Switched (8 page)

The street was completely deserted. I wrapped my arms tightly around myself to ward off the cold that seeped in and looked around. I
knew
he had been out here. I had seen something. Maybe my fall had scared him away, like he thought it was Matt or something.

 I decided to walk a little farther down the street, investigating everyone’s lawn for a hidden tracker. My back ached from the fall, and my knee felt a little twisted and weird. That left me hobbling down the street in my pajamas at five in the morning. I had truly lost my mind.

Then I heard something. Footsteps? Somebody was definitely following me, and based on the dark chill running down my spine, it wasn’t Finn. It was hard to explain how exactly I knew it wasn’t him, but I knew it just the same. Slowly, I turned around.

6. Monsters

A girl stood a few feet behind me. In the glow from the streetlamp, she looked ravishing. Her short brown pixie cut spiked up all over. Her skirt was short and her black leather jacket went down to her calves. A wind came up, blowing back her coat a bit, and she reminded me of some kind of action star, like she should be in
The Matrix
.

But the thing that caught my attention the most was that she was barefoot. 

“Okay… um, I’m going to go home now,” I announced. She just stared at me, so I felt like I had to say something.

“Wendy Everly, I think you should come with us,” she said with a sly smile.

“Us?” I asked, but then I felt him behind me.

I don’t know where he had been before that, but suddenly, I felt his presence behind me and I looked over my shoulder. A tall man with dark, slick-backed hair stared down at me. He wore the same jacket as the girl, and I thought it was neat that they had matching outfits, like a crime fighting duo.

He smiled at me, and that’s when I decided that I was in trouble.

“That’s a really nice invitation, but my house is like three houses down.” I pointed towards it, as if I didn’t think they already knew exactly where I lived. “So I think that I should probably just get home before my brother starts looking for me.”

“You should’ve thought of that before you left the house,” the guy suggested wickedly.

 I wanted to take a step forward so I’d be away from him, but I thought that would only make him pounce on me. I could probably take the girl, but I wasn’t so sure about him. He was like a foot taller than me.

“You guys are trackers?” I asked. Something about them reminded me of Finn, the way they stared at me and insisted that I come with them.

“You’re a quick one, aren’t you?” the girl smiled wider at me, and it didn’t set right with me. 

They might be trackers, but not the same kind as Finn. Maybe they were bounty hunters or kidnappers or just big fans of chopping up girls into little pieces and disposing of them in a ditch. Fear crept through me, but I tried not to let on.

“Well, this has been a blast, but I have to get ready for school. Big test and all that.” I started taking a step away, but the guy’s hand clamped painfully on my arm.

“Don’t damage her!” the girl insisted, her eyes flashing wide. “She’s not to be hurt!”

Not to be hurt. Okay. That’s a good thing. I can work with that, at least.

“Yeah, ease up!” I tried to pull my arm from him, but he refused to let go.

I had already decided that I wasn’t going wherever they wanted to take me. Since they were under some kind of instruction not to hurt me, I thought I might have some leeway with fighting them. I only had to get a few houses down, then I’d be at home, and Matt kept a gun under his bed.

I elbowed the guy in the stomach as hard as I could. He made a coughing sound and doubled over but didn’t let go of my arm. I kicked him in the shin and raised my arm so I could bite his hand that was gripping me.

He yowled in pain, and then the girl was in front of me. He had let go of me, and she tried to grab me, so I punched her. She dodged it, so my fist just connected with her shoulder.

Then I was off balance, and the guy grabbed me around the waist. I screamed and kicked at him as hard as I could. Apparently, he got tired of that, so he dropped me on the ground.

I was on my feet instantly, and he grabbed my arm again and turned me so I was facing him. He raised his hand and slapped me harder than I had ever been hit before. Everything went white, and my ear started ringing. He let go of me, and I collapsed backwards on the grass behind me.

“I said not to hurt her!” the girl hissed.

My neck ached from the force of his hit, and my jaw screamed painfully. The back of my eye had a spreading pain, but. I tried to stagger to my feet. She kicked me, not hard enough to really hurt, but enough so I’d fall back.

I lay on my back, staring up at the sky, and realized that I didn’t stand a chance against them.

“I didn’t! I was subduing her!” the guy growled and looked down at me. “And if she doesn’t knock it off, I’ll subdue her again, but harder this time!”

“Let’s just get her to the car,” she sounded exasperated.

He bent down to try to pick me up, but I hit away his hands. I was lying on my back, and I lifted up my legs. I wasn’t really trying to kick him, but I was going to use my legs to push him back if he came near me.

In response, he hit my calf hard enough to give me a Charlie horse, which I gritted my teeth through. He put his knee on my stomach, holding me down so I couldn’t fight as much.

When he tried to grab me, I pushed him back with my hands, so he grabbed my wrists, pressing them tightly together with one hand.

“Stop!” he commanded. I tried to pull my hands free, but he just squeezed tighter and my bones felt like they were about to snap. “Just stop! We’re going to take you no matter what!”

“Like hell you are!” Finn barked, his voice coming from out of nowhere.

I swiveled my head, trying to see around the guy that had me pinned to the ground. The girl stood just to the side of us, but between the two of them, I could see Finn, and I had never been so happy to see anyone.

“Oh, dammit,” the girl sighed. “If you hadn’t spent so much time fighting with her, we’d be out of here by now.”

“She was the one fighting with me!” the guy insisted.

“Now I’m the one fighting with you!” Finn growled, glaring at him. “Get off her!
Now!
”

“Finn, can’t we just talk about this?” She tried to sound sultry and flirty when she took a step closer to Finn, but he didn’t even look at her. “I know how you feel about duty, but there’s got to be some kind of arrangement we can come to.”

She took another step closer to him, and he pushed her back, so hard she stumbled and fell backwards.

“I hate fighting with you, Finn.” The guy let go of my hands and took his knee off my stomach. I took the opportunity to try to kick him in the nuts, and reflexively, he whirled on me and smacked me hard again.

Before I could even curse him for hitting me again, Finn was on him. I had rolled onto my side, cradling my injured face, so I could only see part of what was going on.

My attacker had managed to get to his feet, but I could hear the sounds of Finn punching him. The girl leapt on his back to stop him, but Finn elbowed her in the face, so she collapsed to the ground, holding her bleeding nose.

“Enough!” The guy had cowered down, putting his arms over his face to protect himself form anymore blows. “We’re done! We’ll get out of here!”

“You better fucking get out of here!” Finn shouted. “If I see you anywhere near her again, I will kill you!”

The guy walked over to the girl and helped her to her feet, and then they both turned and headed down the street to a black Porsche parked nearby. Finn stood on the sidewalk in front of me, watching them until they got in the car and sped off down the road. When he was certain they were gone, he smoothed out his hair and turned to me.

I was still lying on the ground, and he knelt down next to me. Gently, he placed his hand on my cheek where I had been slapped, and the skin was tender, so it stung a little, but I refused to show it. His hand felt too good to push away.

 His dark eyes were pained when he looked me over, and as terrible as everything had been up until this moment, I wouldn’t have traded it for anything because it led to this, to him touching me and looking at me like that.

“I’m sorry it took me so long.” He pursed his lips tightly, blaming himself for not getting here sooner. “I was sleeping, and I didn’t wake up until you were completely panicked.”

“You sleep in your clothes?” I asked, looking at his usual dark jeans and button-up shirt combo.

“Sometimes.” Finn pulled his hand from my face. “I knew something was up today. I could feel it, but I couldn’t pinpoint it because I couldn’t stay as close to you as I would’ve liked. I never should’ve slept at all.”

“No, you can’t blame yourself. It was my fault for coming out of my room.”

“What were you doing out here?” Finn looked at me curiously, and I looked away, feeling embarrassed.

“I thought I saw you,” I admitted quietly, and his face went dark.

“I should’ve been here,” he said, almost under his breath, and then he got to his feet. He held out his hand to me and pulled me to my feet. I grimaced a little but tried not to show it. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I forced a smile. “A little sore, but fine.”

He touched my cheek again, just with his fingertips, sending flutters through me. He looked at my injury very seriously, and then his eyes met mine, dark and wonderful. It was at that moment that I knew that I had officially fallen for him.

“You’re going to have a bruise,” Finn murmured dropping his hand. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” I insisted. “It’s mine. I was being an idiot. I should’ve known…” I trailed off. I had been about to say that I should’ve known it was dangerous, but how would I have possibly known that? I had no idea who those people were. “Who were they? What did they want?”

“Vittra,” Finn growled, glaring down the road as if they would appear at the sound of their name. He tensed up as he scanned the horizon, then put his hand on the small of my back so he could usher me away. “Come on. I’ll explain more in the car.”

“The car?” I stopped where I was, making him press his hand harder on my back until he realized I wasn’t going anywhere. His hand stayed there, and I had to ignore the small pleasure of it so I could argue with him. “I’m not going in the car. I have to go home before Matt realizes I’m gone.”

“You can’t go back there,” Finn was apologetic but firm. “I’m sorry. I know this is directly against your wishes, but it’s not safe for you there anymore. The Vittra have found you. I will not leave you here.”

“I don’t even understand what this Vittra is, and Matt is…” I shifted uncomfortably and looked backed towards my house.

Matt was tough, as far as people went, but I wasn’t sure what kind of match he would be for the guy that attacked me. And even if he could take him, I didn’t want to bring that element into the house. If something happened to Matt or Maggie because of me, I could never forgive myself.

“Wendy, we must hurry,” Finn insisted urgently. Reluctantly, I nodded and let him take me away.

Apparently, he’d run to my rescue this morning, because his car was still parked at his house two blocks away. The sky really started to lighten, and I knew that Matt would be getting up any minute, so I quickened my pace.

“It’s going to break his heart.” I swallowed hard.

“He’d want you to be safe,” Finn assured me, and he was right. But Matt wouldn’t know I was safe. He wouldn’t know anything about me.

“Do you have a cell phone?” I asked.

“Why?” Finn kept glancing around as we approached his car. He pulled his keys from his pocket and used the keyless entry to unlock it.

“I need to call Matt and let him know that I’m okay,” I said. Walking in front of me, Finn held the passenger door open for me and I got inside. As soon as he got in the driver’s seat, I turned to him. “Well? Can I call him?”

“You really want to?” Finn seemed surprised about my question as he started the car.

“Yes! Of course I do!”

Finn threw the car in gear and sped off down the road. The whole town was still asleep, except for us. He glanced over at me, debating. Finally, he dug in his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.

“Thank you,” I smiled gratefully at him.

When I started dialing the phone, my hands shook, and I felt sick. This was going to be the hardest conversation of my life. I held the phone to my ear, listening to it ring, and I tried to slow my breathing.

“Hello?” Matt answered the phone groggily. He hadn’t woken up yet, and he didn’t know I was gone. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Hello?”

“Matt?” I said, afraid he would hang up if I didn’t say something soon.

“Wendy?” Matt instantly woke up, panic thick in his voice. “Where are you? What’s going on? Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” My cheek still hurt, but I was fine. Even if I wasn’t, I couldn’t tell him that. “Um, I’m calling because… I’m leaving, and I wanted you to know that I was safe.”

“What do you mean you’re leaving?” Matt was up moving around. I could hear him open his door, and then the bang as he threw open my bedroom door. “Where are you, Wendy? You need to come home right now!”

“I can’t, Matt!” I rubbed my forehead and let out a shaky breath.

“Why? Does somebody have you? Did Finn take you?” Matt demanded. In the background, I could hear Maggie asking questions. He’d woken her up with his commotion of looking for me. “I’ll kill that little bastard if he lays one hand on you.”

“Yeah, I’m with Finn, but it’s not like you think,” I said thickly. “I wish I could explain everything to you, but I can’t. He’s taking care of me though. He’s making sure I’m safe.” 

“Safe from what?” Matt snapped. “I take care of you! Why are you doing this?” He took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “If we’re doing something wrong, we can change it, Wendy. You just need to come home, right now.” His voice was cracking, and it broke my heart. “Please, Wendy.”