BECOMING ALPHA

I rested my head against the window as my father drove. We were almost to our new home. After all the build up, the next chapter in my life was just around the bend, and the anxiety of meeting it head-on had my knees bouncing.

At least Axel wasn’t in the car with us. He and Mom were following us in his Jetta. We’d switched on the last stop so that Axel could eat his grotesque snack of choice. He was more than annoying when he didn’t get his way. Dad and I had much more acceptable munchies in the form of M&M’s and Cheetos in his Lexus SUV.

Neither car was fully packed with stuff. The moving van would come later today, and Mom’s car was getting shipped here from LA. She didn’t want anyone riding alone, just in case we got separated. I was still hoping now that Axel was taking off, a car for me would show up. It’d be nice not to have my parents drop me off on the first day of my senior year.

I grabbed for some snacks, more for a distraction than because I was hungry. I was trying to think positively about the chances of pulling off the whole “normal” thing at my new school, but the closer it got, the more my confidence waned. “Want any?” I held the open bag of Cheetos to Dad.

“I better not. Those things are like crack. Once you start, you’ll never stop.”

I fake gasped. “Dad! You’ve done crack?”

He laughed.

“But seriously. You dare turn down day-glow cheese?”

“Hey, I’m trying to undo the damage I did to myself when I was your age.” He patted his stomach, which was mostly flat. He turned a corner into a gated complex. Although the word “complex” was a stretch. The gate opened onto a dirt road. Vegetation on either side threatened to swallow it.

“What’s the code again?” Dad asked.

“Eighteen thirty-six.” I scratched my head. “That sounds like a date.”

He leaned out of the window to punch in the code. “Yup. Year of the battle of the Alamo. Welcome to Texas, princess.” Leave it to Dad, the history buff, to know the answer.

Dad clicked his seatbelt back into place, and we drove down the bumpy road. I checked the directions from Dad’s new boss again. “Says here that we’re the ninth driveway. If we get to the fork, then we’ve gone too far.”

Dad grunted. “Well, we’re definitely in for a change here.”

“You could say that.” It seemed like these tiny driveways were more like trails in a national park. I couldn’t see any houses, and the “driveways” were really spread out.

When we reached the fifth, Dad cleared his throat. “So the head of St. Ailbe’s is meeting us at the house with the keys. I, uh, just…” Dad trailed off.

“What?”

He sighed. “Try not to touch anything or have any visions in front of him. I didn’t exactly say anything about—”

“Dad. Seriously. It’s not a big deal. I would rather not have one either, but in the event that I do, I’ll try to hide it. Cool?”

He patted my jean-clad leg. “Thanks, princess.”

“That’s nine.” I pointed to the driveway. It curved down a hill and finally opened up to a beautifully manicured lawn. A circular drive with a giant oak tree in the middle led up to the pale yellow stucco house. Butterflies filled my stomach as we stopped in front. It wasn’t as big as our house in LA, but almost. The white wrap-around porch drew my attention, especially the bench swing to the left of the front door. Off to the right was a white two-car garage.

Dad parked in front of the garage to leave the drive open, and Axel pulled up beside us. I slipped down from the SUV and pulled a pair of thin tie-dyed gloves from my pocket.

Mom hopped out of Axel’s car and put her arm around me. “How was the last of the drive?”

“Fine. But you still smell like chicharones.” I made a face. She tried to smother my face with kisses, but I pushed her away. “Nasty!”

The screen door squeaked open, which shocked me. Besides our two cars, there were no others here. A man stepped onto the porch, and we stopped goofing off. Mom straightened her shirt, and Dad knocked on Axel’s window. “Quit texting.”

I didn’t fully turn to Dad’s new boss until Axel was out of the car. I don’t know why I was surprised to see the older man from my vision walking out of the house. He was the one who hired my dad, so he’d most likely held the papers that gave me the vision. But I was still caught with my mouth hanging open. The whole thing was weird, and that was saying something for a girl who was used to weird.

Now that I was seeing him in the flesh, Dad’s boss looked a bit younger than my parents. Light brown hair curled around his neck. He hadn’t shaved, giving him a rugged look that went along with his scarred hiking boots. He didn’t make a sound as he walked down the steps, which was eerie enough without adding the fact that he’d co-starred in one of my oddest visions ever.

I didn’t know I’d made a noise until Axel elbowed me. “Dude. You okay?”

I cleared my throat. “Totally. Why wouldn’t I be?” Axel had been pestering me ever since I had the vision in Dad’s office, but I hadn’t spilled much. Maybe I should’ve told him, but I couldn’t bring myself to. For some reason, my connection with the younger guy felt personal.

“Thank you for getting here so quickly, John,” he said to Dad. “I’m Michael Dawson.” His grey T-shirt was a smidge too tight around his arms, making it strain against his biceps as he reached out a hand.

Dad stepped forward to shake it. “Wasn’t a problem. This is my wife, Gabriela, my son, Axel, and my daughter, Tessa.”

Axel and I stayed by the car while our parents greeted him. It was better to keep my distance, less chance of a vision that way. But when Mr. Dawson reached to shake Axel’s hand, he abandoned me. I sighed. This was going to be awkward.

Mr. Dawson held out his hand to me, but I didn’t take it. “Welcome to Texas,” he said. It sounded a little like a question.

Mom gave a nervous laugh instead of her normal booming one. “It’s been a long drive, and we’re a little cranky. But we can’t wait to get settled in.”

Nice save.

A breeze picked up, blowing my hair in my face. It’d finally grown past the bottom of my shoulder blades. I pulled a rubber band out of my pocket and yanked the wavy mess into a sloppy bun.

I followed them to the house. As soon as my flip-flop hit the bottom step I had a feeling that this house was going to be full of stuff for me to “see.” I shoved my gloved hands in my pockets. Better safe than sorry while Mr. Dawson was around. Mom and Dad were touring the house with him. Axel hung back with me. “What’s your deal?”

I shrugged. “Didn’t you see how he walked?”

“No.”

“Remember when we went to the San Diego Safari Park and spent the night and we went into the tiger enclosure?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Those cats were crazy. They were inches from us the whole time, and we didn’t even notice it until the guide shined her flashlight on them.”

“Exactly.”

“And what does that have to do with Mr. Dawson?”

“He didn’t make a sound coming down those stairs.”

Axel shoved me. “You’re messing with me.”

I shoved him back. “No. I’m actually not. Pay better attention next time.”

We walked through the door and went the opposite way my parents had gone, ending up in a living room.

“Look at this yard,” Axel said as he looked out a back window.

“What yard? All I see is forest.”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

I shook my head. He was so weird sometimes. “I’m going to go claim my room.” I found it upstairs, first door on the left, complete with en suite bathroom. It was even better than the pictures Dad had shown us. A bay window with a bench faced the front yard. The unpaved driveway disappeared around the corner, hidden by the forest.

Axel stomped into my new room. “Oh, this is for sure my room.”

“No. Yours is next to Mom and Dad’s. This is mine.”

“No way. I’m older. I get this one. With the tree, it’d give me maximum sneaking-out capabilities.”

“Dude.” I smacked him on the back of his head. “You’re not really going to be living here.”

“Right. Forgot about that part.”

I snorted.

“This can be your room I guess.”

I rolled my eyes. “Perfect. Thanks so much.”

Mom called from downstairs.

“Coming.” We walked down to find her.

“How are you guys doing?” she asked as soon as we entered the kitchen. Dad and Mr. Dawson were standing around the kitchen island with her. It was a nice, bright white kitchen with granite counters and stainless steel appliances.

“My room is much better than Axel’s and that’s what counts, right?”

“That’s right,” Dad said.

“Hey!” Axel said.

Mr. Dawson chuckled and the sound gave me goosebumps. There was something off about him, and I wanted to figure out what it was.

“I opened all the windows down here to air it out a bit with that nice breeze,” Mom said. “But it’s so hot out, we’ll need to close them in a minute. Help me with that?”

“Sure,” I said.

“This is going to be great for us,” Dad said.

“It’s a good house. I hope you’ll be comfortable here,” Mr. Dawson said. “But it’s important to remember that it’s more secluded than you’d think.”

I stifled a snort. My teeth were still rattling from the last mile of “road.”

Mr. Dawson smirked. Guess I hadn’t stifled it quick enough.

“Behave,” Mom whispered to me.

“There’s lots of wildlife in this forest, especially wolves,” Mr. Dawson said.

“Wolves?” Dad laughed. “You’re kidding,” he said with a slightly high pitch to his voice. Dad always did that when he was lying to us. He knew exactly what Mr. Dawson was talking about.

I glanced at Mom. She shrugged, not giving me anything to go on.

Now I knew my vision was real. Something was definitely up with St. Ailbe’s and the people who went there. Mr. Dawson had my full attention. I wanted to see how he was going to explain away these “wolves” of his.

“Unfortunately, I’m not kidding.” His voice was firm, leaving no room for misunderstanding. His gaze met mine with such a force that I wanted to look away but couldn’t. “If you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone. You’re safe here. Just stay close to the house after dark.”

“Thanks for the warning. We’ll keep an eye out,” Mom said.

“I’d advise staying away from my St. Ailbe’s kids. They’re not like most other teenagers and can be a bit unstable. Even violent. Which is why we need the help of people like your Dad.” He paused. “They might look normal, but they’re not. Under no uncertain terms should you make friends with them. You’d be risking your life. Your future. Understand, Tessa?”

His intensity made me nervous. “Sure,” I said, although I wasn’t sure I understood at all. In fact, the only good his little speech did was make me want to find a St. Ailbe’s kid to befriend.

His gaze was suddenly too much, and I looked down at my feet.

“I doubt you’ll run into my students too often,” Mr. Dawson said. “They stick pretty close to campus, and John, you’ll be doing everything from the offices downtown. The school isn’t too far from here though—just on the other side of the creek.”

That sounded far. “Where’s your car?” I said. Axel elbowed me. Jeeze. Was it elbow Tessa day or what? My question was perfectly valid. It wasn’t out front when we pulled in.

“I hiked.” I must’ve made a face because Mr. Dawson explained. “The creek backs up to the house. You’ve got maybe fifty feet of trees before you’ll hit a steep drop. The bottom is the bed of the creek. It’s been dry for years though. It’s only a couple mile hike from here to the school.” A honk sounded from the driveway. “That’s one of my former students now. He graduated a couple years ago, and teaches occasionally. John, you’ll get to know him well. He’s my second here. I know you’ve got movers coming in a bit, but I thought you might want help unloading your cars after such a long drive.”

“Perfect. Thanks, Michael.” Dad grabbed the keys from his pocket. “Axel, get to it.”

Dad tossed the keys to Axel, but I caught them. “I’ll help.”

Dad shared a look with Mr. Dawson. “Axel, go with your sister.”

That wasn’t awkward at all. Why didn’t Dad want me to go outside? Axel and I walked out the front door, but I stopped just outside.

He was here. The younger guy from the vision. The one who could tell that I was having the vision. The one I linked to.

My breathing was shallow as I watched him move. I didn’t want to make a noise, not even from breathing. I wanted to watch him in real life for a second. He was at least as fit as Mr. Dawson, and had the same soundless stride. I could feel his restlessness as if it were my own. He pulled off his sunglasses and stuck them in the collar of his blue t-shirt. I smiled when I noticed the band artwork on the front—The Helio Sequence. That album was in heavy rotation on my playlist.

Axel called out to him and my moment of watching unnoticed was shattered. I stumbled back a step.

“Tessa?” Mr. Dawson said, suddenly close. “Are you okay?”

I tried to move away, but he was already reaching out to steady me.

“Don’t touch her!” Dad said.

Too late. He gripped my bicep, skin-to-skin.

Running. Panting. Wind ruffled his fur. His paws slammed the ground at a fast pace.

Faster. Must go faster.

Mr. Dawson was there with me. I could feel him in my head, an unwelcome visitor, seeing what I saw. It felt like an invasion, and I wanted him gone. I pushed him out as the vision faded. And just as quickly as it started, I was back on the porch, staring into Mr. Dawson’s hazel eyes.

I knew I should pull away from him, but the look he was giving me warned me not to even try. I was paralyzed as I waited for one of us to break the silence.

That was the second time my visions had gone wonky. This time was way more unsettling than the last.

And shit. Dad was going to be pissed.

His lips turned up as that thought ran through my mind. “I see we’ve both got our secrets,” he whispered so that only I could hear it.

Crap. Was he reading my mind? If he were telepathic, that could explain why my visions were weird with him. I’d never met anyone with gifts before, not since my abuela passed, and I was too young to really remember her anyway.

He smiled.

Crap. I’ve got to stop thinking stuff.

Mom stepped between us and pulled me away from him. “You okay, Tess?”

“I think so.” Sorry, I mouthed. So much for making a good impression.

“My daughter doesn’t like to be touched.” Dad tried to explain. “She’s got this condition—”

“It was my fault.” Mr. Dawson stared at me as if he could see right through me. Then he nodded, and took the keys from my gloved hand. “Head’s up, Dastien!” He threw the keys.

Dastien caught them without looking from fifteen feet away. He didn’t take too much notice of me. Not like I wanted him to. He walked to the cars as a breeze whipped through the house, slamming the screen door shut behind me. He spun. His eyes, dark before, flashed to glowing amber.

That had to be a trick with the light.

We stood there staring at each other. I couldn’t look away, and I was sure he couldn’t either.

He was too far away for me to hear, but his lips moved and I knew what he said. It was the same thing I’d been thinking. “It’s you.”

Mr. Dawson cleared his throat. “Maybe it’s best if we leave you to it.”

“Yes, but thank you for your offer,” Mom said. “Tessa’s not great with strangers.”

Perfect, Mom. Way to make me sound like a freak. I shot her a look that said as much.

“Let’s talk on Wednesday, John.” Mr. Dawson walked to the car. His movements were not only silent, but also graceful and efficient. Almost like a dancer’s, but somehow more dangerous. The two men argued, but then Dastien’s shoulders drooped. He placed the keys on the hood of our car and headed to his. He stared at me before getting into the passenger side.

I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until they were gone and I was left gasping for air.

“You okay?” Axel said.

I swallowed. “Yeah. Of course. I’m fine.”

“You sure, mija?” Mom said. “You look pale.”

“I’m fine,” I said it with a little more force than was necessary, but didn’t apologize for it. I headed to Dad’s SUV and stared at the keys. I thought about taking off the gloves and holding them for a second just to see what would happen, but I had a feeling my mind had taken in all the information it could for today. The gloves had to stay on, at least for now.

I unlocked the doors and started unloading our bags.

For days I kept staring out the windows, hoping Dastien would come back, but he never did. I guessed he didn’t really have any reason to come back. That didn’t stop me from wanting it. I was curious about him and needed to figure out why I was so drawn to him. Hours filled with unpacking endless boxes went by, and I started to wonder if what I’d seen, what I’d felt, had been a figment of my imagination. For a girl who was used to seeing things that weren’t there, it wasn’t completely out of the realm of the possible. But it’d be a damn shame. Just the thought of seeing Dastien again had my palms sweating and I kind of liked it.

But Dastien wasn’t the only thing on my mind. The house was a minefield of visions. Sometimes they were normal, everyday stuff—people laughing, fighting, getting ready for work. Then I’d touch something and rage would fill my body. My blood would boil and an animalistic urge to destroy things would consume me, but I wouldn’t exactly see anything. It was all emotions, which I was adding to the weird and new category. So far, Texas was turning out to be pretty interesting.

By the end of the weekend, the house was mostly in order—all the essentials in the right spots even if they weren’t totally organized—so I started attacking the boxes in my room. I dusted my books off, placing each one—sorted alphabetically and by genre—on the shelves Dad installed. What some people might call “anal,” I’d call efficient. What good was it to have a book if you couldn’t find it when you wanted it?

When I was done, I sat on the bed and stared at my collection. Axel and Dad were arguing over what station to stream music from. Dad wanted classic rock and Axel wanted hip-hop. Dad informed Axel that there were no “thugs” in the house.

I was laughing at their verbal sparring when Mom came into my room holding a stack of clean towels. She pointed at my gloveless hands. “How’s it going in here?”

“Fine.” I waved toward my books. “Got them unpacked.”

She set the pile down on my bed. “What about the rest? The house giving you any trouble?”

I shrugged. “Define trouble.”

“Anything you need to talk about?”

“Nah. I think I’ve got it covered. But thanks for the offer.”

She settled down next to me. “You okay? Your brother’s leaving in a week and half, we’re living in a different state, and your new school starts tomorrow. It’d be totally cool to admit you’re nervous.”

“Have you met me? This whole no-brother, new school combo is going to rock.”

Mom gave me her patented I’m-not-buying-the-line-of-crap-you’re-selling look.

“Axel leaving is gonna suck.”

She kept silent as she stared at me.

“Okay, so I’m nervous about next week. I’m a freak, but I’m also human. Who wouldn’t be?”

“That’s what I thought.”

“I don’t know why admitting it was helpful. It didn’t do me any good.”

“Well, it made me feel better.”

I laughed.

“Kidding. But admitting your nerves is the first step to getting over them.” She smiled. “And you’re not a freak. You’re gifted.”

“There’s a difference?”

Her smile turned into a full-on grin. “I’ll admit. It’s slight, but there is a difference.” She put her arm around my shoulders, and I leaned into her. “You’re going to do great. People here are nice, more down to earth.”

“So you’ve said.” But I wasn’t holding my breath. I was a freak to the core, and even if the people were “down to earth,” chances were they wouldn’t be down with me.

“And now your cousins are only an hour away. Once we get more settled, we’ll have them over for dinner. They’ll understand you, even if the other kids don’t.”

She had me there. If they were “gifted” too, then maybe I could finally figure out how to have a normal life. “Sounds like a solid plan.”

“Have you eaten anything?”

I thought for a second. “Zone Bar?” I might have forgotten to eat again. When an organizational task was put in front of me, I was a girl on a mission. Puny matters like eating faded away.

“A woman cannot live on Zone Bars alone.” She gave me another squeeze before getting up. “Don’t worry so much. It’s all going to work out. Your dad and I are leaving for dinner. Date night, remember?”

I nodded. Every Sunday, rain or shine, Mom and Dad had a date. It was cute. I kind of envied them, but I had time to figure the whole boyfriend thing out. One day I’d find a way to be a regular girl with a totally awesome guy by my side.

Okay, so I’d take an average one. I’d even settle for a mediocre one at this point. The blame wasn’t on them; it was totally me. No one needed to be inside the head of a teenage boy when you’re the object of their thoughts. Because seriously, eew. Which defeated the purpose entirely.

“There are frozen pizzas in the freezer, and we’ll leave money in case you and your brother want to go somewhere. Eat. It’s an order.”

“Got it. Starvation-chic is not my look.” I grabbed an old Nora Roberts book and settled down in my window bench to escape for a bit. The predictability of her books drew me in quickly. There was nothing more certain in life than the ending of a good romance novel.

A few chapters in, Mom yelled that they were leaving. I watched them get into the car and disappear around the curve in the road.

Alone at last. I’d been feeling antsy since we got here, and it’d only gotten worse. For me there were only two things that would quiet my mind, dancing and running. I’d already gone for my morning jog, and had been waiting for a chance to blast some music.

I clicked on last week’s BBC One Essential Mix, turned the volume up as loud as I could stand it, and started dancing around my room.

Axel walked in without knocking and turned off the music. “Are you trying to make everyone in the state deaf?”

Or not. “Who said you could come in here?”

“I did. We’re parentless!” He hammed it up with some cheering, and then collapsed on my bed.

“That’s hardly cause for celebration.” I rolled my eyes. “Come on. I’ve been listening to what everyone else wants to for days now. Can I just—”

“No.”

I kicked his shin.

“Ow. Don’t be so violent.” He rubbed his shin. “It’s your last night before starting a brand new school year.”

I groaned. “Not you too. Can we please drop the whole ‘school starts tomorrow’ talk? I’d like to live in denial for a little while longer.”

“One thing, try not to bite the head off of the first friendly person you meet. Promise me.”

I crossed my arms and gave him my best tough-girl look. “Dude. I’m not a bitch. I’ll be as friendly as people are to me.”

“Riiiiight.” I went to kick his shin again, but he hopped out of the way. “Let’s go for a drive. We can scout out a pizza place.”

“Fine, but I get to pick the toppings.”

“No way. You picked last time.”

I grabbed a pair of gloves and my flip-flops. “Yeah, but you like to experiment with nasty combinations. The fact that you actually picked pineapple and anchovy means that you should be banned for life in the topping-picking department.”

“I still think the combo of sweet and salty could’ve been a good thing. It was nearly genius.”

“Near genius doesn’t count.” I shoved him. “Moron.”

He clutched his chest. “I’m hurt by your name calling.”

“Good.” I grinned. “Your ego could stand to lose a few pounds.”

“What’s wrong with knowing that I’m awesome?” He messed up my hair.

When we were on the way back with the pizza, a strange sensation tingled through my body. It was like a weight had settled over me. This intense sense of foreboding mixed in my blood making me cold.

By the time we got home, it was dark. Axel went into the house, but I lingered outside for a minute, sitting on the porch swing as I tried to figure out what was making me feel that way. I knew that staying outside after dark was a bad idea, but I couldn’t help myself.

Goosebumps ran up and down my arms. The full moon hung low and yellow. The crazies would be out tonight, or so Mom always said when it looked like that. I smiled. I was outside, so she had a point.

I hadn’t even realized that there had been noise outside until it was suddenly gone. The cicadas song cut off. The owls stopped hooting. There was no rustling of the leaves. Everything was still. A healthy dose of fear pumped through my veins.

A wolf crashed out from the woods. Then three more. They were playing, not really noticing I was there as they rolled around on the ground and pawed at each other. I probably should’ve been scared, but in that moment, I wasn’t. They were on the other side of the driveway, and I felt safe on the porch. I relaxed in the swing as I watched them. One of them bit another one’s tail, making the bitee yelp. I laughed.

One of them suddenly stopped playing and looked straight at me.

Dumb. I was so unbelievably dumb. These weren’t wolves in a cage. These wolves could actually come over here and eat me.

I thought about darting inside. It probably would’ve been the smarter choice, but I didn’t want to spook them by moving.

One of them came closer to the porch.

I stood up, torn between going down the stairs to pet it and rushing inside. I wasn’t stupid, but the way it was moving—with its head down and tongue out—it looked more curious than dangerous.

Before I could do anything, another wolf jumped out of the woods. It was beautiful, mostly white with patches of gray sprinkled along its face and back. The coloring seemed much more regal than the shades of brown the others were. It slid to a stop in between me and the approaching brown wolf, snarling.

Shit. That one was pissed and was more likely to eat me. I should’ve gone inside.

The new wolf stared down each of the others, and they started to whine and rolled over, exposing their stomachs. It had to be the alpha of the bunch. It howled and the others scrambled up, fleeing back into the woods.

The alpha turned to me.

My heart pounded. I stepped back into the front door until the doorknob of the screen door dug into my back. The wolf sat down on the ground to watch me.

Something about it seemed familiar. I couldn’t quite place it, but the face and its eyes just had this quality like I knew I’d seen it somewhere before. But I knew I hadn’t.

“Tess!” Axel swung the front door open. “You’re eating or what? The pizza’s getting cold.”

I turned away from the wolf for a second, and when I looked back, it was gone.

My breath came in short gasps as I looked back to Axel and then to the drive again.

“You okay?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know.” I moved out of the way so Axel could open the screen door. He grabbed my gloved hand and pulled me inside.

“Come on,” he said softly. “You need to eat.”

I let him pull me inside. The whole exchange with the wolves went by so quickly that I wondered if it had actually happened. For the second time since I’d arrived in Texas, I was questioning my sanity.

Yet another thing to add to the weird and new category.

The next morning I must’ve changed a million times. I finally settled on casual. My favorite band T-shirt—a vintage Orb from their album Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld—plus jeans, chucks, and black loose-knit gloves with deep purple accents. It didn’t look like I was trying too hard. Even if no one else my age knew who The Orb was, the design was cool.

Mom and Dad were in the kitchen when I got downstairs. I did a spin. “What do you think?”

“Beautiful,” Mom said. She was still in her pink fluffy robe, with the belt knotted at her waist.

“That’s not helpful. You have to say that. You’re my mother.” I looked down at my T-shirt. “Too weird? I might not need any extra help in that area.”

Mom laughed. “You have to be who you are.”

Dad was already in his full suit. His hair was still a little damp from the shower. “Except let’s not take off the gloves today. Okay, princess?”

“John!” Mom was about to dig into Dad again.

“It’s too early in the morning for contradicting parents. Be yourself. Don’t be yourself. My head hurts already. Someone get me my AM medicine quickstyle.”

Dad opened the fridge and handed me an icy cold Diet Coke.

I popped the top and took a long chug. “Okay. Brain function returning. So which one of you lucky parental units is going to drive me to school?”

They shared a look. “Neither,” Mom said.

I set down my Diet Coke. “Well, if you think I’m going to go wake up Axel, then you’re going to be disappointed. I don’t feel like getting slugged.”

“He’s not driving you either,” Dad said.

“Are you guys high? I can’t walk to school from here. It’d take me all day.” No way. “Please don’t tell me I have to catch the bus for my first day of senior year. Even you two wouldn’t be that cruel.” It wasn’t that I had anything against taking the bus, per se, but for me it presented all kinds of problems. The goal was to minimize the number of visions I got per day, not add to them.

They just stood there smiling. Waiting for me to realize something.

Holy shit.

My only defense for being so dense was that it was before eight AM. Anything before ten AM and I’m lucky if I can speak my native language coherently.

I ran out the front door. A new black VW Tiguan sat in the driveway with the other cars. “Nice.” Any car would’ve been amazing, but they’d picked the exact one I’d been lusting after.

Dad stepped out onto the porch and handed me the keys. “Have a good day, princess.”

I shocked him by giving him a big hug. Then ran inside and did the same to Mom.

“Thanks, guys. Way to start my year off in style.”

Dad wrapped an arm around Mom as she stepped outside to wave good-bye. “We try,” he said. “Now go, or you’ll be late.”

Once inside, I took a deep breath and inhaled the lovely new leather scent. The car was a classic black on black. And it was perfect. I set up my iPhone to link to it, and once I had the navi going and my music playing, I headed for school.

The school was made up of two four-story buildings in an L-shape. The parking lot faced a football field with full-on stadium style seating and lights. Another smaller field backed up to it, but didn’t have as nice of a scoreboard or the seating. This place wasn’t messing around when it came to football.

I slid down from the car and grabbed my backpack. If my life were a movie, everyone would’ve noticed me walking through the parking lot and stared. Good thing I lived in real life, and was blissfully ignored. I even moved through my first few periods managing not to speak to anyone. But as I doodled over the fourth syllabus of the day, something tapped against my back.

I glanced behind me.

The girl with long fire-red hair had been in my last class, too. She passed me a note, and I slid it under my textbook as the teacher looked my way. As soon as she turned, I opened the carefully folded note.

Hot pink ink gleamed off the paper. Not my favorite choice in pen color, but who was I to judge. “Are you really from LA?”

I wrote a quick reply asking her how she knew, and twisted my arm to place the note on her desk without looking back.

A second later, the tap came again. “Small town. Word gets around. Plus, Mrs. Kelly—the front office lady—has a big mouth. That’s so cool!” The exclamation point was dotted with a heart. “Let’s talk at lunch.”

This was probably a bad idea. Psychometrics—people who got visions from touch—didn’t make good friends. I didn’t need to take my gloves off to know that we probably weren’t going to hit it off. Still, if I wanted friends, I had to keep an open mind.

The redhead appeared by my side before the shrilling bell had time to end. “I’m Rosalyn.” She was wearing a short frilly skirt and tank top. Her bright smile faltered as she took in my T-shirt. Maybe I should’ve gone with something less obscure, more Beiber-esque. I snorted before I could stop it.

She didn’t look amused. I cleared my throat and her gaze met mine. Her smile returned, but this time didn’t reach her eyes.

“Hi. I’m Tessa.” I loaded my arms with books just in case she had the urge to shake hands.

Mom laughed. “You have to be who you are.”

Dad was already in his full suit. His hair was still a little damp from the shower. “Except let’s not take off the gloves today. Okay, princess?”

“John!” Mom was about to dig into Dad again.

“It’s too early in the morning for contradicting parents. Be yourself. Don’t be yourself. My head hurts already. Someone get me my AM medicine quickstyle.”

Dad opened the fridge and handed me an icy cold Diet Coke.

I popped the top and took a long chug. “Okay. Brain function returning. So which one of you lucky parental units is going to drive me to school?”

They shared a look. “Neither,” Mom said.

I set down my Diet Coke. “Well, if you think I’m going to go wake up Axel, then you’re going to be disappointed. I don’t feel like getting slugged.”

“He’s not driving you either,” Dad said.

“Are you guys high? I can’t walk to school from here. It’d take me all day.” No way. “Please don’t tell me I have to catch the bus for my first day of senior year. Even you two wouldn’t be that cruel.” It wasn’t that I had anything against taking the bus, per se, but for me it presented all kinds of problems. The goal was to minimize the number of visions I got per day, not add to them.

They just stood there smiling. Waiting for me to realize something.

Holy shit.

My only defense for being so dense was that it was before eight AM. Anything before ten AM and I’m lucky if I can speak my native language coherently.

I ran out the front door. A new black VW Tiguan sat in the driveway with the other cars. “Nice.” Any car would’ve been amazing, but they’d picked the exact one I’d been lusting after.

Dad stepped out onto the porch and handed me the keys. “Have a good day, princess.”

I shocked him by giving him a big hug. Then ran inside and did the same to Mom.

“Thanks, guys. Way to start my year off in style.”

Dad wrapped an arm around Mom as she stepped outside to wave good-bye. “We try,” he said. “Now go, or you’ll be late.”

Once inside, I took a deep breath and inhaled the lovely new leather scent. The car was a classic black on black. And it was perfect. I set up my iPhone to link to it, and once I had the navi going and my music playing, I headed for school.

I wrote a quick reply asking her how she knew, and twisted my arm to place the note on her desk without looking back.

A second later, the tap came again. “Small town. Word gets around. Plus, Mrs. Kelly—the front office lady—has a big mouth. That’s so cool!” The exclamation point was dotted with a heart. “Let’s talk at lunch.”

This was probably a bad idea. Psychometrics—people who got visions from touch—didn’t make good friends. I didn’t need to take my gloves off to know that we probably weren’t going to hit it off. Still, if I wanted friends, I had to keep an open mind.

The redhead appeared by my side before the shrilling bell had time to end. “I’m Rosalyn.” She was wearing a short frilly skirt and tank top. Her bright smile faltered as she took in my T-shirt. Maybe I should’ve gone with something less obscure, more Beiber-esque. I snorted before I could stop it.

She didn’t look amused. I cleared my throat and her gaze met mine. Her smile returned, but this time didn’t reach her eyes.

“Hi. I’m Tessa.” I loaded my arms with books just in case she had the urge to shake hands.

Her smile dimmed again. Shit. I should be smiling, too. I smiled, and she looked at me funny. I almost laughed at the awkwardness of the situation.

“Okay, well, I need to grab my lunch. Meet me here.” She strode off without waiting for a response.

Christ. This was going well. I made my way to my locker. It took me a couple of tries to get the combination right, but finally, the lock clicked. I shoved my books inside and grabbed the brown sack lunch Mom had packed for me.

Rosalyn was waiting for me when I got back to the door of our last class. She was holding a similar brown bag, and I said a silent thank you to Mom for being awesome.

“It’s a good thing you brought yours, too,” she said as we walked toward the cafeteria. “The food here is gross. No one eats it unless they’re desperate.”

I didn’t know how to respond to that, but she didn’t notice.

She eyed my bag as if she could see through the paper. “What did you bring? Tofu? Sushi?”

Guess she had some ideas about what a proper Angelino should eat. “A turkey sandwich and some chips.”

“Oh.” Her mouth pressed into a firm line as she studied me from head to toe.

I nearly walked away right then. Mom and Dad were kind of right this morning. I couldn’t change who I was, even though I needed to hide my visions. I was a walking contradiction—equal parts wanting to fly my freak flag with pride and bury it in a deep dark hole.

“What’s up with the gloves? Are you a germaphobe or what?”

And there it was. This was why I didn’t talk to people. I needed a lie. A good one. Just my luck I was possibly the worst liar ever. “I guess it’s hard to stay current with fashion here.”

I held my breath, hoping she’d buy it. My cheeks weren’t heating, my usual “tell.” That was something at least.

“Ugh.” She stuck out her bottom lip. “We never get any of the new trends till they’re already over. I’ve got to get out of here.”

I couldn’t believe she bought it. If everyone here started to wear gloves because of this, I was going to laugh. Hard.

Rosalyn walked up to a round table that was almost full and sat down. Taking my cue, I slid into the chair next to her. Everyone stopped what they were doing, some in mid-chew, to gawk at me. One might think being a pariah at my old school would give me the ability to deal with these kinds of situations, but they never got any easier. I wanted to slouch, but didn’t dare. Showing weakness only made things worse.

“This is Tessa,” Rosalyn said. “She’s from LA.”

I counted eight other people besides Rosalyn sitting around the Formica. Two of the guys had on blue and white jerseys. Hiding my abilities from one person, hard. From nine? This could very easily be a disaster of epic proportions.

“Is that Tokidoki?” The girl to the right of me asked as she pointed to my bag. Her brown hair was done in some elaborate braid that would’ve taken me hours to attempt even though my hair was long enough to try it. I was jealous for a split second and then realized she must’ve gotten up at the butt-crack of dawn to get ready, a feat I would never dare to try myself.

“Cool hair.”

She grinned. “Thanks.”

I tapped my messenger bag. “Yep. I have kind of an obsession with Tokidoki.”

“Jealous! My dad won’t get me one. Says a teenager doesn’t need such an expensive backpack. But I found my Harajuku Lovers one on eBay for a sweet deal.” She rummaged around in it and pulled out a copy of Us Weekly. “Have you ever met any stars?” She flipped through pages, stopping on a picture of my favorite Scotsman.

I flashed back to the party before we left LA. The look on his face when he stared at me was something I wished I could erase from my mind. I could’ve probably impressed the group by saying that he’d been one of Dad’s clients, but that would’ve required a bunch of explaining and would probably come off as bragging. Not a good option.

I took a closer look at the photo. “That’s Larchmont Village, one of my favorite streets in LA.” I shrugged. “You see them every once in a while. I mean they’re normal people. Just like us.” I quoted the magazine’s tag line, but got a bunch of empty stares as I glanced around the still silent table. I quickly re-thought my no-bragging approach. “My dad had a lot of stars as his clients, including him.” I tapped the picture. “Plus, there were tons in my neighborhood—Bel Air.”

“No way!” Fancy Braid Girl said.

“Isn’t that where the Fresh Prince lived?” the boy across the table asked. His dimples winked at me as he spoke.

“Yep.” He was cute, but nowhere near Dastien’s level of hotness. Perfect. I was obsessing over a boy I didn’t even really know. That made me officially ridiculous.

Fancy Braid Girl grabbed the corner of my T-shirt. “Who’s this? I’m Lindsay, by the way.” She cocked her head, waiting for me to answer.

It took me a second to realize she was talking about my shirt. “Um…The Orb is one of my favorite groups.”

“It’s really soft. Has to be printed on something better than American Apparel for sure. Lemme check.” She reached toward me, but I leaned away. “Don’t freak. I’m just checking the label.”

Her fingers brushed against the back of my neck.

“Oh, Lindsay. You’re so soft,” Dimple Boy said. His voice was muffled as his lips moved along her neck.

Ew, gross!

The seatbelt dug into Lindsay’s back. She was giddy as his wet lips pressed against hers.

I banged my elbow on the table, jolting me back to the lunchroom.

“Yup. Printed on Splendid,” Lindsay said.

I looked around as I rubbed my elbow, but no one seemed to notice anything weird. At least I hadn’t said anything to give away the vision.

“Her jeans are J Brand,” Rosalyn said. “I bet she has good stuff stashed in her closet. She’ll be a good addition.”

I slowly inhaled and exhaled to let the aftershocks of the vision fade from my body, before trying to speak. They were going to be sorely disappointed if they thought they were going to raid my clothes. I’d never be able to wear anything they borrowed again, and shopping really wasn’t my thing. “I don’t really pay much attention to brands, but I like to do screen printing. Splendid’s shirts are my favorite to work with.”

Lindsay made a face at that, but then Dimple Boy asked a question. From then on it was a solid twenty-five minutes of being barraged with a million and one questions about LA. By the time the bell rang, my palms were sweating. I itched to take off my gloves and let my skin breathe, but that was so not an option.

Rosalyn and I left the cafeteria together since it turned out we had almost the exact same schedule. We’d better end up being actual friends, or else this school year would be really painful. Someone shouted my name. Dimple Boy was chasing after us.

“I wanted to let you know we’re having a party on Saturday night. You know, to celebrate the start of a new year. You should come.” He winked at Rosalyn. “She knows where I live.”

Rosalyn took a step forward and linked her arm in mine. We were both wearing short-sleeved T-shirts. Our skin touched.

Rosalyn’s face was red. “I can’t believe you’d do this. You know Lindsay is coming over later, and look at this place!”

An older woman was laying half-on, half-off a couch. Beer cans littered the floor. A grease covered pizza box was on a coffee table in front of her. Cigarette butts covered the rest of the table. “I’ll clean up. Don’t you worry, baby.” Her words were slurred.

The stench of alcohol filled the air, stinging my nostrils. Rosalyn’s anger and frustration consumed me.

I stumbled, and my arm pulled free from hers.

Rosalyn stared at me. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Just a little clumsy. Sorry,” I managed to say. Rosalyn might seem normal, but from what I just saw, her home life was a hot mess. I was starting to feel bad for her.

“Carlos’ parties are always crazy.”

Wait. Did I get invited to a party? Nice.

“Just so you know, Carlos and I are together. He’s probably only inviting you because you’re new. No offense.”

…and not feeling bad for her anymore.

I barely contained my eye roll. I hated when people said “no offense” or “I don’t mean to be rude.” If someone is going to say something rude or offensive, they should just say it or not. Trying to pawn it off as something not rude or offensive when it clearly was, was beyond insulting.

She might have thought she was doing herself a favor by warning me off her manwhore of a boyfriend, but she really should’ve been more concerned about what her “friends” were doing behind her back. When I thought about it, the whole thing was kind of sad. And damn it. Now I was feeling bad for her again.

“Anyway. I’m sure we can find something to make you look presentable for the party.”

Every time I started to feel a little bit of sympathy for the girl, she hit me with a backhanded comment. I officially decided to cut off my feelings for her. She was clearly using me to feel more “LA,” whatever that meant, and I was using her to get to the party. With any luck, I’d make some actual friends there.
Pathetic as it was, my mind drifted back to Dastien. I couldn’t help but wonder if he’d be there. The chances seemed slight, but still, a girl could dream.

The TV was on in my parent’s room when I walked in the house. I slowly closed the door behind me.

“You’re back already?”

I jumped at the sound of Axel’s voice behind me.

“What the fu—”

I slapped my hand over his mouth. “I don’t want Mom and Dad to know.” I paused. “Seriously.”

He nodded, and I moved my hand slowly away from his mouth, ready to slap it back if he started yelling again.

“Who did that to you?”

Axel was in protector mode. He reverted to it whenever I was hurt or being picked on. I prayed for patience. “Can you please find wherever Mom put the first aid stuff and meet me in my room?”

He narrowed his eyes at me. Yup. There was no way he’d let this one go, but he went in search of the kit anyway.

My shoulder was full on throbbing by the time I got upstairs. This night had been a disaster of epic proportions. If I could get into my room without Mom or Dad checking on me, I’d be happy. I couldn’t face telling them that come Monday, life would go back to status quo in Tessaland.

I crept up the stairs, desperately trying to remember if there were any squeaky boards.

“I’m home,” I said from my bedroom door.

The TV muted. “You’re early. How was the party?” Mom’s voice came from their room.

“Fine, but I’m pooped. Can we talk about it in the morning?” I held my breath as I waited for her to answer.

There was whispering back and forth as they debated. “Okay. Get some rest,” Mom said finally.

I breathed a sigh of relief when the TV’s sound came back on. I threw my belt and shoes in the closet. In the light I could see the blood staining my gloves. I chucked them in my trash.

What was I going to do now? I couldn’t lift my arm up to take off my dress.

Oh well. It was a nice dress while it lasted. I grabbed a pair of scissors from my desk. There was a soft knock on the door. I had a moment of panic before Axel opened it.

“Get in here, and help me,” I said.

He closed the door and dumped the first aid stuff on my bed. I handed him the scissors. “You’re going to have to cut the dress off me.”

I could feel his breath on my back. He was investigating my cut without touching it himself.

He sighed. “This looks really bad, Tess. You need stitches.”

“Don’t say stitches. That involves needles and I don’t do needles.” The thought of them made me queasy. “It doesn’t even really hurt. A few butterfly bandages will do. Just cut the strap and move the material away from it. Then pour a bunch of peroxide on it until it stops fizzing.”

“Yeah. Yeah. I’ll do it. But Mom’s going to find out in the morning and she’s going to say you need—”

“Don’t you dare say the ‘s’ word again. I really don’t need them. I’ve had cuts worse than this.”

“No. You haven’t,” he muttered. The scissors sliced through my strap. “Stay still. This is probably gonna burn like a motherfucker.”

He poured it down my shoulder, and tears filled my eyes. “Shit. Blow on it or something.”

“Seriously? I don’t want to get that close to it. It’s bubbling up like crazy.”

“I don’t care what you do. Just do something!” I dug my fingernails into my hands to take my mind off of it.

“Okay. Okay. Hang on.” He grabbed a book off my shelf and started fanning it.

It totally wasn’t helping. “The peroxide was a bad idea.”

“You know what a good idea is? The emergency room. In fact, it’s a fantastic idea.”

I rolled my eyes. “That’ll take hours. No way. I already said it twice, but I’ll say it again. I don’t need stitches. You can’t make me get them.”

“Fine. But you’re just being a stubborn baby.” He poured more peroxide on it.

“Fuck! That burns,” I said when I could get air enough to talk again.

“See. You’re such a baby.” Axel started digging through the clear plastic bin that had all the first aid supplies in it. He came back with a tube of antibiotic ointment.

“Don’t use your finger.”

He showed me the Q-tip in his hand. “Please. I want to touch that as much as you want me to.” He rubbed it on and put an extra-large bandage over the cuts. “So you going to tell me whose ass I need to kick?”

Nope. Not a chance in hell. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It definitely matters. No one hurts my sister and gets away with it.”

I wanted to cry and scream and hit something, but none of that would help me right now. “Can we talk about it tomorrow? Please. I’m hurting and tired and sad. Really, really sad.”

He stood there, staring at me for a while. “Okay,” he said finally. “We’ll talk tomorrow.” He handed me an ice pack.

“Thanks,” I whispered.

“Take care of your lip. Okay?”

I nodded.

When he left, I grabbed the scissors again, and cut down the front of my dress. It was one of the only dresses I actually liked. It was a damn shame to have to destroy it completely. Once it was off, I studied the material and saw four inch-long rips where my left shoulder blade was.

How did Dastien manage to do that with his bare hands?

I snorted. It didn’t matter how he’d done it, but it sure sucked that he had.

I threw it in the trash and grabbed a giant sleep shirt, slowly easing my arm into it. As I put peroxide and ointment on my bottom lip, my mind drifted back to Dastien. Something was off about him. Okay, so maybe the biting and scratching thing was it, but I couldn’t get over the fact that I didn’t get any visions when we kissed. And that connection. Intense didn’t even begin to cover it.

He was different from everyone else I’d ever met. And, even accidental biting aside, I was still drawn to him.

This was stupid. Why was I pining over some lame guy who I kissed and then who ran away? I couldn’t lose my shit over one kiss. Hopefully the cuts would be better in the morning, and I could forget this whole thing ever happened.

A shiver rushed down my spine. Something was watching me. Someone was waiting for me outside. Dad had put curtains up on Friday night, so no one could see in, not that anyone ventured down our road, but I couldn’t shake that feeling.

I slid the curtains silently along the rod and leaned close to the window and jumped back.

Oh crap.

A wolf was in my driveway. I stepped back toward the window to double check.

It was sitting there. Watching me with its golden eyes. I wanted to go out to it, but that was crazy. It was a wolf. A dangerous, wild, totally not-tame wolf. I threw the curtain closed and slid into bed.

It wasn’t until that moment, as I waited for sleep to come, that I realized how much I wanted friends. I liked to think I was fine alone, but sometimes being alone was flat out lonely. Axel was great, but he had his own life to live. With him gone soon, I was going to be the outcast again.

The wolf howled outside, and I wanted to howl with it.

“Tessa!” Mom was yelling through my bedroom door. “I know you went out last night, but you are not missing church!” The alarm clock glowed 9:45 AM in red.

I moaned, feeling more than a little groggy and nauseous. Probably from that stupid shot of tequila. “I’m not feeling so good.”

Mom opened the door and peeked through the crack. “What did you say? I couldn’t hear you.”

“I feel like shit on a stick.”

“Language!” She came over to my bed. “Did something happen to your lip?” She ran her cool hand against my forehead.

I tried to tune out all the thoughts she was having, but failed. Worried that I’d caught something. Worried that my father would get sick and have to miss work after only just starting. Then worried that I’d pass it along to my brother who had to leave soon.

The woman worried way too much.

“You’re burning up.” She hurried out of the room, and came back seconds later with a glass of orange juice and a couple Tylenol in her hand. “Sit up.”

I winced and grabbed at my left shoulder.

Mom’s eyes narrowed. “What’s wrong with your shoulder?”

“Nothing.”

“Take off your shirt.”

“Mom, it’s fine real—”

“Take off your shirt, Tessa. Or I will take it off for you.”

That was her patented you-better-do-what-I’m-telling-you voice. Once that showed up, there was no arguing with her.

I sucked in air as I slid my arm from my sleeve. I left the shirt dangling in front of me. It was too much work to take it off completely. My eyes watered as she pulled off the bandage. “Gentle please.”

She was going to flip out in three…two…

“Who did this to you?”

My cheeks heated.

“Was it someone at the party?”

“Please, don’t tell Dad.”

“God, Tessa. This looks bad. Your skin is so hot, which means it’s probably infected. Why didn’t you tell us last night?” She brushed her finger against the skin next to the wound, and I saw what her next move was going to be.

Yep. That’s what I thought. She was thinking about how to tell Dad. He was going to be extra pissed when he found out that someone from St. Ailbe’s—let alone his bosses second in command—had hurt me. And when I told him how the Cedar Ridge High kids wanted nothing to do with me now, he was going to flip. We moved all this way for nothing.

“Well, let’s get it cleaned.” She looked at my shoulder again and then back at me.

“I cleaned it last night.” Tears welled, but I wouldn’t let them fall. “The kit’s still on my desk.”

Somehow Mom taking care of my shoulder made it real. I had actually kissed Dastien last night. Thinking about him made me anxious to see him again. Which was beyond stupid. The guy was obviously dangerous.

“Turn around.” The second the peroxide filled cotton balls touched my shoulder I nearly threw up. Last night was nothing compared to today. Mom held my shoulder still when I tried to move away. The pain was enough to block out anything Mom was thinking. It was getting worse, not better.

“You need stitches.”

God. Not the stitches talk again. “Can’t we put the Band-Aids on it and see what happens in a day or two?”

“We’ll see.” The pain exploded, radiating across my back as she rubbed the Neosporin into the cuts and put on the band-aids. Gently, she helped me back into the shirt.

“Let’s see the lip.” She gave my lip the same treatment, going light on the Neosporin and leaving off the band-aid.

She sat down beside me on my bed and gave me that look, the one that said that if I even tried to lie I would be in serious trouble. “Did someone hurt you?”

“Please, Mom. Can we talk about it later?”

She pressed her lips together as she thought about it, and then finally sighed. “Fine. Go back to bed. I’ll come check on you in a bit.”

It was humiliating the way everything always went wrong for me. I lay back down and Mom tucked me in.

“We will talk about this after you get some rest.” She kissed my forehead and left my room.

The next time my eyes opened, the clock read 1:56 PM. Mom was back in my room, sitting on the bed with her hand to my forehead. A million of her unasked questions slammed into me. She wanted to know what happened, who did this, and why. But she was mostly worried about me and angry that someone had hurt me. Angry was the wrong word. She was furious.

“It’s really high,” she said to Dad who was standing over us. “Definitely over 100.”

He raked his fingers down his face, and then patted Mom on the back. “We’re going to take you to the hospital, Tess.”

Dad left my room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Mom grabbed a pair of jeans from my closet. I sat up and picked up my bra from on top of the comforter.

“Don’t worry about the bra. It’ll only make your shoulder worse.” She crossed her arms. “You ready to talk?”

I cleared my suddenly dry throat. “Not really.” I didn’t know if I’d ever be ready. It was too embarrassing. Only Tessa McCaide would have to get stitches because of a kiss.

“It was a boy at the party?”

God. She wasn’t going to let it go.

I nodded.

“He can’t get away with this. Tessa.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “Did he do anything else to you? Hurt you—”

My face burned. “Jeez, Mom. No. He kissed me and got a little carried away. I don’t know how he did that to my shoulder. He must have had something in his hand or I dunno…”

“Sweetie. They’re deep. There’s no way it wasn’t on purpose.” She sat back down on the bed, putting her face on my level, so that I was forced to look her in the eyes. “We’re going to have talk to your principal about this. Get a meeting with the boy’s parents. He could have really hurt you. What if he does this or something worse to another girl?”

The thought of Dastien with another girl made me monumentally pissed off. I tried to rein my anger in, but my shoulder burned, deeper into my arm and torso.

Somewhere underneath it I knew I was losing my mind over a boy who hurt me. “I don’t want to make a huge deal out of this. It’s fine. Really. It wasn’t even one of the guys from school.”

She crossed her arms. “If it wasn’t someone from school, then who was it?”

Perfect. She thought I was trying to lie to her. “Dastien,” I whispered. Saying his name felt equal parts relief and betrayal.

“Madre Santa. The teacher from St. Ailbe’s?” She sucked in her breath. “Teresa Elizabeth McCaide!”

And now she’d used my full name. Only I could manage to get in trouble for being hurt.

“I hope this doesn’t mean…” She paused for a second, and my heart started to pound. “We’re going to have to talk to Michael Dawson when we get back from the emergency room. This could be really bad, Tess.”

That was so not cool. “Mom. Seriously. It’s fine.”

“No. It’s really not. You’re a minor.”

“Only for like a few more weeks! And he’s only two years older than me. That’s like nothing. Let’s not make a national disaster out of this. He was really nice. I’m not even sure how it happened. He seemed pretty shocked. He apologized and everything.” I don’t know why I was defending him.

Mom sat there quietly, waiting for me to continue.

It wasn’t embarrassment anymore. I was mad. Furious even. Those people at the party had been flat out rude to me. For no reason. It wasn’t even something I could blame on my weirdness. I was physically hurt, bleeding, and they kicked me out. Not even an “are you okay” or “do you need some ice for that” before they shoved me out the door.

I willed myself not to cry. “I wanted to have friends and go to parties like everyone else. Not be Freaky Tessa who sits at home on the weekends reading books and watching TV with her parents. Begging her brother to hang out with her.”

Mom sat down next to me, holding my good side. “I know it’s hard, but you’re here for a reason. You have to have faith in God and in yourself. If there is anything I’m sure of, it’s that you’re meant to do something great with your gifts.”

I snorted. “Right. Because these ‘gifts’ are so useful for oh, I don’t know, nothing.”

She kissed my forehead, and her guilt surged through me before she could block it.

I felt like a real jerk for not being nicer about what she said. But I couldn’t get my hopes up that one day I’d find my curse was useful.

“This is my fault. I’ve kept you away from my side of the family for too long. You are meant for something.”

What the hell was she talking about?

“I have something to tell you later. First, let’s get you to the hospital.” She started for the door.

“Mom,” I called after her. “I’m sorry. Thank you for taking care of me.”

“Anything for my baby.”

I’d make it up to her. Tomorrow. When my shoulder wasn’t hurting so bad. Sliding on my sweatpants and flip-flops took all the energy I could muster.

I was so out of it that I nearly forgot my gloves. Number one place I didn’t want to have a vision: the emergency room. Talk about a minefield of pain and drama. I grabbed a pair of white cotton ones that stopped halfway to my elbow.

Axel was waiting with my parents at the door by the time I got down the stairs.

“Ready?” Dad’s arms were still folded in front of his chest. No hint of a smile on his face.

“Yeah, but I’m feeling a little—” Gray dots filled my vision. Then, there was nothing.

When Saturday finally came around, I didn’t even want to get out of bed. Rosalyn’s friends had tentatively let me in their group, but they grew even more touchy-feely with every day that passed.

What was it with Texans and invasion of personal space?

It was exhausting keeping my visions under control. I’d thought about ditching my new friends, but there was no mistaking that my family had moved here for me. I owed it to my parents and myself to give it my all. When I hit my breaking point, I’d reassess what my goals were. But for now, I could handle it. I would try to be a normal kid. And normal meant having friends and hanging out with said friends.

Still, a little escapist therapy in the form of a new book would help cleanse my brain of all the unneeded background information I’d gotten over the past few days.

I rolled out of bed at noon, and got ready as quickly as my sleepy body would allow. I threw on a pair of well-worn yoga pants, the first T-shirt I could find, threw my hair up in a messy bun, and headed downstairs. Axel was in the kitchen digging into a bowl of cereal.

“I’m hitting the bookstore. Wanna join?” Bookstores were my kind of place. All those shiny books, lightly touched by only a couple of people. Each one held a different world, a different life to disappear into.

That said, libraries were a total nightmare scenario. Too many hands touched those books and turning pages with gloves on was a bit too cumbersome.

“You want me to go to a bookstore?” Axel narrowed his gaze at me. “Yeah. Not going to happen.”

Axel hadn’t ever read anything cover to cover. I wasn’t sure how he was going to do the whole college thing when I wasn’t there to help him with his homework. I grabbed my purse and dug through it for my keys. “It’s at the mall, dork.”

“In that case, yes.” He put his now empty cereal bowl in the sink. “But I get to drive your car.”

He made a grab for my keys, but I dodged around the center island. “What! No way. Only I get to drive my car.”

“I picked it out, but Dad drove it here. I should at least get a turn before I leave. Deal?” He held out his hand, as if I’d just hand over the keys.

“No deal. I’m not having you imbue the driver’s seat with whatever stuff you’ve got going on in your head. There’s such a thing as TMI between siblings. I’ll go by myself.”

He sighed dramatically. “Fine. You can drive, but I pick the music.”

“Fine.” Now I just had to let my parents know where we were going. “Where are Mom and Dad?”

He shrugged. “Dunno. They were gone when I got up.”

Weird. They were usually around on the weekends when Dad wasn’t working. I headed for the door.

“Wait. You didn’t eat any breakfast.”

“Not hungry.” I usually didn’t get hungry until after I was up for a bit. Today was no exception. I had too much on my mind to be hungry.

The bookstore was attached to the only mall in town. It was a brown blob of a building, with a JCPenny’s and Macy’s on either end. The bookstore branched off the mall on the Macy’s end, and had an entrance from the outside. I left Axel to his search for a new pair of jeans, and pushed open the glass doors to the bookstore.

Fans blasted me with cold air, refreshing after the 110-degree weather outside. The scent of flavored coffee wafted over me. The baristas were hard at work, making yummy caffeinated concoctions. I closed my eyes for a moment, letting the calm seep in. There wasn’t much to this town, but at least I had this bit of zen, and that was nothing to look down upon.

I veered over to the science fiction and fantasy section, and searched for any new epic fantasy releases. I was still looking through titles when I bumped into a body.

That wasn’t like me. I was usually hyper-aware of the people around me. “Excuse me,” I said without looking up. “I didn’t hear you.”

“It’s okay.”

That voice made goosebumps spread over my skin. I spun.

He was taller up close. At least a foot taller than me. But it was his golden eyes that held me captive.

Dastien.

It took me a second to speak. “Hi.”

“Are you okay?” He asked.

It took me a second too long to answer. “I’m sorry. My mind seems to be MIA.”

Then he smiled, his eyes scrunched at the corners and his lips spread to reveal perfect teeth. His black hair was flecked with auburn highlights. And there was something sexy about the way he held himself, standing up straight with his right hip slightly cocked.

I melted on the spot. Who could withstand him? More importantly, who would want to?

“You’re Tessa McCaide, right? Staying at the yellow house?”

I stared down at my feet, unable to keep eye contact for one more second. And crap. Why did my beat-up-to-hell Nine Inch Nails t-shirt have to be the one on top? The one with the silver dollar sized hole just to the left of my belly button.

Perfect. On the day I looked like a homeless weirdo the hottest guy ever wanted to talk to me. The one guy who made me feel things I couldn’t even begin to describe. It was more than attraction, though that was there in spades. I was drawn to him.

“I’m Dastien Laurent.” An accent peeked through as he spoke and held out a hand.

I couldn’t turn it down.

“Do you always wear gloves?”

“Usually.” My face burned. “I’m not supposed to be talking to St. Ailbe’s kids.”

He laughed, golden eyes glittering. “I’m not exactly a St. Ailbe’s kid anymore. I graduated already.” He leaned in closer to me, and his warm breath tickled my cheek. “I’m okay. Promise,” he said with a low voice. He hadn’t let go of my hand, and I didn’t want him to.

“Nine Inch Nails, huh?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“You look too sweet to like Trent.”

I dropped mouth open. No one had ever accused me of being sweet.

He narrowed his eyes. “What’s your favorite song?”

Now that was a serious question. Did I go old school or new? I loved most everything. Song titles quickly ran through my mind. ‘Survivalism.’ No. ‘God Given.’ No. Maybe I should say ‘Ringfinger.’ Yes. That was it. “I’m going with ‘Closer.’”

My face was intently hot as he laughed. Holy Freudian slip, Batman. Leave it to me to tell the hottest guy ever that one of my favorite song’s chorus was a guy yelling about how he wants to fu—“do” them like an animal.

I covered my face with my hands. “I meant ‘Terrible Lie.’ I swear. Seriously. Forget the other song I mentioned.”

He was still laughing. “Don’t think that’s going to happen, but I won’t mention it. Both choices were solid. Pretty Hate Machine is a classic album, so your second choice was pretty good.” He leaned in again. “But I liked your first choice better.”

Oh. My. God. Was he flirting with me over my favorite band ever?

This was it. We had the same musical taste. He was clearly meant for me. I wouldn’t fight destiny when it brought something like this to me.

He stepped into my personal space, and I didn’t step away. “You know—”

Another guy appeared in the aisle saying something in a language I couldn’t understand. His chartreuse eyes stood out against his fair skin.

I took a step away from Dastien, but he shook his head at me. Why, I had no idea. I couldn’t begin to imagine what was going through his head when I couldn’t form a coherent thought.

Dastien and his friend spoke rapidly in what might have been French. They were wearing identical outfits—black jeans and black t-shirts. It was weird, but neutral enough that it could’ve been a coincidence.

Dastien’s friend nodded at me and then walked away.

I didn’t have time to wonder what their exchange was all about. Dastien kissed the back of my hand, and my brain turned to mush.

Wait. He was going to leave?

My pulse echoed in my ears.

“I’ll see you soon,” he said as he let my hand go.

“Sure,” I said but his back was already to me as he walked away. He looked over his shoulder at me and winked.

That should be illegal. Seriously.

I leaned back hard against the bookshelf. It rattled, but thankfully didn’t tip over. I fanned myself for a second. That guy made me sweat.

“I’ll see you soon?” I whispered his words to myself. I glanced around the bookshelf to see if he was gone. What did that mean? When would he see me?

The bookstore suddenly lost its appeal. There was only one thing for a girl to do when she had a close encounter with a guy that hot.

Ice cream. I needed lots and lots of ice cream. Even if it was my breakfast. It had milk and maybe eggs. That totally counted.

I peeked at my watch. I still had twenty minutes before I was supposed to meet up with Axel. I meandered through the mall until I found the food court, grabbed a sugar cone with a scoop of chocolate chip, my favorite, and went outside to wait.

A lone cement bench sat outside the front of the entrance closest to where I’d parked. I settled down to eat my cone as I watched three guys try to hit on a girl. They were laughing and punching each other as they vied for her attention. The boys were hot and so ripped their T-shirts could be mere seconds away from tearing at the seams. There had to be something in the water here. I didn’t recognize the guys from school, but I knew the girl was in my Pre-calc class. I searched my memory for her name and drew a blank.

I angled away from them, hoping she wouldn’t see me, but I couldn’t stop myself from watching. One of the guys, a blond one with a bit too much muscle for my tastes, seemed to be in the lead. She flirted with him, brushing his shoulder as she talked. He sat down on an oversized planter that held a half-dead shrub, and drew her in closer to him. The other two guys started to make fun of the blond one.

A group of guys I definitely knew from school came out of the mall entrance. Four of them. Including Carlos.

Shit. I pulled my hair out of the bun and let it block my face. I didn’t have it in me to play off any visions, especially the kind that came from Carlos. Just dealing with the party was going to be enough for one day.

I shouldn’t have worried. They went straight for the girl.

“Stay away from Jess!” Carlos said. His hands were balled at his sides.

Holy crapola. Where was Axel? He was going to die when he found out he missed a fight. I quickly texted him.

“Carlos. I was just—” She stepped away from the golden boy.

Carlos shoved the guy with blond hair. “What do you think you’re doing talking to our kind?”

Blondie budged only enough to move off the planter, rising slowly.

I took another bite of my ice cream as the girl tried to stop the fight. Ice cream and a fight? Best mall trip ever.

Carlos’ face reddened, and then he looked at the ground, backing down.

Lame. After all the visions he’d given me, seeing his ass get handed to him would’ve been nice.

One of the boys glanced toward the entrance. “We’re busted,” he said.

Dastien strode from the mall with two other guys dressed just like him—black T-shirt and black jeans.

“Retour sur le collége. Maintenant,” Dastien said.

I wondered what that meant. It sounded sexy.

Blondie’s fists clenched at his sides, but instead of saying anything, he started walking toward the parking lot.

Axel ran out the mall exit. “Did I miss it?”

My face heated as everyone turned to me. “Shut up.” I tried my best to ignore them, instead focusing on my brother. “No fight.”

Axel looked around at the crowd now dispersing into the parking lot. “Bummer.” He took my ice cream cone before I could stop him and took a big bite.

“What the hell? That was my breakfast.”

Axel snorted. “No. This was dessert.” He ripped off the paper covering the cone, and licked the length of it. “And now it’s mine.”

Licking a food item was the ultimate in claiming. “You’re a dick.”

He took another big bite. “Mom and Dad are waiting to have lunch with us.” He threw his arm over my shoulder. “We’ve got to do something about your eating habits before I go.”

I rolled my eyes. I ate plenty. Sometimes got distracted and forgot about it, but I wasn’t anorexic or anything. My curves were still visible as ever.

“Where’s your book?” He asked as we started toward the parking lot.

My face burned once again. Dastien was a few feet away by the mall entrance. I snuck a peek at him. Yup. He was waiting for me to answer, arms crossed and a slanted grin on his face.

He totally knew what he was doing to me. What a jerk.

The easiest thing to do would be to lie, but Axel knew the face I made when I lied. It wouldn’t work. I took a deep breath. “I got distracted.”

He looked back at Dastien and took a big bite of my cone. He chomped for a second, and I thought he’d dropped the subject.

“By what?” He asked as he turned to look at Dastien again in a totally obvious way. He took another bite, and I wanted to hit him.

I pulled my keys out of my purse. “None of your business.” I heard a chuckle and looked back again.

God. This was so embarrassing.

Axel snatched my keys out of my hand while I wasn’t looking. “That’s what you get when you hold the good stuff back.”

“Who said I was holding anything back?”

He made a show of shoving the last of my cone in his mouth.

“Gross.”

He put his arm around me again and started half-dragging me towards the car. “Little sis, let’s talk about crushes,” he said way too loudly.

I shoved him away. Dastien’s laughter echoed through the parking lot.

Why, God? Why me! Why did you have to give me this jerk of a brother who was hell bent on humiliating me any chance he got?

I ignored Axel’s ramblings and looked one last time at Dastien. He was still standing by the entrance. One of his friends was saying something to him, but Dastien was watching me. I faced forward and waved as I stepped into the rows of parked cars.

Axel was right. Maybe I had a crush on this guy. But he had been watching me, so he had to feel something for me, too.

The TV was on in my parent’s room when I walked in the house. I slowly closed the door behind me.

“You’re back already?”

I jumped at the sound of Axel’s voice behind me.

“What the fu—”

I slapped my hand over his mouth. “I don’t want Mom and Dad to know.” I paused. “Seriously.”

He nodded, and I moved my hand slowly away from his mouth, ready to slap it back if he started yelling again.

“Who did that to you?”

Axel was in protector mode. He reverted to it whenever I was hurt or being picked on. I prayed for patience. “Can you please find wherever Mom put the first aid stuff and meet me in my room?”

He narrowed his eyes at me. Yup. There was no way he’d let this one go, but he went in search of the kit anyway.

My shoulder was full on throbbing by the time I got upstairs. This night had been a disaster of epic proportions. If I could get into my room without Mom or Dad checking on me, I’d be happy. I couldn’t face telling them that come Monday, life would go back to status quo in Tessaland.

I crept up the stairs, desperately trying to remember if there were any squeaky boards.

“I’m home,” I said from my bedroom door.

The TV muted. “You’re early. How was the party?” Mom’s voice came from their room.

“Fine, but I’m pooped. Can we talk about it in the morning?” I held my breath as I waited for her to answer.

There was whispering back and forth as they debated. “Okay. Get some rest,” Mom said finally.

I breathed a sigh of relief when the TV’s sound came back on. I threw my belt and shoes in the closet. In the light I could see the blood staining my gloves. I chucked them in my trash.

What was I going to do now? I couldn’t lift my arm up to take off my dress.

Oh well. It was a nice dress while it lasted. I grabbed a pair of scissors from my desk. There was a soft knock on the door. I had a moment of panic before Axel opened it.

“Get in here, and help me,” I said.

He closed the door and dumped the first aid stuff on my bed. I handed him the scissors. “You’re going to have to cut the dress off me.”

I could feel his breath on my back. He was investigating my cut without touching it himself.

He sighed. “This looks really bad, Tess. You need stitches.”

“Don’t say stitches. That involves needles and I don’t do needles.” The thought of them made me queasy. “It doesn’t even really hurt. A few butterfly bandages will do. Just cut the strap and move the material away from it. Then pour a bunch of peroxide on it until it stops fizzing.”

“Yeah. Yeah. I’ll do it. But Mom’s going to find out in the morning and she’s going to say you need—”

“Don’t you dare say the ‘s’ word again. I really don’t need them. I’ve had cuts worse than this.”

“No. You haven’t,” he muttered. The scissors sliced through my strap. “Stay still. This is probably gonna burn like a motherfucker.”

He poured it down my shoulder, and tears filled my eyes. “Shit. Blow on it or something.”

“Seriously? I don’t want to get that close to it. It’s bubbling up like crazy.”

“I don’t care what you do. Just do something!” I dug my fingernails into my hands to take my mind off of it.

“Okay. Okay. Hang on.” He grabbed a book off my shelf and started fanning it.

It totally wasn’t helping. “The peroxide was a bad idea.”

“You know what a good idea is? The emergency room. In fact, it’s a fantastic idea.”

I rolled my eyes. “That’ll take hours. No way. I already said it twice, but I’ll say it again. I don’t need stitches. You can’t make me get them.”

“Fine. But you’re just being a stubborn baby.” He poured more peroxide on it.

“Fuck! That burns,” I said when I could get air enough to talk again.

“See. You’re such a baby.” Axel started digging through the clear plastic bin that had all the first aid supplies in it. He came back with a tube of antibiotic ointment.

“Don’t use your finger.”

He showed me the Q-tip in his hand. “Please. I want to touch that as much as you want me to.” He rubbed it on and put an extra-large bandage over the cuts. “So you going to tell me whose ass I need to kick?”

Nope. Not a chance in hell. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It definitely matters. No one hurts my sister and gets away with it.”

I wanted to cry and scream and hit something, but none of that would help me right now. “Can we talk about it tomorrow? Please. I’m hurting and tired and sad. Really, really sad.”

He stood there, staring at me for a while. “Okay,” he said finally. “We’ll talk tomorrow.” He handed me an ice pack.

“Thanks,” I whispered.

“Take care of your lip. Okay?”

I nodded.

When he left, I grabbed the scissors again, and cut down the front of my dress. It was one of the only dresses I actually liked. It was a damn shame to have to destroy it completely. Once it was off, I studied the material and saw four inch-long rips where my left shoulder blade was.

How did Dastien manage to do that with his bare hands?

I snorted. It didn’t matter how he’d done it, but it sure sucked that he had.

I threw it in the trash and grabbed a giant sleep shirt, slowly easing my arm into it. As I put peroxide and ointment on my bottom lip, my mind drifted back to Dastien. Something was off about him. Okay, so maybe the biting and scratching thing was it, but I couldn’t get over the fact that I didn’t get any visions when we kissed. And that connection. Intense didn’t even begin to cover it.

He was different from everyone else I’d ever met. And, even accidental biting aside, I was still drawn to him.

This was stupid. Why was I pining over some lame guy who I kissed and then who ran away? I couldn’t lose my shit over one kiss. Hopefully the cuts would be better in the morning, and I could forget this whole thing ever happened.

A shiver rushed down my spine. Something was watching me. Someone was waiting for me outside. Dad had put curtains up on Friday night, so no one could see in, not that anyone ventured down our road, but I couldn’t shake that feeling.

I slid the curtains silently along the rod and leaned close to the window and jumped back.

Oh crap.

A wolf was in my driveway. I stepped back toward the window to double check.

It was sitting there. Watching me with its golden eyes. I wanted to go out to it, but that was crazy. It was a wolf. A dangerous, wild, totally not-tame wolf. I threw the curtain closed and slid into bed.

It wasn’t until that moment, as I waited for sleep to come, that I realized how much I wanted friends. I liked to think I was fine alone, but sometimes being alone was flat out lonely. Axel was great, but he had his own life to live. With him gone soon, I was going to be the outcast again.

The wolf howled outside, and I wanted to howl with it.

“Tessa!” Mom was yelling through my bedroom door. “I know you went out last night, but you are not missing church!” The alarm clock glowed 9:45 AM in red.

I moaned, feeling more than a little groggy and nauseous. Probably from that stupid shot of tequila. “I’m not feeling so good.”

Mom opened the door and peeked through the crack. “What did you say? I couldn’t hear you.”

“I feel like shit on a stick.”

“Language!” She came over to my bed. “Did something happen to your lip?” She ran her cool hand against my forehead.

I tried to tune out all the thoughts she was having, but failed. Worried that I’d caught something. Worried that my father would get sick and have to miss work after only just starting. Then worried that I’d pass it along to my brother who had to leave soon.

The woman worried way too much.

“You’re burning up.” She hurried out of the room, and came back seconds later with a glass of orange juice and a couple Tylenol in her hand. “Sit up.”

I winced and grabbed at my left shoulder.

Mom’s eyes narrowed. “What’s wrong with your shoulder?”

“Nothing.”

“Take off your shirt.”

“Mom, it’s fine real—”

“Take off your shirt, Tessa. Or I will take it off for you.”

That was her patented you-better-do-what-I’m-telling-you voice. Once that showed up, there was no arguing with her.

I sucked in air as I slid my arm from my sleeve. I left the shirt dangling in front of me. It was too much work to take it off completely. My eyes watered as she pulled off the bandage. “Gentle please.”

She was going to flip out in three…two…

“Who did this to you?”

My cheeks heated.

“Was it someone at the party?”

“Please, don’t tell Dad.”

“God, Tessa. This looks bad. Your skin is so hot, which means it’s probably infected. Why didn’t you tell us last night?” She brushed her finger against the skin next to the wound, and I saw what her next move was going to be.

Yep. That’s what I thought. She was thinking about how to tell Dad. He was going to be extra pissed when he found out that someone from St. Ailbe’s—let alone his bosses second in command—had hurt me. And when I told him how the Cedar Ridge High kids wanted nothing to do with me now, he was going to flip. We moved all this way for nothing.

“Well, let’s get it cleaned.” She looked at my shoulder again and then back at me.

“I cleaned it last night.” Tears welled, but I wouldn’t let them fall. “The kit’s still on my desk.”

Somehow Mom taking care of my shoulder made it real. I had actually kissed Dastien last night. Thinking about him made me anxious to see him again. Which was beyond stupid. The guy was obviously dangerous.

“Turn around.” The second the peroxide filled cotton balls touched my shoulder I nearly threw up. Last night was nothing compared to today. Mom held my shoulder still when I tried to move away. The pain was enough to block out anything Mom was thinking. It was getting worse, not better.

“You need stitches.”

God. Not the stitches talk again. “Can’t we put the Band-Aids on it and see what happens in a day or two?”

“We’ll see.” The pain exploded, radiating across my back as she rubbed the Neosporin into the cuts and put on the band-aids. Gently, she helped me back into the shirt.

“Let’s see the lip.” She gave my lip the same treatment, going light on the Neosporin and leaving off the band-aid.

She sat down beside me on my bed and gave me that look, the one that said that if I even tried to lie I would be in serious trouble. “Did someone hurt you?”

“Please, Mom. Can we talk about it later?”

She pressed her lips together as she thought about it, and then finally sighed. “Fine. Go back to bed. I’ll come check on you in a bit.”

It was humiliating the way everything always went wrong for me. I lay back down and Mom tucked me in.

“We will talk about this after you get some rest.” She kissed my forehead and left my room.

The next time my eyes opened, the clock read 1:56 PM. Mom was back in my room, sitting on the bed with her hand to my forehead. A million of her unasked questions slammed into me. She wanted to know what happened, who did this, and why. But she was mostly worried about me and angry that someone had hurt me. Angry was the wrong word. She was furious.

“It’s really high,” she said to Dad who was standing over us. “Definitely over 100.”

He raked his fingers down his face, and then patted Mom on the back. “We’re going to take you to the hospital, Tess.”

Dad left my room, shutting the door quietly behind him. Mom grabbed a pair of jeans from my closet. I sat up and picked up my bra from on top of the comforter.

“Don’t worry about the bra. It’ll only make your shoulder worse.” She crossed her arms. “You ready to talk?”

I cleared my suddenly dry throat. “Not really.” I didn’t know if I’d ever be ready. It was too embarrassing. Only Tessa McCaide would have to get stitches because of a kiss.

“It was a boy at the party?”

God. She wasn’t going to let it go.

I nodded.

“He can’t get away with this. Tessa.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “Did he do anything else to you? Hurt you—”

My face burned. “Jeez, Mom. No. He kissed me and got a little carried away. I don’t know how he did that to my shoulder. He must have had something in his hand or I dunno…”

“Sweetie. They’re deep. There’s no way it wasn’t on purpose.” She sat back down on the bed, putting her face on my level, so that I was forced to look her in the eyes. “We’re going to have talk to your principal about this. Get a meeting with the boy’s parents. He could have really hurt you. What if he does this or something worse to another girl?”

The thought of Dastien with another girl made me monumentally pissed off. I tried to rein my anger in, but my shoulder burned, deeper into my arm and torso.

Somewhere underneath it I knew I was losing my mind over a boy who hurt me. “I don’t want to make a huge deal out of this. It’s fine. Really. It wasn’t even one of the guys from school.”

She crossed her arms. “If it wasn’t someone from school, then who was it?”

Perfect. She thought I was trying to lie to her. “Dastien,” I whispered. Saying his name felt equal parts relief and betrayal.

“Madre Santa. The teacher from St. Ailbe’s?” She sucked in her breath. “Teresa Elizabeth McCaide!”

And now she’d used my full name. Only I could manage to get in trouble for being hurt.

“I hope this doesn’t mean…” She paused for a second, and my heart started to pound. “We’re going to have to talk to Michael Dawson when we get back from the emergency room. This could be really bad, Tess.”

That was so not cool. “Mom. Seriously. It’s fine.”

“No. It’s really not. You’re a minor.”

“Only for like a few more weeks! And he’s only two years older than me. That’s like nothing. Let’s not make a national disaster out of this. He was really nice. I’m not even sure how it happened. He seemed pretty shocked. He apologized and everything.” I don’t know why I was defending him.

Mom sat there quietly, waiting for me to continue.

It wasn’t embarrassment anymore. I was mad. Furious even. Those people at the party had been flat out rude to me. For no reason. It wasn’t even something I could blame on my weirdness. I was physically hurt, bleeding, and they kicked me out. Not even an “are you okay” or “do you need some ice for that” before they shoved me out the door.

I willed myself not to cry. “I wanted to have friends and go to parties like everyone else. Not be Freaky Tessa who sits at home on the weekends reading books and watching TV with her parents. Begging her brother to hang out with her.”

Mom sat down next to me, holding my good side. “I know it’s hard, but you’re here for a reason. You have to have faith in God and in yourself. If there is anything I’m sure of, it’s that you’re meant to do something great with your gifts.”

I snorted. “Right. Because these ‘gifts’ are so useful for oh, I don’t know, nothing.”

She kissed my forehead, and her guilt surged through me before she could block it.

I felt like a real jerk for not being nicer about what she said. But I couldn’t get my hopes up that one day I’d find my curse was useful.

“This is my fault. I’ve kept you away from my side of the family for too long. You are meant for something.”

What the hell was she talking about?

“I have something to tell you later. First, let’s get you to the hospital.” She started for the door.

“Mom,” I called after her. “I’m sorry. Thank you for taking care of me.”

“Anything for my baby.”

I’d make it up to her. Tomorrow. When my shoulder wasn’t hurting so bad. Sliding on my sweatpants and flip-flops took all the energy I could muster.

I was so out of it that I nearly forgot my gloves. Number one place I didn’t want to have a vision: the emergency room. Talk about a minefield of pain and drama. I grabbed a pair of white cotton ones that stopped halfway to my elbow.

Axel was waiting with my parents at the door by the time I got down the stairs.

“Ready?” Dad’s arms were still folded in front of his chest. No hint of a smile on his face.

“Yeah, but I’m feeling a little—” Gray dots filled my vision. Then, there was nothing.