabbed my dress, and helped me back into it,
even though he was in shock. He looked at Carson lying motionless with blood
streaming from his nose, eyes, mouth, and even his ears.

“
I killed him…
” I
heard Damen say in his head.

“NO!” I yelled as I sat
down next to Carson. The last thing I wanted to do was heal this s.o.b., but I
had to or Damen would pay the consequences. I put my hands on Carson and
focused on starting his heart. Soon enough, Carson was alive and lying there
unconscious. I had never seen Damen’s face so pale.

“Are you okay?” he asked. He
reached out to pick me up and then paused, asking if it was okay with his eyes.

“I’m okay now, thanks to
you,” I whispered. I wrapped my arms around his neck and laid my head on his
chest, inhaling the scent of safety.

As Damen carried me out of
the room, we saw Chase coming down the hall. “What happened?” he asked. Damen
handed me off into Chase’s arms.

“Take care of her. I need
to talk to Taylor. Take Raegan to her room, put her in the bath, and get Elsie.
Don’t tell anyone anything.” Chase just nodded in response.

“Wait, I don’t want you to
leave!” I yelled as Damen turned around to walk away.

He turned back and walked
over to me. He grabbed my hand and kissed my palm as he swiped a tear from my
cheek with his thumb, almost as if he was reassuring himself that I was okay.

“He won’t hurt you anymore.
I have to go,” he said. He turned around so quickly I thought I imagined a tear
on his cheek.

*
* *

DAMEN

I walked into Taylor’s office. The staff members were always in their offices during school events, so I
knew she’d be there. Walking away from Raegan was the hardest thing I’d ever
done, but I knew if I continued to stay at the school, I would just hurt her,
and more people, too. I’d done as much research as I could, and with the new
information I had, it was time to return to my grandfather’s. I wasn’t going to
string Raegan along without knowing if I’d be alive at the end of my search.

Taylor
was caught off guard when
I appeared in her office.

“Is something wrong Damen?
You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

“There’s been an incident.
Raegan was attacked by Carson tonight. He was using compulsion. He is barely
alive now…I think he’s still unconscious in his room. I killed him, and Raegan
healed him.”

“Wait…what? She revived Carson from the dead? Okay, hold on.” Taylor picked up the phone and called the nurse to
explain the situation. “He will be expelled immediately, Damen. It was an
accident, and thanks to Raegan, everything will be fine.”

“Taylor, I’m also leaving.
I don’t feel comfortable being around people. I never have, and after tonight,
it will only get worse.”

“You can’t leave, Damen,” Taylor said, whining.

“I can, and I will. I’m
emancipated, remember? I’ve been emancipated since the age of fifteen. I need
to do some things. I’m heading home for a while.”

“When will you leave? We’ll
have a get together to say good-bye, and maybe you’ll change your mind…”

“No, I’m leaving tonight.”

“Damen, if you need
anything, anything at all, call me. I strongly suggest you wait for morning,
Damen.”

“I can’t.”

I went to my room and threw
my books, clothes and iPod into a bag. I could feel Raegan. She was in a warm
bath, recalling the incident for Elsie. They were both crying and acting as if
I was a hero, not a killer.
Ha! That’s laughable. I just killed a guy, and I
meant to.

I sat down to construct
some letters and turned some music on to drown out my emotions. I felt sick
that I had to do this but I had no other choice.

Chase,

I’m leaving. It’s what’s
best for both Raegan and for me. I’m not planning on coming back. I know you
love her, and that’s why I’m writing this letter to you. I’m requesting that
you give her another chance. She has always loved you. You were her first
friend and you’ve stuck through all these changes with her. She trusts you. I
beg you to give her time; she will return your love eventually. I also ask you
to watch over her. Although she and I are just friends, I care about her, and I
don’t want to see her hurt anymore. I ask you to please keep her safe and stay by
her side always. I know you will do this because you do love her – I’ve seen
that.

I have my own reasons for
leaving. I have been hurting Raegan since I met her, and I’m done with it. I’m
dangerous. After what you’ve heard, I’m sure you know that. My anger is
uncontrollable, and it would only continue to hurt her and me. I have skeletons
that must be dealt with.

Please don’t show her this
letter. I don’t want to hurt her further.

P.S. If you feel the need
to contact me for any reason, which I encourage you not to, Elsie will know how
to reach me.

Damen Carbonel

Letter number two.

Elsie,

I know you’re mad. But I
don’t have a choice. I’m not good for her. I’m a murderer. I’ve brought her
nothing but pain over and over. She healed me, even unknowingly. With the new
information we have, I have to leave. It’s not fair to make her wait when I
might not return. I can’t stand by and keep her in pain. I have to break this
bond. You know as well as I do that this bond must be broken. She can love
again and can be happy. She doesn’t need me. Please be there for her, because I
know this will hurt her for now. She is going to need you once the bond is
broken. I don’t know exactly what will happen when it’s severed. I don’t know
how far I have to be to sever it, but we’ll see.

I know I’m asking a lot,
but I need another favor, perhaps more important than the first. I’m going home
to do more research. It’s time I broke into my grandfather’s safe to find his
research. I thought it a waste of time before, but I need you to send me the
research Raegan’s mom did. I just need a copy. You can tell her I need it to
find my parents, and she won’t deny it to me. Call me when she receives it, and
either have Connor send it to me through email and make it secure, or send it
snail mail, or we can meet by jet and hand it over in person.   

Elsie, you’re the only one
that knows my true feelings for Raegan, but I beg you not to confirm anything
to her. I want her to start again. Someday I, too, hope to start over with
someone new. I don’t know where this research will send me, and I need Raegan
safe. Her safety is my only concern. I’ve only brought her pain, and she does
not deserve that.

Thank you,

Damen Carbonel

I was dreading this last
letter. I didn’t know what to write, and I knew I was going to have to hurt
Raegan one last time. It would be the worst I’d ever hurt her, and it killed me
to have to do it.

Raegan, little one,

This letter is going to be
a surprise to you, and I’m sorry I have to do this in a letter, but I’ll be
gone by the time you are feeling better. I’m sorry that I’ve hurt you in the
past, and you have every right to hate me. I don’t blame you for being
disgusted with me either. I am a murderer, after all.

I’m leaving, and I’m not
planning on coming back. I’m not good for you, and I’ve told you that we are
better off friends. I think this false connection between us is making it
difficult for us to move on. I’m leaving to break this bond. I think you will
be able to be happy in the future.

I know you said we cannot be
friends, so it will not come as a surprise when I tell you that this is the
last you’ll hear from me. Take care of yourself. Thank you for healing me.

Damen Carbonel

I grabbed my duffel bag, my
keys, and my leather jacket and headed out. I slid all three letters under
Chase’s door, assuming he’d deliver the other two. I didn’t want to chance
running into the girls.

I hadn’t seen my car in a
while, and it was good to be behind the wheel again. It reminded me of my
grandfather. He had kept his Aston in great condition, and I paid the garage
attendants well to keep it that way. I figured I’d stay in some random hotel
until Chase, Elsie, and Raegan got their letters so they would be prepared when
the link was severed.

I could feel Raegan was out
of the bath and sitting on the couch with the others, drinking something warm.
I looked at her one last time through Chase’s eyes. She was the most beautiful
thing I’d ever seen, and so innocent. Leaving her was like leaving a part of
myself.
I will always wonder what a future with her could’ve been like
.
Even though I had written all that bullshit about me finding someone new, I
knew I would always love her and would forever choose her needs before mine. In
this case, her safety was more important than my feelings. I loved her
completely the moment I first heard her mind; I knew she was selfless, kind,
smart, and more powerful than she knew. Even before our connection, I had felt
a bond between us.

I turned the radio on as
high as it could go without blowing the speakers and drove as fast as I could.
My power was like a cop scanner, plus I was pretty sure I could completely lift
my car or another car if I needed to prevent an accident.

I hadn’t told anyone, but
after Raegan healed me, my powers increased steadily. I would say I could read
everyone’s mind in a ten-mile radius now, and if I concentrated on only one
person hard enough, I could probably reach a distance of 100 miles. It was
insane, but it was true.

I stopped for the night at
some grimy hotel; there wasn’t much near the school. I figured I was about 75
miles away, and I could still hear Raegan, Chase, and Elsie pretty easily. I
went to sleep because I knew the next day would surely be my own personal hell.

Damen and I walked to Dr.
Travis’s class together. Damen was complaining in his head, and I could feel it
the whole way to class, although I couldn’t hear the words through