The Healer: A Young Adult Romantic Fantasy (The Healer Series Book 1) (9 page)

In all honesty, I was having trouble looking away from him, but from the way my body was reacting to him it was clear that I needed to. I was hyper-aware of the affect he had on my beating heart, and the smug, knowing look on his face made it obvious that he knew it and wasn’t at all surprised by it.

“Hello Tie,” Ms. Mori said.

I spun around to face my teacher, feeling relieved her voice had managed to break the spell he’d cast. How did they know each other?

“Hey, Chinatsu. I’m sorry I’m late. I had a few things to clear up concerning my class schedule.”

His voice gently glided across my body. I needed to focus on something else before I started to hyperventilate. My reaction to him was not only completely unexpected, but entirely unwelcome. I hadn’t had a crush on anyone for years. In fact, I couldn’t remember if I’d ever had a crush on anyone before. I’d always been too busy navigating the murky waters of Angie’s twisted and convoluted love life.

“Class, I’d like to introduce you to our newest student, and a close friend of my family. This is Tie Hart. He’ll be joining us for the remainder of his senior year.”

I turned to Angie in a panic. She was drooling just as much as the rest of the females in the room. No help in
that
corner.

The guys noticed him simply because Tie’s presence upped the level of competition. By the end of the day every female at the school would be drooling as much as Angie was; as much as I wanted to, now that I thought about it. “Now then, what were you saying, Tie?” Ms. Mori asked.

“I think the arrows and blossoms are symbols of second chances,” he reiterated. “Women are always falling in love with the wrong guys. Drug addicts, wife beaters, adulterers. I’d like to think there’s a god of love out there who is capable of helping people, women especially, fall in love with the right person. The guy who would actually be worth sleeping with even if he had been turned into a sea monster.”

All the girls in the classroom giggled vapidly. I thought I was going to hurl.

“Monster, being the key word here,” I muttered.

“What was that?” Tie asked innocently.

“If the guy is a monster on the outside he’s probably a monster on the inside too.”

“Not necessarily,” he said shifting in his seat. I cringed inside, knowing I was aware of every move he made. I fought the urge to look back as he spoke to me.

“I think the sea monster is more of a reference to ugliness on the outside but beauty on the inside. You know, like beauty and the beast. It always makes me happy to see an ugly guy with a beautiful girl. Nine times out of ten she’s with him because of how beautiful he is on the inside and how good he is to her.”

The room seemed to breathe out one huge, collective sigh as Tie weaved his mind-numbing spell over every female present.

Was this a teenage boy speaking? What guy, drop dead gorgeous mind you, discussed the superiority of an ugly man dating a beautiful woman? Didn’t a gorgeous and conceited teenage boy’s lack of maturity forbid such adult musings?

“So you think the arrows and cherry blossoms of this world are righting the wrongs of mistakes made by misguided women who aren’t capable of choosing for themselves?” I asked spinning around to face Tie directly. Big mistake. His cold eyes froze me with their intensity, and he actually looked a little angry.

“I suppose it’d be better for someone to fall in love with a total jerk instead of having a life full of true happiness?” His tone was caustic.

“That’s not what I’m saying. I just think these little toys those gods are playing with take away a person’s options. With no will of your own you can’t possibly be master of your own feelings.” Tie appraised me coolly.

“I can think of other things that take away a person’s ability to choose. For example, arranged marriages don’t give anyone the opportunity for a person to love who they were meant to.”

“Tie,” Ms. Mori warned.

I glanced at Ms. Mori. She appeared a little angry with that last comment, and the look they shared revealed a long history filled with tension. I knew he was referring to the maiden in the Japanese tale, but for some reason I got the feeling his words were also directed toward me. They filled me with a strange sense of déjà vu. I heard a buzzing in my ears and felt lightheaded. Nothing like this had ever happened to me before, and all the while Tie’s intense glare skewered me to my seat. “There are a lot of things that could take away a person’s ability to decide who they want to be with.” I spoke stiffly now. I was afraid any show of emotion would lead to another show of emotion much more embarrassing.

“Wouldn’t you rather have a god who knows what’s best for you, direct you to the one who’d give you the most happiness?”

“I’d rather leave my fate in my own hands,” I shot back. I was vulnerable and a bit out of sorts. I couldn’t account for my own feelings and decided to blame everything on Tie since he was the only inconsistency in my very predictable high school career. This was the part of my life that was normal. I didn’t want any of that turned upside down.

“As if you or any other human being could choose better than a deity,” Tie scoffed condescendingly.

What’s with this kid?

“I know if you were a god I’d let you choose for me any day,” yelled Tanya Sedgewick from the front of the class effectively breaking the tension between Tie and myself. I heard people snickering, and the school bell rang.

“We’ll continue this discussion tomorrow, class. Don’t forget to read chapter five for your homework. I want you to be prepared when you get in here tomorrow.” Ms. Mori kept her eyes glued to me as I slowly raised myself out of my hard, cold chair. I was definitely feeling a bit dizzy, but the pressure in my head had diminished somewhat.

I went to take a step forward, but must have been more lightheaded than I’d realized because my traitorous knees buckled under my own weight. An arm shot out in front of me and caught me before I hit the floor.

I knew who my savior was and looked up apprehensively. Tie wore an amused expression on his face.

“If you want to be in charge of your own fate, you should start by standing on your own two feet.”

I decided right then and there that I did
not
like this guy.

Moving forward, I brazenly closed the distance between us, and brought my face directly in front of his. Okay, so I had to look up a few inches. Still, I was pretty close. An electric buzz began where Tie’s hand grasped my arm, and I panicked as it began sliding up towards my shoulder. I was almost certain he felt it too by the quick flicker of surprise on his face.

“Thanks for catching me, Tie was it? I think I can take it from here.” I moved to walk past him, but his hand on my arm prevented me from getting very far.

“What? Did you need something?” The heat from his hand burned through my long-sleeved shirt. I schooled my face to show no emotion, simply polite indifference.

Instead of answering my questions, he lifted his hand and rubbed a thumb along my cheekbone. His gaze greedily drank in my features, poring over every detail with such a powerful longing that I could sense his turbulent emotions even though I hadn’t connected with him. I wanted to brush his hand away, but I stood frozen at such intimate contact. My brain refused to communicate with my body.

“Tie,” Ms. Chinatsu said.

Without taking his gaze from mine he said, “We’re supposed to determine if circumstances have changed, aren’t we? I’m just testing the waters here.”

What?
Testing the waters?

“That’s not what Katsu had in mind, and we’re not even sure if your assumptions are accurate.” Her tone of voice brokered no argument.

His expression immediately adjusted to her response. A blank mask descended, and he released his hold on me. Though he appeared indifferent his emotions spoke otherwise. Yep, I could still feel them, and yes, I was freaking out about it. What’s worse, I was just as disappointed by the aborted contact as he seemed to be.

I shook myself a little and stepped back, wondering if the last few moments had even happened. Maybe my hallucinations were now effecting my interactions with others.

“Okay, that was unusual,” I mustered. Tie gifted me a small grin.

“I was hoping for a little more encouragement than that.” Though he was clearly teasing me, he also sounded a bit serious. At a loss as to how to handle this bizarre situation, I stuck my hand out.

“My name is Hope Fairmont,” I said.

His smile widened as he took my hand in his. I did my best to ignore my body’s reaction to the contact. “I know who you are, Hope.”

Okay, now that was definitely bizarre.

I must have stood there for a full five seconds with my mouth hanging open like an imbecile before Angie came to my rescue.

“How awesome—and somewhat creepy--that you’ve taken the liberty of memorizing the names of your classmates before your first day of school.” Angie inserted herself between us and pulled my hand away while wrapping an arm around my shoulder. “We’ll let your stalkerish behavior slide since you’re so nice to look at. I’m Angie.”

Tie let out a low chuckle and then shook her hand.

“Nice to meet you.”

The moment their hands made contact I noticed Angie freeze. Her gaze grew distant like she was seeing something other than the hot guy standing before her. Complete and total shock registered across her face and then she was pushing me forward at a pace that practically required me to run.

As we stepped out of the classroom, I heard Ms. Mori utter, “Well, that was a complete and total disaster, Tie. Are you trying to scare her?”

I paused just next to the door, and Angie stopped with me. We both tilted our heads to better hear the conversation.

“We don’t have time to mess around with this, and I don’t need to prove anything to you. It’s her. I promise you, it’s Hope,” Tie said.

The sound of his voice, even from this distance, had the power to make me shiver. Why did it sound so familiar?

“How can you be sure?”

“I just am.”

“Not good enough, Tie.”

“It will have to be.”

Angie and I waited a few more moments, but nothing else was said. The crowd had thinned enough that I felt it okay to lead Angie down the hallway.

I contemplated the possible meanings behind this strange encounter, and I did not like the conclusions I came to. My breathing became ragged, and my heart rate picked up speed. They’d found me, just as I feared they might. Of course, I had no idea who “they” were, but obviously I’d been under surveillance, and now crazy people from the government were after me.

Or I was reading into things and getting worked up over nothing. Maybe what Tie needed was one amazing Calculus tutor. I was definitely known for my nerd-like math skills throughout the high school. It was why I found Math so boring. Far too easy.

When he said,
It’s her,
he probably meant,
She’s the one who’s going to get me an A on my next exam.

“That entire thing was so weird,” I stated, trying to pull Angie out of her unusual silence.

“He’s just like you,” she mumbled. “I’ve never run into anyone else like you.”

I stopped walking and pulled her to face me. “Angie, what are you talking about?”

Surprise blossomed across her face, as if she’d momentarily forgotten my presence. Then she mustered up a fake smile and said, “Oh, I was just thinking how into you he is. You should definitely get to know this guy.”

“Why would I want to do that? The guy was creepy and arrogant.” I hoped she might open up a little and let me know what she was actually thinking.

“He was also extremely hot. Your virgin lips status is about to change,” she cheered.

I’d lost her. Better luck next time.

“I gotta get to class. Will you be okay or do you need me to block traffic?”

Angie shook her head and gave my arm a squeeze. “The bell is about to ring so I should be fine. I’ll see you at lunch.”

She headed in the other direction as I wondered what was really going on in that quirky brain of hers. Then I puzzled over the scene in Ms. Mori’s class as I made my way to Calculus.

Chapter Five

The rest of my day continued on its abnormal path. After mythology, I navigated my way to the second floor in order to reach my math class.

I’d never realized how crowded my school was. I did everything possible to avoid coming into contact with my fellow students, but found that it was nearly impossible to accomplish such a seemingly simple task.

I was inches from the door to calculus when three people managed to bump into me at the same time. I felt my senses expand outward and froze as I connected with all three students at the same time. A hot, searing pain shot from the back of my skull to the front, effectively dropping me to my knees. I grabbed my head in an attempt to keep it from falling off my neck.

Logically, I knew losing my head wasn’t even a remote possibility, but the intense, throbbing pain insisted otherwise. As far as I could tell, none of the students I’d just connected with had been experiencing such a severe migraine.