Talented (16 page)

I grabbed my clothes and ran from the woods
, leaving Donavon alone by the lake.  Donavon tried to reach out to me several times that evening, but I blocked his attempts.

Very early the
next morning I heard a knock at my door – I knew that it was Donavon the moment I heard the tapping.

“
Go away,”
I sent, still reeling from the night before.

“T
al, open the door,”
Donavon’s mental voice commanded.

“
No.”

“
I’d really rather say what I have to say to your face.”

“Well I’
m not letting you in, so you can say whatever you want from out there,”
my irritation was obvious.

“Natalia, I love you.  I’ve loved you from
the moment I first saw you, when I was twelve. I’m sorry that I was too scared to say it yesterday,” his voice was soft, but my hearing was acute enough that I could hear him through the door, and he knew it.  I mentally pushed the door open.  Donavon ran over and fell on his knees next to my bed.  I threw my arms around his neck.

“
I love you, Tal,”
he pulled me tight against his chest.

“I know
, Donavon.”

Even though he’d finally said those words, I was stubborn and still hurt from his earlier rejection.  We both knew that it would be a long time before I said those three words to him again.

Chapter Nineteen

Something crawled in my ear.  I swatted at it.  I felt it again, slithering down my neck this time.  I reached to scratch the place that it had been, when I heard stifled laughter.

“Erik, you’
d better be out of my arms reach when I open my eyes, or I’ll make you sorry,” I grumbled without opening my eyes.

“Won’t be hard, your arms are pretty short,” Er
ik teased.

I opened my eyes and rolled over to face him.  I groane
d at the dull ache in my side.

“Think you’re funny?”

“Sure do,” he smirked.

“Did you meet a nice girl in the city?” I asked, changing the subject.

“I met a girl who was nice to me,” he did his eyebrow wiggle.  I felt another stab.  This one was something akin to jealousy, and I immediately hated myself.

“I’m sorry I asked,
” I only hoped that he didn’t know how sorry I really was.

“Where’
s your boyfriend?  I expected to find him here since we left you all alone last night,” Erik’s tone changed to one of mild disgust.

“Why don’t you like him?” I demanded.

“It’s not really so much that I don’t like him,” he replied, evasively.

“Then what is it?” 
I was perplexed by the animosity between them.

“We’
re just not compatible, I guess,” Erik mumbled, looking uncomfortable.

“You don’t have t
o date him.  I just wish you’d be civil to him.”

“For you T
alia, I would do anything,” he bowed gallantly.

“So you’
ll be nice to him?” I pressed.

“You
said civil.  Nice is pushing it,” he warned.

“Civil,” I agreed.  “Thank you
, Erik.”

I got up,
dressed, and made my way over to the Medical building.  The Medic removed my bandages and confirmed that my stitches had dissolved.  I was now left with two thin scars, one on my stomach and one on my back.  The skin was tender and pinkish. I was amazed by how quickly the wound had healed.  The Medic used a laser scanner, passing it over my scars again and again, fading the raised skin until it was non-existent.  When he was done, the skin was still discolored, but he assured me that too would fade in a few hours.  My internal damage would take a little longer to heal, but cosmetically I was good as new.

I felt better about the Erik situation after spending the night with Donavon, but I was still hesitant to return to my cabin.  Spending the night with Donavon had reminded me why I loved him, but just seeing Erik made me think and feel things that I didn’t understand.   B
oth Donavon and Penny, were working so I took the opportunity to finally have some alone time.  I strolled, leisurely around the compound.  For the first time in months I was completely alone.  Not just physically, but mentally too.  I’d forgotten how nice it was to by myself with my own thoughts.

I hadn’t realized how heavily everybody else’s stresses were weighing me down unit they were gone.  Henri was overwhelmed by his position as team leader.  He constantly worried that he was too young to be in such a high position.  He worried that I
wouldn’t perform in the way he had hoped when he requested me as part of the team.  He worried that I’d get hurt, and that Mac would blame him.

Erik maintained a carefree attitude on the surface.  He was indifferent to the Agency and the war with the Coalition.  If it were up to him, he wouldn’t have gone to McDonough School. Unfortunately, like every other
Talented child born in the United Sates, he hadn’t had a choice.  He mostly worried about how long he’d be able to keep up his city going party boy and Agency Operative.  He also worried about disappointing Henri by not taking his responsibilities seriously enough.  But most of all, he worried about me.

Maybe my feelings for Erik were only a reflection of his feelings for me
, I mused.  I hoped so.  If Henri’s feelings could affect me, then surely Erik’s could too, right?  After all, my mind and Erik’s seemed to have a strong connection, even stronger in some ways than my connection with Donavon.  I knew that I could project my thoughts, my feelings, and my will on to anyone, but Erik was the first person I’d subconsciously done it to.

I wandered in the woods
, relishing the blissful emptiness in my head.  I sat by the lake and skipped stones over the water’s surface.  I laid down in the dirt, not caring about my clothes, and let the sun warm my face.  I closed my eyes and the back of my eyelids lit up, bright reddish-orange from the sun’s rays.  It reminded me of Penny’s hair.  I was so glad that I had a girl friend to talk to about my boy problems.  As the thought crossed my mind I smiled wider; I had boy problems!  How very normal of me.

My whole life I felt different, mostly because I
am
different.  Going to the McDonough School and meeting other kids like me had made me begin to feel better.  Yet, I still felt different because I never bonded with the other kids, never really made friends.  But now, for the first time, I had a boyfriend, a crush, and a best friend to talk to about my boy problems.  I couldn’t remember a time when I’d felt more content.

After my quiet afternoon at the lake, I still wasn’t ready to return to my cabin.  I lounged in the grass outside the Crypto bank, feeling slightly
stalkerish, waiting for Penny to finish work for the day.

“Do you have dinn
er plans?” I asked when Penny finally emerged from the Crypto bank.

“Would you mind going back to my room to eat?  The kitchen is making sweet potato ravioli, it’s my absolute favorite.”

“Sounds perfect,” I smiled.

I trailed Penny up to her room, and made myself comfortable on her bed while she ordered dinner.  I aimlessly flipped through the movies on her wall screen without actually reading any of the descriptions.

“What’s on your mind?” Penny asked, after I failed to answer a question she’d posed three times.

“It’s
nothing, I’m still just a little out of it from the last couple of days.”

“Erik?” Penny guessed.

“What?  Why would Erik have anything to do with anything?”  I retorted, defensively.

“I’ve seen you two around each other, Tal, it’s obvious that he likes you. And everyone talks about how Erik has changed since you got here,” Penny said, rolling her eyes.

“It’s not like that.  He just sees me as a younger sister or something,” I mumbled even, though I knew that wasn’t entirely true after the conversation I’d heard between him and Henri.  “Besides, I have a boyfriend – you know, Donavon,” I added hastily.

Penny looked doubtful.  “How do you feel about him?” she asked softly.  I knew that she was talking about Erik.

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly.  “Sometimes I think that maybe I have a little crush on him.”  My cheeks burned with embarrassment.  I quickly looked down at my hands, but it was too late to take it back.

“A little crush?” Penny snorted.

“I don’t know! I’ve never really felt like this about anybody.  I spend so much time in his head, it’s confusing.  You don’t understand,” I added hastily.

“You spend just as much time in Henri’s head as you do in Erik’s,” she reasoned.  “Why is Erik different?”

I gave her a long searching look.  “Henri has a boyfriend, so that’s not an issue.”

“Hmm, well that explains the difference,” she laughed.  “What about me?  Do you go in my head?” Her question took me by surprise.

“No, no, of course not,” I stammered.

“I understand if you do,” she said quickly.  “I mean it’s your Talent and stuff, and it’s really cool.  I just, you know, was wondering.”  Now it was Penny’s turn to blush.

“I’d never go in your head, Penny,” I assured her.  “You’re my friend, and I know it’s a huge violation of someone’s privacy to do that.”

She smiled, “Thanks.”

“I think that’s why most people are afraid to be close to me.  They’re scared that I’ll read their thoughts, learn their secrets,” I continued.

“Do you read most people’s minds?”

“Not if I can help it.  Unfortunately some people are really strong projectors, and I end up hearing their thoughts without meaning to,” I explained.  “It’s risky too.  When I read someone’s mind, I have to open up my own, so in the process they have an open window in to my head.  They can then see my thoughts, and feel my feelings.  It makes me completely vulnerable,” I continued.

Just then the Kitchen Aide knocked on Penny’s door, delivering our dinner.  Over ravioli the conversation turned lighter.  We talked about Penny’s less complicated boy problem – her crush of the week,
Randell.  The evening ended up being exactly what I needed to relax.

When I finally hurried through my cabin door, just before curfew, Henri was the only one there.

“Hey, how’re you feeling?” he greeted me with a grin.

“Good,” I answered truthfully, “I’ll be ready to practice tomorrow.”

“I’ll take it easy on you,” he winked at me.

I smiled and made my way to the bathroom to perform my nightly bedtime ritual of washing my face and brushing my teeth.  I took my time in the bathroom, and when I emerged, Henri’s light was out and Erik’s bed was still empty.  Even though I’d stayed at Penny’s all night to avoid seeing him, I was still disappointed that Erik wasn’t back.

After I got into my bed, I opened my mind and found Donavon awake in his cabin.

“
Hey, I’m sure you’re busy getting ready for tomorrow.  I just wanted to say goodnight,”
I sent to him.

“Are you coming to see me off tomorrow morning?  We’re leaving just before sunrise.”

“I’ll be there.”

“Good.  Night, Tal.”

Sleep didn’t come until after I heard the cabin door open, and the squeak of the springs in Erik’s mattress compressing under his weight.

I was up, dressed, and waiting outside Donavon’s cabin the next morning when he emerged with Arden and Harris.  I couldn’t help but grin when I saw
him, he gave me a small smile in return.  He took my hand as we walked across the compound, and gave it a little squeeze when we neared the hover hangar.

I gave Arden and Harris quick hugs and wished them luck before they boarded the hover vehicle, leaving Donavon and me to say goodbyes alone.

“Be careful,”
I pleaded.

“There’s no reason to worry.  I’ve been on a ton of these, and this is a quick one – nothing serious.”

“I’ll miss you.”

”I will miss you too
, Tal.  I love you, and I’ll see you as soon as I get back.”

I stretched up on my tip toes and kissed him, hard.  I stood, watching his back as he boarded the hover plane.  I stayed in the
hangar until the plane flew into the early morning sky.

Whenever Donavon went on a Mission I worried about him, but this was the first time I’d actually been here at Headquarters to see him off.  Now that I’d been on a Hunt of my own, I knew the risks, and knew how much potential danger he would be in.

I was wide awake, so I decided to swing by Medical, and become officially cleared.  Dr. Daid was on duty and declared me completely healed; he promised to put a note in my file so I could return to training.

By the time I left Medical the sun was up, and I needed to get back to the cabin to meet the boys for practice.  Henri and Erik were both up and getting ready when I walked in the door.

“Did your boyfriend get off okay?” Erik asked, trying to sound uninterested.

“
Donavon
got off just fine.  How’d you know that’s where I went?”

“Harris told me they were leaving on a mission this morning.  You weren’t here when I woke up, so I figured that you’d gone to say goodbye,” Erik answered.

“Have you eaten?” Henri interrupted.

“Nope, waited for you guys.
  But I did go to Medical, they said I’m cleared to train.”

“Good to hear; let’s get to it.  The Captain left me a message this morning.  He has a couple of upcoming Missions already scheduled for us.”

“Really?” I was shocked.  I figured that my abysmal performance would mean that I’d be sidelined for a while.

“Yeah.
  Despite the whole getting hurt thing, which by the way is always a risk and does not mean that you’re a bad Hunter, you did really well, everyone was impressed,” Henri praised me.  I knew that he didn’t actually mean “everyone”; Mac clearly wasn’t impressed.

“Wow, thanks,” Henri’s approval meant almost as much.

“Don’t let it go to your head,” Erik teased.  I shot him a death look, and he had the good grace to feign freight.

The first day back at practice was surprisingly easy.  Once we started moving, my tight muscles stretched and loosened.  My side was sore, but it felt much better than I’d anticipated.

We worked steadily the entire day, and I felt a sense of fulfillment when we finished for the afternoon.

Donavon’s Mission ended up taking longer than he’d predicted.  As the days passed without word from him, I became increasingly more anxious.  I called Mac’s communicator morning, noon, and night.  He assured me everything was okay and I would be the first to know
if something went wrong.  Every night, lying in my bed, I opened my mind and tried to reach out to him, even though I knew he was too far away.