The Visitors (10 page)

I didn't believe him; I
couldn't
. How could his feelings change so drastically in one day? When just yesterday he told me he
needed
to be with me, how could he say such hurtful things today and act so calm about the whole thing? He was pushing me away, and my instincts told me it had something to do with Sir Andrew.

There was something bigger here. I couldn't put my finger on what it was, but somehow I knew that I was a part of something huge. The gravity-like pull I felt toward Noah, the strange way I wanted to open up to him, it was all part of a larger picture. I knew it sounded crazy, but I knew in my heart that I couldn't give up.

Of course, the logical part of me was screaming to let it go. If what he was telling me was true, I was nothing more than a psycho teenage girl who couldn't take “no” for an answer. I had never in my life chased after a boy, and certainly wouldn't have begun with one who didn't show any interest in me. If he truly didn't feel anything for me, I should leave him alone and accept that the feelings were one-sided. I pitied girls who couldn't do that back home.

Still, there was some hopeful part inside my heart that told me he was lying. A whisper in my heart told me not to accept that his feelings had magically changed over the course of a day, especially after hearing the conversation that took place between him and Sir Andrew only a day before. Something must have happened after we made plans, but he didn't think he could tell me. It was time to take matters into my own hands. It wasn't just about my relationship with Noah – there was something else at stake here. I had to investigate; for my sanity, I needed the truth.

No matter which explanation was correct, it didn't make my heart ache any less. I pushed the pain to the back of my mind in order to focus on the mending facility the rest of the afternoon. Sir Andrew took us into the pharmacy and showed us how to make three of the different healing creams he had shown us earlier that day. I couldn't help but share in the enthusiasm of my crew, temporarily forgetting my own secret drama. We had the opportunity to see the creams in action as they showed us through a simulation what they could do for cuts and burns. The healing was instant, almost magical, and left very minimal scarring, if any at all. It was truly amazing. By the time we left the facility, my own problems seemed much smaller. We had been given formulas that would change our medical practices on Earth. All uneasy feelings for Sir Andrew were pushed aside by my overwhelming gratitude.

Dinner was about the same as lunch – Noah and I sitting across from each other, but pretending that the other one didn't exist, except for a few stolen glances here and there. My appetite had returned, and I enjoyed the sweet, fruity taste of my food.

I laughed as Luke made a joke beside me, but he ignored me. I waited until the others were engrossed in a conversation, imagining scenarios for the healing creams to be of use, before I elbowed him. “Hey. Are you still mad at me?”

He shook his head without looking at me. When he avoided my eye contact, he was lying.

“Come on, Luke. You can't stay mad at me forever.”

“I'm not mad, Jady.” His voice was devoid of any emotion.

“Then what's wrong?” I asked, feeling a little panic at his strange behavior.

He shrugged. “Nothing's wrong. I guess I'm just tired of being there for you when you don't appreciate it. When I try to help you, you get mad and blow up at me, and I don't have to put up with that.”

“Luke, I…” But I was speechless. I had no explanation for him. He was right. “I'm sorry.”

He smirked. “Yeah, well, I'm sorry, too.” With that, he stood up and left the table. I watched him as he walked out the door and never looked back.

I started to get up to follow him until I heard my dad say, “When we get home next week, we can take them to the lab in the city.”

“Next week?” I butted in.

“Yes. Crazy, isn't it? Our time here is passing too quickly. Before you know it, you'll be back home, getting ready to start your junior year.”

I smiled weakly, temporarily forgetting to go make up with Luke. All I could think about was the fact that time was slipping away, and I still had to find the answers I needed. I wanted to confront Noah again, but I was too scared of what his response would be – I wasn't sure if my heart could handle another encounter like the one we had today. Where else could I go?

Then, it hit me: I had to go to the source of the trouble – Sir Andrew. I had to find a way to get him alone and get him talking. He told Noah that he would find a way to make us leave if I was getting too curious, but we were already leaving in less than a week. There was no real threat there. Noah's fear of him was obvious, and the last thing I would ever want would be to put him at risk in any way. However, Noah had done nothing wrong. In fact, he refused to see me or talk to me. I would find a way to ask him why he didn't trust me without bringing Noah into the conversation at all. The only person I would really be putting at risk would be me, and that was something I was willing to do. My confrontation would take place after the meal. All I had to do was find a way to get him alone, although I knew that would be difficult.

As we stood up and pushed in our chairs, I watched him carefully. There was always someone next to him, always someone talking to him. The only way I was going to get the chance to be alone with him was to ask for it. Gathering my courage as he walked ahead of me out the door, I approached him. I waited for a lull in the conversation he was having with our captain, and started to make my move.

Just as I started to reach out and tap his shoulder, someone grabbed my arm from behind. When I turned to see who it was, much to my surprise, I found Lucy staring at me with wide eyes. I stared back at her, perplexed. Lucy and I had never had an actual one-on-one conversation. The only thing I knew about her was that she was a friend of Noah's and that she had some sort of gift, and that was only because Noah had shared that information with me. Why was she trying to talk to me now?

“Explanations come later,” she whispered, as if reading my mind. “I know about the conversation you heard between him and Noah. I know what you're about to ask Sir Andrew, and I can't let you do this. You have no idea what you're about to do.” She was still holding my arm as she pulled me away from the crowd of people leaving the dining hall. Once we were alone on the side of the building, she stopped.

“Look, I just want answers. Please help me understand what's going on.” I tried to sound confident as I looked into her big, brown, crystal-like eyes, but the truth was, I was terrified of her.

She shook her head rapidly, causing her short red curls to bounce across her face. “Jady, this is none of your business. You are getting in over your head.”

I sighed desperately. “No offense, Lucy, but I think I'm too far in for this to be ‘none of my business.' I think I deserve some sort of an explanation. I'm leaving next week, and I can't go back and wonder about this for the rest of my life.” Surprisingly, my voice sounded strong despite my fear.

Lucy stared at me. She seemed as if she was in deep concentration as a slight haze seemed to come over her eyes. Suddenly, the haze disappeared and she snapped out of her focused state with a sigh. “Well, you were definitely right about one thing – you already know more than you should.” Finally releasing my arm, she took a step back. “You really
would
do anything to protect Noah, wouldn't you?”

My mind was racing. Was this a trick? What exactly did she know about me and Noah? I decided to play it safe. “I'm sorry, but I don't know what you're talking about.”

After a short silence, the corners of Lucy's mouth began to turn up. “Jady, I will answer your questions. But not here, not now. We need to be alone. Can you make that happen?”

“Yes, of course,” I told her anxiously. “Tonight maybe? I can sneak out. Could you meet me outside the visitors' chamber sometime after one o'clock?”

“I'll be there at one-thirty. Be outside and ready,” she whispered before she turned and jogged away.

I meandered back to the visitors' chamber, lost in thought as I stared up at the tall green canopy of trees above me. Lucy seemed to know so much about me, even though we had barely spoken. Had Noah talked to her about me? That was impossible. We had both promised to tell no one. They were friends, but he wouldn't tell her. Would he?

Then, another thought hit me. He had told me that Lucy had a gift, even though he didn't tell me what that gift was. I remembered the way she stared at me, the way she seemed to answer my questions before I asked them. She even knew what I had been about to ask Sir Andrew. That's when I realized it – she could read people's thoughts, just as Noah could read people's emotions. Neither Noah nor I had to tell her about our relationship; she found out without our words.

I arrived back at the visitors' chamber, pleased with myself for my detective work, to find Luke standing outside. Taking a deep breath, I walked right up to him. He didn't take his eyes off the flowers straight ahead of him.

“Hey,” I called, trying to initiate a conversation.

“Hi,” he responded flatly.

“What are you doing out here?” I asked as I leaned against the chamber walls. “Is everyone else inside?”

He nodded. “I just needed some fresh air.”

Slowly I sank down until I was sitting against the wall. The warmth didn't feel as stifling down here among the bushes and flowers. “Me too,” I told him. “Sit with me?” I patted the ground beside me.

Luke looked at me for a moment, and then reluctantly sat down. We sat there in silence for a few moments, staring out into nothing, before I finally spoke. “Look, Luke, you and I both know that I'm stubborn and hard-headed. Apologizing is not easy for me.”

Luke snorted, but didn't speak. I ignored him and continued. “I'm not going to apologize to you for what I said. I do feel like you were being overly-protective, and I don't feel like it was for the right reasons. But I am going to apologize to you for hurting your feelings. And for making you feel like my fallback guy. You are the last person in the entire world I would ever want to hurt. You're my best friend, Luke. I'd be lost without you.”

When he glanced up at me, I saw a hint of a small smile playing with the corners of his mouth. “Okay,” he said. “Apology accepted.”

“Good. Fight over?”

“Fight over,” he agreed. We sat there quietly for a moment, enjoying the peaceful silence of the night atmosphere. I inhaled the sweet scent of the large orange and lavender flowers beside me, hoping to memorize the smell.

Luke broke the silence. “So, just a few days left, huh.”

“That's what I hear,” I replied casually, even though it made my throat tighten.

“Can you believe we're about to start our junior year?” He rolled a small pebble under his shoe as he spoke.

“Yeah, I know. It's gonna be weird to try to be a normal student again.”

“Yeah,” he grunted. Silence again.

“What time is it?” I asked finally.

He glanced down at his watch. “Almost ten o'clock.”

Three and a half hours. I still had time. “You gonna go to bed soon?”

Luke made a face. “No. You trying to get rid of me again?”

“No,” I said with a giggle. “I was actually wondering where you put that football you brought.”

“Don't even tell me you were thinking we could play,” Luke said with raised eyebrows. “My nose still doesn't want me to play with you for a while.”

I chuckled. “I was thinking we could just play catch. No tackling – I wouldn't want to hurt you again. And I mean, if I do, we can always make some of that healing cream now and fix you right up.”

A wide grin spread across his face. “Stay here. I'll go get it.”

He sprinted inside and returned in seconds holding the blue and green leather football. We spread out across the beautiful green yard, careful to avoid crushing the flowers whose bright petals served as our source of light. Five minutes of playing catch, and all awkwardness was gone. We were laughing and joking around; we were
us
again. It lifted a big part of the pressing weight on my shoulders to have my best friend back.

I wasn't ready to stop playing when my dad came outside. “Hey, you two, game over, all right? Everyone's going to bed, and you guys are way too loud out here!”

“What time is it?” I asked. It didn't feel like we had been out there very long.

“It's almost midnight,” Dad replied. “Luke, you're a brave man. I didn't think you'd ever play football with her again.”

“It's almost midnight? No wonder I'm so exhausted! I'm going to bed. Good night!” Hurrying inside, I gave Luke and Dad a little wave. Time had slipped away from me. I wanted to make sure everyone was sound asleep before I attempted to sneak out.

I heard them come inside behind me when I was already in my room, changing into my pajamas. Praying that Luke would follow my lead and go to bed soon as well, I rushed to the bathroom to brush my teeth. It took him forever to fall asleep, I knew, and I didn't want to take any chances. Tonight was too important.

I finished brushing and walked out to find Luke standing outside the door to his room. “Wow, you're fast,” he whispered, looking me over.

I smiled. “I'm just ready for bed,” I whispered back.

He raised his eyebrows. “I see that. Guess I'll see ya in the morning.”

“Sure,” I said. “Good night, Luke.”

“Good night, Jady,” he replied with a small smile before he walked into his room.

I stood in my doorway and listened until I heard him get into his bed. Once I was sure there was no more stirring throughout the chamber, I got into my own bed and waited patiently. Of course, the hour that remained was the longest hour of my life as I stared at the ceiling in anticipation. To pass the time, I tried singing songs in my head and reciting the poems I remembered from my sophomore English class, but every time I looked at my watch, it seemed like time was standing still. Finally, at one-fifteen, I got up as silently as I could manage and changed into my dark black yoga pants and a black hoodie. I pulled my thick hair up into a messy ponytail bun and took a look up and down the hallway before I crept out of my room and out the door.