King 02 - Breathless (16 page)

My afternoon was decidedly less pleasant than my morning had been. I brooded about having to drive Rafe home, about Cara’s words and thoughts at lunch, and about Amber’s gentle warning to me.

I knew she was right, but at the same time, I also knew that I couldn’t burden Michael with my own problems, at least not until I had a better grasp on how I was handling them myself.

When the last bell rang, I headed for my locker, half expecting to find Rafe waiting for me there despite what I’d said. To my relief, he was nowhere to be seen. Absently I switched out my books, leaving some in the locker and adding others to my backpack. When I turned to leave, I saw Cara passing me. Although I was certain she had seen me—and could, in fact, hear it in her mind—she kept her eyes carefully averted. Obviously our lunchtime conversation had stayed with her, too.

The afternoon heat was still fairly intense as I walked toward the parking lot. I stifled a groan when I saw Rafe lounging nonchalantly against the driver’s side of the Mustang.

“Hey,” he greeted me as I approached. “Would I be pushing my luck if I asked to drive?”

I stood near the trunk of the car and gazed at him steadily, wordlessly.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He sighed in exaggerated disappointment and pushed himself upright, moving around to the passenger’s door in no particular hurry.

I tossed my backpack in the back and climbed into the seat. A small butterfly of nerves rose in my stomach as I considered my still-new ability to drive with a stick shift.

“So tell me about the lucky guy.” Rafe stretched his legs out and I realized with resentment that he must have moved the seat back. He was certainly making himself at home.

“What lucky guy?” I asked, concentrating on maneuvering out of the parking lot.

“The guy who scored both you and this car.”

That little seed of annoyance blossomed into full-blown anger. “Michael didn’t
score
me. We have a relationship with each other. We’re—we...” I had no desire to go into the details of what Michael and I shared. It was none of his business. “And the car has been in his family for years,” I finished lamely.

“Okay, okay.” Rafe held up his hands as if in defense. “So tell me about
Michael
then.” He put an extra emphasis on the name.

“Michael is wonderful.” I pictured him, seeing him so clearly in my mind that my breath caught and my eyes burned. “He’s the most intelligent, kindest, sweetest person I’ve ever met. He’s loyal to his friends, an incredible student... and he’s great to his parents.” I smiled then, unable to contain it. “There’s no one like Michael.”

Rafe whistled, long and low. “Ah. I get it.” He shook his head. “You’re totally gone over this guy.”

I rolled my eyes. “You could never get it. You’ll never understand.” I glanced down a crossroad as we slowed to stop at an intersection. “And I don’t even know where I’m going. Where do you live, anyway?”

He smirked a little then. “Sorry. Actually you’re going the wrong way. I live on the other side of town.”

Now I did let loose a loud sigh of exasperation. “Well, thanks for letting me know. Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“I was listening to you. I didn’t want to interrupt.” He flashed that grin at me. “And I was hoping maybe you’d take me on a little ride. You know, show me around the area, maybe out into the country?”

I snorted. “I don’t think so. I’m not a tour guide. You have your own car. Drive yourself around.” I turned around at the next opportunity. “Now where exactly am I going?”

“Through town, then out beyond the lake.”

My foot slipped off the gas, and I struggled to keep from stalling the engine. “The lake?”

“Yeah. You know, Lake Rosu. It’s just south of the downtown area.”

“I know where it is.” My hands tightened on the wheel. I hadn’t been anywhere near Lake Rosu since my brush with death last year, and I really wasn’t certain I could handle going there now.

“It’s a pretty nice day.” Rafe didn’t seem to notice my discomfort. “We could stop by the lake, hang out a little bit.”

“I don’t think so.” I tried to keep the tremor out of my voice and focused on the road before me.

And then it seemed for just a moment that the road was no longer there. It was as though the world shifted, almost imperceptibly, and I suddenly felt dizzy and disoriented.

“What did you do?” I cried, struggling to keep the car under control. I couldn’t pinpoint why, but I felt that Rafe was somehow responsible for whatever had just happened. I steered the car to the shoulder as soon as I had an opportunity.

“What are you talking about? What’s wrong?” Rafe was staring at me incredulously.

I leaned my forehead on the steering wheel and worked on calming my breath. And while my face was partially obscured, I lowered my mental wall and concentrated on hearing Rafe’s mind. In my current emotional state, it wasn’t difficult.

At first I perceived only the confusion that I’d expect from someone who had no idea what was going on. His thoughts seemed to echo that bewilderment. And then there was just the slightest change, and I sensed the vaguest shadow of guilt. I could hear him with particular clarity.

What’s wrong with her? What does she mean? Could she know? Did she feel that, somehow?

So then he had indeed done something. But what? I wondered if he had manipulated my mind in some way. I couldn’t quite describe what had happened.

I leaned back in my seat and tried to order my own thoughts, and as I did, I discovered that my face felt flushed and my lips sensitive—almost tender. I brushed a finger across them, frowning, and glanced at Rafe suspiciously. He was still looking at me cautiously.

“Are you okay? You look—you’re really… pale.”

“Sorry.” I straightened and took a deep breath. “I just—I don’t know. Something happened. It felt like—I don’t know,” I repeated. “Just something weird.”

“Are you okay to drive?” There was real concern in his voice.

“Yes, I’m fine now,” I answered. “I’m sorry if I scared you. But Rafe...” I struggled to find the right words. I wasn’t sure what had just occurred, but I did realize that I had to explain some things. It wasn’t fair to just continue being impatient and snarly with him. “I know I’ve been rude to you, or at least it probably seems that way. I just don’t want to give you the wrong impression. I think you’re probably a natural flirt. That comes easy for you. But I don’t know how to deal with that. I have Michael, and even if he’s not here right now, he
is
my world. You were right about one thing. He’s it for me. I don’t see anyone else.

“If you want to be my friend, that would be great. But I need you to be less... charming. Just more yourself.”

Rafe was quiet for a moment. “What if being charming
is
my real self?” he asked, almost mockingly. Before I could answer, he shook his head. “Never mind. Okay, I promise. No more suggestive comments. No more flirting—with you, at least.” He smiled crookedly.

In relief I returned his smile. “Good. Thanks.” I carefully pulled the car back onto the road. Rafe was silent for the remainder of the trip, except to give me directions to his grandparents’ home.

It was in a small neighborhood beyond Lake Rosu. I had never been there before, although I thought that perhaps Michael’s friend Craig lived in the same area. The homes were older and larger than those in my part of town, and there was a stately air that was absent in the newer sections of King.

“Right there.” Rafe pointed to a large grey house the sat on a small hill. I followed the winding driveway to the top, and Rafe opened his door. He swung his legs out, and then turned back to me.

“Back there,” he began. “Back by the lake. Before you pulled over. What happened? You asked me what I did.”

I decided to be as honest as I could and hope for the same from Rafe. “I don’t know. It was almost like when I lived in California and we’d have earthquakes. It was a subtle shifting—like one minute everything was fine, and then there was almost a—like blip, in time, I guess. I’ve never had anything like that happen.” I looked at him squarely. “Do you know what happened? Did you have anything to do with it?”

He returned my gaze without blinking. “Why would you ask that? How could I possibly have anything to do with something that you can’t even really describe?”

There wasn’t any way to answer that question. I lifted my shoulder in a small shrug and felt a familiar frustration. I was in the same no-win situation I’d experienced last year, with Nell and Amber. I couldn’t confront him or accuse him without revealing my own secrets, and I certainly wasn’t willing to do that at this point.

It was Rafe who finally looked away. He climbed out of the car and closed the door behind him, then leaned back into the open window.

“Thanks for the ride,” he said quietly. “She really is a beauty.” His eyes were only slightly ironic as he spoke and then turned to follow the brick path to the front door.

I drove home in thoughtful silence.

That night was the first time I cried during my phone call with Michael.

When I got home, my mother was absorbed in her own work, tucked away in her office. She called an absent hello as I stood in the kitchen, looking for a quick snack and a drink.

Grabbing a glass of water and a granola bar, I retreated to my bedroom to ponder the afternoon. The exchange with Cara and Amber’s warning about being honest with Michael hung over me. Every now and again my mind wandered back to Ms. Lacusta’s book, and I wondered again why she felt it was so important for me to read that history. And of course the ride with Rafe made me very uneasy.

But deep down I knew what I was trying so hard to keep out of my head. My lips were still tender, and my cheeks felt almost wind burned. It wasn’t an unfamiliar sensation, but it was an unwelcome one. I had a sneaking dread of what might have happened, but part of me kept pushing the idea away.

I called Amber before dinner. I needed to talk to someone, and Amber was the only person from whom I had no secrets at this point. She was still a little numb from her afternoon dental appointment—two fillings, she informed me—and although her words weren’t always clear, she was able to listen as I poured out the day’s woes to her.

“What do you think happened? What did he do?” she wondered, still sounding as though she were speaking through cotton.

“I’m not really sure,” I replied slowly. “It was one of the strangest feelings I’ve ever had. It almost felt like I couldn’t breathe. And I was a little nauseous, too. It was like being on a ride that went too fast, you know? When your stomach just drops?”

“I hate those kinds of rides,” Amber said. “Are you sure that Rafe actually did something? Maybe it was just a coincidence.”

“No,” I said with certainty. “No, he was definitely giving off a guilt vibe. And he clearly thought,
Could she know?
Why would he think that if he didn’t have something to do with it?”

“Hmm… I guess so.” She sighed. “You know, I’ve lived my whole life in this town without seeing anything strange until last year, with Nell. Now I’m going to have to look at everyone I know who’s from an original family and wonder what they’re up to.”

I laughed without too much humor. Amber’s parents had moved here to King before she was born, so while she
had
lived here all of her life, her family wasn’t descended from the carnival folk who had established the town over a hundred years ago. Michael had told me about King’s fascinating history last year when I first became aware of Nell’s extracurricular activities. On the surface, it appeared to be a quaintly typical small town, but I had evidence that at least some of the original settling families were continuing to hone darker skills passed down from their ancestors.

“I don’t trust him. I’m not entirely sure why, but I don’t.” My frown deepened as I leaned against the pillows on my bed. I hesitated for only a moment before plunging ahead to tell everything.

“Amber, there was more. After my head stopped spinning, I realized something else was wrong. I felt like…” I swallowed hard. This was going to sound so strange. “It felt like I’d been kissed.”