The whole next week I didn’t get a chance to sneak into Lend’s room. Between my usual classes and Raquel being extra attentive (read: annoying) I didn’t have any free time. Every day that I didn’t see him got more frustrating. Finally, the weekend came again. I was hoping against hope that Raquel would be busy.
The buzz at my door as I finished getting ready Saturday morning made me think otherwise. Raquel walked in, smiling. “Don’t you look nice,” she commented.
Of course I looked nice—I wanted to go see Lend that day. I forced a smile. “What’s up?”
“I don’t know, I thought maybe we could go somewhere today. Anywhere you like—the beach, the mall again, a movie.”
“Really?” This was new. Usually field trips were carefully scheduled and coordinated. For the most part we visited museums that had to do with my current curriculum. I used to like that when I was younger. We’d walked around and I’d pretended Raquel was my mom and we were a normal mother and daughter. Of course, taking the Faerie Paths back always ruined the illusion.
“Things have been pretty hectic; we could both use a break.”
“Okay, sounds good!” I meant it. Much as I wanted to see Lend again, I hadn’t been out of the Center all week.
Her communicator beeped. She looked down at it and a deep, worried frown crossed her face. And then, just when I was expecting a sigh, Raquel swore. She swore. That had never happened before, not as long as I could remember. Whatever the news was, it had to be really, really bad.
“I’m sorry,” she said, already racing for the door. “It’s an emergency.”
“Don’t worry about it.” I watched her go. I wanted to know what was up, but I knew that unless it involved me she wouldn’t say anything. Never one to waste an opportunity, I grabbed my art supplies and the shorts I had ordered online, then headed for Lend’s room, surprisingly fluttery at the thought of seeing him again.
POETRY AND HOLDING HANDS
L end was lying on his bed with his back to the door when I got there. It must have been dead dull for him, trapped in here. I thought about letting him nap but figured he probably wouldn’t want to. I tossed the pair of basketball shorts at his head. It would be nice to look at him without having to worry about seeing through his projected clothes.
He sat up, startled. Then, seeing me, he grinned. He was wearing the cute black guy again today. I liked this one’s smile, but underneath Lend’s smile was just as nice. “Hey,” he said. “Took you long enough.”
I sighed, feigning nonchalance. “Some of us have a life, you know.”
“Yeah, I remember what that was like.” He pulled the shorts on underneath the covers. “Weird to have real clothes again.”
“Aren’t you freezing?”
He gave me a funny look. “It’s not cold in here.”
“You’re crazy.”
Pulling off the covers, he stood up. I laughed; the shorts were hanging over a pair of khaki pants.
The pants dissolved, leaving a great set of legs.
“So, have you been practicing?”
I sat on his bed. “Yeah, but I’m still not that good.” I handed him the sketchbook. He flipped through it, nodding.
“No, these are a lot better. And you’re really good with color.”
I beamed. He passed the sketchbook back to me and our hands brushed. I smiled and shook my head. “So weird.”
“What?”
“I just—I don’t know, I always expect you to feel like water or something. The first time I touched you to put on the ankle tracker, I was worried my hand would go right through you.”
He laughed. “Nope.”
“I thought it would be like putting my hand in cold water. But you’re really warm.”
He put his hand on top of mine. My heart did a happy jump inside my chest. “Your hands are freezing.”
“See? Cold in here. Told you.” I couldn’t help but frown a little when he moved his hand away.
“How was your week?” he asked.
“Pretty boring. Probably not as boring as yours, though.”
“Probably not.”
“What are they even doing with you? Are they going to just keep you in here forever?”
“Hopefully not. I’ve got some things I need to be doing. They’ve run tests on me, but I’m afraid I wasn’t very cooperative. And Raquel’s been to talk to me, trying to figure out where I came from and why I was going through her stuff.”
“I’m a little curious about that as well.”
He smiled. “I’ll bet. Of course, it’s your fault I’m stuck in this room in the first place.”
I had to admit he was right. Actually, I didn’t have to. “No, it’s your own fault your plan was so crappy a helpless teenage girl caught you.”
“Helpless? Hardly. I seem to recall being electrocuted.”
“Oh, yeah, there was that.”
“You’re not wearing your Taser today. You didn’t last time, either.” He looked at me thoughtfully.
“Planning something?” I wasn’t nervous. Well, maybe a little, now that he said that.
“Nope, not at all. I’m glad you trust me.”
“Once again, how much threat can a guy be whose grand plan for breaking into the Center included punching people and running?”
He put a hand on his chest. “Ouch. You’re right, though, I didn’t have any idea what I was doing. It was pretty desperate.”
“That’s all right. We all do stupid things. Last week I was following a vamp and burst into a room that I hadn’t checked out first. Turns out there were a whole bunch more. I nearly got killed.”
“How did you get out?”
“Reth.” I frowned.
“Who’s Reth?”