Tainted Energy (The Energy Series Book 1) (4 page)

Lena

I
awoke Saturday morning shaky and
cold. I was sure the bed had something to do with my freezing toes and stiff
muscles, but it was the first time in days I didn't wonder where Zander had
disappeared to.

Unfortunately,
Him
made no appearances in my dreams, either. It would've been nice to
see those gray eyes and dimples when he smiled.

Pretty
shitty thing to do, pretend boyfriend…

I put on
some old sweats and my worn shoes and went for a long run through the fog and
chill left from an overnight rainstorm. The adrenaline rush further eroded
Zander's image from my mind, making his absence bearable–even welcome. I felt
stronger, like I just climbed to the summit of Mount Everest.

Once I
cleaned up, I went to wait for Jake in the living room. Mom sat in her chair,
reading. Don't know how she concentrated with Dad's snores rattling the thin
walls.

I sat in
the other chair, hating the way the seat had Dad's ass indent molded into it. "Whatcha
reading?"

She
smiled, showing me the cover of a romance. "I know it's silly, but..."
When she blushed, her face looked so much younger–pretty.

"Not
at all." I grinned, admiring the bare-chested hottie on the cover,
imagining my own with gray eyes. "At least the guys in those things aren't
jerks."

"True,
true." She dog-eared her page and focused on me. "What's on the
agenda today?"

I
shrugged. "Not much. Jake's picking me up. We're gonna give the theater a
little TLC before tonight's opening."

"Sounds…fun?"

"Loads."
It was my turn to blush. "Um... Stump brought up the scholarship thing
again. Says I have a pretty good shot."

Her face
brightened. She really was beautiful. "That's wonderful, honey." She
leaned over to hug me.

"Yeah,
well, let's not get our hopes up, okay? There's a lot of competition."

She
hugged me tighter. "But you're special. You have a huge advantage, I'd
say."

I
shifted in my chair. "There's plenty out there who'd disagree."

After
letting go, she gave me
that
look. "Well, I knew you were special
the minute God gave you to me."

I rolled
my eyes. "I know, I know. Puking your guts out probably clued you in on
how great I was." The conversation went the same every time. But I loved
it, every word, every smile she gave.

"Oh,
I never got sick. I felt powerful, like this little warm glow shined inside me.
And I'm telling you, God spoke to me the day you were born."

I stayed
silent, loving the wistfulness clouding her eyes.

"I
was going to name you Christina, after my mother." She put a palm to my
cheek, sliding her thumb across my lower lip. "You would have loved her."

"Sounds
like she was amazing."

"Yes,
she was." Mom wiped a stray tear from the corner of her eye. "But I
heard Him loud and clear that day. He said your name was Lena, my bright one.
Your light has guided me since the first time I saw your face."

This was
why I fought so hard to keep her safe. Warmth filled every pore, every muscle.
I loved her with everything I had because she'd given me no less. Smiling, I
gave her shoulder a squeeze.

The sun reached
the top of the sky, shining straight into the window, like the story had
approval from the guy upstairs. It always reminded me that I didn't have it as
bad as some. At least I had a mother who loved me. Most kids in the park didn't
even have that.

Jake's
jeep pulled up. He knew better than to beep the horn, but I recognized the soft
hum of the engine. I pecked Mom on the cheek before heading outside. Mom waved
at Jake from the window as I opened the car door.

He
returned it with a polite smile, and said as I hopped in, "I can't wait to
get her out of that house."

Jake
knew Mom back in high school. He was a jock, and she, the girl every guy
drooled over. At least, that's what Jake told me. God knows how she ended up
with Dad.

"Only
three more weeks to go."

∞ ∞ ∞

Jake and
I spent the entire morning scrubbing floors, arranging boxes, and wiping
windows. By the time we finished, the old theater lobby sparkled–in that dingy,
retro kind of way.

A
one-time amateur middleweight in the early nineties, pictures of Jake in the
ring and his trophies were the major décor in the small area. Had to admit the
mullet he rocked then was pretty impressive.

I tried
to get him to change it a few times, make the lobby look more like a theater
instead of a trophy case, but he said the stuff showed how he managed to buy
the place. Of course, he'd never admit to bragging.

Whatever.

As big
as an ox, and just as stubborn, Jake was my third favorite person in the world,
next to Wilma and Mom. I stopped complaining a while back and let him have his
secret vanity.

"Okay,
break time." Jake threw his dirty cloth on the concession counter and went
into his office for a second. When he came out, a clear bag filled with
sandwiches was in one hand and a present wrapped in colorful balloon wrapping
paper sat in the other.

I
stopped wiping the front windows and held up my hands. "Nuh-uh. Nope. What'd
you do?"

Jake's
face broke into a huge grin, his twice-broken nose moving farther to the right.
"I got you something."

"No
way, I'm not taking it." I knew what was in that big, badly wrapped box.
New track shoes and a warm-up suit. He'd been buying my gear since I started
working for him in the ninth grade.

"Consider
it an early birthday present." He shoved it toward me, but I refused to
take it.

"My
birthday's not for another two months."

He
snatched the cloth from my fingers and pushed the box into my hands. "Take
it, or I'll fire you."

"No,
you won't."

"Don't
test me, Lena. It's bad enough you won't move into the apartment now. Told you
it's on the house."

I
wrapped my arms around the box, really wanting the stuff, but hating myself for
accepting his charity. "I'm tired of being the poor case. I wanna make my
own way."

He
nudged my chin, his smile softening. "And you are. But there's nothing
wrong with a little help."

My face
heated.
Now, what to say to that?

"Open
it."

I
sighed, sitting in the middle of the lobby and took my time unwrapping. The
shoes were expensive and so were the clothes. The tears threatening made it hard
to speak. "Thanks, Jake. They're perfect."

"No
problem, kid."

Love
you…
Too weird to
say aloud,
but it was true.

We spent
the next fifteen minutes eating the ham and cheese sandwiches he made, him
showing me some boxing moves and me making fun of the Popeye tattoo on his
forearm.

At times
like this, I couldn't help being mad at Mom. When picking someone to have a kid
with, she definitely made the wrong choice.

"Break's
over. Time for the rooms and we're done."

Just the
mention of going into one of the showing rooms had my knees turning to mush. I
hadn't stepped foot in any of them since Tuesday, especially the room in the
back. Where the chair…yeah…tried to kill me.

"Um…I…"

Jake's
eyes widened. "Hey, sorry you don't have to–"

"No,
no, it's fine, really. Just…give me a second."

I guess
he took that as an invitation to bring up the elephant in the room. "Have
you heard from Zander?"

A twinge
stabbed my heart. It was subtle, but I felt the sting. "Not since that
night."

"He's
an asshole, you know."

"No,
he's not. There's gotta be something wrong." I fiddled with a piece of
wrapping paper. "He'd never leave like that if there wasn't."

"How
would you know? You've only known the guy for three months. He doesn't even let
you come to his house."

Nothing
like hitting where it hurt. "He said his dad doesn't let him have people
over." That sounded weak after saying it aloud.

Guess
Jake thought so, too. "Bullshit."

"I
won't let him come in my house either." The more I talked, the more
pathetic I felt.

"That's
not the same, and you know it. His dad isn't a drunk who beats on his wife and
kid. At least, I don't think he is. Have you ever met the guy?"

"Zander
said he's never home."

"And
apparently now Zander isn't either."

"He
doesn't owe me anything." The sandwich began to curdle in my stomach.

"If
that's the way you want people to treat you, kid, keep believing it. One little
thing happens and he disappears."

For the
first time in a while, I wanted to punch him in his stupid square jaw. "Since
when do you care? What are you, like forty or something?" Low blow, but he
was dishing it out, too.

He hung
his head, picking at some crumbs on the counter. "Sorry. Just care."

It'd be
way too easy to lash out at Jake. He could always take a hit, whether in the gut
or the heart. Zander's absence wasn't worth being pissed at the guy who was
always there–even after claiming a chair tried to kill me.

The
tension between us evaporated. "Forgiven. He's...just a sore subject."

"You
can do better."

"Believe
it or not, boys aren't high on my list right now–even Zander. Moving into the
apartment and track is my focus."

"Good
focus."

I threw
the wrapping paper in the garbage and picked up a broom. No time like now to
face my fears. "All right, I'm gonna start with the back room."

He caught
my elbow and shook his head. "I don't think so."

"It'll
be okay." I yanked my arm out of his grasp and went to the door. One deep
breath and I pushed it open. The room looked innocent, especially with the
lights on. Relaxing, I began to sweep between the rows of seats.

After
about a half hour, I heard it again. The voice.
I'm watching you.

I
dropped the broom and ran without stopping until I reached Jake's office. His
head popped up as he cradled the phone between his ear and shoulder. He
mouthed,
Are you okay?

No…no, I
wasn't.

∞ ∞ ∞

Jake
dropped me off at home, promising to come back at four to pick me up. As I
turned the knob, footsteps coming from the right scared the shit out of me. I
screamed, the voice still on my mind, making me twitchy. I turned, and there stood
my best friend, a grin splitting his face.

"Zander!"

My
stomach twirled. The high it took an hour of running to create rushed into my
veins with one glimpse of him. I felt whole and little, defenseless and
protected. Everything I purged from my self-esteem this morning filled my being
with the intensity of a tsunami. But I didn't care.

I rushed
into his arms, inhaling his scent, always spice and freshness, like clothes
drying in the ocean breeze. The strength of his body absorbed the weight of
mine as his arms wrapped around me.

"Where've
you been?" I kept my nose crushed into his chest as he held me tight, that
dull fuzz he always produced zinging through my brain.

"Sorry,
I'm sorry." His face turned into my hair.

"I
was so worried." Tears gathered at the corners of my eyes, but I laughed
in between words. Crazy laughing.

"I'm
sorry," he said again, as he cupped the back of my neck. "My dad...we
had to leave...my mamaw...."

"Is
she okay?" I'd never met his dad, much less his grandmother, but if he
hurt, so did I.