Split Second (Pivot Point) (19 page)

Addie:
Apparently, I have no self-control.

I wasn’t sure what to say to Stephanie. I had wanted to talk to Trevor about it. Ask him what I should tell her, but it seemed weird to ask him how I should talk to his ex about my feelings. I knew that no matter how I told Stephanie I liked Trevor, I was going to sound like the biggest jerk. More than a jerk.

Whatever I decided to tell her, the time to do it was not as we got ready for winter formal in her bedroom. Not with the huge football poster plastered on the wall behind her, Trevor’s face circled with a heart. Not with pictures I hadn’t seen last time of her and Trevor taped all around her mirror. No, tonight was most definitely not a good time to tell her.

“How are you doing your hair?” Stephanie asked as she
applied another layer of mascara.

“I was thinking just down. Is that not good?”

“You should put it up in a loose twist and let some curls hang around your face and down your neck. It would look really hot. You want me to do it?”

“Sure.”

I faced the mirror, and she positioned herself behind me. As I tried to stare at anything but the pictures of her and Trevor together, my mind wandered to the last time Stephanie had lost Trevor to me. She was not very happy. She set out to ruin me. Expose me and my lies to him. A woman scorned was not to be messed with.

“I can’t believe you and Trevor talked me into sharing my winter formal with Rowan,” Stephanie said.

“He’s not as bad as you think.”

“Well, nothing, not even him, is going to ruin tonight for me.”

She didn’t say anything about tomorrow. Tomorrow was available for ruining.

The boys showed up, and I tried my hardest to keep my eyes to myself. I did not need to ogle Trevor, but man, did he look amazing.

“Addie,” Rowan said, “you look hot. And Steph, you look beautiful tonight as well.”

You look gorgeous
, I pushed into Trevor’s mind.

“No fair,” he said out loud.

“What’s not fair?” Stephanie asked.

“Yeah, Trevor, what’s not fair?” I added.

He smiled his amazing smile. “The amount of beauty in this room. We better get going.”

Stephanie beamed as though that was a compliment for her and her alone, then hooked her arm through Trevor’s. I wasn’t sure if this was a good idea after all. If I had just let Trevor go to this dance without me, I wouldn’t have to be a witness. Rowan held out his elbow for me, and I took it. Might as well get this torturous night over with.

We had formal dances at the Compound twice a year. They were awesome. Illusions filled the venue in whatever theme was decided on. One year the theme was Ocean Sunset, and an entire wall of the building looked like an ocean, lapping onto the dance floor with an always-setting sun.

This was nothing like that. This was cheesy decorations and a halfway decent band. But this was all real and represented a committee’s hard work. I appreciated it, but as I watched Stephanie and Trevor dance their third slow song, I was ready to personally pop all the balloons that made up a fake archway.

“So,” Rowan said. “Do I have to ask the question for a third time or did you hear me?”

I turned my attention back to Rowan, who was doing a really good job of making sure our swaying back and forth matched the beat of the song. “I’m sorry, what?”

“That’s what I thought. Would it help to know that he likes you too?”

“Who?”

“Who?” He laughed. “I don’t know, maybe the guy you’ve
been staring at for the last thirty minutes.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’ve already been told that at approximately seven o’clock I am supposed to steal Stephanie for a dance so he can ask you.” He glanced at his watch. “That’s the next song.”

“Really?” I hugged him. “Thank you.”

“How are you two going to tell her? You know her wrath is like no other.”

“I know. And I have no idea how I’m going to do it. Any suggestions?”

He laughed again. “Run?” The song ended, and we separated. Trevor and Stephanie rejoined us.

“If I were in charge of the decorations this year, I would not have gone all nineties with the balloons. So tacky.”

“I kind of like them,” I said.

“Decorations?” Rowan asked, then looked around as if noticing them for the first time.

“Oblivious,” Stephanie said. We walked over to the food table because the next song was a stupid fast one. That song felt like it lasted an eternity. When the first chord of the new song was strummed, my heart sped up. I hoped Rowan could make this happen.

Stephanie turned to Trevor, and Rowan cleared his throat. “Let’s mix it up this song. You want to dance, Steph?”

“What? No.” She grabbed Trevor’s hand.

“That would actually be really fun,” I said. “Just for one song.”

Trevor added, “I’m up for it.”

“Fine,” Stephanie said with a sigh. “One song.”

Trevor led me to the middle of the dance floor. “Hi.”

I smiled. His hand against my back felt so familiar and amazing. His shoulder was broad and strong beneath my grip. “Hi.”

“Tell me three things.”

I smiled. I liked this game. It made me happy. “One time we got trapped in the principal’s car after losing a bet. We had to steal his bobblehead. Only Rowan, who was supposed to distract the principal, didn’t do a very good job and the alarm got set.”

“What did we do?”

“We talked until Rowan got the keys and freed us.”

“Sounds interesting,” Trevor said.

“Oh, then there was this time you were trying to prove how strong you were and you picked me up. This was way before we were together, by the way,” I said.

“When you still thought I was supposed to be your best friend?”

“Yes.”

“And I picked you up. How?”

“It was fast. You pulled me forward and then had me in the air, holding me around the thighs.”

“And you still thought I wanted to be friends?”

I laughed. “I told you. I wasn’t the greatest with your signals.”

He moved my hand, clasped in his, up to his shoulder. The action closed the space between us. “Have you learned my signals yet?”

I was hyperaware of every inch of his body—his hands, now
on my waist, one foot between mine, his chest against my own. Warmth spread from his hands all the way up my back. My heart raced. My chest expanded. “I think so,” I whispered. I felt the energy gathering around me before I realized what I’d done.

He noticed first. “What’s wrong with the music?”

It had changed to a distorted moan. I looked around, and the entire dance floor was at a near standstill.

“Are you doing this?” he asked.

I tried to make my heart settle, hoping normal speed would return faster. “Just stay still. If we move, it will be obvious.”

“Addison?”

I looked up at him. He moved his hand as slowly as possible to my cheek. I leaned my face into his palm. So much happiness burst inside me that the music came to a complete stop.

“Nobody is moving,” Trevor said. “Does that mean they can’t see us?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never stopped it all the way before.” If I had to guess, I’d say no.

“So then I can probably do this.” Ever so slowly he brought his lips to mine. Even though I saw it coming, it still took my breath away when our lips touched.

“I think I love you,” I said against his mouth.

“I think I can get used to that,” he said back. I knew he couldn’t love me yet. He was just now getting to know me. So that was the best thing he could’ve said in return. A new surge of happiness welled up inside me. Time wasn’t returning to normal anytime soon. I wove my fingers into his hair and kissed
him again. Even our kiss we kept slow and calm, which only intensified each movement and heightened my senses each time he released a breath.

The music started moaning again, and I pulled away. I let just my eyes take in our surroundings and saw two people looking straight at us. Their expressions were distorted because they were hardly moving. One was Stephanie. Her face twisted into half shock, half hurt, and all the way angry. The other person, standing just inside the doors, was Duke Rivers.

Laila:
Guys don’t think.

I walked the familiar path to Connor’s garage. He was working on his bike. Again. How much stuff could a person possibly do on one motorcycle? Especially at seven o’clock at night. Did he ever stop? Maybe he was making up for the three lost days on the train.

He looked up as I entered, then back down to his bike, the smallest of smiles forming on his mouth. This tiny indication that he was happy to see me radiated joy through my entire body.

“Did you find an inch of the handlebar that didn’t look Norm enough for you?” I slid onto the bar stool next to the high counter.

“Just messing with the calibration.”

“Sounds important . . . and boring.”

“It’s so much less boring now that you’re here.”

I grunted. “You better say that after weeks and weeks of ignoring me every time I came into this garage.”

“Ignoring you?”

“Yes, your bike had all your attention. I’ve never been more jealous of an inanimate object.”

He chuckled a little. “You’re impossible to ignore, Laila. I was acutely aware of exactly where you stood, what you looked at, when you took a breath.”

“Wow. Look at you. You know how to say romantic things.” I walked over to his bike and threw my leg over the seat. “What about when I sit on your bike? Does that bother you?”

“If you weren’t blocking what I was trying to work on, then it might not bother me as much.” He kissed my neck and then wrapped his arm around my waist and lifted me off his bike.

“Ha! See. I should be jealous of this piece of metal.”

“I should be jealous,” he muttered under his breath, returning to his task.

“No, I’m pretty sure I hate your motorcycle, so no need to be jealous there.”

“I thought you and Duke were done scheming,” he said, his back to me, tightening a screw.

“I don’t know that Duke and I have ever schemed. And I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“What does he want with a listening device?”

“What?”

“This morning he came in wanting a body chip.” He must’ve noted my confused look, because he added, “A listening device you can attach to your body. Usually used to spy on people.”

Spy on people. “And did you sell it to him?”

“He said you sent him. Plus he had cash, unlike some of my customers.”

“My looks are my currency, baby.”

“So true.”

“I did not send him.” I sighed, thinking about what Duke might want with a listening device. “Oh no.” I pulled out my phone and dialed his number. He didn’t answer.

“How about you take me for a ride on your little bike?” I grabbed the extra helmet off the shelf.

“Where are we going?”

“Duke’s house.”

“You really don’t care at all about my jealous rages, do you?” he asked in an even voice, a little smirk letting me know he was at least partially kidding.

“Not right now.”

He returned the tool he held to its place and put his helmet on. “Let’s go.”

I climbed on behind him and at first tried to get away with just grabbing his waist with my hands, but as he sped through the night, streetlights flying by in a blur, I wrapped my arms around him tightly.

“While driving, it’s nice to be able to breathe,” his voice said in the helmet speaker.

“Yeah, well, I’d like to be able to live, so I’m good.”

We pulled up in front of Duke’s house, and I slid off the bike as fast as possible. And I thought I’d hated his motorcycle before. Was definitely not a fan now. I didn’t wait for him to do whatever pampering he did to his bike at the end of a ride and walked up the steps to the front door. Before I could knock, a robotic voice inside announced my arrival. I hadn’t even realized I’d been scanned.

Mrs. Rivers answered. “Hi, Laila. Welcome,” she said just as Connor stepped up behind me. “He’s not here. He left this afternoon.”

“To where? Do you know?”

“He went to check out the college campus in Dallas. His trip there for the football game made him realize how much he liked Dallas.”

Right. A trip to check out the college campus. I’d believe that when I saw it. “Okay, well, thanks. Do you know when he might be home?”

“I’m not sure. Do you want me to tell him you stopped by?”

“No, I’m good.”

“So what’s the plan?” Connor asked as we walked away.

“What exactly can he do with a listening device? I’m assuming he can record. If he let the Containment Committee know his plans before he left, is there a way he can patch what he records directly to them?”

He didn’t need to answer. The look on his face said my assessment was correct.

“He’s going to ruin Addie’s life.”

“He’d do that?”

“He and his teammates permanently injured Trevor’s throwing shoulder using their abilities. He’s capable of anything.” I dialed Addie’s number. She didn’t answer. She’d told me she was going to be at that stupid winter formal tonight. So did that mean she didn’t have her phone on her? I tried again. When she didn’t answer, I looked at Connor. “She’s not answering.”

“Come on, I have an idea.”

We climbed onto his bike again, and when we pulled up in front of Face’s house I asked, “Why are we here?”

“Face has these birds he uses to watch Paras in the Norm world. He likes to monitor suspicious activity out there. Mainly the children of Paras who were kicked out or left.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Why?”

“He likes to study abilities diluted by Norm DNA. Or uninhibited by DAA programming.”

“He’s been spying on her? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’m not sure if he’s been spying on her. I’m just hoping he has been so we can see what’s going on with her now.” He knocked on the door. “Don’t look at me like that. I don’t spy on her. He does.”

I growled and turned my dirty look on the door. It slid open.

A blond, middle-aged man stood before us. Now that I knew he was really a teenager, I was less intimidated. “You should try on a girl’s face. It would look nice on you.”

“Ah, it’s the lovebirds. What do you want?”

Connor smiled. “Addison Coleman. Have you been watching her? We need some info.”

He must’ve respected Connor, because he stood aside and let us in. We followed him back to the room I had been in before with all the computers. He sat behind the desk and clicked through some screens on the computer.

“How did you even know to start watching her?” I asked.

“I may or may not be patched into the Tower system that tells me who leaves the Compound and who the CC takes a special interest in.”

In the middle of the wall in front of us, six projected screens turned black and then became one large picture of a parking lot, dissected into equal parts by the white wall between the screens. “Addison has an interesting ability. Time manipulation. She can use it in a variety of ways too.”

We all stared at the parking lot on the wall for a while.

“It looks like she’s unavailable.”

The metal bird on the desk flapped its wings once. It looked so real. “So how do you hack into the Containment Committee’s birds?” I asked, still staring at it.

“These aren’t Containment Committee,” Face said as though offended. “These are my design. The CC is all about keeping this place a secret. Do you think they’d risk exposure by sending something like this into the world?” He patted the bird’s head. “They generally have people stationed in Normville, not things.”

Like the agents Addie had already met. I shook my head. “You two are so blatant. How have you both not been caught already?”

Face laughed, and his blond hair changed to jet-black. “People see what they want to see.”

“More like what
you
want them to see.” Connor stood in front of me, and I ran a finger down his back. It still felt weird touching Connor and knowing he wouldn’t get irritated. That he actually wanted me to. “Are you up for a trip to Dallas?”

He nodded. “Sure.”

He and Face headed out the door, but I paused as the screens changed back to individual pictures. Realization struck me as the real reason Connor sold programs for Face came into my mind. It was his excuse to come here. I scanned the screens and wondered which one was Connor’s dad. How many hours he spent here watching his life. Seeing his father live without him.

“I’m not as pathetic as it seems.” Connor leaned against the door frame.

“There’s nothing pathetic about wanting to see your own father. He raised you for twelve years of your life.”

He looked over my shoulder, and I turned to follow his gaze. On the screen in the corner a man had just pulled into the driveway of a tan house and was helping a toddler out of the car.

“If we leave now, we can probably be to Addie’s by midnight,” Connor said.

I watched the small girl run up to the house, and my chest tightened in anger. He’d started over. Forgotten about Connor. I got my emotions under control before I turned to face him. He looked down with a sigh, and I walked forward and rested my arms on his shoulders, forcing him to look at me.

“I can handle this,” he assured me. “I’ll stop coming here. I’m going to stop.”

I dropped my forehead to his shoulder. “I’m sorry.” I gave a
laugh I didn’t mean. “We’re both so screwed up. Are you sure we’re good for each other?”

To answer my question he pulled me closer, breathed me in. Then he turned on his heel and said, “Let’s go.”

I gave one last lingering look at the screen, which now showed only the outside of a house. If that man didn’t want Connor in his life, it was his loss.

Eli sat in the backseat. If Duke had gotten the Containment Committee involved in all this, I wanted all the abilities I could get. A pair of headphones, with music so loud I could almost sing along, was shoved on his head. I wondered if that helped block people’s thoughts.

“Not really!” he yelled. “So keep talking.”

I put my fingers to my lips and tugged out one of the earbuds. “No need to yell.”

He pointed between Connor and me. “You told me you two would talk.” Before the trip started, Eli said that talking people thought less. We had agreed to do our best. But an hour into the trip, Connor, who wasn’t a big talker to begin with, was talked out.

Eli took out his other earbud. “Connor. You either think a lot less than my sister or you’re really good at blocking.”

“I can guarantee I think a lot less than your sister.”

That was a load of crap. Connor lived in his head.

“My sister thinks that’s a load of crap.”

“Ha!” Connor said. “I can get used to having this kid around.”

I grabbed Connor’s knee and squeezed. “You’re holding out
on me. Do you have a blocking secret?”

“I thought I sold you a block enhancer a while back.”

“You did. I guess I should practice more.”

“Start now,” Eli said. “Please. I don’t need any more thoughts about how hot Connor is. And if you want to know what he uses on his hair, just ask him.”

Connor laughed, and I rolled my eyes. “Eli, you will now hear only thoughts of your imminent death.” Then I punched Connor in the shoulder. “And stop smirking. Your hair isn’t that great.”

He ran a hand through it. “I have amazing hair.”

If Eli weren’t here, I’d be running my hands through Connor’s hair right now. My mind went back to the train and the way it felt to be in his arms, my fingers tangled in his hair. Then I stopped my memory short and looked at Eli. “Keep that thought to yourself.”

“Believe me. I wish I didn’t hear it. There’s no way I’m going to repeat it.” He stuck his headphones back on. “Talk.”

I could tell he was disgusted from having intercepted that last thought. I felt bad. “So can you teach me?” I asked Connor.

“I wish I could. I think it’s another perk of my ability. My mind is not open. This is totally my own theory, but I think part of a Telepath’s power must have something to do with opening channels into your thoughts. And because my mind heals itself fast, they are only able to pick up on an occasional thought. I’m grateful for that right now, because your brother does not need to hear the thoughts I have about you.” He grabbed my hand and stuck it back on his knee.

I grumbled. “So unfair. I bet your ability somehow makes your hair shiny too.”

He laughed.

“Wait. So if people can’t penetrate your mind, then that time Duke and I came over to your house, he didn’t do a thing? Why did you give me Face’s address then?”

Connor just smirked.

“Tell me.”

“You were asking for trouble. I knew you’d find it one way or another. Maybe I wanted to keep an eye on you.”

I grabbed his hand and squeezed. As much as I liked to take care of myself, it felt nice to be looked after now and then.

“Have you tried Addie again?”

I lifted my phone. The screen didn’t show any missed calls. I dialed anyway. Her voice mail told me she’d call back. “Still not there.”

“So what’s the plan if the CC found out she’s been intentionally telling people about the Compound?”

“I don’t know. Any ideas?”

“Let’s just hope they haven’t, because there are certain procedures that are irreversible.”

“Like being Healed of an ability?”

He nodded once.

“They wouldn’t do that . . . would they?”

“I wouldn’t put it past them. Especially because you already reversed the procedure they did on Trevor. If Duke told them that and can get proof, she’s in trouble.”

“Drive faster.”