Seclusion (3 page)

“I’m starting a new school
and want a change.”

“Your hair is so long and
beautiful, I can’t imagine chopping it! I think if it’s okay with you, I’m
going to add a few highlights and cut a few inches off. It will still look long
and luxurious. I’m going to trim those bangs evenly though. You’re growing them
out, and I’m going to give you some layers to add to the fullness. I’m also
going to teach you how to style your hair,” she said and laughed.

“Well, I don’t want to be
spending hours on my hair every day, Tori.”

“Well, you don’t
have
to, but you’ll
want
to when you see how good you look. By the way, your
aunt messaged me that maybe we could talk about make-up. My friend Melaney is
magical with make-up. You want me to see if she has free time right now?”

“Sure,” I said. I was
starting to not feel like myself, but I knew that I would just take what I
liked and do my own thing with it.
I’ll just ask for a natural look from
Melaney
, I thought. I watched from the hair dryer as Tori and Melaney spoke
animatedly and pulled product after product off the shelves and put them into a
bag. The women looked like they had just walked off magazine covers.
I hope
they don’t think I expect a miracle, or that I would use any of that stuff.

Tori and Melaney were
finishing up and totaling me out, and I still hadn’t looked at my new reflection.
They both had so many instructions for me that I had to focus on. There must
have been, like, six hair products and a huge bag of make-up. I knew my aunt
expected this and more, so I wasn’t worried about the money or anything. I was
almost scared to look at my reflection. I decided to postpone a good look at
myself until I had my new clothes on.

I guess I should call Chase
. I had butterflies in my
stomach, and I hoped he wouldn’t hear them in my voice.

He answered quickly, “Hey,
Raegan, you ready?”

“I will be soon. I wasn’t
sure how long it’d take you to get out this way.”

“Twenty minutes or so. Have
you eaten? Or we could meet at a coffee shop.”

“I haven’t eaten yet. Um,
I’m really not that hungry right now, though,” I replied.

“I, for one, can always
eat. There’s this soup and sandwich and coffee place near Centerpointe. Is that
where you went shopping?” he asked.

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Just a lucky guess. I’ve
been dragged there by my ex a lot,” he said.

Great, he’s a player
. “Okay, see you soon.”

“Bye, Raegan.”

I paid Tori and Melaney,
and tipped them - hopefully well. I was never great at math; every other
subject was more my thing. I ran into the bathroom, looking into the bag.
Perfect
outfit! My aunt is just perfect!
I threw on the new skinny jeans, black
tank top, and the off the shoulder purple shirt. My aunt even threw in some
black chunky bracelets and matching earrings. The look was complete with a pair
of black gladiator style sandals. I smiled to myself.
No hoodie
. The
trashy hoodie I had worn would just not work.
Welcome to the real world,
Raegan. Here it goes.

I looked at the mirror in
the bathroom salon. The new haircut was really great! Somehow Tori had made my
natural red highlight look like it was supposed to be there. It had a modern
style, and my blonde looked lighter than usual, almost sunny. My hair was a lot
shorter but looked longer, if that was even possible. I reached into the
make-up bag and grabbed the pearly lip gloss and mauve lipstick. I ran them
over my lips and blotted like Melaney taught me, and then threw them into my
huge purse and walked out.

Tori began whistling, and
Melaney was laughing as she gave me a little nod.

“That boy doesn’t have a
chance. Definitely a hottie!” Melaney mumbled.

“You don’t know how long
I’ve waited to get my hands on that hair!” Tori said.

I looked down at my toe
ring and murmured, “Thanks.”

Then I ran through the door
with my billion bags.

*
* *

Walking into the burnt
sienna decorated café, I could hear the background chatter fade behind me as I
saw the quaint couches and arm chairs surrounding mini tables near the windows.
The smell of coffee and pastries soothed my nerves.
Oh gosh, how in the
world will I know who he is?

“Hey, Raegan?”

“Oh… Chase?”

“Yeah, it’s me. Did you expect
someone different? Taylor described you to me. I guess she did a good job!”

Chase nudged my arm and
guided me toward the line. He was tall, at least six feet, and muscular, with
light blonde hair that he wore in a scraggly, grown-out style. Definitely a
jock, but he didn’t have that I’m-dumber-than-glue look. I immediately got the
feeling he would be loyal. I smiled. He seemed genuine, too. He was definitely
the hottest guy I’d ever talked to. How tragic was that?
Well, this might
not be such a bad thing after all! Now, if only I can pull it together and
attempt to be cool,
I thought.

“So what sounds good to
you? They have great chili in a bread bowl. Or I guess you might be into the
salads,” he said.

“Do I look like I don’t
eat?” I laughed.
Great, draw attention to your weight!
Good job,
Raegan. One more point toward lonerhood
. I was so nervous… and starving. “I
think I’ll try the soup and sandwich combo.”

Chase stood up straight and
leaned toward the cashier. “Hey, it’s on me.”

“Um… thanks.”
Okay
, I
thought,
this is awkward. It’s probably just a friendly gesture.

We sat in a corner booth
away from everyone else - his idea. I added some sweetener to my iced coffee.

“So, what do you think
about Taylor Remington?”

Chase smiled and said, “You
know, I’m not sure what to think. This is so sudden, and sort of exciting, but
I don’t know if I’m ready to leave my old school and friends. My team is
counting on me next year, and there are no sports at this new place. I’m really
not into leaving. But on the other hand, so far, you being at the new school is
a big plus,” he said.

I didn’t know how to
respond, and an awkward giggle came out. “I agree, Taylor seems too good to be
true - her and the school,” I said while trying to stifle the awkward laughter.

Chase’s phone rang. The
ringtone was a song about ex-girlfriends. He pressed ignore quickly. “My ex. So
sorry. We’ve been broken up for three months now, but she still doesn’t get
it.”

“Oh…was it a long
relationship?” I asked.

Chase smiled. “Well, long
for me, I guess. About six months. But anyway, tell me about you. So what’s
your talent?”

I smiled with my mouth shut
as I finished a bite of sandwich. “Should I show you?”

“Is it safe?”

“It’s safe as long as you
don’t mind me prying into your life. Maybe it’s not a good idea after all.”

Then he smiled. “Hey, my
life is an open book. No worries. Go for it, Raegan.”

I reached across the table
and grabbed his hand. I let the flashes envelop me, absorbing all that I saw,
and after a few seconds I let go. His hand was warm and comforting, not clammy
like my own.

“So what was that about?”
he asked with a confused yet flattered look on his face.

“Well, I know you have a
horrific muscle spasm in your right forearm, and a pulled muscle in your calf.”

“WTF!” escaped his lips.

“Excuse me,” he said. “I
don’t cuss, but that’s freaky.”

Oh crap
, I thought.
I should
never have touched him. What was I thinking?

“So is that it? You can
tell how someone’s hurting? That’s…pretty… cool.”

“Actually, no. I can heal
them, too, and I also got a glimpse of your life. For instance, I know you have
a pug named Kujo, who’s adorable by the way. I know your best friend’s name is
Shaun, and he thinks you’re a superhero. He’s the only one that knows about
your ability, though I didn’t see what it was. I saw your parents. They seem
nice, but very strict. And I saw your ex, Catherine, captain of the
cheerleading squad, and I know why you broke up, which I think was completely a
good decision on your part.”

Chase started laughing
hysterically. “Oh my gosh! That is pretty amazing! You can do that to anyone?”

“I have to touch them. So
did you want me to fix your leg and arm?” I asked, quietly wondering if he was
about to get up and leave.

He smiled and said, “Well,
am I going to start glowing? ‘Cause I don’t want to be obvious. We are in
public.”

“No, silly, I can do it
right here.”

“WHAT? You can?”

“Yeah, I have to touch you
to discover there’s something wrong, but I can heal you from here.”

“Well, do it already!” he
said, smiling. “It won’t hurt you, right?”

“No, your pain actually
hurts me when I sense it.”

I concentrated on the pain
in his leg and the muscles healing themselves.

“My leg, thanks! Oh…and my
arm. That was worth paying for your dinner for sure!”

“So…your talent?” I asked.

Chase looked shy. “Well,
it’s not as cool as yours. I can sorta absorb energy from around me, and use it
to do whatever I want. My body is constantly doing it without my knowledge. I
can throw farther, run faster, and jump higher than anyone I know. I can do
some amazing things too. I can jump to the top of a two-story building from the
ground if I absorb enough energy. But when I try to do things like that, I get
worn out and sick for a little while. Taylor says I have a lot of potential,
but I need to learn how to use it.”

“I think that’s amazing,” I
said as I smiled. I checked my cell and saw my aunt had texted to ask how
things were going.

“Hey Chase, I need to text
my aunt real quick and let her know I’m okay.”

“No worries,” he said.

I looked at the time on my
phone.

“Oh gosh, it’s almost 8:30! I should probably start driving home. I have a ways to go and it’s getting dark.”

“Man, we just got to the
interesting stuff. But okay, call me when you get home so I know you made it
safely. Sorry if that bugs you…you’ll get used to me. I’m protective of my
friends and family,” he said and winked.

I could feel my stomach
rolling over and doing flips.
He’s being protective of me - am I a friend,
then?
He was pretty cute, and very sweet. I was curious if telling me to
call him when I got home was just a line, or if he was serious. Either way, it
made me jittery with excitement.

The whole drive home, I
analyzed everything I had said. Was I too weird? Was I nerdy? He was the
quarterback of his football team. His ex-girlfriend was Miss Popular. Thanks to
my talent, I was able to see a lot of things, too many to tell him. I could
tell he was a sweetheart. His ex was majorly into parties and drinking, which
he was somewhat okay with, but she was out of control and not someone he could
see being with forever, so he broke it off. She’d been harassing him ever
since.

I can’t believe we talked
so long. I’ve never even been to a party or a school function. I wonder what it
would be like to date Mr. Popular. Is that who I am? The girl who dates the
quarterback?
My nicknames from McKinley came back to me…freak, weirdo, loner.
He’s
definitely out of my league.
Ugh, it was mortifying.

I arrived home and ran
upstairs to my aunt’s den, where she was draped over a recliner and drinking
sweet tea. She was reading her latest romance novel, something about a cowboy
going back in time. She was so funny.

“Howdy, little darl’n,” I
said in a lame attempt at humor.

She looked up and smiled.
“Hi sweetheart, glad you’re home safe. Sit down, tell me how it went! I can see
by your smile that it went well. Was he cute?”

I told her all about it,
not realizing the time. My phone went off and I grabbed it. It was a text from
Chase.

- Hey Raegan, didn’t hear
from you. Give me a call, I think you should be home by now.

“Oh shoot! I said I’d call
him when I got home! Night, Aunt Jan!” I shouted as I ran down the hall. I
could hear laughing from the den, and my face felt hot.

Chase and I talked until
almost midnight. I thought the lecture he gave me was very sweet and funny. I
was starting to think he would make a great friend and that riding to Loving
together would be fun. We talked all about the upcoming tests, and the suites,
and the campus. We planned on eating together so we wouldn’t be loners when we
arrived.

Friday came quickly. I
finished organizing everything I wanted to take to Loving, and I got a
mani-pedi and facial as a going away present from my aunt. I was so thankful
for this, considering I was getting more nervous about Chase’s family coming
over, and worried about how they’d get along with my aunt and uncle. I also was
majorly stressing that it would be a fluke and I’d fail the tests with Taylor.