Mindspeak (15 page)

I heard the crack in my voice when
I mentioned Dad. I had fought back tears all day. I wasn’t about to let them
flow now. Not in front of Jack.

He released his hold on my arm. A look
of hurt passed over his face. “I get it, Lexi. But you’re not alone.”

Oh, yeah? Then why do I feel that
way?

He slid a finger under my chin and
lifted. “You’re not alone.” He said each word slowly.

I nodded while he held my face
directed toward his. “So, why can’t you heal this spot over your eye? I’m afraid
you might need stitches.”

“Everyone saw me get hit. I wouldn’t
be able to explain the miraculous healing.” He let go of my chin, his fingers
lightly brushing my skin longer than necessary.

“Ahh.”

“Besides, I was sick for three days
after I healed your arm. There are consequences to these powers we have. You of
all people should know that.”

I thought about my nosebleeds. They’d
gotten worse lately. I smoothed the butterfly bandages over Jack’s cut,
allowing my fingers to linger along his temple. Or had I been speaking to the
minds of others more, therefore making my nosebleeds more frequent? My pills
were supposed to help that.

“Shit! My pills.”

“What?” Jack’s eyes opened wider. “What
pills?”

“I take pills for my headaches and
nosebleeds. They’re supposed to prevent them. Or at least minimize them.”

I shifted in my chair and pulled my
bag into my lap. I dug past books and notebooks until I wrapped my fingers
around the small pill bottle.

Just when I flipped the cap off,
Jack grabbed the bottle from my hand.

“Hey,” I reached for his arm, but
he stood and walked toward the pool. “What are you doing?”

He turned the pill bottle upside
down and emptied the entire bottle of pills into the pool. “When was the last
time you took one of those pills?” he asked.

“I can’t believe you just did that.”

“When, Lexi?”

“I don’t know. I… I guess…” I
studied his face. His expression was serious. “The day you arrived at
Wellington. We were sitting on that bench, and you had bought me a Chai tea. I
totally forgot about them with everything going on.”

“Are your headaches more frequent
without them?”

It was like he was testing me, and
it was starting to piss me off.

“Answer me. Are the headaches and
nosebleeds worse since you stopped taking the pills?”

“No,” I said. The nosebleeds were
more frequent because I had been bending people’s minds more. My headaches had
been the same. “Why did you throw them in the pool?”

“They’ll dissolve. I don’t want you
taking those.”

“Why do you care?”

He narrowed his gaze.

“I meant, how do you know that
those pills weren’t helping my headaches?”

“Because I was taking those pills.
Started them when I entered The Program. I could barely heal a paper cut while
on those pills.”

~~~~

A loud bang startled me awake. I
sat up in bed and took in my surroundings. Only I wasn’t in my dorm room. I was
back in Gram’s house—the house I grew up in.

I climbed out of bed and ran
from the room, down the stairs and outside. My grandmother stood on the porch
holding a shotgun.

“Gram?”

She turned to me. Her face
softened. She reached a hand and smoothed my hair out behind me. “It’s okay,
dear, go back to bed. You’re safe.”

“Gram, what are you doing with
that gun?”

“I’ll always protect you, Sarah
Alexandra.” Suddenly, Gram’s body shifted and morphed into a dark figure. The figure
bent over and picked up something from the table. When it stood, it held a cigarette
that flared.

It laughed as it flicked the
lighter open and closed.

Then it turned and aimed the
shotgun directly at my head. Before it could fire the gun, another sound rang
through my thoughts.

An alarm. Someone grabbed my arms
and shook my body. “Wake up, Lexi.”

I opened my eyes. I was lying flat
on my back. Jack stared down at me. Danielle stood behind him with a strange
deer-in-the-headlights look. I glanced from Danielle, back to Jack. “What are
you doing?” I sat up and took in my surroundings. I was outside.

His lips twitched. “What am
I
doing?” There was uneasy laughter behind his words.

“Sweetie, the fire alarm is going
off.” Danielle stepped around Jack. “It woke me up, but you were already gone.
Jack and I found you asleep on this bench.”

How had I gotten here? I ran my
fingers along the wood of the bench outside the library. “Is the alarm going
off in both dorms?”

“What? No,” Danielle said.

“Then why are you out here?” I
studied Jack’s expression.

He shifted uncomfortably, ran a
hand through his hair. Girls gathered outside the dorm behind him. A fire
engine blared in the distance. “Danielle, do you mind finding out if there
really is a fire? Lexi is shaking she’s so cold.”

The pajama shorts and tank top I wore
barely covered me. Goosebumps spread up and down my arms and legs. Jack removed
his light fleece jacket and wrapped it around me, leaving himself dressed only
in pajama bottoms that hung low on his hips, his bare chest exposed. I gasped
at the sight and prayed he didn’t notice.

He knelt in front of me, resting
his elbows on his knees. “If you’re going to sleepwalk, could you please sleep
in more clothes? For your sake and mine.” A mischievous grin spread across his
face, and I must have blushed. “Want to tell me what’s going on? Do you usually
wander in your sleep? Is this something I need to start worrying about?”

Is that what I had done? Walked in
my sleep? I’d never done that before. “What are you doing out here?” I asked

“I heard the alarm. I was
concerned.” His tone was defensive.

“About what?”

“About you. And for good reason.
How did you get out here?”

I leaned over at the waist and
buried my face in my hands. How
did
I get to this bench? The image of my
grandmother saying my full name had been so real. Had she actually done that? I
didn’t remember her ever holding a gun. And she didn’t smoke. The figure had morphed
into someone else. And the memory of the gun pointed directly at my face made
me shiver. I lifted my head and our eyes met. “Something strange is going on,
Jack.”

“What do you mean?” His voice
rattled with nervousness.

I rubbed my hands back and forth
over my face. “It’s like someone is getting inside my head.” First the figure
with a cigarette at Jack’s farm that turned out to be my imagination, maybe. Now
this strange nightmare.

Jack sucked in a quick breath. A
line formed between his brows.

I could almost see his mind
wandering elsewhere. “Why do you think our fathers hid so much from us? I mean,
if we’re in danger now, wouldn’t it be logical to tell us everything?”

“You would think. I’m sure my
father thinks he’s protecting us.”

“You’ve gotta give me more, Jack.”
I reached out and touched his hand. “Please.”

He parted his fingers and allowed
mine to slip in between his. “I don’t know what I can tell you.” He lifted his
eyes, his face wrinkled in discomfort. From the touch maybe. Or the line of
questioning. “From what mom told me, the lab burned down, your father left
town, and my dad picked up the pieces of his life and started over doing stem
cell research for another lab.”

“How did you find me at Wellington?
What made you even look for me?”

Releasing my fingers, he pushed off
his knees and sat on the bench beside me. His knee knocked against mine. The
constant touch threw me slightly off balance. “I told you. I overheard a
conversation.”

I reached out and directed his face
back toward me. “Between who?”

“Between my dad and the private
investigator he hired to find you.”

Chapter
Thirteen

“He did what?” I jumped up. “Why
would he hire a private investigator? That’s crazy. And why didn’t you tell me
this?”

“He and your dad were best friends.”
Jack’s voice was soft, calm. “And one day after the lab burned, your dad
disappeared. Do you have any idea how that must have felt for him?”

My eyes traveled to the group of
girls huddled outside the dorm—to Danielle, my best friend since practically
the day I’d arrived at Wellington. I used to tell her everything. Lately, I struggled
to trust anyone. “I can only guess.”

“Your dad also hid your existence
from my father.”

“Why didn’t he just search for Dad?
Seems like that would have been easier.”

“Your dad didn’t want to be found.
I think Father tried early on, but then just let it go.”

“What changed?”

“He saw your picture in the paper. You
had won a swim meet or something.”

“That was a mistake,” I whispered,
then gave in and sat beside him again.

“What?”

“That picture was a mistake. A
picture of me was never supposed to make it to the paper. But someone from
outside the school snapped it last year after State Swim.”

“Well, he saw it. It was buried in
the back of the sports section on a weekday. That’s when all hell seemed to
break loose around my house. After listening to my parents argue for several
weeks, I asked him about it. When he blew me off, I started snooping and
listening. I did my own sort of investigation. Before I knew it, Father moved
us to Lexington, close enough to Wellington, and I joined The Program.”

“That doesn’t explain anything,
Jack.” I shook my head, fighting through a haze of confusion. “This all has to
do with The Program, doesn’t it?” I squeezed my eyes shut. “It’s more than just
a fast track to a top pre-med program.”

“Yes. Those pills you were taking?
They were designed to block the part of your brain that was altered. The
Program is designed to teach you how to use it.”

“But I’m able to speak to people’s
minds.”

Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “I
think your mind was altered to do more.”

“Are you kidding? Like what?” It
wasn’t excitement in my voice. More like dread.

“I don’t know yet. I’m learning as
quickly as I can at the Program.” His eyes found mine again. “But if those
pills weren’t able to block your abilities fully, I can only imagine it’s something
big.”

“You’ve been attending Program
classes since you’ve been here? When?”

“In the mornings. Early. Same time
you’re at swim.”

I had no idea. “Here or do you
leave each morning?”

“Here. I skype with someone who is
teaching me about the research and other controversial stuff our fathers have
always been involved in. It’s fascinating, really.”

“Just you?”

“I’m the only one at Wellington, so
far.”

“This is crazy, Jack.” He reached
and pulled my hand closer to him, and I let him cradle it between his and rub. “Why
only you so far? And why are the dean and others so hell-bent on me joining?”

“Not sure why I was the first at
Wellington. Maybe it has to do with being further in my studies?”

I angled my body more toward him,
leaving my hand in his.

“I’ve been homeschooled all of my
life. Mom, my father, Anita, online college courses… they’ve all had a hand in
making me who I am. I’m trained in advanced biology, molecular physics, and all
forms of genetics. Though I don’t have the degree or the experience, I’m
practically a doctor, Lexi.”

I leaned back, my eyes wide.

He continued. “Then, of course,
there’s The Program.” He paused. Contemplated. “Your dad’s name came up all the
time in my studies. Even more frequently once I was enrolled in The Program. I
knew he was my father’s lab partner once upon a time. When I learned he had a
daughter near my age… I knew I had to find you.” His eyes bored into mine.

I hadn’t even noticed the blaring
fire truck siren until it had been shut off. Now, the only noise was from the
chatter of girls a hundred yards away and my heart pulsing blood through my
head as I processed Jack’s words. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why did you want to find me? I
just think there has to be more. Seems to me you took a big risk by finding me.
I mean, what if the wrong people learn what you can do? Can you imagine what
that would mean?”

“It was a risk I was willing to
take. I had to know if you had some sort of ability like I did.”

“I bet you were gravely
disappointed when you discovered my ability stretched only as far as subtle
mind manipulation.” Basically, I knew how to get my own way. Very impressive to
Jack, I was sure.

Jack cocked his head. “Disappointed
is nowhere on the list of emotions I’ve felt since I met you. As far as your
ability, we don’t even know what you’re capable of yet. You’ve only tapped into
a small facet of what your mind was modified to do.”

What other facet could there
possibly be? “I bet your mom was not excited about this.”
In fact, I know
she wasn’t
.

“Uh… no. That’s an understatement.”

“Why does she hate me?” I glanced
toward the swarm of girls who were re-entering the dorm.

“She doesn’t hate you. It’s just… complicated
with her.”

“Because of Sandra?”

He narrowed his eyes. “You know
about Sandra?”

“Not really. Heard her name mentioned.”

“Where?” he asked.

“The other morning at your house.
Your mom mentioned her. I don’t think she likes her.”

Jack cocked his head, considering.

“Who is she?” I asked.

Danielle wove through student
traffic toward us. “Lexi, they’ve given the okay for us to go back in.”

Jack bowed his head in frustration
at the sound of Danielle’s voice.

I cringed at the interruption. “You
go ahead. I’ll be right there.”