Manipulation (Shadows) (13 page)

TWENTY-THREE

Addison

I know we meet but I’m so concentrated on
calm, smooth, this isn’t a big deal,
that everything else sort of gets lost.

The conversation is going well. Dean’s explaining the misunderstanding with the help of his brother.

“Hey, Jeremy?” his dad says. “Why don’t you leave us alone for a few minutes, okay?”

“Walk with me Jeremy?” I ask him.

“Sure.” He shrugs and his face seems sulky, like he’s upset to be left out of the conversation.

“Hey, Jeremy. Take this.” I hand him a piece of paper.

I’m still not sure why it seemed important, but while I was at Dad’s office, it just seemed like the thing to do.

“What is it?”

“Don’t tell anyone. Understand?
Anyone
. This is crucially important. My dad uses this when he wants to talk online, and doesn’t want anyone else to hear, okay?”

He nods.

“You should be able to access it anywhere. It acts totally benign to parental control systems, but people can’t hack in. You can chat with your brother here. Leave messages for him, whatever. Memorize this information and then burn the paper. I set up an account for you and Dean that no one else can see, but I’m not supposed to know this exists.” Why am I doing this?

“So, why did you give it to me?”

“Because your brother misses you. And I don’t want you two to be separated again.” Why would they be separated? I hate it when I feel the compulsion to do things I don’t understand—like the four thousand dollars in my closet.

“Because you love him.” Jeremy fingers the paper, staring at it.

“I don’t…” I glance up at Dean and it hits me in my chest and then in my stomach. Just like every other time my eyes meet his.

“Thanks, Addison.” He stuffs the paper in his pocket.

“Hope to see you soon.” I smile down at him. I wonder if my words come out okay. Dean. Can I love Dean? Already?

“You, too.”

And now Dean’s walking this way. “You ready to take off?”

“Sure.” But it comes out in a weird squeaky shadow of my normal voice.

“Will I see you soon?” Jeremy’s trying to act cool about it but the emotion on his face is plain. He’s missed his brother.

“Definitely.” Dean smiles widely.

“You’ve said your goodbyes to his parents then?” I ask.

“Yeah.”

“See you soon, Jeremy.” I wave.

Dean takes his brother in another hug before we start to walk away. My arms are folded and his are in his pockets. It’s like there’s so much to say and to talk about that neither of us really knows where to start so we don’t. Not for a while.

“They don’t have a problem with us getting together as long as I call first. Just like that. They adopted him. They have full custody and get to call the shots on who he does and doesn’t see.” Dean exhales. He still looks in partial shock over our visit. “I don’t know why this didn’t get back to me, or why I was shut out.”

“That’s great, Dean.” This is what I wanted for him. I feel good. Like I did something that matters. “Paperwork, I guess. Too many people in the system and not enough people working it, or—”

“Addie. Please stop here with me for a sec.”

The way Dean’s looking at me brings Jeremy’s comment back to mind. It’s still freaking me out. What freaks me out even more is that I couldn’t tell Jeremy I didn’t love his brother. How is that possible?

“Addie? Please. I don’t want to grab you, or touch you. I want you to want to stop and talk to me. Okay?” His voice is smooth and soft. Such a contrast to the sharpness and loudness of the people and cars around us.

“Fair enough.” I stop and tighten my arms. Like somehow their tightness will protect me. But, protect me from what? Do I want to be protected from him? From Dean? Do I even need it? Do I want it? I could have held his hand on that porch all day. Sifting through his contented thoughts about his brother.

“Thank you.” The depth in his eyes warms me, fills me, pulls me closer.

I concentrate to make sure I’m still breathing. “You’re welcome.” Only it comes out and makes it sound like I forgot how to talk.

“I think I will go absolutely, completely insane if I can’t feel your lips against mine.” The intense eyes and I’m melting without touching him and wanting to touch him more than I’ve ever wanted to touch anything and it consumes me, burns me.

We’re so close to the same height that it’s easy. He leans toward me. I lean toward him. Our arms are still at our sides, neither of us willing to taint the moment our lips touch. His breath breezes against my face. I inhale and our lips touch—like I pulled him to me with my breath. It’s soft but sharp, like heat that shoots through me. My need and his need mix together and pull us closer, closer. I don’t know how we got here, but as much of our bodies as possible are pressed together. His hands are on my face, in my hair. My arms are so tight around him I can barely breathe within our closeness, but I love it.

I want him to want this with me, and I can feel his thoughts of the same thing magnifying mine. Without question I’m in the middle of the most erotic, intense, moment of my life, and I wonder if I’ll be able to let him go. It doesn’t seem possible. I want it all too bad. All of him, his hands, his body, his mouth, warm on mine.

There’s finally a moment when I feel like I can take my lips from his. I press the side of my face to the side of his and hold him as tightly as I can.

“So, we’re kind of past the bullshit now, huh?” It’s so Dean.

“Yeah. We’re past the bullshit now.” I smile against his lips not ready to move away.

“Good. Because you’re hard to keep up with and you feel so good.”

You do too.
But I can’t say it out loud. I think it and hope it goes through. My arms tighten even further around him. Once again his mouth takes mine and it’s him, all him, wrapped around me, in me, through me, and me wanting each and every thought, desire, and touch of his to be felt completely.

I wonder, standing on the sidewalk, wrapped up in the wonderfulness that is Dean, if I will ever recover from kissing him.
Though
I’m pretty positive I don’t want to.

* * *

“Where have you been all day?” Mom’s face is pulled into a scowl.

I’m so shocked to actually see her that it takes a moment to answer. “Out helping a friend.”

“Your father is out of town for a day or two, some business meeting or something up in Maine.”

“Maine?” That’s a first.

“Why’s that so hard to believe?” She sounds impatient, frustrated. Like I should be able to read her mind when I walk in and know exactly what she wants from me and what I should be doing.

“Is Ellie here?”

“She’s at Uncle Mac’s house. You’re picking her up in the morning. She needs to go to the Guggenheim tomorrow.”

Uh… “Why?”

“A project for a summer study course she’s taking. Really, Addison.” Mom starts toward the kitchen. “I don’t have time for this.”

“Right.” It comes out as a whisper and I’m thankful beyond words that I spent the day where I did. Wait a minute… If I’m picking Ellie up, and we’re headed to the museum, Dean needs to come. And maybe Jeremy.

I scroll to his number as I walk to my room.

“Hello?” I’m so thankful it’s him that answers.

“Wanna know what you’re doing tomorrow?”

He laughs. “Yes, I want to know what I’m doing tomorrow.”

“We’re taking Ellie to the Guggenheim. Why don’t you see if that little brother of yours can join us?”

“You’re some kind of awesome, Addie.”

“Some kind.” I smile again and hang up, pulling out my hand sanitizer, but I realize that there’s faint smell of Dean on me—some kind of soap and laundry detergent that I don’t want to go away so I drop the bottle back in my bag. Now I just have to hope I can sleep to make the night pass more quickly.

TWENTY-FOUR

Dean

Jeremy’s parents insist on dropping him off and picking him up at the museum. I’m fine with that. They’re letting him come. It’s a start.

Ellie and Addie are waiting. Both girls are in skirts and blouses, and I’m wishing I would’ve thought to do something a little different than my standard T-shirt and jeans. Too late now. Jeremy climbs out of an Audi and runs up the steps. I wave at his dad as he pulls away. Even Jeremy’s in a button-up shirt.

“Sorry, Addie. I didn’t have my head on this morning while I was getting dressed.” I look down at my clothes.

“Dean.” She chuckles. “You’re good-looking enough that walking in there, the way you’re dressed, will make people assume you’re some sort of model or something. Don’t worry about it.”

“Wow, that was quite a compliment.” I take one step closer.

Her dimples show as she tries to hold in her smile. Her hair is pulled up, aside from her bangs. Her small shirt accentuates her long, lean waist and I honesty don’t look any lower than that, because the rest just doesn’t matter.

“Can I have your hand?”

She reaches out, and I slide our fingers together.

“Are you two going to be like this all day?” Ellie raises a brow.

“Yes.” I laugh. “We are.”

Ellie giggles as she and Jeremy follow us inside.

“Can I get a kiss?” I ask. “Just a small one?”

“I don’t think I can manage a small one, unless you promise to keep your hands to yourself.”

I let go of her hand and stuff mine in my pockets. She kisses my cheek.

“Oh, come on!” I laugh and take her hand again.

“Later.” She smirks.

Our time at the museum passes too quickly. Ellie and Jeremy hit it off, even though they’re close to two years apart. Addie and Ellie bounce comments off each other and finish one another’s sentences just like I’d expect. Jeremy and I don’t have that, not yet. But we can get together now, and I plan on keeping it that way.

When we step out, Jimmy and a car show up for Addie and Ellie and the Audi pulls up a few moments later.

“I’m not ready for our day to be over yet.” Addie’s waiting for me to say something.

“Well, your sister can go home. And you can stay with me.” I really want some time with her.

“What will you do with me?” she teases.

“Let’s wait until the kids are in the car.” I wink.

“I’m not a kid.” Jeremy scowls.

I laugh. “Thanks for coming up.” We shake this time. We’re good. Brothers. Jeremy jogs down the last few steps and climbs in the car.

Addie’s talking to Ellie next to their car. The car drives away and it’s just the two of us. Addie pulls two little sticks out of her hair and it falls down around her. It doesn’t matter if she did it on purpose or not, it takes my breath away. I pull her into me as soon as we’re close enough. Our lips are together and we’re kissing like we did yesterday. Like we’ll never get enough of one another. Because what she feels mingles with what I feel and it’s amazing. More than I’ve ever felt touching a girl, ever.

A breeze hits us.

“Brr.” Addie tightens her arms around me.

“Man, I have goose bumps, too. Guess it’s not as warm out as we thought.” I slide my arm slowly around her lower back and hold her waist. “Now what?”

“Just walk?” She kisses my cheek.

“Great.” Anything to spend time with her.

* * *

“We’re eating lunch on a small outdoor table in the sun. I have no idea where we are. Somewhere in New York I’ve never been. The city noise is present as always, the constant humming of cars and people, but in ways the crowd around us helps us feel alone. We don’t know any of these people, and they don’t know us. Addie sets down her drink and her face goes white.

“Addie?” I lean forward. “What’s up?”

“I… I know those people.” She points down the street as her voice shakes.

“The blond guy and goldilocks? The ones who look lost?” His hand is shielding his face and the girl with him is doing the same, as if they’re looking for someone.

“I saw them, on my dad’s computer, but I wasn’t supposed to. Dean. We have to go.”

“Why?” They look harmless enough. Two people, about our age.

The boy’s eyes hit mine and I swear my body reacts. Like a jolt into me or something.

“Come on, Dean.” Addie stuffs money under a cup.

I take her under my arm and we start walking quickly away. The way his eyes hit me and Addie’s desperation send my heart into a frantic rhythm. We’ll blend, right? Into the crowd?

I glance behind me. The girl reaches her hand up and waves. At me. But there’s something off about her, different, and I can’t put my finger on it.

Addie steals a glance back as well. “Dean we have to get out of here.”

“Wait!” I hear the guy from behind us. I don’t look. I know it’s him.

I take Addie’s hand and we start to run. She’s fast. We go around one corner and then another one. We’re fortunate to be in a part of town with one small shop after another. Doors everywhere. I drag Addie into an alleyway where we crouch behind a dumpster. There’s a way out behind us, it doesn’t look appealing, dirty, dark and cold, but better than no way out. The smell burns my nose as we wait.

“I don’t get it, Landon.” I hear a girl’s voice.

“Be patient.”

“But I saw them. I mean, I
know
it was them.
I don’t get why they ran.
”

“I know it too.” A short pause. “I’m sorry.”

“What if they know more? What if they can help us? What if I’m not working right?” Her voice is tinged with worry.

“You’re working fine.” He chuckles. “Maybe you saw us all together further in the future. We’ll head to the Carolina islands like we planned and stick around there for a while, okay? Maybe they’ll show up then.”

“But I saw them
here
,” she insists.

“And we
did
see them here, just like you knew we would when we left Maine.”

All I can think over and over is
Insight, Insight, Insight
… Are they like Addie and me? Are we throwing away an opportunity to learn more?

“Are we really giving up, just like this?”

Landon chuckles again. “If you think you’re being chased by us, you’re wrong!” he yells.

“What are you doing?” Now the girl’s laughing next to him.

“Not giving up.” He pauses again. “You’re being chased by someone else! We’re headed south! Sailing vessel Moonshadow! We’re talented too! Check the ports!”

“Landon, everyone’s staring.”

“Okay. We’re done.” His voice has quieted back to normal. “Ready to go?”

“I guess.”
Only she sounds so defeated I almost jump out to talk to them.

I stare at Addie, who’s staring at the ground.

“Addie?” I look at her.

“What?” She faces me.

“They don’t sound so bad.” They sound like us. Like we would in an odd situation. Not being chased by them. Does that mean we’re being chased by someone else? Who would be chasing us? I do know that if Addie wasn’t here, I’d have run after them. Or let them catch me. Even though there’s something different about them. Something I can’t quite place. But maybe it’s the same thing that pulled Addie and I together—gifts from some magic gone awry in The Bahamas, if I believe Ellie’s research.

“I’m scared, Dean.” And she is, there’s no doubt. Her voice sounds thin, frail.

“You’re going to have to explain yourself, Addie. I want to help here. Who are they? Do you know something you’re not telling me?” I run my hand up and down her arms hoping to calm her a little, but still not sure if touching her is the best way to do that.

“I don’t know.” Addie starts telling me about her dad’s extra-businesses, code words like shadow people, the Middle Men, computer internet rooms and seeing their picture. “They’re somehow involved, Dean, and I don’t think it’s good.”

“Or maybe they’re just like us?” As soon as the thought hits me, I can’t shake it. There’s something different about them, but there was nothing bad or suspicious.

“What do you mean, like us?”

“I… He said talents.” But I’m not sure what I mean. “We need to do some research.”

* * *

Addie offered me her iPhone, but I need a big screen. We’re at a small café with computers, and Addie’s washed her hands three times since we sat down. She’s on my right, staring out the window, “keeping watch.” I feel okay about the people we saw today. It wouldn’t hurt to talk with them. We’re fast. I’m sure we could outrun them a second time, if it came to that. But it’s not like I could have forced Addie to stick around in the brief moment they were in our sight.

I
search for
shadow pe
ople and get nothing useful. I search
Middle Men
next
. The results are mixed.

“There’s some stuff to do with entertainment, you know, matching people up with studios and agents.” I know this isn’t what we need. If Addie’s dad was involved in something like that, it wouldn’t need to be secret.

“I don’t think that’s going to help us, Dean.” Addie’s still staring out the window. She’s leaning against me, which I love and I really wish we were somewhere more private.

“Okay, probably right.” But the idea of someone acting as an agent… that might be useful.

“It might be,” she says.

“What?”

Addie chuckles. “Sorry. Your thoughts just filter in. Almost like you’re talking.”

“Oh. Right.” Might need to keep that in check, but the moment I think about not letting her see what I think, I think about how earlier today she leaned over the railing and I got a glimpse of her bra—

“Dean. Seriously.” She nudges me, but she’s smiling so I’m thinking I’m okay.

“Right. Focusing.” Only I give her a quick kiss before going back to the screen.

I see a band called the Middlemen and now I have to check them out. They’re a British group and the music is actually pretty good.

“Hey, listen to this.” I offer an earphone. “They’re good.”

“Focus Dean.” Addie frowns. “Don’t you need quiet to really think?”

If I needed quiet to focus, I’d have failed out of school. “Okay, focusing. If Owen Wilson hadn’t been in a stupid movie called Middlemen, this would be a lot easier.” I sigh. Almost all the hits are on iMDB and a movie that came out in 2009.

Middlemen – from the place in the Bahamas where the legend of the people who turned to shadows began.

That’s ambiguous. Probably some scholar trying to come up with the next DaVinci code or something. But wait… This sort of goes with the research that Ellie did. Now I wish I would’ve listened to her more closely.

I click just to check. Maybe I’ll get some more ideas.

The Middle Men are a group who are chosen to collect people with unique gifts.

“Addie?”

Her head whips around. Both of us shiver involuntarily.

This is not good. Not good at all. Her dad’s involved. Was Addie already collected?

She gasps next to me and jumps away.

Shit. She can hear me. Why do I forget this? “You look like your dad, Addie. Don’t worry.”

“But Ellie doesn’t.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Now she’s just grabbing at things.

“I… I don’t know.”

“She doesn’t do what you do.”

Addie’s eyes are wide as she shakes her head.

“Yeah. Jeremy either. At least not when I was around him.”

“But he knows?” Addie asks.

I nod, but even as I do I wonder if Jeremy’s forgotten.

“Relax.” I lean away from the computer and rub my hands up and down her arms a few times.

“I’m not sure how. It’s too much to think about.” She turns her eyes from the computer screen and focuses on the window again.

As I go through more of the site, most of it’s completely non-helpful. Some are links to places who treat the Middle Men like some kind of gods or something. Other places talk about them being aids to those with gifts. Nothing tells me if I sh
ould seek them out or run away.

When I was a kid in elementary school, I was taught about right and wrong and it all seemed black and white. Then I went home and dealt with Mom, and stole food from the cafeteria. Was it wrong to steal? Or was I doing a good thing because I was feeding my brother and I? I still don’t know. And once again, nothing here is black and white.

“I know…” Addie sighs. Right, she’s listening.

“I’m sorry.” I lean over and kiss her cheek before slowly pulling away. Now is not a time for me to let myself get out of control with her. Even though that kind of sounds like the best way to distraction.

“It’s late.”

She’s right. It’s getting dark. We’ve been out all day.