Talented (8 page)

I tried to be quiet as I walked in, but every step that I took caused the floorboards to creak.  Remembering the door, I used my mind to close it behind me.  It banged shut, again much more forcefully than I’d intended.  I cringed.  Then I tripped over nothing, probably my own feet, and fell over giggling, crawling the rest of the way to my bed.  I heaved myself up into my bed, and fell back on to my pillows with a sigh of relief.  The excursion across the room had left me exhausted.  I closed my eyes, and had almost succumbed to the alcohol induced slumber, when I felt somebody playing with
my shoes.

“Henri?  I’m sorry,
did I miss curfew?” I mumbled.

“No, you didn’t,” the voice didn’t belong to Henri.

The person was trying to take my shoes off, but every time he touched me it tickled, and I started giggling again.

“Relax, Tal.  Let me tak
e your shoes off.”

A hand firmly gripped my ankle, and I finally felt my shoes part ways with my feet.  I heard footsteps, and then water run
ning in the bathroom.  A quilt was pulled up around my shoulders.  I felt a hand pushing down on the bed, as my savior knelt beside me.  I pried my eyes open, and saw beautiful turquoise eyes staring back at me.

“There’s water right here on your night stand,” Erik said.  “J
ust yell if you need anything.”

“Your eyes are the same color as the Tyrrhenian Sea,” I mumbled.  Erik laughed softly.

“Maybe one day I’ll see if that’s true,” he whispered.

I smi
led, “Mmmm. It’s pretty there.”

“Close y
our eyes and go to sleep, Tal.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

“Night, Tal.”

“Night, Erik.”

Chapter Twelve

A pounding in my head woke me up the next morning. My tongue felt thick and hairy and my olfactory senses were assaulted by the smell of stale campfire.  I lay awake for several minutes but refused to open my eyes, instinctively knowing that would make my head hurt worse.  The sunlight streaming through the window made the back of my eyelids a reddish-orange.  I moaned, and covered my face with a pillow.

“Drink the water, Natalia,” Erik demanded from across t
he room.  He sounded irritated.

“Water?”
I croaked.

“The water I left next to your bed last night.  Remember?”  No, I didn’t remember that, but I reached blindly towards my nightstand anyway.  My hand closed around a glass, slippery with condensation.  I grabbed it, and without opening my eyes, sat up just enough to drink the entire glass, spilling a minimal amount down my shirt.  I replaced the glass on the nightstand and fe
ll back on to my bed.  The springs on Erik’s bed squeaked loudly as he got up.  I groaned.  Erik’s bare footsteps sounded louder than normal as he padded across the room.  He took the glass and trudged in the direction of the bathroom.  The water run for several seconds, and then Erik turned it off and made his way back to me.  He set the glass down heavily.  I cringed.

“Drink it,” he ordered.

I opened my eyes for the first time and immediately regretted it.  I squinted up at Erik, and took in his disheveled bed-head and naked torso.  It wasn’t the first time I’d seen him shirtless, he normally slept in just his boxers, but for some reason this was the first time I appreciated exactly how great he looked without his shirt on.  Snippets from last night’s conversation about Erik danced through my head, and I blushed.  He gave me an odd look.

When I didn’t reach for the water, Erik picked it up and handed it to me.  “Drink it,” he repeated. I took it and gulped down my second glass of the day.  The liquid sloshed in my stomach, making
me queasy, so I lay back down.

“Oh no you don’t.
  You’re getting up and getting dressed so I can take you to Medical.”

“Why?” I whined. “I’m not sick.”

“Because you’re dehydrated, that’s what’s giving you the splitting headache.  The Medics can give you fluids to rehydrate you. You’ll feel better in no time.”

“Why do you care how I feel?  You don’t think I should suffer for my sins?” I asked, suspiciously.

“I do think
you
should suffer, but I don’t think I should have to.”

I stared at him blankly.

“Have you ever been drunk before, Talia?”

“No,” I answered grudgingly.  I don’t know why, but I was embarrassed to admit to him that I was a hangover virgin.

“Well, for the sake of those around you, don’t make a habit of it.  You’re projecting your hangover onto me.”

O
bviously I knew that I could force my will on to others, but I’d never accidently transferred my thoughts or feelings to another person.  I briefly wondered if I could do it any body, or if Erik was special because I spent so much time communicating with him mentally.  Or maybe it was because he could mimic my Talents, making a connection easier.

“You’re killing me Tals
,” he said tiredly.

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled.
“I’m not doing it on purpose.”

“I know,” his voice softened.  “But I can’t seem to block you.  I didn’t have the pleasure of getting drunk last night, so I’m not really up to paying
the consequences this morning.”

“I’m sorry,” I said again.  I clamored out of bed and trudged to the bathroom.  I peeled off my sweater from the night before, and suppressed the urge to vomit as the smell of campfire overwhelmed me again.  I quickly changed in to clean clothes and wound my tangled curls in to a bun away from face.

“Tal, we’re just going to the Medical building, you don’t need to impress anybody,” Erik called, from the main room, sounding quite annoyed.

I opened the door and smil
ed apologetically, “I’m sorry.”

“So you’ve said. Come on,” he ordered,
gesturing for me to follow him.

“Where’s Henri?” I asked, noticing for
the first time he wasn’t there.

“He spent the night in the city,” Erik replied shortly
, ushering me out of the cabin.

“Henri met a girl?” I did nothing to hide my shock.  Henri was so responsible, controlled, I couldn’t imagine he was the type to pick up a girl
at a bar and go home with her.

“Not exactly,
” Erik didn’t elaborate.

“Did he meet a boy?” I joked.

Erik abruptly stopped walking, and turned to face me.

“How di
d you know that?” he demanded.

“I didn’t,” I stammered.  “I just figured if he didn’t meet a g
irl, then maybe he met a boy.”

Erik gave me a hard look.

“I don’t see what the big deal is,” I continued.

“It’s not a big deal,” Erik sighed.  “He’s just a really private person and doesn’t want everyone
discussing his personal life.”

“I won’t say anything,” I promised quickly.

“I know, he’ll probably tell you anyway.  And he didn’t meet a boy at a bar.  His boyfriend, Frederick, lives in D.C.  They’ve been together for a few years now.  He usually spends a couple of nights a week down there with him, but with you being here he wanted to seem available, and stuff, and be around at curfew, so he hasn’t been staying the night.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond, so I didn’t.

We walked the rest of the way in silence.  When we entered the Medical building Erik, went directly to the receptionist and said something to her in a low voice.   I saw her nod, and then he turned and waved me over.  I followed Erik down a back hallway, into a room where a chubby, young Medic was sitting with his feet propped up on a desk, playing with his communicator.

“Hey, Zach,” Erik greeted the
guy.  “I need a hangover shot.”

Zach smirked, “you got it.”

“Zach and I were friends at school,” Erik explained, turning his attention to me.

“Hey,” I said to Zach.

He gave me a small nod of acknowledgement, then got up and grabbed a couple vials from the cabinet.  He mixed several serums together, and then filled a syringe with his concoction.

“Hop up on the ta
ble, big boy,” he said to Erik.

“Not me.  Her,” Erik replied pointing to me.  I climbed onto the table and turned my head away from the needle, as Zach silently injected me with his mixture.

“Thanks,” I mumbled.

“Happy to help,”
he grinned.

“Yeah, Zach I owe you one.  I’ll catch up with you later
in the week,” Erik thanked him.

“Sounds good.
  Feel better,” he directed his last statement towards me. I smiled at him and let Erik lead me out of the room.

No sooner had we walked out
of the Medical building then –

“Talia!”
a high-pitched voice squealed.

Erik groaned, rubbing his temples.

“Hey, Penny,” I said, smiling as she ran towards us with her fire engine red hair flying behind her.

“Oh
my gosh, I feel so crappy this morning!” she exclaimed.  “Note to self, sugary drinks hit you hard.”

“Ha
ha, yeah,” I agreed.

Erik groaned again.

“Oh Penny, this is Erik.  Erik, this is Penny,” I said, introducing them to each other.  Erik just nodded at her.

“Oh
my gosh, hi!” Penny extended her hand to Erik.  Erik shook it hesitantly.  “I’ve heard so much about you; all of the girls in the Crypto unit talk about you all the time!”

Erik wasn’t even fazed.  “I seem to have that effect on girls,” he said dryly.

“I was thinking maybe we could do something later?” Penny said, turning to me.

“Um, sure.
  Why don’t you send me a comm,” I replied, referring to the messages we went each other using our communicators.

“Great! Well then I’ll talk to you later!” Her excitement was draining what little energy I had.  “It was so cool to meet you!” she said to Erik.

“Likewise,” Erik looked amused.  I wondered if girls normally acted like this around him.

“I see you made a friend,” Erik said sounding slightly more amused after Penny walked awa
y.

“
Yeah, I guess I did,” I smiled.

“Don’t look so surprised, if you gave people a chance
you would have a fan club too.”

“I give people a chance,” I retorted defensively.

“No, you don’t,” he laughed.  “You’re stuck in your own closed-off world with Donavon,” he said Donavon’s name like it was a dirty word.

“I gave yo
u a chance, didn’t I?” I joked.

“You didn’t
have a choice,” he pointed out.

I was thinking about what he said as we walked a co
uple of yards without speaking.

“Tal!  I’ve been looking all over for you,” Dona
von called, jogging over to us.

“Oh shit,” Erik muttered. “I’m going back to the ca
bin.”  He started walking away.

“Erik?” I called after him.  He stopped walking.  “Thanks for everything.  And really
I am sorry.”

He smiled, turned
back around, and kept walking.

“
What happened last night?”
Donavon’s mental voice demanded.

“
What are you talking about?”
I sent back cautiously.

“You were drunk,”
it wasn’t a question.

”
I had some drinks with friends,”
I tried to keep my mental voice even.

“
What friends?  You haven’t been interested in making friends in the seven years I’ve known you.”

”No,”
I corrected.  ”
I haven’t had any interest in being friends with your friends.”

“What’s wrong with my friends?”
his mental voice was shouting.

“Nothing is wrong with your friends, except that
they’re your friends
. Like Laris, since I assume that’s how you know I was drinking last night.”

“Yes, that is in fact, who told me. 
Laris was worried, so he left me a comm.  How do you think I felt when I came home last night to find out that my girlfriend was so drunk that she couldn’t walk herself home?”
he demanded.

“Oh
Laris was worried? Worried?!?  No, I doubt he was worried.  He just couldn’t wait to call and tell you all about it!” 
I was so frustrated and angry that I was close to tears.

“Don’t be mad at
Laris.  I sent you a ton of comms last night and this morning, and you didn’t return any of them.  What were you doing?  What happened after you went back to your cabin?  And why were you drinking in the first place?”

“What the hell are you talking about?!?! Nothing happened after I went back to my cabin.  I passed out.  And why is
this such a big deal?  Weren’t you drinking last night?”

“Yes, I was drinking.  But I drink.  You don’t.  And I don’t appreciate you getting drunk for the first time without me.”

“This is ridiculous, Donavon.  I don’t understand why you’re so pissed.  I didn’t do anything wrong.  I’m going back to my cabin.  I cannot deal with you right now,”
I started walking away.

“Back to your cabin, or back to Erik?” 
Donavon screamed after me.

“
What?”
I rounded on him.  ”
What does Erik have to do with this?”

“I just find it a little convenient that Erik came home early last night.  The first night he has ever left the city bars without a girl on his arm, just so happens to be the first night you ever get drunk?”

“Have you lost it?  I REFUSE to dignify that with a response.”

I stomped towards my cabin.  My head started throbbing again, but this time it was from the blood pounding in my ears and
not from my hangover.  Donavon called my name, but I didn’t care.

I
ran straight through the Hunters’ Village and down the same path I’d led Penny down the night before. I didn’t stop until I reached the water’s edge.  A cold sweat was running down my back
,
sticking my shirt to my skin.  My breath was ragged, and no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get it under control.  I fell to my knees on the shore in front of the water, rocks biting into my skin through my thin pants.

The audacity of Donavon to accuse
me
of inappropriate behavior infuriated me. I had refused to cry in front of Donavon, but now tears of frustration poured hot and angry, down my cheeks.  I jumped to my feet and began pacing along the bank of the lake.  My head was spinning so fast the world around me blurred into a collage of colors, made worse by the tears obscuring my vision.  For a brief moment I hated myself for letting Donavon affect me so profoundly, and in my rage I wasn’t paying attention to my feet and I tripped.  I was caught off guard and my superb reflexes failed me.  Unable to get my hands out to break my fall, my forehead struck the trunk of a felled tree with a loud crack.