Intangible (6 page)

As he stepped into the kitchen, he was suddenly hyperaware of everything around him. He could hear his mom’s footsteps as she paced in the hall, the rug fibers being crushed under her feet. The colors in the kitchen were more intense than they’d been a moment ago—the green of the plants sitting in the window looked almost electric. And he could smell every single herb in the spice rack.

This was it—impending doom.

Luke waited, soaking up the world with his heightened senses, knowing a vision was coming. Any minute now. He closed his eyes, his hopes plummeting with every passing moment, and tried to will a vision to come. But they didn’t work that way. And he knew with sinking certainty that whatever was coming would show a piece of Sera’s death, and he would have to wait for it.

Which was good because that meant he still had time, but it also meant he was going to be on edge all day while he waited for it.

And then be panicked again once it was gone.

SIX

S
era traded her history books for algebra and Brit lit, and clanked the grey metal door of her locker closed. She slipped the books into her bag, and headed toward the cafeteria.

Up ahead in the hall, she saw Luke scowling at a group of students.

“Hey.”

“Hey yourself.”

“What’s going on?” she said as she stopped beside him. She tried to see over the other students, but there were too many of them.

“Ethan.” Luke’s lip curled up and he shook his head.

Ethan. Sera liked most people, but Ethan was not most people. Fit and full of himself. With his spiky blond hair always just messy enough and his sky blue eyes set in a chiseled face. She understood why most girls practically swooned over him. From afar, that is. Once he opened his mouth, though, it was another story. His personality completely canceled out his good looks.

She pursed her lips. “Who?”

“Quinn.” Luke sighed. “Again.”

“Oh no he’s not.” Sera pushed her way into the crowd.

“Sera!” Luke called, but she ignored him. She was not going to let Ethan torture Quinn.

It wasn’t hard to get through—people have elbows for a reason—and she could hear Ethan before she could see him.

He spoke low. “Hey, homo. Oh, no, no, no. You’re not going anywhere. I’m talking to you. Don’t you want to talk to me?” There was a pause. “Aren’t I your type?” People laughed. Sera elbowed some of them extra hard.

She finally pushed through to where Ethan had Quinn, who was several inches shorter and probably forty pounds lighter, trapped against a wall. His face leaned close to Quinn’s, but Quinn’s head was turned away, a look to his fine features as if Ethan’s breath stank.

“Oh, now don’t play hard to get, sweetheart. I saw you checking me out just now. See something you like?”

Quinn turned to look at him, used his middle finger to push his glasses back into place and dragged his warm brown eyes slowly up and down Ethan.

“I’ve seen better,” he said. “Much, much better.”

Everyone laughed. Except Ethan.

Ethan leaned in a little closer. “You know you want to kiss me,” he said. More laughter. “So why don’t you? I’m right here.”

“Two reasons,” Quinn said. “One, you’re not ready to come out yet. And two, word is you’re a terrible kisser.”

The crowd roared and Ethan’s eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched. Just as he cocked his arm back, Sera slipped in between the two and placed her palm on Ethan’s chest.

“I’ll kiss you, if you’re so desperate for a kiss,” she said with a bright smile on her face. “Even if you are a horrible kisser.” Everyone laughed even harder.

Sera pushed a thought into Ethan.
You have to go to the bathroom NOW. You can’t hold it any longer.
Ethan’s eyes bugged and he glanced down the hall toward the boys’ bathroom.

“Later for you,” he said around Sera to Quinn, and took off running.

“Call me anytime you’re ready,” Quinn said. “Perhaps I can improve your technique.”

The other students laughed again and started to disperse now that no one was going to get hit. Sera turned to face Quinn. He ran a hand through his short, blond-streaked hair and felt for his earbuds on each shoulder. They were almost always in his ears. Ethan must have pulled them out.

“Don’t antagonize him. He’ll only come after you again,” she said.

“I’m done taking it,” he said. He nodded to Luke as he came up to them. “I shouldn’t have to put up with this crap.”

“Where’d he go in such a hurry?” Luke said, staring down the hall after Ethan.

“Bathroom,” Sera said, then silently cursed herself. Luke raised an eyebrow.

She shrugged. “I guess he really had to go.”

“Sera.”

“Luke.” His disapproval almost made her feel bad for having influenced Ethan. Almost, but not quite.

“Hey, skank,” a shrill voice said on Sera’s left. Sera turned, already knowing who it belonged to. Naomi. Sera looked up into her snarly, tanned face. “Keep your hands off my boyfriend,” she said, then flipped her straight honey brown hair over her shoulder.

“With pleasure,” Sera said.

“You can’t have him.”

“I don’t want him. He’s an idiot.”

“You just tried to kiss him. In front of everyone.”

“I was breaking up a fight, Naomi.”

“And he’s not an idiot,” Naomi said. “He’s better than your boyfriend. Oh, wait, that’s right. You don’t have one.”

“Look—” Sera reached out toward Naomi. Maybe Naomi should have the sudden urge to go to the bathroom too, and maybe she wouldn’t make it in time. Sera smiled at the thought.

“Sera, don’t,” Luke said, and grabbed her arms, pulled her back. She looked up at him. “Don’t.”

Sera held his gaze for a moment, then turned to look at Naomi again. She looked as if she’d spent way too much time in the mirror that morning—everything matched, from her layered short sleeve t-shirts to her multicolored short skirt to her shoes, purse, and backpack. Even her fingernails looked freshly painted in a coordinating color. Naomi’s pretty face was screwed up in disgust as she looked at Sera.

“Bitch,” she said, and walked away.

Sera tried to reach out for her again, liking the bathroom idea more and more, but Luke tightened his grasp.

“Oh, she’s a peach,” Quinn said. “They are well matched, she and Ethan.”

“Yes, they are,” Sera said. “Luke, let go of me. I’m fine.” She shook out her arms and breathed deep. Okay. He was right. She shouldn’t use her gift that way. And she could always hope that karma would come back to bite Naomi in the butt. Hard.

She looked at Luke and Quinn. “Lunch?”

“Lunch,” Luke said, and fell into step beside her. They both looked back when they noticed Quinn wasn’t joining them.

“Not for me,” he said, put his earbuds back in, and walked off in the opposite direction.

T
he cafeteria was already crowded as Sera and Luke walked in and spotted Fey already waiting in line. Metal folding chairs scraped the floor, trays clattered on tables, silverware clanked. All around them students laughed, talked, and shouted.

Josh was back at school and surrounded by his friends at the other end of the table that Sera, Luke, and Fey usually sat at. They set down their trays and started eating. Even with the din of the cafeteria, they could easily hear Josh’s conversation.

“It was really weird,” Josh said. “She was totally out of it, and they said that she shouldn’t have been able to wake up on her own because of the drugs they had her on. The doctors don’t understand it. I mean, the nurse had just checked on her. Nothing had changed. Then, like fifteen minutes later, she’s better.” He shook his head, looking at the rapt expressions around him. “I know, weird, right? They eventually gave up trying to figure it all out. I think because they couldn’t. My mom said…” Josh looked around at his friends, then clamped his mouth shut, his face turning red.

“What? What did she say?” Anabelle said. Her dark eyes were glued to Josh, her chin length black hair swung forward to frame her face when she leaned toward him. She had a very obvious crush on him. Sera unconsciously tilted her head toward them, listening.

“Well,” Josh said slowly, “she said she’d seen an angel.”

Sera’s eyes got wide, and she froze. She stared at the table, not knowing where else to look.

“Yeah, she said that an angel with dark hair had healed her. She told the doctors about it when they couldn’t figure out what happened. She said that the angel is what happened.” Josh shook his head. “I know, I know. Crazy, right?”

Sera couldn’t breathe.
His mom remembered
. She would recognize her the next time she saw Sera. Her secret would be out. She’d lose her friends, her family. Panic crept up her arms and legs, tingling all the way to her chest where her breath was coming short and quick. What had she done? She shouldn’t have talked to Anne. She should have left as soon as she’d finished healing.

“Hey, Sera.” Fey’s voice was soft, low. “It’s okay.” With what felt like a herculean effort, Sera lifted her eyes off the table to meet Fey’s. She saw warmth and understanding.

Sera almost snorted. Fey wouldn’t understand. Not when Sera was exposed as the freak she was. She wouldn’t want anything to do with her. Just like her grandmother. Sera closed her eyes.

Feeling pressure on her arm, Sera looked down to see that Fey had reached across the table and was squeezing her arm, a reassurance. Her chest lightened up just a bit, even if her mind didn’t.

Fey looked at Luke and nodded her head in Sera’s direction. He immediately reached out to place his hand on her shoulder. Sera felt her body relax at his touch, warmth flooding her every cell. Her breathing gradually returned to normal, her thoughts became more rational as soon as the panic was gone.

She was fine, she told herself. There was no way Anne could really remember or recognize her. She’d been too confused and out of it. Besides, people said that kind of stuff about angels whenever they didn’t have any other explanation. That’s all Anne was doing. She was just explaining the unexplainable. It was okay. Her secret was still safe.

She hoped.

A
fter school, Sera and Luke walked across the parking lot together to their dark green Pathfinder.

“Hey, Sera, wait up!” Josh waved to her from the lawn and started to jog over. Sera waited while Luke continued walking to their car. Josh wasn’t even a little out of breath when he stopped, a bright smile plastered on his face as he gazed down at her. He said, “I was wondering if I could borrow your notes.”

“My notes?”

“Chem?”

“Oh, yeah. Sure.” She flipped the top of her book bag open, reached in and pulled out a light blue spiral notebook. She glanced at the cover quickly to be sure there weren’t any embarrassing doodles on it, then held it out to Josh.

“Thanks,” Josh said. He tucked the notebook under his arm. “Can I give them back to you tomorrow?” Josh smiled at her in that goofy, I-like-you, boyish sort of way.

Oh, no. Not again. This happened every time she healed a boy—the next time he’d see her, he’d practically fall over himself trying to ask her out. She reached up and felt for her necklace, held the reassuring pendant in her fingers. She could feel a pulsing warmth in it. Just like her healing power.