The Mind Readers (5 page)

His dark brows raised in
question. “Just?”

“Your locker. The girl who died,
Savannah, it was her locker.” I could barely get the words out, my voice
sounded hollow and muffled. There were too many emotions swirling through my
body.

He nodded slowly. “I see.”

But I didn’t see. I didn’t see
how he could be so calm, act like he cared…unless he hadn’t killed Savannah.
“Where are you from?”

“North.”

Vague answer. Mysterious or shy?
Completely confused, I opened my locker and shoved my books inside, trying to
focus on his thoughts yet again. It was like hitting a brick wall. Surely if he
had killed her he’d be thinking about it right now, wouldn’t he?

“Did you know her well?” he
asked, his voice soft and kind.

I wasn’t sure how to respond to
that compassion. “Well enough that I didn’t want her murdered.” My voice came
out harsher than I’d intended. I was angry, angry that I was attracted to a guy
who could be a possible murderer, angry that I couldn’t read his thoughts,
angry that everyone in this school was more worried about their own pathetic
problems than the fact that a girl, a living, breathing girl, had died. I
didn’t know what I thought anymore.

“Where do you go next?” I
murmured, contrite. After all, I didn’t know Lewis. Maybe he was just a normal
guy.
 

“English.”

I frowned, finding it odd that
we were going to the same place. It didn’t matter, we had assigned seats. I’d
drop him off at the door and hopefully avoid him for the rest of the day. We
were silent as we walked slowly to class. My thoughts were in turmoil, rushing
this way and that in full panic mode. I practically oozed nervousness. But I
had a feeling he was completely in control of his own mind.

“I’m sorry about your friend,”
he said and it seemed like he meant it, but did he?

“It’s all right, you didn’t
know.” The bell rang and the halls emptied. We were alone. Completely alone.
The school grew quiet, the only sound the soft murmur of Teacher’s voices and
the buzz of the fluorescent lights above.

“Do they have any suspects?” he
asked, his deep, smooth voice oddly calming.
 

“No,” I said, wondering why he
asked. But wondering more where he came from, why he was here and why the heck
I couldn’t read his thoughts.

He paused near some benches and
sat, looking thoughtful as he stared at nothing in particular. I glanced
nervously down the hall at the classroom door. I’d always been a good girl,
never skipped class, always did my homework, didn’t smoke or drink…it felt odd
knowing I’d be late, as if I was on a path to ruination.
 

“What’s sad,” he started,
breaking into my thoughts. “Is that someone knows something.”

I shrugged, feeling slightly
sick. “Yeah, the murderer. I’m sure he knows a lot.”

He crossed his arms over his
chest, his biceps bulging. He was lean, but fit. “How do you know it’s a he?”

Shoot.
Heat shot straight to my cheeks.
Because the voice in my head had been male.
“Most likely.”

He nodded slowly, his gaze on me
the entire time. I found myself shifting under the intensity of his scrutiny.
Did he believe me? “We really should get to class; the principal likes to roam
the halls.” It was a lie, but he didn’t need to know that.

He grinned. “You don’t lie
well.”

I stiffened, startled by his
blunt comment. “I’m not, I’m…”

He arched a dark brow.

I took a few steps back. My
brain felt muddled, my body buzzing with some unidentifiable emotion. “Fine, I
want to go to class, so sue me. Are you coming or not?”

He didn’t respond for a few
moments, his gaze on the wall behind me, as if lost in thought. “Yes, of course
the murderer knows what happened.”

I sighed. Was he going back to
that now? Why was he so interested in Savannah’s death? I pressed my fingers to
my throbbing temples and took a step back, intending to leave him then and
there. I had a feeling he was playing some odd game with me, and I’d never
liked games.

“But what I meant,” he stood,
looming over me. “Was that usually there is someone else who knows what
happened. Someone too afraid to tell the truth. And because of that, a murderer
kills again, might even go free.”

He didn’t look at me as he said
the words, but started down the hall. So why then, did I suddenly feel totally
guilty?
 

He turned, walking a few steps
backward. “It’s too bad we can’t, say, read minds.” He flashed a brilliant
smile as my heart slammed erratically against my chest. He hadn’t just said
those words. “Then perhaps we’d know the killer’s identity.”

My insides froze; the world
around me fading and all I could do was focus on him…the source of my trauma.
He turned around and made his way into the classroom, leaving me alone with my
paranoid thoughts.

He knew. Oh God, he knew.
 

My stomach twisted and I pressed
my hands to my belly. I would swear on my life he knew. But how much? Surely he
didn’t know about my powers. He couldn’t know. I’d never told anyone here.
Unless Grandma had. Was this some sort of test from her? I wouldn’t put it past
the old bat. But that didn’t explain why I couldn’t read his mind. I swallowed
hard and on trembling legs, I made my way toward class.

There was only one other person
whose mind I couldn’t read… Grandma’s. And that was because she had learned to
control her thoughts. What if…what if this Lewis…

No.

I froze outside the door and
studied the classroom through the small window. Lewis sat near the back, his
gaze focused on the front of the room.

Could Lewis read minds too?

He turned his head and looked
directly at me, answering my question.

Chapter 4

“You sure they won’t mind that
I’m coming with you?” Annabeth was so nervous it was making
my
stomach roll. I really, really wished
she’d keep her emotions to herself. I hadn’t been this nervous since we’d moved
here.

“They’re not going to kick you
out,” I said, slipping my arm through hers as we made our way up Emily’s
sidewalk. That was exactly what Anne was thinking they’d do. As if they’d
scream she wasn’t popular enough and toss her from the house. I almost laughed
at the idea, but didn’t want to hurt her feelings.
  

Heck, I wasn’t even sure if
Emily still wanted me to come to her party as she’d barely talked to me the
past week. It was also the last time I’d talked to Lewis, even though, oddly,
we had every class together. Emily had been on him like a freaking tick on a
deer. She was jealous I’d gotten to hang out with the hot new guy.

I hadn’t had a chance to
question him about his odd comment, and honestly, I wasn’t even sure I wanted
to. All I wanted to do tonight was get lost in a rush of teenage hormones. I
was determined to make my last year of school as normal as possible. Yet, as
much as I tried to stop thinking about him, Lewis was never far from my mind.

“It’s too bad we can’t, say, read minds. Then perhaps we’d know the
killer’s identity.”

I’d caught him looking at me a
few times during the week, but other than a passing glance he’d seemed to have
forgotten my existence. And it irked. For one moment I’d thought I wasn’t
alone, that someone finally understood me. The moment had passed and I began to
wonder if I’d imagined his odd comments and attention.

The front door burst open and
Trevor stumbled outside. His hair was mussed, his blue t-shirt half untucked
from his jeans; already wasted even though the party had just started. “Hey,”
he muttered, then leaned over and threw up in the bush, producing a wrenching
sound that made me want to gag in kind.

Annabeth gasped like a mother
who’d just heard her kid curse for the first time. Well, she’d wanted to go to
these parties; she should get used to it. I shook my head, laughing. “Every
party starts the same way. I swear I don’t understand why anyone wants to go to
these.”

I was getting bored with them to
be honest, but I couldn’t stand to be home tonight with only my thoughts
keeping me company.
 

Anne shrugged, flushing. “It’s
just nice to be included.”

I brushed off my guilt.
Sometimes I forgot that Anne wasn’t as popular as the rest of my friends. She
was hoping that would change tonight, I wanted to tell her not to hold her
breath. Not because Anne didn’t deserve to be popular, but because my
friends
were…to be blunt…kind of asses.

As we made our way into the huge
foyer of Emily’s home, or should I say mansion, Anne gasped again. “Oh my God.”

“I know,” I said with a sigh.
And I did. I didn’t need to read minds to know exactly what she was feeling
because I’d felt it the first time I’d gone to Emily’s too. A loser…who didn’t
belong here, unless I was serving food. From the marble floors to the crystal
chandelier hanging above, Emily’s home reeked of money.
 

“Hey, you think they’ll care if
George comes by? I told him to pick me up at ten.”

I resisted the urge to roll my
eyes. A twenty-five year old hanging out at a high school party? What was his
deal? “Yeah, sure, its fine.” But I knew better. Emily would have a fit. It was
one thing to bring quiet and unassuming Annabeth, but her loser boyfriend
wouldn’t exactly be welcomed with open arms.

We made our way through the
throng of dancing kids in the living room, their cups of illegal beer splashing
onto the floor as they jumped and spun in a mock imitation of dancing. They
looked like ducklings trying to fly.

Emily held this party every year
when her parents went to Boston for some conference. Usually the next day I’d
help her clean. Correction, I’d clean. Instinctively, I searched for her
familiar blonde hair. I admit I did kind of miss her (or her company anyway) now
that the excitement of Savannah’s death had faded. Two weeks and still not one
suspect. People were nervous, but less so, thinking the murderer had been
merely traveling through town. I wasn’t sure what to believe. For the most
part, it was back to homework, sports and flirting.

“There’s Emily,” Anne yelled
over the pounding music.

I glanced toward the French
doors that led to the back patio. I’d been in this house so many times I knew
it as well as Emily did. Her parents had practically adopted me. Even though I
knew they thought of me as a charity case, I didn’t care. Emily’s family was
the closest I’d come to a real life.

She was easily noticeable
standing near the doors. Only Emily could get away with wearing a super mini
skirt and tight white t-shirt that did little to cover her red bra. I felt Anne’s
envy tickle the back of my neck. I understood it well for I’d had the same
feeling often enough, but I’d learned how to deal with my emotions. Plus, I
knew the truth. Emily’s life wasn’t all roses and kittens. Emily tossed her
hair back and laughed as she leaned in, pressing her huge boobs to some
pathetic guy with dark hair. I started to snort in disgust when something about
the set of his shoulders, and the curl of his hair sent warning bells through
my head.

I stiffened as realization
hit.
 

Lewis.

My heart stopped for a brief
moment. I couldn’t seem to move, couldn’t stop staring as anger washed through
me in a sickening wave that left me shaking. Her hands fisted in his vintage
New York t-shirt. Bunching the material, she pulled him closer. Bile rose in my
throat. She was going to kiss him and he was going to let her. I realized, in
that panicked moment, I didn’t want them to kiss. She could have Trevor, she
could even have Kevin, but she couldn’t have Lewis too.

Lewis turned his head and met my
gaze. I should’ve been startled by his sudden attention, but I was only
relieved that he had finally noticed me. Emily was saying something, trying to
regain his attention, but he didn’t break eye contact with me. In fact, he
moved away from her and started our way, those broad shoulders easily pushing
aside everyone else. He was tall and lean, like a swimmer. I couldn’t help but
be attracted to him. My heart thundered madly in my chest. I could barely hear
Anne’s chatter. The music faded, the people around me faded. There was only me
and Lewis.
  

“I…I need some air,” I think I
said.
 

Before Anne could follow I
darted toward the open doors and into the backyard, leaving Lewis and Emily
behind. I was abandoning Anne and I’d feel bad about it later, but at the
moment I needed to worry about my own survival.

Truth was, I didn’t really
believe Lewis had murdered Savannah. No, the person who had murdered Savannah
couldn’t hide his thoughts. But that didn’t mean I trusted Lewis. And I
certainly didn’t trust my feelings around him. I liked him, a lot. So did Emily,
and Emily always won. I wasn’t about to set myself up for humiliation…again.
Besides, soon school would be over and I’d be off to college. What did it
matter?
 

The evening air cooled my heated
skin. Reality rushed back on the breeze and I could breathe again. A few
students were outside, some making out in the shadows, others hanging around
the pool. Sarah, the attention whore, had even jumped in with her clothes on
and was currently screaming and splashing for help. I shook my head, disgusted
with her antics. Even more disgusted with what my life had become. I was hiding
in the shadows, for God’s sake.

Not wanting to make
conversation, I moved toward the perimeter of the yard where the trees
thickened and the woods spread out into a forest so dense, you couldn’t help
but wonder what was lurking out there. How I loved coming here where no one
could read my thoughts. If I didn’t turn on the charm and win Emily back, I
would lose her, my status, and any sense of normalcy I had. But did I care
anymore?