Touched (11 page)

“I need time,” Keira said then calmly.

“Time for what?” her mother’s eyes grew narrow and dark.

“My God,” Amanda interrupted, confronting her mother. “Let Keira go to her room, change and rest up. Maybe she wants to go back to school? She can come with me.”

“You’re leaving for school in a few minutes,” her mother objected.

“So, she can rest today and come to school tomorrow,” This was the first time ever Keira could remember Amanda actually standing up for her. Not only was she standing up, she was pleading for her. It touched Keira deeply. She would never forget it.

Her mother got off the couch and walked to the window, her back to all of them. It was as if she were the one who’d been horribly wronged and hurt.

Her father followed her mother to the window, put his arms on her shoulders and pulled her close to him.

 “Let Keira stay a day or two, Madge. We’ve all suffered so much. We need the time to sort it out.”

A day or two? Keira couldn’t believe it. They wanted her out. They would never forgive her for leaving with Cooper for a few days.

“A day or two at the most,” her mother snapped. “But that’s it. She’s shamed us enough for a lifetime. The whole town talks about it every day.”

“But where will she go?” Amanda piped up.

Her mother turned around, her face ashen. “Keira knew very well where to go before, didn’t she? Let her go there again.”

Keira looked at her father, hoping for him to say something, to claim her as his daughter. But he stood with her mother, silent. His thoughts were also silent. Keira could not hear another one of them.

“You may go to your room for now, Keira,” he said solemnly. “Rest up, and we’ll take it from there.”

Amanda ran over and gave her another hug as Keira pulled up her backpack and slowly climbed the stairs to her old room. She needed to rest awhile, and gather some more of her things, before she left forever.

CHAPTER 14

Keira walked into her room, dropped down on the bed and fell into a deep, motionless sleep. It was more than a sleep-- it felt as though she were journeying through different worlds, looking for a guide, for a way to make sense of all that was happening. She was looking for Cooper too, but there was no way to find him. Whenever she called out to him now in her mind, all she saw were thick, billowy clouds.

Then her sleep changed and Keira began to dream.
Cooper was standing on the edge of a mountain, his face over his eyes, scanning the horizon. He stood there bravely, alone, on the edge.

“Cooper!” she screamed in the loudest voice possible, but it was only the faintest echo to him. “Where are you? Tell me!” she kept screaming. But her words were dim and muted.

He just stood there, scanning the horizon.

Keira woke in a sweat, not having any idea how long she had slept. It was dark out, so she guessed that most of the day had passed. She got out of bed, went into the bathroom, turned on the hot water and took a long, wonderful bath. It had been so long since she’d had the luxury of doing that. She wondered when she’d ever be able to do it again.

After the bath she felt better. No one had knocked on her door all day. Was Amanda home from school yet? Would she come up and talk? Keira desperately wanted to talk to her but didn’t want to go downstairs now and confront her mother again. It wouldn’t be good for either of them.

Keira changed into a pair of jeans and her favorite, yellow sweater. Then she looked in the mirror. A completely different person looked back at her. Her face had grown more angular, her eyes deeper and her mouth more full. Her eyes also had a strange haze to them, as if they’d seen sights that she had no right to see, that had changed her forever. Her eyes now looked as if they could not be fooled. For a second Keira wondered if she looked prettier. She looked stronger, much more confident, as if she could take on the world.

She turned from the mirror and gathered some clothes from her closet and began packing. She had to gather herself together quickly, since she had no idea how long she’d be welcome here.

There was a knock on the door. Keira went and opened it immediately. To her delight, Amanda stood there.

 “I didn’t want to bother you,” said Amanda.

“You never bother me,” said Keira. “I’m so happy to see you. I miss you.” Her voice was stronger than usual.

Amanda seemed to notice it as she came right in.

“Mom and dad may not let you stay here,” she said, her voice trembling.

“Don’t worry about me, “ Keira said.

“But I do,” Amanda said. “Things are different since you left. Mom’s changed a lot since I went into the coma. Every day she has fits of sobbing and believes all kinds of strange things. She thinks all the people in town are talking about her, because you ran away.”

Keira wondered if the Shadows had fed on her mother, taken her courage, inserted more pain. Often they did it at night, when people were sleeping. When they went for the mind, some people went crazy and lived in terror, others just completely forgot who they were. It certainly sounded possible. Her mother never had been strong, but this was a whole new level.

“Mom was never so stable,” Amanda said.

It surprised Keira to hear Amanda say that. She and her mother had always been so close. It was Keira who’d always been on the outside. Now Amanda was coming closer to her. Probably because their mother was sicker.

“I can’t base my life on fighting mother,” Keira said. “If she wants me to go, I have to. It will be better for both of us.”

“But where will you go?” said Amanda, tearfully. She wasn’t the old twin Keira had known. Amanda had feelings for her now. When they spoke, she looked her right in the eye.

Keira reached out for Amanda’s hands, and pulled her sister slowly to her, so they could sit and talk in a way they hadn’t been able to before.

“I had to leave,” Keira said. “I changed after the accident. Greatly.”

Amanda looked frightened. “You went with Cooper? That strange guy?”

At the sound of his name, Keira felt her heart sink. She missed him so badly, she could barely stand it.

“He wasn’t so strange,” Keira said softly.

“Everyone at school thought he was,” Amanda replied.

Keira resented that, but said nothing. Not one of them could ever understand Cooper, see the powerful creature he really was, see his beauty, his grace. No one could ever understand why she loved him.

“It’s terrible,” Amanda went on.

“Not so terrible,” said Keira. “Good things came out of it, too. Being with him helped me in lots of ways.”

 “Not one person in the school could relate to him, and he wouldn’t relate to anybody,” Amanda said.

Keira didn’t want to go on talking about Cooper.

“And something else has happened, too.” she tried to change the subject.

“What?” Amanda asked.

“I have certain powers now,” Keira whispered. “Being with him, I became able to see and do things I wasn’t able to before.”

Amanda seemed fascinated and terrified at the same time.

“What kind of powers? What are you talking about?”

“An indigo light comes to me and helps when things are very rough. It gives me strength and tells me things.” She’d been longing to tell her sister about it. “Sometimes I can read people’s minds – not all the time – but when I really need to. For example, before, I was just able to hear what dad was thinking.”

“What was he thinking?” Amanda seemed terrified.

“And then, when there’s danger,” Keira went on, “energy runs through my veins. I suddenly get so strong, I can defeat anyone!”

Amanda put her hands over her ears. She couldn’t take it. It was way too much for the moment.

Keira became silent. She might have been wrong talking to her sister this way. She’d just wanted so badly wanted to share everything with her. After all, they were twins.

Amanda’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh my God,” she murmured. “You’re going crazy, too. Our family’s being destroyed.”

“Not destroyed-- just changing,” said Keira.

“You make it sound as if you’re turning into some kind of strange creature,” Amanda said, shaking.

Keira smiled. “Maybe I am.”

“Maybe?” Amanda couldn’t put it together.

At that moment Amanda seemed so much younger, like a little girl. Keira realized how much she’d grown these past weeks, developed way past what others could relate to.

“Creatures aren’t all terrible,” Keira said slowly then.

“What are you talking about? Vampires or something?” Amanda was biting her lip hard. “People have been talking about Vampires at school a lot lately. I don’t know why.”

 “They’re not all terrible either,” Keira said. “It depends on their mission and tribe. Some are out to kill. Others aren’t.”

Amanda’s eyes grew very wide. “Which one do you think you are?”

“I’m not saying I’m a vampire,” said Keira. “I just have new powers. They could come from all kinds of things.”

 “You sound just like mom now,” Amanda gasped, “filled with crazy ideas.”

Amanda was trying to make everything fit into a logical scheme. Only it didn’t. Life didn’t work that way-- it was vast with worlds no one ever dreamt of, that couldn’t be understood rationally.

“I love you, Amanda,” Keira said then.

Tears flowed from Amanda’s eyes. “I love you too,” she said, “and I don’t want anything bad to happen to you. I don’t want you to run away, or get sick or go crazy.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”

“I don’t want to lose you either,” Amanda whispered.

We all lose everybody
, Keira thought then, but didn’t want to say it and upset her sister even more.

“Promise me I won’t lose you,” Amanda spoke with urgency.

“We all lose each other for a little while,” Keira replied, “and then we meet up again, sooner or later.”

Amanda couldn’t grasp what she was saying, though.

“Please come with me to school tomorrow,” Amanda replied, and tossed her hair over her head the way she always used to do, trying to re-gain a sense of normalcy and control. “You’ll get back into the routine at school. Things will return to the way they were. And, besides, there’s someone new at school, someone wonderful that I want to introduce you to.”

Keira smiled, “A new boyfriend?”

Amanda grinned. “It looks that way. And he’s unbelievable! I never experienced anyone like him before. Makes me way happier than Tom ever did. And, with all the trouble at home, this new guy’s the one who’s lifting my spirits, making me feel like I can go on.”

Keira raised her eyebrows, curious, and a bit uneasy as well. “I’ll meet him tomorrow at school,” Keira said.

“Can’t wait,” said Amanda and gave her a hug.

After Amanda left Keira felt exhausted. Should she actually go to school with Amanda tomorrow? The idea made Keira uneasy. She lay back down on her bed for a few minutes and fell asleep. In her sleep, she dreamt of Cooper, back up at his compound, with the new woman he loved. It was painful watching them together, and Keira awoke suddenly, her face covered with tears. She couldn’t stay with Cooper at his compound, and she also couldn’t stay here. There had to be some place she was wanted and needed. She was determined to find out.

Keira sat up in bed and decided at that moment that she’d go back to school with Amanda for the day tomorrow and meet her new boyfriend, and after that, she’d leave.

*

It was strange walking back into Bertram High the next morning with Amanda. When they walked through the front doors this time, the kids flocked around Keira, asking what had happened, where she’d been. Even the ones who never cared for her wanted to hear her story.

Keira just smiled and said that she’d tell them later. There was no way, of course, she would say anything. There were worlds between them now.

“You have to go into admissions and check in with Mrs. Heighten,” Amanda said. “After so many days out, you have to check in. And you know, the authorities have been looking for you. You may have to check in with them as well.”

 As they walked to the admissions office, Amanda stayed right at Keira’s side. It felt good to have her close by-- and also different. Before Amanda had been surrounded by friends, had hardly given Keira the time of day. Now Amanda was afraid of losing her, and Keira could feel it. It made her sad, because she didn’t know how much longer she could stay around.

Mrs. Heighten looked up the moment she and Amanda walked into the office.

“Keira?” she said startled.

Keira smiled as if nothing unusual had happened, as if she’d just been out a few days. “Just checking in,” Keira said lightly.

Mrs. Heighten was speechless for a moment. “Where were you?” she finally said.

“I had to leave for a little while,” was all Keira could answer.

“I have orders to call the police if I see or hear anything about you again,” Mrs. Heighten said throatily.

“You’re listed as a missing person. Posters are up. People have been searching.”

“I’m sorry,” Keira said, and meant it.

“Sorry’s hardly the word for it,” Mrs. Heighten replied.

“I tried to call,” Keira said in a low voice. But it was a lie and Mrs. Heighten saw right through it.

Just then, fortunately, the door to the office opened, and a tall, magnificent, dark haired young man walked in. His dark eyes were shining wildly and his energy filled the room. He went right over to Amanda, and put his arm around her shoulder possessively.

Keira’s entire body contracted on the spot. Her teeth began to chatter fiercely and she felt as though she were gasping for air. Keira felt his energy resonate all through her veins.

He was a Shadow Vampire as sure as day. She recognized them in every cell of her body.

This
was Amanda’s new boyfriend?  She was looking up at him completely enthralled. My God, it was a ploy. He was using Amanda to get to her. He was on Keira’s trail, hungry for a kill.

The guy then turned to Keira and looked at her. The minute he did his eyes grew wide and dark, and he began trembling. He saw instantly who she was. She had to get out of there immediately.