Authors: Lindsay Payton
I smiled as she winked, and I drained my cup, looking at my watch. “I should go, everyone will start to suspect me if I don’t get home on time.”
“Yeah, and Omar doesn’t look too patient,” she said, looking out at the Beetle waiting in the parking lot.
“It’s him today? Great,” I muttered. I wasn’t allowed to drive for a while, so being picked up was part of the new plan.
Meryl looked at me questioningly, but said we’d discuss it over another cup later.
I trudged out to the car, holding my hoodie in my hands since it was warm and humid for once. I knocked on the passenger side window, waiting for Omar to unlock it.
I sat down and shut the door, not looking at him as I buckled my seatbelt. He was quiet while he started the car and pulled out of the lot. Neither of us spoke during the short drive home, but the tension in the air was thick.
As soon as we pulled into the drive, I unlocked the door and stepped out.
“Riley—”
“Try talking to me some other time,” I said as I walked away. I wasn’t up for discussion with him right now.
The tension with Omar wasn’t the last of the day. As soon as I walked inside, I ran into Hunter, who still gave me a deep glare before he went upstairs. He’d been like this every day since the huge talk, and I wondered if he would ever forget it.
Rene was in the kitchen with a few others making dinner, and I tried to pass by unnoticed, but she had spotted me.
“Hey,” she called over her shoulder. “Get out late?”
“I was just doing extra work,” I replied, seeing I was only ten minutes late.
“All right, well dinner’s almost ready.”
I just nodded to myself and went upstairs, hardly willing to face the whole house. Leaving my hoodie on the bed, I glanced at the scrap of paper on the nightstand. I had written Linden’s number there before rubbing it off my hand. Every time I looked at it, I wanted to pick up the phone and dial, but once again held back and returned downstairs.
Mostly everyone was already at the table, and I took my usual spot between Aly and Omar. I helped myself to the food as it was pass on, though I was hardly hungry. The normal talk filled the room and I stayed quiet, minding my own plate. I hardly noticed when Rene was talking to me.
“What?” I asked when I saw everyone was staring at me.
“I said I’m pushing your ceremony back a week,” Rene repeated.
I just stared at her for a minute. “A week? Why?”
She resumed cutting some meat for Beau. “I’d like your aura to be clean of the Elemental. I can still feel it there and you can’t have that sort of taint for the ceremony.”
I dropped my fork to the plate, officially not hungry. “Rene, it’s not like he’s some kind of
plague,
I don’t have—”
“
Don’t,
Riley,” she snapped. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. The ceremony is pushed back a week.”
I just shook my head and slid my chair back. Everyone looked at me with wide eyes; no one left the table without being excused.
“I’m not hungry,” I said, standing. I strode back to the stairs, hearing another chair scrape against the floor.
“Stay here, just let her go,” Rene muttered. I was sure it was either Alysana or Omar she spoke to, and I was glad she warded them off.
Being in my room was stifling; it was the only sanctuary for me in the house. I looked at the clock, seeing it was only 7:30. What I was supposed to do all night, I wasn’t sure. Since the place was sort of a mess, I decided cleaning was my best bet for entertainment. I started with the floor, piling everything in one corner before moving on to the desk.
It didn’t take long for me to get bored—barely an hour later, I sat down on the bed and stared at the folded paper on my nightstand. Was I really tainted? It wasn’t a stretch to think Rene might be exaggerating to keep me afraid, but what if he really did leave a mark on my aura?
Well if I’m already tainted, nothing could get worse,
I thought.
I picked up my phone and quickly dialed Linden’s number. I’d had enough time to think.
It kept ringing, and I started to get nervous. I could feel my heart slamming against my ribs. Biting my lip, I almost hung up when I heard his voice.
“Hello?” He sounded tired.
“Hi Linden, it’s Riley,” I said quietly, glancing at my door.
“Hey,” he said, his voice rising a little. “Have you escaped prison?”
“No, not yet,” I replied, smiling. “But—but I think I’m going to tonight. I wanted to talk to you about some stuff.”
“Okay,” he said, then paused as if waiting.
“Um—you aren’t doing anything tonight, are you?” I asked quickly.
“Nope, totally free.”
“Can I meet you at your house?”
“Sure, I’ll be here,” he replied easily. It made me feel a little more comfortable, and I said a quick goodbye. I sat there for a minute in awe of my actions. Finally, I had done it; I did what I really wanted.
I used my will to put the armchair in front of my locked door. As I pulled on my shoes, I hoped everyone would leave me alone for the night. Shrugging into my hoodie, I turned off the light and walked to the window. I slid it open and stepped out into the cool night air. The sky was clear and it smelled like the swamp, a suffocating thick smell that I loved. It gave me new ambition, and I walked across the roof, climbing down the lattice until I was safely on the ground. Checking the windows for any people, I backed into the dark and finally turned and ran towards the trees.
My eyes adjusted quickly once I’d left the lights of home behind me. I jogged down the road, my body heating up under my hoodie. It was still humid, and I was regretting wearing the thing after five minutes. I was anxious to get to Linden’s, but running would only leave me hot and out of breath when I reached his porch.
After ten minutes I slowed when I saw the house coming into view. This time the lights were on and I could see Linden moving around in the kitchen. I walked the rest of the way, catching my breath. Now I was at a loss of much to talk about, but I figured I would worry about that later.
I climbed the stairs of his porch and knocked a few times, stepping back as I waited. His footsteps could be heard clearly, and my heart beat in my throat. The light spilled over me when he opened the door, and I shielded my eyes for a second.
“Hey, you made it,” he said, opening the door wide.
“So far,” I replied as I stepped inside.
He laughed and beckoned for me to follow him up the stairs. “I’m just hanging some stuff in my room.”
I went after him, repeating Rene’s words in my head. Was I being further ‘tainted’ here? Oh well.
Linden’s room was the same mild mess, and there was a new small fish tank on his desk. Three framed sketches leaned against his bed, and he picked up a hammer from the mattress.
“I found these in the attic,” he said while standing on the bed. “My uncle did them awhile ago. Stuff from Greece when he visited.”
“Wow,” I replied, crouching in front of one of the sketches. “He’s been everywhere.”
“Yeah, he’s still working on that,” he replied before pounding a small nail into the wall. “Can you hand me the one on the right?”
I picked up the one he asked for and handed it to him. It was a bridge with scenery behind it done in dark smudges of charcoal.
“So—what’d you want to talk about?” he asked as he straightened the frame.
“Um . . . well first off, while I’m around you is my aura being—tainted?” I asked carefully after some consideration.
“Tainted?” He looked at me with disgust. “Did Rene use that word?”
“Yes,” I admitted.
He shrugged, “I don’t think so. Maybe
imprint
a little, but I’m not dirty or anything.”
That had me laughing, and he finished with the sketch before clambering off the bed. He sat down heavily, and I paused before deciding to sit next to him.
“I take it you’re grounded or something?” he asked.
“Yeah, something like that. Rene decided to postpone this ceremony because my aura is apparently tainted,” I replied.
“What kind of ceremony?” he asked, genuinely curious.
I wasn’t sure if he was the kind of person that should know, but told him anyway. “Just a coming of age thing.”
His eyes widened. “Huh. Well it won’t stop you aging. You won’t be seventeen forever.”
“True.”
We sat quietly for a moment before he started joking about my exile. At least he tried to make it lighthearted. He and Meryl were the only ones who didn’t seem to think I’d ruined my life.
“So will they ever get over it?” he asked, somber.
Truthfully, I knew they wouldn’t. “Maybe—maybe not. But they’ll have to adapt.”
He grinned and stood, going to his new fist tank. My throat was dry and I swallowed hard, watching his back. When I got to my feet I wasn’t sure what was more powerful: the urge to go forward, or my fear of what the consequences would be.
My feet took me forward before I could think clearly. I lightly touched his arm, distracting him from the mess of cords hanging over the desk. When he looked at me he seemed surprised, and it stopped me for a moment. I couldn’t meet his eyes, suddenly embarrassed, and I looked over his tattoos under my hand. He put a hand to the side of my neck, his thumb stroking my cheek. I’d kissed him before, why was it so hard now?
I finally gained the courage to look up at him. He looked back patiently, and just that had my lips parting on their own. I took a step closer until his hair brushed my forehead, and when my lips touched his, a spark abruptly lit in the pit of my stomach.
He let out a breath like a sigh as I kissed him harder. I didn’t know what I was doing, but acted on instinct. He responded when I put my hands against his back, holding him close. I followed his lead as he opened his mouth, his tongue going across my bottom lip. He held my hands against his face, and I stumbled with him to the bed.
We just lay side by side, kissing for a long time. I could never get tired of this, hearing him breathe and feeling his hands on my arms. Despite the opposing polarity we were supposed to have, I couldn’t seem to get away. When we finally stopped I wasn’t embarrassed to look at him. I seemed to have lost all shyness. His fingers stroked my cheek and I marveled at his slight smile and the redness of his lips.
“I hope this isn’t some kind of goodbye,” he said, the first to speak in a long time.
I immediately shook my head. “No, it’s not.”
“Not a pity thing?”
“No,” I replied firmly. To further assure him, I kissed him, trying not to be clumsy as I lightly bit his lip. I felt him smile, and he shifted nearer, wrapping his arms around me.
I’d never just lain with someone before; I thought it might be awkward. But now, with his body pressed against me, I never wanted to move. There was no need to talk, and I wasn’t sure how long we were like that before Linden nudged his lips towards mine again.
A few hours later, we stood in his kitchen drinking tall glasses of sun tea. A huge weight had been lifted from my mind, and I felt so at ease. I knew it couldn’t last all night since I had to eventually go home, but until then I could laugh about everything and hold Linden at random whenever I wanted.
“So what made you change your mind?” he asked once.
I shrugged, fiddling with my empty glass. “I don’t know . . . a lot of things.”
He smiled, putting the glasses in the sink. “Guess I did something right.”
I finally had to force myself to admit I had to leave. No one seemed to have come looking for me yet, but there was still a nagging sense of paranoia in the back of my mind. Linden understood and smiled at my reluctance, but said he would walk me back.
Outside, the moon was high and cast a faint gray light over the ground. There was no wind but the air was still chilly and I held my arms for warmth. Linden walked next to me, his fingers hooked in his belt loops. Even though the past few hours had been such a huge leap, I still felt a faint pang of nervousness beside him. Neither of us spoke as we walked along the dirt road, and I couldn’t help wishing I didn’t have to go home.
When the house came into view, Linden slowed to a stop. There were only a few lights on, but I didn’t blame him for being cautious.
“This is as close as I should go,” he said lowly, staying close by the trees.
“They can’t feel your presence,” I pointed out. “You know how you hide it.”
“Yeah. But I should keep my distance,” he replied, smiling slightly.
“Right,” I said, trying to mask the disappointment in my voice. “Well thanks for walking with me.”
“Sure, I wouldn’t let you walk alone.” He leaned against the nearest tree trunk, watching me with an even gaze. Maybe he noticed I was purposefully killing time just standing there, fiddling with my clothes and wondering how long it would be before I could see him again.
“Okay,” I sighed. “I guess I’ll go. An armchair won’t keep everyone out forever.”
He laughed quietly, and I stood in front of him, bracing my hands on his forearms. I had to stand on tiptoes to reach his lips, and he let me kiss him gently for a second before squeezing me against him.