Ethereal

  “Oh dear God, no.” In a way it’s a good thing because there won’t be any weirdness between us, ever. Let the record show I will never challenge her for Drake’s affection.

  “What? He’s cute.”

  “It’s like you’re cursing.” My hands rise instinctively over my ears.

  “Anyway, they’re not seeing anybody. And when I went to work last night it was obvious they were already warring over you. Guess they like fresh meat too.” She tosses her phone onto the mattress.

  Fresh meat. Good thing I’m partial to carnivores.

  ***

  West Paragon High sits landlocked around a fleet of tall brick businesses, and it remains an unfortunate distance from the miles of sandy shore. Another fog filled afternoon is here to greet us, and I welcome it as it kisses my face, caresses my arms and legs as we cut through it with our haste. We’re a good forty minutes late to practice because of my ‘hygiene habit’ as Brielle put it so delicately.

  On the ride over, she informed me of the triune goddesses who run the team and apparently the school with their wicked charm of which no one can stand and yet everybody secretly wants to be a part of. Sounds like your typical power bitches.

  “Michelle Miller, Emily Morgan, Lexy Bakova.” Brielle gives a knowing look when introducing them. They have that ripped from the pages of an expensive magazine look written all over them. The set of matching scowls must be their signature mark.

  “Nice to meet you.” I manufacture a smile.

  “Natalie Coleman, Kate Winston.” Brielle concludes the introductions with a set of homelier girls with bright friendly faces.

  It’s uncomfortably quiet, save for a few shy hellos from the last two. The trio of wickedness glares over at me with a special brand of callousness I’ve yet to encounter. A horrible sense of vulnerability washes over me, and suddenly I’m self conscious of everything right down to my breathing.

  “Hey!” A booming voice calls from the side.

  With lightning quick strides Logan appears next to me, swooping his arm across my shoulder.

  “Trying out for the team?” He’s sporting a half-shirt, worn out grey sweats and has a football helmet tucked under his arm.

  “Yeah. I think so.” I don’t tell him I’m in. That they’ll give me Chloe’s spot if I want it. I don’t want to see his amber eyes ignite like that again. He’s far more attractive than he was yesterday, and I’m not entirely sure how that can be possible. “Morning.” I say as though magically we were the only two people on the field.

  “Morning.” He counters. His brows narrow in on me, and for the first time I see his eyes light up, wide like beautiful flames as he smiles. Animal eyes.

  I keep staring and I’m gonna have a really big problem right here, right now. I hear him say.

  I want to laugh at the thought. I blink back my surprise. I can feel the heat rising to my cheeks, an embarrassing shade of scarlet. I think I’m in love.

  His eyes widen with pleasure.

  Love? He looks right at me as he thinks it.

  This time it’s my eyes widening—with horror. I jump free from his grasp. My lungs expand and retract at a quickened rate.

  Shit! He heard me! I heard him and he heard me.

  Judging by the shocked expression on his face. He didn’t expect it either.

  Chapter Four

  Listen

  I watch mesmerized as the trees appear and disappear in and out of the fog as Brielle races down the road. Mom was so tired, there was hardly any fight left in her when I asked if I could go to a party with Bree tonight. Mom’s only concession was that I let Drake tag along. She wants him to get acclimated before school starts. She and Tad are afraid he’ll have a hard time fitting in. Most likely he won’t fit in anyway, primates usually don’t do well at public school. But I pay the piper and issue Drake a get-out-of-the-house free card.

  “Ellis Harrison is sort of a dick.” Brielle says turning down the music in her bright red Jeep.

  Earlier she informed both my mother and I that he came from old money and lived in one of the biggest homes in the gated portion of town known as Paragon Estates.

  She recites his name to the tower guard who lazily punches in a code. The wooden arm swings up as we glide on down a mysterious winding path. You can feel the affluence just driving past the sprawling homes, each one more extravagant than the last, hiding behind the neatly trimmed bushes that nestle their borders. We follow a white bridal fence for what feels like miles as the giant eucalyptus shag their leaves into the wind. The sky glows a light purple. Even through the damp thick air you can see the crystal expanse of stars glinting above like shards of ice.

  She pulls in a long stone-paved driveway that widens until it reaches a monolithic estate lit up like a jewel. A giant chandelier glitters out the second story window just above two glass doors adorned with wrought iron. The whole place has a Spanish villa feel, equip with an enormous three-tiered fountain in the middle of the circular driveway that sits surrounded by stone lions. It’s illuminated with a pale blue glow, and it occurs to me while gazing at it dreamily, that I could never get used to living in a place as fantastic as this. I’d have to wear ball gowns to bed and pearls to breakfast. Hell, I’d probably have to eat pearls for breakfast.

  “Crap.” Drake hisses as we get out of the car.

  The entire upper portion of the driveway is bombarded with cars. I look around suspiciously at each one within my line of vision. I’m not sure what kind of car Logan drives, or Gage for that matter. Speaking of which, I’m not particularly looking forward to seeing Logan tonight. I still haven’t had the chance to properly process what happened this afternoon. He left for practice like a bat out of hell. Maybe it was my imagination? Maybe I only thought he could hear me? I’d die if he could. That’s why I overreacted in the first place.

  Brielle leads us in through the front door without knocking. It’s noisy inside. My chest picks up the bass from some rap song I don’t recognize, and an army of shadows laugh and sway to the beat. I don’t say anything about the music, just follow the scarf of Bree’s perfume into the next room illuminated by the residual light from the main entry.

  It’s not wall to wall bodies like the parties I’ve been to back home, but then those houses were the size of a shoe box and come to think of it if we shrunk this place down to that size we’d probably be wall to wall bodies too.

  “Elle!” She flings her arms around a tall, good-looking guy with sandy hair and a deep dimple on his right cheek. My stomach gives a hot pinch at the sight of him. “This is Skyla!” Brielle shouts over the music. “And her brother!” She pulls Drake over, and laps her arm around his waist.

  He doesn’t hesitate to offer me a full-blown hug. His hands ride up my back, disrupting the bra straps beneath my sweater. I can feel the heat coming off his shirt, his neck. He smells of soap and mint mouthwash.

  “Ellis. Nice to meet you.” He gives it all in one hot whisper directly into my ear.

  Jeez! She’s hot.

  I take a giant step back as my face burns with embarrassment.

  “Look who decided to join the party?” A voice emanates from behind.

  Gage slaps Brielle on the back, introducing himself to Drake by way of a high five. He looks sharp with a stark white polo that gives off an eerie glow, matches the white of his teeth and his eyes.

  I pick up my hand and wave. My heart races at the thought of seeing Logan. They’re a package deal, right? Living together, the bowling alley, football team…

  I turn around to find him standing behind me.

  “Hey.” His arms are folded across his chest and his legs are out in a defiant stance. The shadows are playing with his expression, and I can’t tell whether or not he’s happy to see me.

  Brielle pulls him over with robust enthusiasm and introduces Drake as my brother, which makes me groan inwardly. She’s blowing my plan to avoid Drake at all costs. So much for pretending I don’t recognize him as a species. At least he?
??s not picking his nose. For that I can be thankful.

  Drake reaches up at scratches at the side of his nostril, giving me a mild heart attack in the process.

  “You shoot pool?” Logan directs the question right at me.

  “I’ll break some balls with you guys.” Ellis nods into his offer.

  “No thanks.” Logan doesn’t take his eyes off me. The intensity has returned to his face. His eyes seem to have garnered the ability to steal the light from the chandelier, cast it out at the world as though it were their own.

  Without a word to Brielle, I follow Logan out the French doors that lead to the side yard. The night air is perfumed with the thick scent of night blooming jasmine, a scent I remember from back home, and it leaves me feeling nostalgic. The heavy night dew, deposits its dampness against my sweater, my face, with its cold ragged breaths.

  Logan waits for me to catch up as we hit a dirt trail leading to a barn-like structure.

  “It’s warm inside. I promise.” He bounces his fingers against the small of my back before dropping them back to his side.

  He’s right. It is warm inside. He turns on a light in a kitchen the size of the one I had in L.A. In fact it looks surprisingly like a normal sized home with the exception, it’s just one large room with a pool table right smack in the middle.

  I run my fingers over the smooth red velvet of the pool table while Logan fishes the balls out of the pockets and rolls them out on top. I watch as he gathers them, places them into the waiting wooden triangle with great patience. He doesn’t say a word, just goes about doing his task. It feels strange like there’s a weirdness between us.

  “So,” he begins. “How long have you known?” He pushes a stick in my direction.

  “Known what?” He’s not talking about love, right? We literally just met and he can’t read minds so the whole idea is absurd.

  His head ticks to one side examining me openly.

  “That I like to play pool?” I don’t tell him I’m a novice at the sport. Instead I lean in and shoot the white ball across the table and say, “Stripes.”

  Logan steps forward pinning me against the table, he leans in and shoots from behind my back. I can feel the heat emanating off his body as his knee presses into my thigh and I break out in an unexpected sweat.

  “Solids.” His voice hums across my cheek when he says it.

  I turn around and we’re nose to nose. His hand comes up on the back of my neck and he holds it there softly.

  Kiss me. He instructs. His eyes widen at the prospect.

  I press my lips against his—soft. A small part of me tries to scramble my thoughts, erase the sweeping elation from my being, but I can’t do it. I grab the back of his neck and push into him. His tongue darts around my mouth, and glides across my teeth. He pushes me back onto the pool table. I can feel the balls shoot out from underneath me. My neck ignites with the pecks of his quick kisses. He pulses up to my ear with his lips before meeting me again, perfect and hungry.

  Right here. Right now. I hear him purr in his thoughts.

  “What?” My hands slap against his chest, as I push him off with a violent force.

  “Sorry.” His hands fly through the air quick as a stickup.

  “I gotta go.” I bolt from the pool house and into the night.

  If I stayed another minute I might have said yes.

  Chapter Five

  Questions

  Ellis’ party is still going strong.

  Brielle’s nowhere to be seen and suspiciously neither is Drake. The disgusting possibilities float through my mind—welcome as a school of dead fish.

  “Skyla.” Logan’s deep voice emanates from behind as I peer into the kitchen.

  I ignore him as I spy on Brielle backed up against the sink and Drake digging into her with his hands octopus style wandering quickly up and down her back.

  “Seriously?” I pull back into the dim hallway, filled with disbelief.

  “I think we need to talk.” He shakes his head when he says it. He looks serious as though a major infraction’s just occurred.

  “I want to go home.” The strange urge to cry infiltrates me. My knees tremble as I try and steady myself against the wall.

  “Let me take you.” The whites of his eyes flash through the dark. His voice is soft and gentle, almost convincing.

  I follow Logan outside, afraid to hold his hand, or touch him in general. If he could hear my thoughts that means the deformity that lives in me also lives in him. That it wasn’t some random gift bestowed upon me and my father—that others have this too. Or maybe I gave it to Logan like a cold or mono? Maybe I have the ability to pass it to the ones I love, or those I believe I do.

  We make our way down the dark winding driveway, past the rows of expensive cars and into the great expanse of the full encompassing dark.

  “Where we going?” My fingers brush up against him and this time I don’t fight it. I form my hand around his, because it feels natural, because I want to.

  He stops short and turns to face me. His eyes press into mine as his lips give a slight curve.

  I live across the street.

  Can you hear me? I offer it as a test run.

  “Yes.” He pushes the word out with great intensity.

  “Oh God.” He hears me. He knows my thoughts. I wiggle out of his grasp.

  Can you hear me now? I offer all the sarcastic inflection I can muster.

  He pulls his cheek up on one side.

  “I need to touch you.” He says.

  “You’re just like me!” I marvel. All the anger and confusion vanishes like smoke and suddenly I’m thrilled to have found Logan.

  “And you’re just like me, but prettier.” He bounces a quick kiss off my lips.

  We continue the slow walk over to his house. It mirrors Ellis’s home in width, but the styling is different, more rambling ranch than anything. The lights are all off inside and I wait on the porch as he literally pops in and out as he grabs his keys and wallet. Leading me over to an oversized white truck, he helps me climb the mini stepladder to get inside. While he’s making his way around, I text Drake and let him know where I’m headed.

  “You really want to go home?” He starts up the truck. I can feel it shift and rumble beneath us as it roars to life.

  “Not really. You wanna drive?”

  “Sure. I know just the place to take you.”

  “I know I’m from L.A. and stuff, so you probably think I’ve been everywhere and done everything, but I haven’t and I don’t plan on it. I’m… ” I stop shy of verbalizing the fact I’m a virgin. We’ve already determined I’m a freak, well, I guess we both are, but still no point in dissecting the issue.

  “I’m glad you haven’t been everywhere.” A disarming look lights up his face. “Or done everything.” He doesn’t meet my eyes when he says it, just gazes out at the open road slightly catatonic.

  We drive for long stretches in silence. A thicket of dark clouds have canopied themselves across the sky like an oversized umbrella. They press into Paragon hiding the moon and the stars like a cloak.

  “Do you know what it is?” He asks pulling into a gravel road then slowing down until he slides into a parking spot. The moon breaks through a crack and shines its beams down across the water.

  “It’s so beautiful.” I say mesmerized by the glistening reflection as it dances in an erratic line over the waves.

  “So are you, but you’re evading the question.” He picks up my hand and nestles it in his.

  Do you know why you’re like this?

  I shake my head. A picture of my father—his perfect smile blinks through my mind. Each time I think of him it feels as though I’ve fallen through some unexpected pothole.

  Another picture vies for my attention. It’s of a young couple, both with elation written across their faces as they hold up an infant between them.

  That’s me in the middle. Logan looks at me intently.

  I’m sorry. My face fills with sympathy
. What happened?

  Car accident. So I was told. His chest rises with a dull laugh.

  “I could do this with my dad.” It frightens me to do this with Logan. “My, mom, my sister, they can’t.”

  “Gage can’t. I don’t make a habit of touching people and reading their thoughts.”

  “I’m impressed.”

  “Are you?” He pulls my fingers to his lips and kisses them individually. “But you don’t really know why, do you?” It comes out more a fact than a question.

  “No. Will you tell me?”

  He pulls me a little closer. I don’t bother resisting. I want to be there, right there.

  “Yes.” His eyes close as his lips crush briefly against mine. “But not tonight.” He continues in soft rolling waves.

  I don’t object.

  Chapter Six

  Inquisition

  In the afternoon when I finally manage to roll out of bed, I seek out my mother in the kitchen.

  “You look like death warmed over.” She plucks at my hair as I walk past her on the way to the fridge.

  “Gee thanks.” I pull out the O.J. and lean against the island. “You ever miss daddy?” It comes out childlike, simple.

  Her eyes widen then retract as she glances back down at her game of Sudoku. I recognize the small book she purchased at the gas station before leaving L.A.

  “Only like crazy.” Her voice drops to a guilty whisper. It’s usually an indication that Tad is somewhere in the vicinity. I hate the way my father’s become some dirty little secret ever since her engagement to Tad. It’s like a sin to acknowledge my father’s existence. My blood begins to boil, brewing itself into a perfect hormonal rage.

  “It’s OK to talk about him, you know.” I say it a little louder than necessary. “I wasn’t exactly hatched from an egg. He put me here.” The idea of my parents copulating sprints through my mind, takes my appetite out along with it.