"He could be playing you,
Sam, trying to get into your mind to hurt you. With everything that's happened
recently, do you really think it's a good idea to let a stranger in like
this?"
"If you can't trust him, then you have to trust me. I
know him—yes, even after only one night, I know him. He can help us, and with
everything that's going on, we need the help."
Lucy's eyes widened. "You're in love with him. Oh my God,
Sam, you're in love!"
Heat flooded my face. "Stop! We are close, and I'll
admit to some... feeling." Oh my God, this was such an embarrassing
conversation to have with him listening.
He chuckled in my mind, and I wanted to mentally swat him,
but that just made him chuckle harder.
"Let's just see how it goes, but for now, you don't
need to worry. He's not a spy and he's not trying to hurt me. He wants to
help."
I stared them both down, and while they didn't fall into
immediate trust with Drake, they were willing to try.
I did a mental victory dance. "Okay, let's focus.
Something's going on here, and we need to figure out what it is. It's time to
create our own assignment. You in?"
Lucy stood and stretched. "You know I am. We obviously
can't sit by and do nothing."
We both looked to Luke.
He grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "Seriously, do you
even have to ask?"
I smiled. "Okay, here's the plan. I'm going to go back
to the studio and dig through the rubble in Mr. K's office to see if I can find
any clues. I just have this sense that in our last class together he was trying
to tell me something, and I need to figure out what. Luke, see if you can dig
up any dirt in Higgins's office, and Lucy, you're the interrogator. Question
students, faculty, even Higgins if you can. Also, scope out the clinic and
figure out who's lying. We'll meet back here tonight to compare notes."
'How can I help?'
How could Drake help? He was strapped down and powerless,
though I didn't say that to him. I could only imagine how impotent he felt
right now. "Find out what you can from the nurses and Dr. Pana if you
see him again. He's the key here."
"Be careful, everyone, and remember that Rent-A-Kid is
watching us. Don't raise too much suspicion."
***
The wind whipped my ponytail across my face and chilled me
to the bone, but still I didn't move to open the door to the studio. I
couldn't. My plan had sounded good in the comfort of Luke and Lucy's suite, but
now, standing alone to face the remains of my life's work... my enthusiasm for
this mission waned.
'Are you okay?'
"No, not really. Whoever burned down this studio
turned my dreams to ash as well. I mean, I still have school, but without my
art...."
A flash of emotion seared me, and a memory stormed my
senses. The taste of the sea, the feel of the sun and wind, the surf under my
board... wait, not my board, Drake's. I'd never been surfing, but in that
moment I knew exactly how it felt to ride a wave and let go of all the pain and
fear, all the social expectations and the need to hide my true self in public.
In one blow, that dream died as they dragged me—him—away.
A tear slid down my cheek. I wasn't the only one mourning
the loss of a dream. "I'm sorry."
'You're not alone, I just wanted you to know that. And
someday, when I have my powers back and am free, I'm going to do some serious
damage to the people who've hurt you.'
His words released in me a primal urge to feel safe and
protected, to belong to someone in a more intimate way than I'd ever
experienced before. Still, in that moment he was just a voice, and I had to do
this on my own.
I opened the door and stepped in. Raw pain filled me at the
sight of my painting.
'Show me what it looked like, before the fire.'
His request surprised me, but I did as he asked. With eyes
closed, I projected the exact details of the painting I had poured my soul
into. Just as I had experienced his love of surfing in a visceral way, he
shared not just the visual beauty of my work, but the love and passion with
which I had
Sam, trying to get into your mind to hurt you. With everything that's happened
recently, do you really think it's a good idea to let a stranger in like
this?"
"If you can't trust him, then you have to trust me. I
know him—yes, even after only one night, I know him. He can help us, and with
everything that's going on, we need the help."
Lucy's eyes widened. "You're in love with him. Oh my God,
Sam, you're in love!"
Heat flooded my face. "Stop! We are close, and I'll
admit to some... feeling." Oh my God, this was such an embarrassing
conversation to have with him listening.
He chuckled in my mind, and I wanted to mentally swat him,
but that just made him chuckle harder.
"Let's just see how it goes, but for now, you don't
need to worry. He's not a spy and he's not trying to hurt me. He wants to
help."
I stared them both down, and while they didn't fall into
immediate trust with Drake, they were willing to try.
I did a mental victory dance. "Okay, let's focus.
Something's going on here, and we need to figure out what it is. It's time to
create our own assignment. You in?"
Lucy stood and stretched. "You know I am. We obviously
can't sit by and do nothing."
We both looked to Luke.
He grinned like the Cheshire Cat. "Seriously, do you
even have to ask?"
I smiled. "Okay, here's the plan. I'm going to go back
to the studio and dig through the rubble in Mr. K's office to see if I can find
any clues. I just have this sense that in our last class together he was trying
to tell me something, and I need to figure out what. Luke, see if you can dig
up any dirt in Higgins's office, and Lucy, you're the interrogator. Question
students, faculty, even Higgins if you can. Also, scope out the clinic and
figure out who's lying. We'll meet back here tonight to compare notes."
'How can I help?'
How could Drake help? He was strapped down and powerless,
though I didn't say that to him. I could only imagine how impotent he felt
right now. "Find out what you can from the nurses and Dr. Pana if you
see him again. He's the key here."
"Be careful, everyone, and remember that Rent-A-Kid is
watching us. Don't raise too much suspicion."
***
The wind whipped my ponytail across my face and chilled me
to the bone, but still I didn't move to open the door to the studio. I
couldn't. My plan had sounded good in the comfort of Luke and Lucy's suite, but
now, standing alone to face the remains of my life's work... my enthusiasm for
this mission waned.
'Are you okay?'
"No, not really. Whoever burned down this studio
turned my dreams to ash as well. I mean, I still have school, but without my
art...."
A flash of emotion seared me, and a memory stormed my
senses. The taste of the sea, the feel of the sun and wind, the surf under my
board... wait, not my board, Drake's. I'd never been surfing, but in that
moment I knew exactly how it felt to ride a wave and let go of all the pain and
fear, all the social expectations and the need to hide my true self in public.
In one blow, that dream died as they dragged me—him—away.
A tear slid down my cheek. I wasn't the only one mourning
the loss of a dream. "I'm sorry."
'You're not alone, I just wanted you to know that. And
someday, when I have my powers back and am free, I'm going to do some serious
damage to the people who've hurt you.'
His words released in me a primal urge to feel safe and
protected, to belong to someone in a more intimate way than I'd ever
experienced before. Still, in that moment he was just a voice, and I had to do
this on my own.
I opened the door and stepped in. Raw pain filled me at the
sight of my painting.
'Show me what it looked like, before the fire.'
His request surprised me, but I did as he asked. With eyes
closed, I projected the exact details of the painting I had poured my soul
into. Just as I had experienced his love of surfing in a visceral way, he
shared not just the visual beauty of my work, but the love and passion with
which I had
Similar Books
