Transparent (19 page)

My heart does a couple of flips. I’m not sure what Seth and I are, except that we are closer than I ever thought we’d be … and I like it. “Do you have any one-piece swimsuits? I didn’t grab a suit in my rage-packing.”

She laughs. “No, what about a T-shirt over it?”

“It always comes up, and then it looks like someone just left a shirt in the water. I’ve been groped as a result.”

She winces. “Better not give Carlos that excuse. Would it be so bad to make a quick trip to your house? Maybe your mom’s cooled off by now. She probably misses you.”

My stomach turns at the thought, but I can’t tell Bea. As far as she knows, my mom and I got in a big fight and that’s why I’ve been at her house. I can’t tell her the whole truth. She’d be too worried. She’d want to help. It’s scary enough having Seth so involved. I can’t put anyone else in danger.

“If it’s quick, I guess. Maybe she won’t even be home,” I say, since I’m kind of pinned into going. Unless I want to explain it’s not my mom who’s the threat.

She hops in Sexy Blue. “I won’t even put her in park.”

We don’t speak, and I can tell she’s thinking about something. She’s not stupid; she has to at least know I’m stressed out. Even if she can’t see my expressions, she has an uncanny knack for picking up my vibes. “Did, um, something happen with your syndicate?”

I force myself not to react. “Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know, you’ve been so quiet and secretive lately. You seem … scared.” She takes a sharp turn onto my road. “I wondered if your dad was on to you or something.”

“It’s nothing you should be worried about.” I can’t tell her the truth, even if she’s zoning in on it. “I just … the math thing is stressing me out.”

She doesn’t look convinced. “Is it Seth?”

I freeze. Talk about a subject change. “What?”

“I’m just saying, you two have been spending more time together, and you seem to be getting along pretty well …”

“And?” I want her to say it. Maybe if she says what I’m hoping, then it won’t sound as crazy as it does in my head.

She shrugs. “Those two Mitchell boys have a way of going straight to your heart, don’t they? Like lost puppies you want to take home and keep forever.”

I watch her as she parks in front of my house, and then it clicks—Brady. She has to like Brady, and she’s testing the waters to see if we can talk about it. “They are pretty annoying that way. And cute.”

Her eyes light up when she smiles. “I know, right?”

“I’ll be right back.” I hop out of the car. “And then we’ll talk more.”

“We better!” Her voice carries in my ears, even as I open the front door. I rush past the living room, ignoring Mom’s cries for information. As much as I want to smooth things out with her, I can’t risk it. I won’t stay here, not until I get concrete information from Miles.

My suit still hangs on the bathroom doorknob. I grab it, resisting the urge to find my favorite pair of jeans. I am so tired of wearing dresses. When I round the hall corner, I’m met with an angry face, auburn hair wild like fire. But it’s not Mom.

It’s Graham.

Graham folds his thick arms over his chest, blocking the entire hallway. Even if he didn’t, it wouldn’t matter—it’s not like I could run fast enough to get past him. And Bea’s outside. If he saw her …

“Fifi, there you are.” His smile is so fake, it hurts. “Going swimming?”

I clutch my suit. “No. I just need to wash it.”

When his smile drops, I know he doesn’t buy it. “Not your best lie, sis.”

“It’s none of your business.” I head back to my room, but he flies over and shoves me into the wall.

“What did I say?” His breath is stale and hot on my face. “Everything here is my business. If you ever get that close to screwing this up again, I swear I’ll ship you right back to Dad.”

I can’t seem to find air. “What?”

“Who was that boy? What were you doing in Saguro?”

“You … you saw me?” If he saw me, there’s little chance Dad didn’t. My knees get weak, and the only thing keeping me up is Graham’s arm on me. “D-did he—?”

“No, you idiot. Do you honestly think you’d still be here if he did?” He pushes on my stomach, making it hard to breathe.

“Then … you’re using him as punishment if I don’t do what you say?”

His lip curls. “See it however you want. The boy lives around here, doesn’t he? I’m sure it wouldn’t be hard to find him, what with that light red hair and those gangly limbs.”

My insides go cold at the thought of him hurting Seth or any of my friends. “Graham, please, don’t. He doesn’t know anything.”

“Your lying is pathetic today. Either you can take me to these supposed friends of yours, or I’ll have to deal with them on my own.” He doesn’t have any names. It would take him time to find out who they are. Maybe I could figure out how to keep them safe.

“There’s no way I’ll—”

The doorbell rings. Bea said she wouldn’t even put Sexy Blue in park, but obviously I’ve taken way too long inside.

Graham raises an eyebrow. “And who might that be?”

He lets go, flying down the hall before I can grab a full breath. I rush for the stairs, but Mom’s already at the door. “How can I help you?”

“Um …” Bea spots me, and her eyes widen when she recognizes Graham from the SuperMart incident.

Graham points to her, all fury.
“You.”

I don’t have time to think. She’s the best friend I’ve ever had, and that’s enough to muster my courage. I throw myself at Graham and wrap my arms around his waist. My surprise extra weight throws off his balance, and he hits the floor.

“Run!”

Bea takes off without a second thought.

“Fiona! What on earth?” Mom says.

Graham rips me off him, but maintains a strong grip on my arms. “Don’t worry about it, Mom. I’ll take care of her.”

She purses her lips. “Graham, don’t hurt her. Give her a chance to explain.”

I stare at Mom, shocked that she’s defending me over Graham.

He scoffs. “I gave her a chance. She decided to be difficult.”

“Graham!” Mom yells, but the door slams behind us. Before I can fight him I’m fifty feet up, with Graham’s arms the only thing between me and falling. My stomach turns, and I close my eyes to block out the shrinking earth. Higher and higher we go, until the air feels thin and cold.

“If you sold out to another syndicate, consider this your last few minutes,” Graham says.

“I didn’t! Why the hell would I do that? They’re just friends!” I venture a peek at his face. He’s dead serious about this; he really would kill me. Not like that’s something new for him, but it’s terrifying all the same. I’m in his way, and he can get me out of it.

“I need more proof than your words. So you better tell me where to find your ‘friends.’”

I stay silent too long, my fear of heights making it hard to think. He finds my wrist and lets go of everything else. I scream as he dangles me above the desert by one arm. “Graham! No!”

“Tell me!”

“They don’t work for anyone, I swear!” My wrist feels like it’s about to snap. I can’t help but picture my skin ripping free of my hand, how it’ll feel to plummet to the hard ground below. He’s always caught me before, but this time I don’t think he will. The tears refuse to stop. “Please … don’t drop me.”

“I want to meet them. Now.” His grip loosens.

I don’t want to die. I wish I could be that noble, but I can’t sacrifice my life to keep them safe. I don’t know what that means—if they’re not really friends or if I’m just a horrible person. I suck in my sobs. “They’re probably at the community pool.”

“That’s a good girl.” Graham slings me over his back, and he soars toward the pool. Seth and Brady will be there at least, which means there’s a good chance The Pack will as well.

The smallest twinge of hope flickers in me. Brady … if anyone could stop Graham, it’d be him.

We begin to descend, which is far worse than going up. My stomach rolls so badly I almost lose it. When Graham sets me on the ground, my legs buckle, and I end up on top of the grassy hill. Splashing and laughter surround me, and I open my eyes. A few people stare, but other than that it seems all’s well.

“Fiona!” Seth’s voice comes from behind.

I turn, finding him, Brady, and the entire Pack running toward us, Bea included. A flood of emotion crashes over me as I stand and run. If I can just get to him, I’ll be safe. Seth grabs me—hugs me—and I gasp and sob into his chest.

“Thank God.” He runs his hand over my hair, which is surprisingly calming. “Bea told us what happened, and we thought …”

“And you would be?” Graham says.

Brady gives him the coldest stare I’ve ever seen come off his face. It’s honestly frightening. “Stay behind me.” He pushes Seth and me back.

“Are you okay?” Seth whispers. “Did he hurt you?”

“He … he …” I still feel like I’m about to lose it, so I wrap my arms around him for support. “I’m sorry I brought him here. He was going to drop me, and …”

“Don’t be sorry. You did the right thing. We don’t want you dead.”

“Please, don’t let him take me.” My voice is a shaky whisper.

“I won’t.”

Graham hovers in front of Brady, a sick smile on his face. “This is all very cute, but I’m gonna need information now.”

“What makes you think we’re willing to give it?” Bea’s hands go to her hips, like she’s ready to tell him off.

Graham narrows his eyes. “Who are you with?”

“Who says we’re with anyone?” Brady asks.

A small crowd has tuned in, even if they’re pretending not to listen. This conversation needs to end fast.

Graham smirks. “C’mon, let’s not play games.” He nods at Bea. “She imitates voices, which is way up there on anyone’s list of good attributes. You look pretty strong, so I’m assuming the rest of these people are gifted as well. Not a bad little gang, don’t you think?”

Brady flexes. “I suggest you leave Fiona alone. And if you don’t, you better believe you’ll pay for it.”

“Oh? You think you can make
me
pay?” He laughs in a way that says no one can beat him. It makes me sick.

Brady reaches out, grabbing Graham by the neck. Graham’s eyes bulge as he tries to pull away, but just like I hoped, he can’t overcome Brady’s muscle. The sight almost makes me smile. Serves him right.

“Don’t mess with her.” Brady lets go. “I don’t want to, but I
can
make you pay.”

Graham flies out of his reach. He rubs his neck, glaring in my direction. “Nice friends you have there, sis. You better hope they’re enough to keep you safe.”

He shoots off.

The last thing I want to do right now is take my math test, but it plops onto my desk anyway. I stare at the cover sheet, wishing I could keep what’s underneath a mystery. Bea squeezes my shoulder, as if she can see the panic on my face. “It’ll be okay, chica.”

I let out a breath. “I hope so.”

Opening the test, I try to block out what happened yesterday with Graham. I have to do my best—not for myself, but for Seth. He put in so much work, and I can’t give up now. Every problem feels like a mountain to climb, but I keep going, not really knowing if I found the right answers. At least I have an answer to every question before the bell rings. That’s more than I can say for past math tests.

“How’d it go?” Seth asks at lunch.

I shrug, honestly unsure of what to say. “I need to get in touch with Miles. You coming?”

He nods and follows me down the hall. I expect him to ask more about the test. He’s silent. Something is off, but I’m too drained to bother asking. It feels like I’ve used all my brainpower. I wish I could skip the rest of school and take a nap, but I have to tell Miles about what Graham did to me yesterday. He’s not on instant message, so I type out a quick email, telling him to call Bea’s house if there’s an emergency.

When I plop down in the seat next to Seth, he gently puts his hand on my back. It doesn’t feel like enough. I want to crawl into his lap, wrap my arms around his neck, close my eyes, and feel safe with him.

“Should I just grade your test now?” he asks.

I sit up. “Can you do that?”

“Yes.”

I smile. “Please. One less thing to worry about.”

We rush to the math room. Ms. Sorenson is at lunch, but the morning tests are already piled neatly at the TA desk with a note for Seth. He riffles through them for mine and grabs the key out of a locked filing cabinet. I can’t watch as he takes out a red pen and starts comparing, but I hear the scratch he makes for each wrong answer.

There are a lot of scratches.

Finally it’s quiet, the ticking clock the only sound. I wait for the verdict, but Seth doesn’t talk for what seems like forever. Finally he says, “Are you ever gonna turn around? I’m getting tired of holding this up for you to see.”

I cringe. “Did I fail?”

“Why don’t you look?”

“I can’t.”

He sighs, and the chair squeaks when he gets up. I close my eyes, too scared to know, but I can feel him in front of me. The paper touches my nose. “Open your eyes, Fiona.”

I whimper.

“Don’t make me open them for you.”

I force my right eye open to peek, and then I grab the paper because I can’t believe what I’m seeing. That can’t be a C- on my test. I look at him. “You didn’t miscalculate?”

“Yes, I suddenly forgot how to figure percentages.” He rolls his eyes, but smiles. “You passed!”

“I passed!” I’m dancing over a math test, but I feel victorious. If I can beat my messed-up brain, I can beat anything. And then my arms are around Seth’s neck. “You really are a genius!”

He laughs, his hands wrapping around my waist. “You’re the genius.”

“Whatever.” Suddenly we’re very still, to the point that I’m not even sure he’s breathing.

“It’s true,” he says quietly. “I remember numbers—you have to relearn math every time you sit down to do it. That takes a lot of intelligence.”

I bite my lip, the intensity in his eyes making me blush. “You mean that?”

He nods, but then his face fills with worry. “Fiona, I have to say something, and it can’t wait anymore.”

“Is it bad?” His hands tremble, and now I’m anxious, too. “You’re scaring me.”