Absolute Zero (4 page)

The trees broke enough to let a little patch of starry night shine through.

“You nervous?” he asked.

“Just wonder what they’re going to say. And what if they don’t tell Georgia anything? I’m scared to bring up the whole adoption-fire-thrower-type thing. You know?”

He turned the key, and the car darkened for a second until the battery took over.

The dashboard lights were almost as romantic as flickering candles as far as I was concerned. I could still see his smooth skin, dimpled chin, and his lips.

It was those lips I wanted to taste, right then and there. I nudged closer and pushed myself up until I found their warmth. Zach took in a sharp breath, almost like I startled him with my forwardness, but he quickly recovered and pulled me close.

“You smell like smoke.”

“Georgia’s bright idea of a party,” I said with a ragged breath. “But you taste yummy.” Kind of like he’d been eating candy corn and drinking Pepsi or something.

He turned to face me more, then cradled the sides of my face. I loved it when he did that. It felt like I was the center of his universe when he held me so tenderly like he was.

His thumbs rested on my cheeks, just below my eyes, while the rest of his fingers covered my jaw and part of my neck. Tingles shivered down my chest and to my stomach. We stayed connected for a long time until the dizziness made me pull away for air.

“Here, in this car, at this place, there’s nothing but me and you.” He smiled. “No parents. No job. No… Just me and you.”

His lips brushed against my neck, then up to behind my ear. A moan slipped through my lips. That seemed to excite Zach because his teeth grazed my skin. His hand skimmed over my shoulder, down my side. I flinched at his cool fingers as they tactically explored my back.

My mind swam with desire, wanting to pull him on top of me and find out how this whole sex-thing worked. I wasn’t exactly sure what to do, but I knew what my body felt. Then again, did I really want my first time to be in a car?

Oh, but he felt fantastic, especially the hand navigating from my back to the front of me. His thumb brushed against the fabric of my bra. That ignited a new and exciting flame just south of the belly button.

A rush of heat streamed across my abdomen, and I yanked him into a kiss. I had to taste a little more. Needed to.

The ergonomics of the car prevented me from pulling him on top of me, but it was probably for the best. We’d not even talked about going all the way. Hell, I didn’t even know if he wanted to.

His hand told me he wanted to as it navigated to the small of my back, then down below the beltline until he touched the elastic of my panties.

Oh sweet Jesus.
“Zach,” I whispered against his mouth.

He pulled away but stayed close enough for his warm breath to wash over me.

“Let’s just slow down a little.”

He retracted his hand as his jaw twitched. “I got a little carried away.”

“No you didn’t.” I pulled his face close and pressed my lips to his, then his cheek, then his neck. “I loved every touch. I—want to—but I don’t want our first time to be in a car.”

He leaned back, and his slate eyes bore into mine. He brushed his thumb over my bottom lip, then over my chin and traced my throat as he drew in a deep breath. The corner of his lip twitched. “Mandy, I need to tell you something.”

My phone shrilled Scott’s annoying ring-tone.
Of all the times—

“Tell me what?”

He settled into the driver’s seat, his gaze focused out the front window. His jaw twitched again. “Nothing. You better answer that.”

“He can wait. He’s just wanting me to get my butt back home.”

“I should get back, too.” He leaned forward as if to reach for the keys stuck in the ignition.

I combed his hair with my fingers, then curled them around the nape of his neck and turned his head toward me. “Spit it out, Zach.” My heart pounded, and not like it was just doing because of his touch. It was pounding because he seemed sorry, almost like he regretted touching me. His posture was stiff, and he refused to look straight at me.

The phone rang again, but I kept my focus on him.

He made no move to look at me while his fingers curled around the steering wheel. Like a switch flipped, he was gone again. Lost in whatever was going on with him that he refused to share with me.

I was new at this whole girlfriend-thing, but I knew enough that he needed to tell me what the hell was going on.

Another ring sliced through the thick silence between Zach and me. I snatched the phone from the dashboard and tapped answer. “Yeah. I’m comin’.”

“Mandy. Hurry up. Georgia’s here.”

“What?” I sat straight. “What’s wrong?”

“Her mom’s gone.”

Chapter 5

“Georgia?” I yelled as I stormed into the apartment.

“We’re in here,” Scott said from the kitchen.

I slammed the door and hurried through the living room to the kitchen. Georgia sat slumped in the chair, elbows resting on the tile-top table.

“What happened?” I sat on the tabletop and grabbed my sister’s hand.

Her blood-shot eyes bobbed in a pool of tears. She handed me a crumpled sheet of paper. I glanced at Scott. He shook his head and looked down.

Oh great. Now what had happened? It was bad enough that something was going on with Zach. Now something was spooking my brother and sister.

I smoothed out the sheet against my lap then read it.

Dearest Georgia,

I cannot stay here any longer. I had to leave to find my own life. Things have been bad between me and your dad for several years, and I tried to hold on. But I can no longer do so. Please don’t try to find me. I’ll be in touch with you after I’ve had some time to think.

Love, Mom.

“Are you kidding me?” I re-read the letter twice. The blue, cursive writing was shaky, like she’d been writing it while driving or something. “She left you and your dad?”

“And right before the dinner date where we thought she was going to tell me everything,” Georgia said.

I looked at Scott.

He shrugged. “Timing’s a little peculiar.”

“A little?” I hopped off the top of the table and pointed my finger at him. “You’re the one who decided we should wait! After California I wanted to confront them right away. But you wanted to let things play out. Now we’re totally screwed, Scott.”

Georgia tunneled her fingers through her hair. “I went to the safe. The door was the same as before. I don’t think she even checked it.”

“How is that possible? She had to have known that stuff was in there. Hell, she probably put it in there.” I jerked the fridge door open and snagged a can of Pepsi. “This totally and completely sucks.”

“Tell me about it.”

My heart crashed to the floor. “Oh, God. I’m such an idiot.” I stepped to Georgia’s side. “I’m sorry. Your folks are getting a divorce, and I’m whining about my shit. I’m a total jerk.”

“It’s okay. Ever since I found out they weren’t my birth parents things have been weird. I was just buying time ‘til we move into our own place.”

I squeezed her shoulder. “But still. This is huge.”

“What’d you say to your dad?” Scott asked.

“After you dropped me off, Mandy, I hung out in the kitchen for a while. Watched some TV while I ate a bowl of cereal. You know. Junk like that.” She stood from the table and stepped to the counter next to the fridge and crossed her arms over her chest. “I hopped online and chatted with Facebook people, posted on some blogs, then got ready for bed. I yanked my covers back and there was this freaking note.”

I gulped some soda, and my eyes watered. I didn’t have a good feeling where this was going. Or it was the caffeine and bubbles cramping my stomach.

“Well, I was stunned, needless to say, so I stormed into their bedroom.” Georgia’s nostrils flared, and her jaw clenched. “Um—well, Dad sat on the bed, holding a piece of paper.” She looked down, and her shoulders shook.

I moved to her and yanked her into my arms. Scott’s wove around us, too. Georgia buried her face in my neck, and I held her vibrating body close to me.

“He was crying. Bawling like a little kid. It was still horrible to see. You know?”

“Trust me. I know,” I said. How ‘bout seeing him sliced and diced, eyes fixed on the ceiling? I didn’t say that, but still, I knew how much it sucked to see her dad hurt.

“He told me they’d been talking divorce for a while, but that he thought things were getting better. He had no idea she’d leave.” She eased away from me, and Scott and I loosened our grip. “I asked him if I was adopted.”

Okay, that stalled out my heart. “You did?”

She nodded, then slid her forearm beneath her rose-colored nose. Black streaks of mascara-stained tears rolled down her cheeks. With my thumb, I wiped them away. I hated seeing her so sad. So broken.

“He admitted to me that I was adopted and I asked if there was anything specific about the adoption he was supposed to tell me, but he didn’t have a clue.”

“What’d you say?” Scott descended back into his chair. “How’d you ask it?”

“I sat next to him on the bed and asked him. He looked at me funny and asked what I meant. I just told him that I always felt like I didn’t belong to them. I mean, they’re both blond, way bigger and fatter than me. No facial features matched.”

“Nice thinking.” I petted her hair.

“He said sorry for not telling me, but that he had no clue what I meant about him supposed to be telling me anything.” Georgia held out her hand and a flame flickered above her open palm. “But it’s not like I could show him this and ask, right?”

“True.”

“I wasn’t sure if I should tell him about the safe and the disc, though. So I kept my mouth shut.”

“I’m glad you didn’t say anything,” Scott said. “At least until we have time to talk about it. If you just told him, well, I’m not sure why, but I think it’s good you didn’t.”

“But I want to, Scott. Let’s show him the part about my real mom telling me she was going to send me this disc.” She doused her flame. “Then maybe he’ll get honest. We don’t have to show the part about our powers and stuff.”

I glanced at Scott. “She has a point. If he’s lying, we need to call him on it.”

“He didn’t even know his wife was going to leave. I bet Georgia’s mom knows everything—or something that made her run. Her dad’s probably clueless.” Scott ran his fingers through his hair and tugged. “The timing—everything—just feels off.”

I didn’t know what to think. We’d ended The Center by burning it to the ground, along with everyone and everything inside of it. Well, except stupid Andrey. He got away. And now, right before a family dinner where we thought her mom was going to tell her something important she up and leaves?

“You think your dad could be connected to The Center?” I asked.

“No.” Georgia shook her head.

“But if he knows anything about the experiments, he might be too scared to say anything,” Scott said. “Or he could be in on
everything
.”

“He would have snatched Georgia right away.”

“Not if he doesn’t know I have powers. I’ve hidden them from him, he has no clue I can do this crap.”

“God. This sucks.” I stomped out of the kitchen. The temperature dropped several degrees as I entered the dark living room. Got even colder by the time I reached my room. I slammed the door shut and flopped onto my bed on my stomach.

Everything sucked right now. Zach. Georgia’s mom. Nate. College. I thought since Georgia, Jasmine, and I destroyed The Center things would turn around for the Hillman family. Georgia and I were wicked strong, and getting more so each time we practiced. We had this cool apartment we were going to move into. College was starting soon.

Now everything was all messed up.

The hinges to my door creaked, and I glanced back. Georgia stole through the doorway. She clicked it closed behind her and moved toward me.

“Scoot over.”

I rolled to my side, back to her, and the bed indented behind me. Her warm arm wove beneath my cold one and around my waist. Felt like a warm, electric blanket.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

My head tilted back she settled so close to me. “This just all sucks. We should have confronted your folks right away. Or at least your mom.”

“How were we supposed to know she was going to bolt?” She sucked in a deep breath. “You think The Center had anything to do with this?”

“Hell if I know.”

“If you had to guess?”

“Yes.”

“But we destroyed it.”

“Mobile, right? And we didn’t kill Andrey.”

“So it’s not over.”

“I’m sorry to tell you this, but it’s never going to be over, sis.”

“Well aren’t you a bundle of joy.”

“Been at it longer than you. I was stupid to think I could just burn down a building with you, get a boyfriend, go to college, and live out a normal life.” Tears stung. “I should know better than that. If it was The Center, at least they didn’t kill your parents.”

Georgia flinched.

“Sorry. I know they aren’t your
real
parents, G, but still, they raised you. I’d hate it if they died because of this, because of me coming to town.”

“That’s what makes me think it’s all for real, though. You know? Because if it was The Center, why didn’t they kill them? Andrey didn’t come across to you as one who would spare a life, did he?”

“No.”

“So maybe it wasn’t him. Maybe my mom really did just freak and want to go find another life without me and my dad.”

“Doubtful, but you can go with that if you want.”

“Okay, sis. What happened with Zach?”

I peeled her hand from around my waist and rolled out of the bed. I stumbled to the closet and yanked open the door. I snatched my PJs and robe from the hook perched inside, then made for the door.

“Hey. Wait a minute. You can’t just not say anything like that.”

“Nothing happened.” I reached for the doorknob, but in the next second Georgia was by my side, hand over mine. I leaned my forehead against the closed door and thunked it hard.

What I really wanted to do was put my fist through it. Scott’s phone call interrupted Zach when he was about to tell me something, and that
something
didn’t feel like anything I’d want to hear.