Lost Energy (2 page)

The fuzz stayed on my brain for
another few moments before it cleared.

What the…?

Rubbing my forehead, I opened the
door to find my father in his wicker chair, watching his Indian wall. He gave a
slight wave before tucking his hand back inside a thin blanket.

I waved back on my way to the
fridge, not even pretending to show any affection. Still hated him, but like
any other unwanted pet, I had to feed and water him or guilt would keep me
awake at night. From spending six days in Arcus, Dad broke. His pieces would
never glue together again. Not many others could return whole from that place.
I left a part of me there, too.

After I put his grilled cheese in a
frying pan and crammed clothes in the washer, I started the coffee pot. Still,
not a word floated between us. I stood by the counter, watching the sandwich
cook, my mind drifting to what I used to call Zander heroin. If he found a way
to come to Earth, I'd leave it up to him to gather the nerve to confront me. I wouldn't
search for him.

Unfortunately, Zander wasn't the
only one who could force my common sense to take a vacation. A dimension
existed full of Guides whose energy had a magnetic connection with mine. From
what Wilma let me know about my prior research, a few didn't like me very much.
A list hiding under my bed had a bunch more Exemplians on it who might not find
my company welcome, either. The list. A souvenir, Wilma called it, a reminder
of those who had to escape Exemplian rule.

I flipped the sandwich, pressing
all my tension into the spatula smashing the bread.

Nothing like having an entire world
pissed at you.

COMPANY

B
elva sat on the porch steps,
glaring at me as I walked up the sidewalk. Five months' experience being her
best friend told me she hated waiting and my ears would more than likely be in
for a good ten minutes of crap.

I climbed the steps, and her pretty
face went from glaring straight to scowling while she tapped her red-lacquered fingernails
on her phone screen. "Just once, I'd like you to be on time. Nice lip, by
the way."

I touched my tongue to the little
gift Farren gave me this morning and smiled. He usually left my face without
evidence, but not today. Saying nothing, I pulled my cell from its armband and scrolled
to his picture. When I handed it over, her face brightened as her hazel eyes
shined on the sweaty, muscular Protector looking right at the camera.

"I swear he's the hottest guy
on the planet." She started clicking buttons. "I'm sending this to my
phone."

"Go ahead, but if you keep
nagging me, that's the last sweaty picture you're gonna get."

Belva, my one-time nemesis,
followed me to the door. We hated each other in high school, until Belva…well…had
an accident. Ever since, we were inseparable.

"Fine, fine, but hurry up. I
don't want to be late for work." Belva had managed to slip perfectly into
Zander's spot. Bonus, Jake actually liked her, too.

I snorted. "You mean you don't
want to miss a second with Ginger."

"You'll understand when you
find
the
guy, Lena."

A small sting zapped my heart.
Belva had no idea Tarek existed, had no idea anything outside Earth existed,
really. Our discovery of dimensions and the juicy details remained between Mom,
Jake, and the two Protectors hovering around me all the time.

Tarek was my secret. My beautiful,
painful secret.

"Whatever you say, pal. Try
not to salivate when he flexes his muscles."

She laughed, her face turning a
sweet shade of pink, and went to sit on the couch to stare at Farren's picture
while I got ready.

If Ginger realized how lucky he was
to have someone as great as Belva interested in his annoying ass, we'd all be
happy.

∞
∞ ∞

Belva and I pushed through the
front doors to a full house. All five little tables had teenagers crowded
around them or couples laughing while a bunch of people talked by the
concession counter. Everyone ate the food Mom put on the menu and what Farren
currently cooked in the kitchen. Belva gave me a quick hug before heading
straight to her man, willing to get the new black strapless stained with
grease. She swung the door open, and Farren glanced up, his eyes going wide
when he spotted my friend. The stove wasn't the only hot thing making him turn
red.

I shrugged and blew Mom a kiss
before going to the front to help Jake. She grinned, making a show of catching
it as she took orders from the counter. By the time I reached Jake, he was
knee-deep in loud teenagers and frustrated parents. He smiled, though, even
with the nice swell on his cheek.

"Ginger get in a good hit?"

He handed off some tickets, his
crooked nose slanting to the right when his grin grew wider. "Can't
complain. Got a couple good hits in this time, too." He glanced up, raising
a brow. "Thanks for the distraction."

I winked. "No problem."

The crowd didn't thin out until the
last minute, with people still buying tickets as the previews started. A couple
months ago, Jake broke down and fixed up the back theater–a little gentle
coaxing from the pretty Jacie Tulman helped–and so it stayed open all the time
now. The added room paid off. Jake even thought about installing a 3-D screen
with the extra income. When he told us, Farren smirked, saying he wouldn't be
impressed until technology left the Stone Age.

"Why don't you go help Mom
finish up? I'll handle the register."

"I like the way you're
thinking." My boss' face brightened, and like a kid on Christmas, he nodded
with a sloppy grin.

When Jake made it to the concession
stand, Mom lifted a hand to his bruise, concern clouding her bright green eyes.
He pulled her close and kissed her lips. The guy was in heaven.

Man, all the romance circulating
through my little bubble… Wilma and I spent a lot of time rolling our eyes. At
least I could admit I was jealous. Wilma got annoyed.

Once the last few people in line bought
tickets, I locked up the computer screen and turned toward the kitchen.

With more punch than at the trailer
park, the dull haze slammed into my psyche. The magnetism caused my feet to head
back to the front door, a pull way stronger than Zander heroin. When I opened
it, the fuzz faded, and then disappeared. I shut the door with more force than
necessary, blood draining from my face and pooling at my toes, and made a beeline
for the kitchen. No way did I imagine that.

The swinging door banged open with
a thud against the kitchen wall, making Belva jump and whip her head in my
direction.

The grin Belva always put on Farren's
face vanished when he looked up from his grill. "Shit."

I nodded, giving him the signal his
assumption was correct, and painted on a smile. "Hey, Belva. Could you see
if Mom needs some help?"

She hopped off the counter. "Everything
okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, fine." I took
a deep breath, trying to control the shaking in my knees. "Just need to
talk to Farren for a second."

Belva didn't ask any more
questions. Over the past five months, she'd gotten used to our secretive
behavior. Since she realized that first month nothing romantic went on between
her future man and me, she didn't take our little powwows to heart.

"Sure, okay." She squeezed
my shoulder on the way out.

As soon as the door shut behind
her, Farren grabbed my shoulders. "Tell me."

"I felt someone."

He knew exactly what I meant,
seeing as he had the same dull fuzz enter his brain every time a Protector came
within a thirty-foot radius.

"You still feel them?"
Farren moved me to open the kitchen door, scanning the lobby. "I don't
feel anything."

I hustled passed him, stomping to
the front door, the lobby a lot quieter now that all the movies started. "No,
but it was strong here and faded when I opened the door to look outside."

Almost growling, he grabbed my hand
and led me to the first showing room. I gave Mom and Belva an all-good smile,
but the way Farren's face transformed to make him look like the warrior he was,
caused them both to pale. Jake stood behind Mom, his hands on her shoulders and
face tense. He knew from experience not to ask too many questions until the
danger passed. Farren would have ignored him in his Protector mode, anyway.

When the doors to the room opened,
letting in a flash of light, people grumbled. Farren kept a tight hold on my
hand while we made a path around the entire room, reaching the opposite exit
door.

"Anything?" His dark
eyes, hard and intense, searched mine.

"No." I dragged him to
the next room.

We repeated our intrusion in the
second and third room, both with the same results. We walked to the counter,
and Mom left Jake's arms to hug me. I patted her shoulders, tension squeezing
my stomach. Guides didn't make me nervous–their Protectors were another story.

I pulled away. "Can you and
Belva maybe go in the kitchen, clean up Farren's mess?"

Mom nodded, understanding on her
face. "Sure, baby." She turned to Belva, who had worry scrunching her
delicate brow. "Come on, sweetie. I'll wash, you dry."

Belva took Mom's hand after she glanced
at Farren.

He managed to drop the warrior face
to smile at her. "I'll see you in a few."

"I'll be waiting." She
raised a brow. "But…it'd be nice if all of you would trust me a little
more." Belva stormed into the kitchen, Mom following.

As soon as the kitchen door swung
shut, Jake turned to us. "Is it happening again?"

Damn, Belva had no clue what she
asked for. Sometimes oblivion was better than the truth. That said, I put my
hands on Jake's chest, and not wanting him to worry, prepared to lie.

Farren wasn't so worried about Jake's
worry. "Lena felt someone."

"Shit." Jake pulled me
into a bear hug.

"My sentiments exactly."
Farren scrubbed a hand through his grown-out buzz cut.

"Listen, guys, let's not get
crazy, okay?" I tapped Jake's back, a let-me-go signal he ignored. "Could
be a curious new energy. Our story had to have spread like fire. Maybe they
wanted to get an up-close look."

Farren shook his head. "Want
to explain how a new Guide energy got here? Only one way to cross the lines."

"Yeah, well maybe the
Protector's new too." With a little more force, I pushed away from Jake's
vice-like hold. "It makes sense."

Jake looked to Farren, hope
lighting his brown eyes. "That possible?"

"I wouldn't count out anything
right now, but to be on the safe side, I'm going to bunk with Lena and Jacie
until Wilma gets back."

Jeez, even he knew she left!
But I did like the idea of Farren
couching it at my place.

"Yeah, good. That's good."
Jake headed to the kitchen. "You two stay out here with Belva for the
second showing. Me and Jacie'll take the kitchen." Before he opened the
door, he gave Farren one last pleading glance. "Keep her safe."

∞
∞ ∞

By closing time, the whole episode
barely won a thought from me, though Jake and Farren were on edge. Jake took
Mom home, keeping an arm wrapped protectively around her waist on the way out
the door. Farren and I dropped Belva off before heading back to the house.
Farren's attention darted toward every movement to and from the car. He even
walked Belva to her front door, much to her delight.

But once we pulled into the
driveway I shared with Jake, I raced up the steps without waiting for Farren's
little recon act. He didn't holler for me to stop–he knew why I ran.

With an urgency that had me
fumbling with my shorts' zipper, I stripped down, changed into my halter
nightgown, used the bathroom, and dove under the cool sheets. Closing my eyes,
I struggled to relax as I sunk into the bed. The fight was useless–the
excitement I felt every night at this exact moment never abated.

Like clockwork, I heard him.

So, I'm saddled with Wilma for a
while
.

I smiled, Tarek's rich voice
swelling my heart, tingling my spine. Didn't matter what he said; he could've
been talking about the hibernation practices of snails.

She's not all bad, bitching about
the animals, mostly.

A gap wedged into the conversation
after that–something he had a habit of doing. How I missed those annoying
pauses.

She said you're doing better
against Farren. Remember what I told you about him. Don't forget the bum right
knee. Play a little dirty, and you'll get him on the ground in no time.

I snuggled deeper under the covers,
hugging the same pillow I held every night–the one that still wore his shirt–thinking
about apples and lilacs.

Wilma said you're happy.
He chuckled.
Complain too much,
but happy.
I could almost feel his sigh against my ear as it echoed in my
brain.
I miss you.

"Miss you, too." That
part of the one-sided conversation I always said aloud, willing him to hear it,
know it.

As usual, he changed the subject to
something lighter. My giant always made me smile…even when he was worlds away.
I
guess Zander's still driving Teenesee crazy. He won't stop asking questions.
Wilma avoids him when she goes. She says he complains more than you.

The tears started to well, and no
matter how hard I tried to stop them, they'd come. They came every night.