Unfaded (34 page)

             
Sobek was grinning like crazy. Blood dripped from his face and he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

             
“You’re wasting your time, guardian,” he said. “You’ll slip up. Just like the last time and the time before that. You can’t watch her constantly.” He readjusted his jacket until it was straightened out and took a few steps in my direction. Both Kian and Seito stopped him from getting any closer.

             
“I’d start searching that pretty little head of yours, sweetheart,” he said to me. “There are some good memories in there. Might make you think twice about your perfect little boyfriend.”

             
I stood as straight as I could. “Get out of my town.”

             
Chuckling, Sobek went over to where Anique was pulling herself up from the ground. She was rubbing her jaw which had a nice red mark on it. Taking a good look at her face, he turned to me. “Nice shot.” He put an arm around his girlfriend and they headed off towards the school. Everyone scurried to get out of the way as they walked by.

             
“Come on,” Seito said, taking both Kian and I by the hand. “Let’s get the two of you out of here. We’ve drawn enough attention to ourselves as it is.”

             
The crowd began to disburse now that the action was winding down. A few guys from the basketball team were looking at me both appreciatively and fearfully.

             
“Let me see your hand,” Kian said. Carefully he checked over my knuckles, pressing and prodding to make sure nothing was dislocated or broken. There didn’t appear to be any swelling.

             
“That’s a pretty nice upper cut you’ve got,” Seito said. “Where’d you learn that?”

             
“Rocky movies,” I said. “Dad’s a big fan.”

             
Seito managed to get us both into the car before he took off to go get his bike. Kian drove me home. We got there in record time because he wanted to get me as far away from the school as possible.

             
“You should come in,” I said after he’d brought the car to a stop outside my house.

             
“Is it a good idea?” he asked. Pulling down the visor, he checked his face in the mirror. It wasn’t bad. Sobek hadn’t even managed to break the skin. The pinkness from the punches was fading. It was a real plus, quick healing. There was less to explain this way.

             
“It’s fine,” I said. “Dad’s probably still at the shop. They started repairing it yesterday. He’s hoping to have it open again in a few months. Marley’s home and you can meet my Granny. Don’t feel bad but she won’t remember you.”

             
We got out of the car and went inside. Marley was in the kitchen with the phone at her ear. I waved at her and she waved back, raising her eyebrows when she saw I wasn’t alone. Granny of course was in the living room, sitting on the couch and tearing the pages from a magazine.

             
“She’s got a thing with paper,” I said. “She likes the sounds when it rips.”

             
I took a seat next to Granny and gently removed the magazine from her hand. Kian sat down beside me, his fingers nervously tapping on his leg. I wondered what he was anxious about and then realised he probably didn’t have a lot of experience with meeting old people. Come to think of it, he wasn’t used to meeting family either.

             
The Unfaded I’d met either had family members who were dead and gone or they simply never mentioned them. There didn’t seem to be the bond that humans shared. I guess it would be different when you lived in a world where no one aged. There was no need to take care of anyone once they became too old to care for themselves.

             
If I lived through this, eventually I’d have to walk away from my family. I wouldn’t be able to explain to my Dad why I was forty years old and still looked seventeen. They’d all die but I’d continue to exist. Dad, Marley, Granny, and all the other people I loved in my life: how long would it take before I’d forget about them? A hundred years? A thousand?

             
I didn’t want to think about it.

             
Instead I touched Granny on the arm to get her attention.

             
“Granny,” I said. “I’d like you to meet Kian.”

             
“Hello, Helen,” she said. “I’m so glad you’re here. I was having the strangest dream. I thought you went away, someplace I couldn’t follow.”

             
From the kitchen I could hear Marley chatting with her own mother from the sounds of the conversation. The smell of freshly brewing coffee drifted towards us. It was always the first thing Marley did when company arrived.

             
“Helen was my mother,” I said to Kian. “She mixes us up.”

             
Kian nodded. “Hello, Mrs. Evans. It’s nice to meet you.”

             
Granny’s eyes lit up. “George! I haven’t seen you in ages.”

             
I covered my mouth with my hands to keep from laughing. In the kitchen Marley hung up the phone and came out to join us, wiping her hands on her jeans. “I’ve got coffee on in case anyone wants some.”

             
“Thanks, Marley,” I said. “I’d like you to meet Kian.”

             
“That’s George,” Granny corrected me. “It’s been about twenty years if it’s been a day. He used to have the farm down the road. Used to bring us fresh tomatoes in the summer.”

             
“It’s good to meet you, Ma’am,” Kian said.

             
“Not if you call me Ma’am, it’s not,” she said. “Call me Marley. Would you like some coffee?”

             
“Please.”

             
We sat in the kitchen, drinking coffee while Marley asked Kian about himself. He politely told her the same story he’d originally used on me. He was travelling with his father, Micah, and had spent most of his life being homeschooled. He labelled off the same cities he’d lived in when she asked. It was a well rehearsed story. Marley bought it just as I had.

             
“Would you like to stay for dinner?” she asked after a few minutes. “We’re not doing much. I picked up a pizza earlier.”

             
“I’d like that,” Kian said.

             
“Sounds good. I’ll call you when it’s ready.”

             
We got up from the table and I led Kian upstairs to my room where we could get some privacy. The living room was out of bounds since Granny had fallen asleep on the couch, her mouth wide open and snoring loudly.

             
“Keep your door open,” Marley called back to me.

             
I tried to pretend not to be embarrassed by her comment. If only she knew about the trouble I’d been through in the past few weeks. She might not be so concerned about whether or not I was about to go make out with my new boyfriend in the seclusion of my bedroom.

             
Kian was fascinated with my room. He walked around, looking at all the pictures on my wall. Most of them were of black and white shots, I had a thing for photographs of sand (which explained the whole Connor/sand thing). There were two prints of different beaches on rainy days. Almost everyone who came in my room thought they were depressing but I loved them. I felt they were peaceful.

             
He picked up and studied most of the contents of my desk, including the various jars of sand. Thankfully he didn’t ask so I didn’t have to explain. He found the music box Dad gave me when I turned twelve and opened it. A tiny ballerina doll popped up and music filled the room. The box was empty except for one piece of jewellery, a small gold ring that once belonged to my mother. It had two hearts and a tiny diamond in the middle. Dad had given it to her when she got pregnant with me, two hearts beating in one body. She’d been wearing the ring when she died.

             
“Is this your mother?” he asked, pointing to the picture by my bed. I nodded and he picked it up, studying it. “She’s very beautiful. You look just like her. I can see why your Grandmother mistakes you.”

             
“I wish I had known her,” I blurted out.

             
“I wish you had too.”

             
Afterwards Kian checked out the view from my bedroom window and tested the locks to make sure everything was secure. He didn’t have to explain himself.

             
“Can I borrow your phone?”

             
“Sure.” I handed it over and then went downstairs so he could have some privacy. He was probably just checking in with Micah and I knew if there was something important he’d tell me about it later.

                                                        *              *              *

              Dinner was uneventful. Dad never showed up, he was too busy working. The four of us sat around and ate our pizza. Afterwards Kian and I helped clean up by doing the dishes while Marley helped Granny to bed.

             
“We’ve got to go back to the hotel tonight,” Kian said. He was washing and I was drying. Handing over a wet plate, I took it and wiped it down. “There’s a lot to talk about. Micah wants to come up with a plan.”

             
“Ok,” I said. “I’d better call Amber and let her know I’m no showing.”

             
“I’m sorry,” Kian said. “I know you want to be with your friends but it’s just not safe for you to be alone. Maybe once we figure out what we’re doing.”

             
“Its fine,” I said although I was disappointed. I’d really been looking forward to hanging out with the girls.

             
“I’ll make it up to you,” he said. Anything you want.”

             
“Teach me to fight,” I said.

             
“You’re doing pretty good on your own,” he said. “You all ready know how to throw a mean punch.” He leaned over towards me and smiled wickedly. Holding up one of his hands, he wiped the suds off onto my cheek. I squealed and jerked back.

             
I reached past him, grabbing a handful of bubbles from the sink and promptly smothered his face. Laughing hard, he inhaled foam. I swatted him playfully with my towel. Reaching out, he caught me by the wrists and pulled me in. All the giggles in my throat died as I looked up into his eyes.

             
He was taller than me by at least half a foot. It took forever for him to bend down enough so our lips were touching. The kiss was gentle, his lips soft. His body pressed hard against me, my wrists trapped between his hands and my own body. I found myself swaying, the entire kitchen was spinning.

             
But I couldn't go any further. I pulled away. Kian's body instantly turned rigid and he turned back to the sink.

             
"I'm sorry," I said. I picked up my towel. and turned it around in my hands.

             
"No, it's my fault," he said. "I shouldn't be pushing myself on you."

             
"I'm just not ready. It's too soon. I don't know you the way you know me. And Conner..." The words died in my throat.

             
"You don't need to explain."

             
When he handed me a glass, it nearly slipped from my hands.

                                          *              *              *

              An hour later we were back at the motel and stuck with a bunch of Unfaded who appeared to want to kill each other. Micah sat in his regular chair by the television and he wasn’t talking to Lina who sat on the bed, filing her nails with an emery board. Seito sat on the other bed, his legs crossed beneath him, his eyes closed as he meditated. The heater was above his head and hot hair blew against his skin, his bright white bangs rippled across his forehead.

             
There was a lot of tension. I could feel it before we’d even entered the room. Inside, the air was sweltering with all that negative energy bouncing off the walls. Kian and I didn’t even bother to say hello. We just sat down on the bed together and waited for someone else to speak first.

             
I’d called Amber before I left. She’d been disappointed when I told her I had a migraine and couldn’t come. She chalked it up to the fight we’d been in earlier. Of course she’d heard about it, the entire school was buzzing about the event, most of it fabricated. I assured her that no one had been arrested or stabbed.

             
“But we’re going to the movies tomorrow night, right?”

             
“Yeah,” I said. “We’re on for sure.”