Surfacing the Rim (Piercing The Fold) (4 page)

Nate’s eyes never leave the table. He tilts his head toward Ezra to acknowledge his words. “I will.”

Ezra looks to me over Nate’s head. “Jes, we need to talk before you and Nate head to Ms. Olivia’s.”

Ezra’s eyes give away that he wants to discuss leaving in a more father-daughter manner.

I nod silently, responding to his request.

Ezra leaves Nate and me in the kitchen. Nate pushes the chair out roughly and leans against the kitchen countertop.

I hear Nate think, Xander. Why did the guardian have to be him? From the moment I met him, I wanted to strangle him.

I stand and lean my hands against the back of my chair. Nate is pushing his feelings toward his hatred for Xander. But, I know his frustration is being charged by one particular thing—our link and how it was manufactured in a laboratory, not by nature and fate alone.

Chapter 6

Nate

I am leaning against the counter with my eyes downcast to avoid looking directly at Jes. I know she’s watching me. I don’t want her to feel pity—pity for me feeling disappointed in the fact that our connection, our link, is not something greater, like fate.

I allow her to hear one thought. I think about Xander being my cousin and a guardian for our fellowship.
That completely took me off-guard. I didn’t see that coming.

I feel Jes’s worry crawl into my chest and pull at my heart. I push away from the counter and walk over to stand in front of her. When I look into those magnetic green eyes of hers, I can’t go long without touching her. I reach for her hand gently and hold it loosely, running my thumb over the top. I feel her pulse quicken under my touch. She wants more, and it drives me crazy. My pulse races, matching hers.

Jes pulls me to her, and I bow my head, leaning my forehead against hers. Her hand touches my chest, and the energy from her heats me to the core. Needing her closer to me, I wrap my hands around her small waist, drawing her in so her chest is against mine. It nearly sends me over the edge of resistance when her voice quivers as she whispers to me.

“Even if this started because of what they chose for us, it’s not why I am choosing to be here with you now.”

I sigh and make sure she can’t get in my thoughts.
God, if you only knew what you mean to me. It’s so much more than this link.

With her body molded to mine, I feel our hearts beat separately, and then they quicken in time with one another until they are synchronized.

Chapter 7

Jesca

I need to collect myself before seeing my father. I head to my room to breathe for a few minutes. Lying down on my bed, I hug my pillow to my chest.

My father.

It’s still very strange to call him that. I mean, I only discovered that he was my dad two months ago. If you look at the circumstances we’ve been under, father-daughter bonding has not been at the top of the list. Still, we’ve had some moments.

* * *

One day last week, Nate and I were training. We were running sprints up and down the beach to start. We worked on interlinking our abilities. Nate’s individual abilities included Latrosis, healing others with his inner energy; Telepathy, reading other people’s thoughts; and physical speed and strength. After our talk with Ezra earlier, we knew that our abilities were an advantageous perk of our Copula implantations.

Nate’s abilities were distinct whereas mine have begun combining, creating hybrid abilities.

My abilities were similar to Nate’s, including Telepathy and physical speed and strength, but I also possessed Ushering, the ability to compel someone to act in a specific manner, and Qi, vital inner energy that circulates within a person and outside of the person in flowing currents. When I had felt those creepy vibrations within me and heard the humming noises, it turns out my inner life force was alerting me to impending danger.

Astral Projection, or what
Ezra had coined as ‘jumping,’ was also revealed. Ezra had described it as the ability of a person’s soul to travel out of the body to another place or plane of existence. That had taken me a while to understand, but then I’d figured out that my Qi was connected to jumping. This was one of the mutated abilities Ezra had been fascinated with while we were still in the facility.

Yet another ability I discovered was Lucid Dreaming, being aware in a dream state. The dreams had been more like visions, a form of communication. Sebastian had visited me in a lucid dream recently. Since that visit, Sebastian had been able to connect with my mind long enough to see that a new ability was emerging for me. With Clairvoyance, I had the ability to see the future through visions while unconscious.

After Sebastian had spoken to Ezra about this, they quickly had come to the conclusion that my Lucid Dreaming, Astral Projection, and Clairvoyance were evolving and mutating, making me more adaptable and resilient for what was to come.

And, I knew that all of this stemmed from the implanted Copula within me.

After the two-hour training session, Nate and I got hot and decided to jump into the water to cool off. Ezra came down to the beach from the house. Nate and I swam to shore. We exited the water and grabbed our towels.

Nate spoke first. “What’s up, Ezra? Everything alright?”

Ezra’s arms were crossed over his chest. He wasn’t angry though. He had a peaceful look on his face. “Everything is fine. Uh, Nate, go ahead and go in. Jes and I are going to talk for a bit.”

Nate and I looked at each other briefly. Ezra was as subtle as a flying brick, but I could feel that he was being sentimental about something.

I interjected to end the uncomfortable silence. “Uh, yeah, I need to talk with you, too. I’ll catch up with you later, Nate. We can ride into the store together, okay?”

Nate looked at Ezra, who was still standing stoically, gazing over our heads at the rolling waves.

Nate glanced back at me and smiled. “See you in a bit.”

He grabbed his shirt from the ground and jogged up to the house. I couldn’t help but give in to the temptation as my gaze followed his movements up to the villa.

Ezra pulled me to him by the shoulder, and we started walking down the beach.

I rolled my eyes a little at his obvious attempt at distracting me away from Nate. “What’s going on, Pop?”
I looked up to see him grin.

“Oh, not much, Daughter. Just wanted some time with you—minus Nate.”

We walked silently for a while.

Ezra spoke nervously. “Jes, when you were training just now with Nate…I thought of your mother. She was strong like you. She was full of life. She too had abilities that were beginning to evolve when she…” He stopped short. He pulled my shoulder tighter toward him now, placing his mouth on my head.

At first, I was shocked. Ezra was not an affectionate guy. He had given me hugs and pats on the back, but he had not attempted this particular fatherly instinct before. I got a little choked up from his gesture. I swallowed it down quickly and closed my eyes.

He spoke into my hair. “Oh, Jesca, our world is evolving. We must adapt and evolve as well. Do you feel the change in the atmosphere?”

I nodded under his mouth that was still on my head. If I spoke, I knew my voice would crack. Every day since the first vision with Sebastian, I had been a more conscious observer of the changes in humanity and the climatic atmosphere. It was something humanity had never witnessed in its recorded past.

He stopped and turned me to look at him. “We have been given a great responsibility, and, God, I know it’s overwhelming. We have knowledge that puts us in the forefront of this battle with the understanding that we individually inherited our abilities at the exact moment in time when we were meant to receive them. We are beyond the questions of how and why this is happening, but one thing I am certain of in my heart is you, Jesca. There will come a time when you are asked to do something or be something you don’t think you can do. Remember that you are being given the challenge from a greater place—from a greater being that knows your abilities and capacity just as you have evolved to know things others do not.”

I looked into his eyes and listened intently, hearing his wise words.

Ezra pulled me into him.

The knot I held in my throat released, and I gasped for air that turned into a low, but audible sob. “I love you, Dad.”

He hugged me tighter. His lips were on my head. “Love you, too.”

* * *

I blink the tears from my eyes now and toss the pillow from my chest. I take a deep breath as I leave my room and walk down the hall to Ezra’s suite.

The door is partially open. I knock softly.

Ezra calls from within. “Come on in, Jes.”

I walk in. Ezra is pulling out his suitcase and duffel bag. I have not been in his room since we moved in. To be honest, it looks pretty much the same as it did the first night I walked through the house. There is one visible difference though. I walk straight over to it—an ant farm. I grin a little.

“Friends of yours?”

I can feel his smile. I turn to look at him. He is leaning against his dresser, grinning. He remembers the last time we had a conversation about his ants.

Ezra sighs and plays along. “Yes. Yes, they are.”

His smile falls, and I don’t understand why. Then, he asks, “Will you take care of them if anything happens to me?”

His simple question hits me square in the chest. My grin fades, but I don’t shift my gaze away from his. He’s waiting for my answer. The question is not simple anymore. It’s a rather complex request and an intense responsibility on my part.

My reply is simple, but it weighs heavily on my heart because of what we are both implying now—humanity. “Yes. I will take care of them.”

Ezra nods and whispers, “Give me your hand.”

I put out my hand reluctantly, turning my palm open. I smile slyly. My voice is filled with curiosity. “Why?”

Ezra places his closed fist above my hand and releases a copper medallion on a chain into my palm. The metal is cold at first, but it quickly warms in my hand. I pull it closer to see the details on it. It’s a device. The workings within the device are intricately crafted and beautiful.

“What is this?”

Ezra puts his hands in his pockets. “It’s the first generation Copula, Jes. Sebastian asked me to give it to you. He told me that this is your legacy now.”

I sigh deeply, letting those words really sink in as I continue studying the device. I quickly put the Copula in my jeans pocket.

Chapter 8

Jesca

After our talk, Ezra leaves to run some errands before tomorrow’s departure. I shower and dress to head out to Ms. Olivia’s. It’s pointless to sit around the house all day, waiting for tomorrow.

I walk out into the kitchen and grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator.

Nate is sitting on the sofa with the TV on.

I walk over to the sofa and sit cross-legged next to him. “Have you called your parents?”

Nate drapes his arm over the back of the sofa and leans back. “Not yet.”

I pull my hair to the side and start braiding it. “You need to talk with them, Nate. Let them explain everything to you. They love you.”

He ignores my suggestion, his eyes never leaving the TV screen. I finish braiding my hair, and we watch the news in silence.

Nate breaks the silence a few minutes later. “So, I was wondering…”

His voice sounds different, so I look at him, giving my full attention.

Nate takes a slow breath in, and then he releases it. “After we leave Ms. Olivia’s tonight, would you like to grab something to eat with me?”

I am caught off-guard by his question, and I quickly divert my eyes away from Nate, looking at the TV again. I feel him looking at me, and I can see him from out of the corner of my eye, measuring my reaction to the question. Did he just ask me out?

I keep my eyes steady on the news anchor. “You want to take me to dinner? Like a date?”

He doesn’t answer right away, so I look in his direction.

Nate is looking at me with those comforting eyes again. “Yes, a date.” He shifts his body to face mine. He laughs a little. “I mean, I guess I should take you out since I sneak into your room every night.”

Grabbing the pillow from behind me, I throw it at his head. “Ugh! That is so sincere, Nate.”

He laughs hysterically at my weak attempt at being frustrated with him. I can’t keep from giggling when Nate’s laugh intensifies. We both desperately need to laugh, even if it is temporary in this crazy, chaotic mess of reality we exist in now. We have to take what we can.

When Nate and I finally catch our breath, he clears his throat and becomes serious. “I only sneak into your room to check on you. Scouts honor!”

He has been so good with me at night. When I wake up sobbing from the dreams of our potential future, Nate is there to console me. It pains me to know that my feelings of fear and sorrow wake him from his sleep.

I clear my throat, looking at him with sincerity. “I know you are nothing but honorable. Thank you.”

His smile is soft when he bows his head, accepting my thanks.

I get up and walk toward the kitchen counter to grab the car keys. “Do you want to drive?”

When he doesn’t answer, I turn around to ask again. As soon as I turn, he is standing mere inches from me. He is so close that I have to lean back against the kitchen counter.

Without taking his eyes from mine, he leans forward and puts his hands on the counter, boxing me in so I can’t escape. I feel my cheeks flush as my blood rises and warms under the surface of my skin. Nate must sense it because he runs his hand along my cheek, his fingers brushing away a few strands of hair that have fallen loose from my braid. His fingers caress my jaw line, and then he rests his hand on the racing pulse at the base of my neck. The familiar heated energy I always get when he touches me is coursing through me like a shot of adrenaline.

Nate sees my reaction, and his voice is labored when he whispers, “I’m sorry. I just needed to touch you. I can’t explain it. “

He starts to pull his hand away, but I stop him from moving and place it back on my neck.

I close my eyes and softly say, “I know. It’s alright.”

That’s all the permission he needs to slip his arms around me, pulling my body flush against his. I put my hands on his chest and inch up on my toes to get as close to him as I can. His breath dances on my lips, sending surges of an addictive tension straight through to my core. Not yet touching his, my lips already feel like they’re on fire.

I breathlessly say, “You didn’t answer my question. Do you want to drive?”

Nate brushes his lips against mine once, and then he pulls back, leaving me wanting more.

He responds quietly, “Yeah, I’ll drive.”

Then, his lips take mine, and I moan from the wave of energy that explodes within me.

Nate’s cell phone begins to chirp, interrupting our kiss. We don’t respond to it right away. We’re paralyzed in each other’s gaze.

When I wonder if it could be his parents or Ezra, I pull back just a little. “You should answer that.”

With his eyes still heavily staring at me and his body not making any effort to move away, he pulls his phone from his front pocket. He looks down at it and sighs. “It’s my parents.”

His thumb runs along my jaw as he pulls away slowly. When he releases me, I feel like I can’t move. My legs are shaking like Jell-O, and the only thing that keeps me from melting to the floor is my grip on the countertop.

I slowly walk toward the back door to leave Nate alone with his parents because what they need to talk about is private.

I hear Nate answer somberly, “Hello? Hold on.”

Nate interrupts my quiet escape. “Hey, Jes, where are you going?”

I point toward the door and mouth, “I’m going for a walk on the beach. I’ll be on the porch when you’re done, alright?”

Nate nods and whispers, “Thank you.”

I exit before I hear anything else.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, Nate opens the sliding door and leans out.

“Man, it’s cold out here. Jes, get your butt in here! If I would have known it was this cold, then I wouldn’t have let you come out!”

I’m leaning against the railing, looking out at the ocean. “It’s alright. I’m fine.”

He steps out onto the porch and stands next to me.

I ask, “So, how did it go?”

Nate stands quietly for a minute. He’s looking out at the ocean. “They said that Alexander is my cousin. They said after my aunt and uncle were killed, he disappeared. They tried to track down my aunt’s mother to find him. They wanted him to live with us. By the time they tracked her down in Florida, she had passed, and Xander was nowhere to be found.”

Nate turns around and looks at the ground briefly, then up at me. “I asked them why they never told me about my aunt, uncle, or Xander. They said that they didn’t want to worry me with it. I was still young, and they thought it would be too much for me to handle. They said they didn’t think it was necessary to tell me about them.” Nate scoffs and kicks a small rock near his foot. “Guess they were wrong about that.”

I touch Nate’s arm softly. “I’m sorry, Nate. What about everything else?”

He knows I’m referring to the implantation and the link we share.

Nate looks up into the sky and squints. “They said the exact same thing Ezra had said.” He looks down at me and shrugs. “You’re right, Jes. Everything our parents did was to protect us.” Raking both of his hands through his hair, he chuckles to himself. “When you left the room, I really let them have it.” He looks back at me. “Thanks for the space.”

I nod and smile. “No problem.”

“Jes, I was thinking about something. I think we should let each other have some privacy with our thoughts.” Nate pauses, gauging my reaction. Then he continues explaining his position on this. “I know that Ezra thinks it’s best for us to not block each other’s thoughts because of our link, but it doesn’t feel right, always being inside of your head. It feels like I’m a Peeping Tom.”

I turn to look out toward the ocean before I responded. I feel relief flood over me, knowing that Nate is just as concerned as I am about our link.

I sigh. “I agree. I feel bad about knowing everything you’re thinking, but I think we should put a caveat on this. We should only block each other when we feel no threat of an attack.”

I think about telling Nate how I wonder if the physical attraction between us is because of the link, but I don’t. It’s selfish, I know, but a part of me wants to hold on to the comforting safety his physical presence gives me.

Nate nods. “Agreed.”

He nudges me with his arm. “You know, you’re pretty wise for a nineteen year old.”

I nudge him back. “You’re not so bad for a twenty-one year old.”

“Ah, yes! That’s me—the old, wise man.”

I laugh. “Shut up.”

Nate looks at me, smiling. “You know, when you came to our house that night after your mom was…” He trails off before he brings up her murder. “I was only six at the time, but I knew that I was supposed to protect you. No one told me. I was too young to be given that responsibility. Still, I could feel it in my heart. I was meant to keep you safe. I told my mom and dad to let you stay in my bed. I told them that I would sleep on the floor and watch over you at night.”

Nate nervously runs his hand through his hair. “At first, my parents or Ezra came in and tried to carry me to the guest bed to sleep, Jes. I made such a fuss when they moved me. Finally, they decided to give up, rather than wake you every night.” Nate laughs a little at the recollection.

He looks back at me. “When you left for Georgia, I remember crying in bed most nights because I missed you being there with me. I mean, even though I was just a typical, self-centered little kid, you meant that much to me. You still mean that much to me.”

Case in point, this is one of the reasons a part of me is holding onto Nate’s comfort. The fact that he can say something so sweet and tender like that warms my heart.

I smile. “Thank you for telling me that story.”

“You’re welcome. Now, we better get going.”

Nate clasps his hand in mine, pulling me along into the villa.

* * *

After the first month of being in Miami, Nate’s boredom had set in. He needed something to keep him occupied during the day.

Ezra made sure we were busy while at the villa. We trained on the beach, needing to practice our combat skills and perfect our abilities. That took quite a bit of time, but it still left hours in the day with nothing for Nate to do.

Ezra suggested that Nate work at the store with me. Knowing that I was with Nate made Ezra feel better since Sam was MIA.

On the first day I brought Nate to the store, Ms. Olivia put him to work. Nate assumed the handyman role for the bookstore and fit right in.

Ms. Olivia baked and cooked for Nate when she wasn’t helping in the store. Nate’s eyes glazed over whenever he smelled the sweet cornbread, homemade cinnamon rolls, and casseroles she had made for us to take home. Ms. Olivia also had breakfast ready for us every morning. Every couple of days, she baked at least two batches of cookies to send home with us. She was spoiling us, but I could tell that she loved to do it.

* * *

Today, I’m distracted by Nate working under Ms. Olivia’s kitchen sink. I’m supposed to be studying black holes, white holes, and Laplace’s theories of their existence within our galaxy. Instead, I’m watching Nate.

His arms tense as he turns the wrench around the pipe. I think about those hands touching my face, my lips, and my neck. My eyes move down over his chest, lowering down to the bottom hem of his green T-shirt. His shirt is lifted just enough for me to see a small portion of his sculpted abdomen.

God, Jes, why are you torturing yourself? I try to refocus on reading, but it doesn’t help knowing that after we leave the store tonight, we are going out on a date.

Nate breaks me out of my stupor when he growls from under the kitchen sink. “Damn it! Stupid pipe!”

I hear Ms. Olivia walking back to see what the commotion is all about.

“Nathaniel! There’s no need to get upset over something as irrelevant as a silly pipe!”

Scooting out from under the sink, Nate mumbles, “Sorry about that, Ms. Olivia.”

Ms. Olivia responds, “It’s alright. Cookies are almost ready, my boy.”

Nate must feel my gaze on him. He looks at me and winks. He crawls back under the sink, his eyes not leaving mine until the very last possible moment.

* * *

We are heading out, and Ms. Olivia is trailing behind us with two batches of cookies. She calls after him, “Nate, these are for you, my boy.”

I smirk, rolling my eyes. “Ms. Olivia, you are spoiling him.”

She fans her hand at me softly. “Oh hush, Jesca. He reminds me of my son. Let me enjoy myself. I love baking for you two.”

I smile weakly and give her a quick hug. I can’t resist how huggable she is. “Thank you, Ms. Olivia.”

She hugs me a little longer than I expect and pats me on the back. Before she lets me go, she whispers into my ear, “Enjoy your date.”