The Mind Readers, Book 1

  Chapter 6

  Lewis said he’d take care of George. And I’d believed him. But with a forty-eight hour time period to gain perspective, my trust in a guy I barely knew was starting to waver. How would he take care of psycho George? What could he possibly do without admitting his own ability?

  “Did you hear?” Emily paused next to my locker, a smirk on her perfect face. She wore a dress so short she’d make a hooker blush. Always comfort before fashion, I was dressed in my typical jeans and zip-up hoody, my dark hair in a ponytail.

  I was surprised Emily was talking to me again and instantly suspicious. She had to be after something. It was way too early and I’d had too little sleep to play her guessing games. But I didn’t have a choice. Her excitement rolled off her in waves, and with her excitement came her thoughts. Annabeth.

  I heard her name whisper through Emily’s mind. She wasn’t the only one. I glanced down the crowded hall. Anne’s name was bouncing against the walls, back and forth in the minds of everyone present. Thoughts so fast I could barely catch full sentences.

  Crying...

  Can’t believe she didn’t know…

  Her own boyfriend…

  Arrested...

  I slammed my locker shut and spun around. “What happened?”

  “What a freak,” Emily said loudly enough to be overheard. Of course she loved the attention. But underneath her glee I realized there was something more… Emily’s parents were getting a divorce. It had pushed her over the edge. She was looking for anything to focus on and Anne had become her target. I should have felt sorry for Emily, but I didn’t.

  “How could you not know your boyfriend was a murderer?” She shivered dramatically.

  Oh God, Lewis had taken care of George! I wasn’t sure if I should be thrilled or horrified.

  “I knew he was a sicko the moment I met him. I can’t believe she brought him to my house.” Emily pressed her manicured hand to her heart. “He knows where I live! I could’ve been his next victim.”

  Surprise quickly gave way to irritation. Unbelievable. How had I been friends with Emily for so long without strangling her? Please, if George wanted to kill her, he was going to have to get in line. “Where’s Anne?”

  She slammed her locker shut with a flick of her hand. “Who knows and who cares. In my opinion, she’s just as sick as him…”

  I spun around and started down the hall, leaving Emily behind. She didn’t need me anyway, she had her ego and the entire school to hang on her every word.

  As I pushed past students hurrying to get to class, I couldn’t help but notice people giving me sidelong glances, their whispers ringing through my mind. They all knew I was friends with Annabeth and they wondered if I had realized her boyfriend was a murderer. Wonderful, guilt by association. I pushed aside the hurtful feelings, determined not to care. I had to find Anne. I had to make sure she was okay. How could Lewis do something so dramatic and not tell me?

  Tara was walking toward me, another girl who worked at Lakeside. “Tara,” I latched onto her arm. “Have you seen Annabeth?”

  She frowned, tucking a black curl behind her ear. “My God, Cam, did you hear?”

  I nodded, wishing she’d skip the pleasantries and answer my question.

  “Can you imagine what could have happened to Anne?”

  Finally someone who actually cared about Annabeth. “Have you seen her?”

  “She’s in the bathroom, but—”

  “Thanks.”

  I had five minutes before school started, but I’d be late if I had to. So much for that perfect attendance record. I pushed the door wide and burst into the girl’s restroom, a white space smelling of lemons that had provided more than one student with solitude. The place was surprisingly empty, as if the female population could sense the depressing aura and was purposefully keeping away. “Annabeth?”

  No response, but I heard her thoughts whispering from behind one of the closed stall doors.

  Why is she here? It’s her fault. God, I hate her. She did this on purpose…

  I cringed, feeling her words like a knife to the gut. “Anne.” I paused outside the middle stall, resting my hands on the cold steel door. “Come on, please, come out.”

  Why does she care? She wanted to humiliate me. She did it. I know she turned him in. She’s just like Emily. I never should have trusted her. George told me not to.

  “I’m not,” I cried out. “I swear I’m not like Emily.”

  There was a stunned moment of silence and then, Oh my God, how’d she know…

  I realized my mistake and at the same time, I didn’t care. I was tired of hiding. Tired of being alone with my secrets. Meeting Lewis had taught me that I didn’t have to live in fear. I felt more in control of my life than I’d ever felt before. Anne was a friend, she would understand.

  “Anne? Please, come out.”

  The bolt screeched back and the door pulled inward. Her round face was splotchy, her eyes wide and bloodshot from crying. The dress she wore was a wrinkled mess. In our shallow school where fashion mattered, her state of disarray wouldn’t help her cause.

  “Did you turn him in?” she demanded.

  “No, of course not.” Resisting the urge to tell her the truth, I bit back Lewis’ name.

  Her brown eyes narrowed. “You’re lying.”

  “I’m not! I didn’t, I swear.”

  She looked reluctant to believe me. I wanted her to believe me, but at the same time, wondered why she cared. Shouldn’t she be happier that her life had been saved? Or was it merely embarrassment that had her crying?

  I grabbed some toilet paper and handed her the wad of tissue. “Anne, I’m just so relieved you’re okay.”

  She ignored my offer. “He didn’t do it.” She moved to the sinks lining the wall and turned on the water. “I know everyone thinks he did, but he didn’t.”

  She splashed water on her face. I stared at her, horrified, the toilet paper forgotten in my hand. Wonderful, she was going to be one of those women who stood by her man, even when he went to prison. She’d marry him and write to him every day, proclaiming his innocence on some talk show. I sank back against the wall, sick. They’d write a movie about her and it would be on Lifetime, that channel Grandma liked to watch. She didn’t want to believe because if she believed, then she’d wonder if there was something wrong with her for falling for a guy like that.

  “Anne, he did it.”

  She spun around, her face furious and red. “He didn’t. They don’t have any legitimate proof.”

  “I know he did it.”

  She snorted. “How? How can you possibly know?” She turned her back to me and grabbed a paper towel. How dare she think she knows my boyfriend better than I do.

  “I do know him better.”

  She stiffened and I could see her face go pale in the mirror. Oh my God. How’d she know what I was thinking? There was a moment’s silence. What else does she know? Can she read my mind? What the heck’s going on?

  It was my opportunity. Prime opportunity to tell her the truth. To finally tell someone the truth. My heart slammed wildly against my chest, knowing once I admitted it, I couldn’t go back. I could leave, leave her here to deal with her problems alone. Go back to my old life. But I’d had a taste of freedom and I craved more. I wanted to tell the truth.

  “Yes,” I whispered and touched her gently on the shoulder. “I can read your mind.”

  She spun around and flattened herself against the edge of the sink, her eyes wide with terror…afraid of me. Startled, I pulled back. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen that look. My heart sank.

  “I’ve never told anyone. My grandma told me not to, but I don’t care,” I blurted out, hoping she’d understand, praying she wouldn’t judge me. “We’re friends. I have to tell you.”

  She shook her head. Obviously I hadn’t gotten through to her. Perhaps she didn’t understand. I started to reach for her, but thought better of it when she flinch
ed. “Anne, I can read minds, I’ve pretty much always been able to.”

  “No.” She’s crazy.

  I stiffened. The word hurt more than she could understand. Crazy. What Mom had most likely thought the day she’d dropped me off at Grandma’s. God, I hated that word. Hot tears stung my eyes.

  “I’m not crazy.” I stepped closer to her. She shrank back. “I can read minds and I heard George’s thoughts. He killed Savannah.”

  She shook her head. “You’re crazy.” She released a harsh laugh. “They say George is insane? And all this time I stood up for you when people whispered behind your back.” She moved away from me, scurrying toward the door. Outside the bell rang.

  “Anne, please! Wait!” I latched onto her arm before she could escape. If I didn’t make her believe me…

  She jerked away. The expression of disgust upon her face was like a punch to the gut. “Don’t touch me. Don’t talk to me, nothing.” She’s a freak.

  Anne rushed out the door, into the empty hall.

  I raced after her, no longer worried about making her understand, but worried about keeping her quiet. But she was already running toward her next class. Chasing after her would only cause a scene. How long before she told someone else? Oh God, what had I done?

  “Stupid move, Cameron,” Lewis said from behind me.

  I spun around, furious. “Excuse me?”

  His blue-eyed gaze had turned icy hard. He was angry. I’d never seen him angry. “You never tell your secret to people who aren’t like us.” He raked his hands through his hair; his fingers were trembling. “Shit, you have so much to learn.”

  Incompetence and sorrow dug deep into my body like a bur. I wrapped my arms around my waist as tears slipped from my eyes. I’d told her my secret and she hadn’t believed me. She was my friend, why hadn’t she believed me? “This is your fault!”

  “Are you serious?”

  “How could you do this to her? She hates me now.”

  He released a harsh laugh. “I saved your friend’s life.”

  I stomped my foot, the thump echoing down the empty hall. “You humiliated her!”

  His jaw clenched and he took a step back, intending to leave me as well. I didn’t want him to leave, at the same time I blamed him for this mess.

  “Better humiliated,” he said, “than dead.”