Soulsearch (Teen Paranormal Romance Series) (The Soulmate Series: Teen Paranormal Romance Book 2) (12 page)

The two troublemakers had instigated much of the social antagonism towards Paige and Rachel.
 
Calling them names, pulling mean pranks, and insulting everything from their looks to their lunch bags, those two troublemakers deserved every punch they had endured.
 
Suddenly Paige realized that might have been the motivation behind Zach’s assault.
 
Maybe they said something offensive in front of him?
 
She was still outraged by his behavior, but felt a little satisfaction as well.

As she slogged through the hours of school, keeping her head down and her mouth shut and ignoring the contemptuous looks and derisive whispers, she wondered what would happen to Zach.
 
He was only 17, still a minor, but she was almost positive the victims’ parents would do everything in their power to hold him accountable.
 
Kids that egotistical usually had parents who thought they could do no wrong.
 
She hated to think Zach could have a criminal record because of her.
 
She had to admit she was still attracted to Zach, despite what he had done, and if it was in her defense, that was all the more reason to forgive his indiscretion.
 

When the torture of the school day was finally over, Paige retreated to the comfort of her own rainbow-hued haven and wondered if she would ever hear from Zach again.
 
She tried to imagine the conversation in her head but couldn’t ever quite figure out her side of it.
 
She tried to study, but her thoughts kept wandering from her textbooks to the way Zach had bared his soul to her on the dance floor, entrusting her with his deepest secret.
 
She relived the way his hands had felt wrapped around her waist and the way his hair shone like polished mahogany under the twinkling lights as her mind imagined better ways the night might have ended.

She had barely begun to fantasize about his lips claiming hers when the doorbell rang and she heard her mother offer a perky welcome to their unexpected guest.
 
“Well, hello, Zach!
 
So nice to see you again!
 
Did you have a good time at the dance Saturday?” Cathy twittered, oblivious to Zach’s stupefaction as he lifted his penitent face to meet her happy smile.

“Uh, yes, ma’am.
 
Thank you so much for letting me take Paige.
 
You have a wonderful daughter,” Zach managed to reply, dumbfounded that she knew nothing of his altercation.

“I’m so glad you two hit it off.
 
Paige could use a nice boy like you.
 
She’s up in her room if you want to see her — first door on the right,” Cathy offered and Zach nodded as he drew in a relieved breath and headed up the stairs.
 
He had expected to be thrown out or at the least given a painful tongue-lashing by Paige’s parents, but it was obvious they had no idea what had happened.

As Zach’s footsteps grew louder, Paige steeled herself for his arrival, not sure what attitude she should affect.
 
She knew his behavior was wild and reckless and she should probably stay as far away from him as possible, but the memory of his gentle embrace warred with the image of him fighting in her mind and she couldn’t reconcile the two personalities.

“Paige?” he mumbled as he poked his head around her open door.
 
His eyes widened as he took in the outrageously wild color scheme of Paige’s haphazard bedroom decor.

“Hi, Zach,” Paige replied, keeping her emotions under wraps.
 
She was lounging on her bed with her back propped up against her headboard and she didn’t bother to get up.

“You didn’t tell your parents,” Zach commented, not sure how to start the conversation.

“I didn’t think it would be to my benefit for them to know,” Paige replied succinctly.

“Do you hate me, Paige, or are you giving me the chance to explain myself?
 
I don’t know you well enough to know,” Zach asked nervously, not yet brave enough to enter the room.

“I guess I’m willing to hear what you have to say,” Paige replied, caving under the soft persuasion of his voice but still preventing any emotion from coloring her face.

Zach took it as an olive branch, ignoring Paige’s indifference, and hurried to her side.
 
“Oh, Paige, I’m sorry for how I acted.
 
You must think I’m a total barbarian.
 
It’s just, I was waiting for you to come out of the bathroom and these guys were there, talking smack about you and Rachel.
 
If you had heard what they said, Paige….I’m just glad you didn’t.
 
It was disgusting.
 
I just….lost control of myself.
 
I’m not like that, Paige; I don’t do that sort of thing.
 
I’ve never hurt anybody in my life.
 
I can’t even explain what happened.
 
It’s like, this other person inside of me took over.
 
I try so hard to shut him out, but this time I couldn’t stop him.”
 
Zach’s pained expression begged her to understand.

Paige’s eyes narrowed at Zach’s mention of the person inside him.
 
Was it just a figure of speech, or did Zach have an inner companion like Rider suspected?
 
She was still contemplating how to respond when Zach continued, hoping to regain her trust.

“I really like you, Paige.
 
I was having the best night ever till this happened.
 
I had heard the rumors about you and Rachel, but when I met you, you seemed perfectly normal to me.
 
Really cool, actually.
 
I was attracted to you right away and I couldn’t understand why people were so cruel to you.
 
When I heard those guys talking about how hot you looked and yet calling you names in the same sentence, I just couldn’t stand it.
 
I had to stick up for you.”
 
Paige’s hand was lying on her lap and Zach reached for it hesitantly.
 
When she didn’t pull away he sighed and twined his fingers between hers.

Paige’s anger evaporated as she stared into his humble gaze and she reached out to touch his cheek with her free hand.
 
She was right when she suspected he was defending her honor!
 
Paige was overcome by his sacrifice, risking himself for a girl he barely knew. Caught in the moment of Zach’s openness, Paige decided impulsively to tell him her secret.
 
In a reverential whisper, Paige asked, “Zach, do you know why they call Rachel and me crazy?
 
Have you heard the whole story?”
 
Zach shook his head but stayed quiet, sensing an important revelation.

Paige took a deep breath before launching into her tale.
 
She expected her instincts to be screaming at her to stop, but instead she felt compelled to continue.
 
“When Rachel was little, she claimed there was another person living inside her, a boy named Rider.
 
Everybody thought she was talking about an imaginary friend at first, but she wasn’t.
 
And she never outgrew it like a normal kid does.”
 
Paige paused to gauge Zach’s reaction to the story so far.
 
He was staring at her with rapt attention, like a dying man seeing an angel at the side of his bed.
 
“Rachel told me her friend was real, not imaginary, and I believed her, Zach.
 
I still do.
 
Somehow she shared her body with another soul.”

Zach stared at Paige in awe.
 
After a few moments of tense silence he replied, “You said, ‘shared’ — past tense.
 
What happened to him?”
 
His response surprised her and she blinked rapidly, trying to understand his reaction.
 
Did he actually believe her?
 
It seemed like he did.
 
Was it possible he believed because he had experienced the very same thing?
 
Paige decided there was no reason not to tell him the rest of it.

“A few months ago, Rachel was in a car accident.
 
She died on the operating table and Rider’s soul left her body.
 
They managed to bring her back, but Rider was already gone.”
 
Paige paused again and was amazed to see that Zach seemed intrigued but not incredulous.

“So that’s it?
 
He was just gone?” Zach asked, a strange look on his face.

“No, not exactly,” Paige explained.
 
He stared intently into her eyes as she continued.
 
“There was another boy involved in the accident and he died, too.
 
I guess his soul moved on, but they revived his body, and well, somehow Rider took over it.
 
He lost his memory at first, but eventually it came back to him.”

“It’s Cameron, isn’t it?” Zach asked, his eyes alight with excitement.

“Yeah, it is,” Paige answered.
 
“Why don’t you seem surprised by any of this, Zach?” she asked carefully, not wanting to disrupt the delicate balance of the conversation but desperate to know what he was thinking.

Zach dropped his intense gaze for the first time since the conversation began.
 
“I’m not sure you would believe me if I told you,” he muttered.

Seeing his hesitation, Paige decided to throw him a lifeline.
 
“It wasn’t just a coincidence that we ran into you at Sundae’s on Saturday, Zach.
 
We went there looking for you.”

“You did?
 
Why?” Zach’s eyes widened with surprise.

Paige took a deep breath and squeezed his large hand before dropping her bombshell.
 
She knew this would be a turning point for their newborn relationship.
 
Either he would admit that he had a rider too and their whole world would change in an instant, or he would be convinced she was crazy and run for his life.
 
“Rider….er, Cameron, believes you might have experienced something…similar,” Paige explained delicately.

“Paige, how could you possibly know that?” Zach blurted, then gasped when he realized his admission.

“So it’s true?!” Paige exclaimed, jumping off the bed.
 
“I wanted to believe it, but I didn’t think it was possible!
 
This is so amazing, Zach!
 
Rachel and Rider are going to be so blown away when we tell them!
 
You have to tell me all about it, Zach.
 
I want to know every detail.
 
Maybe I should call Rachel and Rider now so you can tell all of us at once.
 
This is so incredible!!!”

Paige’s excitement was contagious and Zach reached out to grab her in a giant bear hug.
 
The embrace quickly grew more intense as Zach’s hands dropped below her waist.
 
Suddenly, his lips were on hers and their bodies tumbled to the bed as their hands explored every inch of skin they could reach.
 
After several minutes of passion, Zach slowly extracted himself from Paige’s embrace.
 
“If you don’t want to go any farther than this, we better stop now,” Zach explained, his breathing heavy and his voice a seductive growl.

Paige took a moment to catch her breath and straighten her clothes before responding with a giddy smile.
 
“You’re a great kisser, Zach, and a gentleman, too.
 
Well, except for when you’re beating the crap out of someone.”
 
Her laugh was the tinkle of a crystal bell as she stared happily into his eyes.

Just then, Cathy Donovan poked her head in the room and Paige was relieved her mom had not witnessed their passionate exchange.
 
“Zach, would you like to stay for supper?
 
We’d love to have you,” she offered kindly, obviously taken with Paige’s new beau.

“Uh, sure, that would be great, Mrs. Donovan,” Zach replied, charming her with his smile.

“Dinner will be ready soon, then,” Cathy announced, a satisfied smile lighting her face as she turned and walked away.

Zach laughed, a little chuckle that grew to a guffaw as the enormity of the situation overtook him.
 
“Paige, this has been the wildest two days of my life.
 
Is being with you always this life-altering?” He teased.

Paige just shrugged and took his hands.
 
“I told you I like excitement, didn’t I?
 
Now, you have to tell me about your friend!
 
What’s his name?
 
Or is it a girl?!
 
Oh no, Rider was totally jealous when Rachel had another boyfriend!
 
Is your partner jealous of me?!”

“Paige, slow down!” Zach chuckled, smoothing her wild hair.
 
Her excited bouncing had loosed her unruly curls.
 
“I’ll tell you everything you want to know, but first you have to tell me how you knew about me.”

Paige nodded and began to tell him about their improbable quest to find answers to Rider’s questions.
 
Zach marveled as she described their illicit information gathering at the women’s clinic and was astonished at how quickly they had made the leap from Mary Masterson to Jessica Reynolds to Cara Pasquetti.
 
He couldn’t believe one afternoon of sleuthing had led them to him.