The Mind Readers (6 page)

“Hey.”

Lewis’ voice caught me off
guard. I froze there, in the shadows of two maple trees that had lost their
leaves days ago. Of course I was surprised that Lewis had followed me.
Surprised and thrilled, although I knew Emily wouldn’t be.

With my heart racing in my
chest, slowly, I turned. “What do you want?”

I couldn’t see his face in the
darkness and I wanted so badly to read his features. “Sheesh, nice attitude
when I’m just being friendly.”

“Bull.” I crossed my arms over
my chest, a defensive action, as if that could keep him from reading my mind. I
suddenly felt cold and warm at the same time, like I was getting sick. Wouldn’t
that just be the icing on the cake, if I puked all over his Adidas. “You want
something, I just haven’t figured out what yet.”

He shrugged and leaned his palm
on the tree. His hand was next to my head, close to me, too close. He smelled
like soap and minty toothpaste and something else, something warm and lovely,
something that made my insides twist. “Maybe I just want to be friends.”

Maybe I would puke after all.
Fun.
He wanted to be friends. Story of
my life where guys were concerned.

He looked away, his eyes
sparkling with humor, as if hearing some unspoken joke.

I stiffened, realizing the joke
could be me.
Crap!
Had he just read
my mind?
Oh God, think boring
thoughts…the tree.
I flattened my palms to the rough bark.
The tree. Yes, the tree was nice, the fall
colors, the bark brown...

“I think you need a friend.”

I laughed a little hysterically,
my attention slipping unwillingly back to him. “No, I don’t.”

He reached out and took a strand
of my hair in his hands, twirling the lock around his finger. It was a romantic
action, something a boyfriend would do. Not a friend.

“A good friend.” He dropped the
lock and looked directly into my eyes. I couldn’t seem to breathe as I waited
for his next words, as if they were the most important words I’d ever hear.
“Someone who understands you and what you’re going through.”

“And you do?” I whispered,
daring him to answer.

“More than you think.”

He was admitting it. Practically
admitting he could read minds, wasn’t he? Confused, shocked, I wasn’t sure how
to respond. Was he playing with me?

He smiled, a slow smile. “I
think I like you.”

Such simple words, such silly
words, so why did my heart stop beating and sigh with ridiculous longing? I
wanted to push him away and run home to the safety of my small cottage. I
wanted to pull him close and kiss him, taste his lips. What was it about this
guy that had me so confused?

“I think…” He looked away
briefly as if carefully weighing his next words. “I think we could be very good
together.”

Good together?
A warm tingle spread across my back. Okay, I was no
expert, but I was pretty sure that was boyfriend talk. “I thought you were interested
in Emily.”

He laughed, a deep chuckle. “No.
How can I be? She doesn’t understand.”

“Understand what?” I latched
onto the word and dared him once again to tell the truth; to stop beating
around the bush.

He was silent for one long
moment, his gaze drilling into mine, so intense that I had to stop myself from
looking away.

“You know. Surely you know,” he
said softly.

Frantic to hear the truth, I
gripped his shirt much like Emily had done earlier. The guy was going to be a
wrinkled mess by the time he returned home. My mind spun with the possibility
of knowing another like me. “Tell me, Lewis. Tell me the truth.”

But he just stood there, merely
staring at me, his face so close to mine his breath was warm across my lips.
And I wanted him to tell me, and I wanted him to kiss me. Which I wanted more,
I wasn’t sure.

“Are you two coming back inside
or what?” Emily’s shrill voice echoed across the garden. I felt her anger like
a slap, breaking through our haze of lust. The vile words she called me inside
her thoughts sort of ruined the mood. The entire garden glanced our way and I
could’ve killed her for drawing attention to us.

I stiffened, but Lewis didn’t
move away immediately. He didn’t fear Emily and her retribution. But I did.
Reading minds wouldn’t help if she decided I was her mortal enemy. I shoved my
hands into his hard chest and pushed him back. The girl was as vindictive as
she was arrogant. He finally moved aside and I got my first look at Emily. She
was furious all right, that perfect face flushed red.

“It’s one thing to invite your
pathetic friend to my party, but to have her loser boyfriend here as well?”

“What?” Lewis had made me stupid
and I was confused for a moment, but quickly realized she was talking about
Anne. George had arrived. I no longer cared about myself, but was more worried
about Annabeth.

I pushed passed the few students
on the patio and made my way into the house, Lewis forgotten. Anne stood near
the fireplace, clinging to some tall guy. I paused, surprised that he was as
good-looking in person as he’d been in Anne’s mind. He leaned down toward a
beaming Anne and gave her a quick kiss.

“Ughh,” Emily sighed in disgust,
pausing next to me.

She was pissed that even someone
as frumpy as Anne had landed a decent guy and she had no one at the moment.
She’d already moved on, growing bored with Kevin. What else did she want?

“We’ll leave,” I snapped.

She didn’t want me to leave and
for a moment I felt her panic. If I left, she wouldn’t have anyone to torment,
anyone to make her feel important. “What are you talking about?”

I had to resist the urge to
smirk. “If you don’t want Annabeth here, we’ll leave.”

She laughed, a forced sound that
came out shrill and annoying. “You’re so dramatic.”

Anne started toward me, her face
beaming, her boyfriend reluctantly followed. My attention moved away from Anne
and landed on George, focusing on his thoughts. He was nervous. He felt silly
being around such a younger group. Good, he should feel silly. Still, I kind of
felt sorry for him and I knew Emily would tear him down the moment she got the
chance. I wasn’t going to let that happen.

They stopped in front of us.
“George, this is Cameron.”

He smiled at me and shook my
hand. Dead giveaway that he was old. No one my age shook hands. His palm was
damp too, showing his nerves. I had to resist the urge to swipe my hand on my
jeans.

“Hey, nice to meet you.” He had
soft brown eyes. Nice eyes, I supposed.

“You too,” I said, giving him a
friendly smile. Although I still had my misgivings about him, I’d been brought
up to be polite. I just hoped we could escape before Emily had her fun.

“Lewis.” Lewis brushed by me,
introducing himself and shaking George’s hand.

I stiffened, surprised to see
him. Usually I was warned by a person’s thoughts when they appeared. But not
Lewis, no, of course not. My mind went back to our conversation. He was going
to admit he could read thoughts. I knew it. Damn Emily for interrupting.

“George and I are going to
Lakeside. Wanna come?” Anne whispered, apparently hoping Emily wouldn’t
overhear.

“They reopened?” Emily asked, a
sneer to her voice.

Anne blushed, the color clashing
with her red hair. “Yeah, yesterday.”

Emily crossed her arms over her
chest and looked away, as if we weren’t good enough to stare directly at. “Gross,
I could never eat there after what happened.”

“She wasn’t killed inside the
restaurant,” Anne muttered, showing some backbone.

“It’s still insensitive.” Emily
brushed her hair back and sashayed away, fully expecting me to follow. As if
her gossiping about the body wasn’t insensitive. She was hoping I’d turn Anne
down flat and scurry after her. She was contemplating forgiving me if I did.

“Don’t listen to her,” I said.

“You want to come?” Anne asked,
her large brown eyes pleading. She wanted George to think she had a lot of
friends, that she wasn’t some loser like Emily obviously thought.

“Sure we will,” Lewis answered
for me like he had the right.

I jerked my head toward him.
What was he doing? How dare he. Besides, I had no desire to hang out with Anne
and George. I wanted to go home, where I could be alone with my thoughts, and
only my thoughts. He glanced down at me and smiled. A knowing smile, as if he
realized exactly what I was thinking.

“Oh, great.” Anne grabbed
George’s hand, the two of them more than ready to leave.

“Just a minute.” I latched onto
Lewis’ arm and pulled him a few feet away, where the music would cover our
conversation. “What are you doing?”

He shrugged. “She wanted us to
go with, obviously.”

“So, why do you care? You don’t
even know her.”

“Just because I don’t know
someone doesn’t mean I can’t care. Haven’t you ever helped someone you didn’t
know?”

I looked away, ashamed. Not
really. I played it safe, as Grandma had taught me. And yes, it made me feel
guilty as hell. Anne obviously was floundering for some support and I wasn’t
willing to give it to her. Here was Lewis, some new guy, helping out my friend
when I hadn’t.

“What will it hurt?” He rested
his hand on my arm. His touch was warm, comforting in a way I didn’t want to
admit or really understand. “We—”

I killed her.

I stiffened and jerked my head
toward the dancing couples. Teenagers were writhing and squirming around the
living room, laughing, kissing, talking in a big blur of movement and
thought.
 

God, it felt good.

I shoved my hand into Lewis’
chest, pushing him back. My heart pounded frantically against my ribcage. The
killer was here. I rushed into the throng of people. Music pulsed around me,
beating heavily against my body, taunting me almost.

The urge is too strong. I have to find another.

I spun around, fear and panic
bitterly cold. Damn it! Who was it? I wouldn’t let the guy escape again.

So many to pick from.

The words whispered through my
mind, barely distinguishable from the other thoughts in my head. But he was
close, so close he was practically beside me. A tremble raked my body. Slowly,
I turned.

“Ready?” Anne asked
eagerly.
 

I lifted my attention from her
excited gaze and focused on her boyfriend. George was smiling down at me, those
soft brown eyes suddenly hard.

Maybe I’ll pick her next.

Chapter 5

“Keep calm,” Lewis whispered
near my ear, his warm breath offering little comfort.

Keep calm?
How could I keep calm? My entire body was trembling and
I knew I’d lost any color from my face. I felt cold, sick. The entire room
faded, my world becoming a tiny fraction of what it had been…merely Lewis’ warm
body next to mine, keeping me grounded in reality. Anne looked worriedly at me
and then George…George lurking there in the background like some nightmare
ready to pounce.

“Cam? You okay?” Anne’s voice
sounded hollow.

Oh God, Anne. Anne was dating a
murderer.

Reality rushed back on a roar of
protest that only I could hear. My stomach roiled. Lewis’ hand rested on my
lower back, as if he knew I was close to losing it. The room began to waver and
I leaned back against his solid body, needing his support.

“We’ll follow you,” I was
vaguely aware of Lewis’ voice, but could only seem to focus on keeping my knees
locked.
 

“Oh, okay.” Anne looked worried,
but thinking I was in Lewis’ capable hands, she made her way toward the door
with George. I was relieved, until rationality invaded. Oh God, George.

“No,” I muttered, pushing Lewis
away and going after them. I had to save Anne.
 

“Cam, stop.” Lewis grabbed my
hand and jerked me into his embrace. He wrapped his arms around my waist and
held me close, so close that to anyone else it would look like we were hugging.
And in another time, another moment, I might have enjoyed his arms around me.
But, he was trying to keep me from saving Annabeth.

“Let me go!” I seethed, my hands
fisting against his chest. “I have to stop her, you don’t understand!”

“I do,” he snapped, the hardness
in his voice giving me pause. “Let her go, for now.”

Warm tears slid from my eyes,
tears of fear and frustration. “He’ll kill her!”

“Shhh.” He took my hand and
pulled me toward the front door where Anne and George had disappeared. A few
people were watching us curiously, noticing our odd behavior. They were
wondering how I’d managed to steal the hot new guy away from Emily. Stupid,
insignificant thoughts.

“He won’t kill her. Not now.
He’s using her.” Lewis pushed the front door wide and pulled me into the cool
night air. The music and noise faded and the rustle of autumn leaves was the
only sound as the night insects were long dead. He led me toward a small silver
car and because I was numb, I let him.

“He’s using her as his alibi. He
wants to charm her, pretend he’s a normal, law abiding citizen.” He opened the
passenger door for me.

But I didn’t get in. Instead I
spun around to face him. “And how would you know?”

“Get in,” he demanded.

I slammed my fists against his
chest. He didn’t even flinch. “No! Not until you tell me the truth.”

He merely stared at me with
those knowing eyes. “Get in.” He wasn’t intimidated by Emily’s social power, he
wasn’t intimidated by George. He sure as heck wasn’t intimidated by me. What
did scare him?

I realized I wasn’t going to
win, and I didn’t have time to argue. With a frustrated groan, I pushed him
away and sank onto the passenger seat. He moved around the front of the car,
pulling open the driver’s door. I tapped my foot impatiently, studying the road
ahead for those taillights.