“Sorry, Dad, but I don’t have time for breakfast. I forgot I wanted to get to school early and study for my Chem test.”
He frowned. “You’ve barely even picked at your food lately. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. At least take a piece of bacon with you. It’s brain food.”
She didn’t want to argue, so she claimed the piece he held out for her. “Thanks.”
“Want a ride?”
“Nah.” Too casual? “Oxygen to the brain, and all that.”
“Good luck, honey.”
“Thanks. Love you.” With that, she was out the door and running for the gate, Riley keeping pace at her side.
Funny thing. On the way there, she could have sworn she spotted Tucker, running with them, but Riley didn’t seem to notice him, and Riley noticed everything, so she convinced herself she was seeing things.
Besides, even if Tucker was here, even if he was following her, she didn’t have time to stop and question him. Aden needed her. She just prayed she could help him—rather than hurt him further.
SEVENTEEN
TWO VOICES CALLED TO ADEN. Both female. Both alarmed.
“Try something else.”
“Like what? I’ve tried everything! Screaming at him, shaking him, slapping him.”
“He’s inside that body. Get. Him. Out!”
“What do you want me to do? Reach inside his chest?”
“Yes!”
“You are such a pain! How does Aden stand you? But fine, I’ll do it. I’ll try.”
One second Aden was inside Shannon’s body, drifting through his friend’s mind and memories, reliving a past as painful and lonely as his own, and the next he was standing beside Mary Ann, his hand resting in hers.
She was panting, sheened with perspiration, gaze glazed with shock and fatigue. “Did you see that?” she gasped out. “Did you? I can’t believe I just did that. Tell me you saw that!”
“What happened?” he croaked. God, he ached. Every inch of him ached as if he’d been in a hit-and-run—hit with a baseball bat and run over by a truck.
Victoria moved to his other side, her mouth hanging open with an equal measure of shock. “You’re okay. You’re going to be okay now.”
Was she trying to convince him? Or herself? “What happened?” he asked again.
“She—she reached inside. Jerked you out. You were like a ghost at first, not truly solid, then you were here. I’ve—I’ve never seen anything like that.”
Any collateral damage? Aden took stock. His knee hurt the most, and he was shaking, but he wasn’t puking and wasn’t paralyzed. The poison had passed through him. Thank God. He almost collapsed in relief.
Elijah, Caleb and Julian were no longer moaning, babbling and incoherent. They were quiet. There, Aden could tell, but quiet, as if they were exhausted from their ordeal and needed rest.
Despite Mary Ann’s nearness, Mr. Thomas was also present. A mere outline of himself, but Aden could still see him. He sat at the desk, arms folded over his middle, expression mulish. He couldn’t hide the interest in his eyes, though. He was watching and cataloging every detail.
Odd. Riley wasn’t here. Mary Ann should have muted all of Aden’s abilities completely. Why hadn’t she?
“Uh, A-Aden.” Shannon slowly sat up and looked around the bedroom. He scrubbed his face with trembling fingers. “W-what just happened? I was standing in f-front of you. Wasn’t I? How’d I g-get on the bed?”
He didn’t know that Aden had been inside his mind, then. Thank God for that, too. “You passed out.” It was the only thing his fogged brain could come up with so spur of the moment.
“P-passed out? Why?” Shannon looked at the clock and shook his head, rubbed his eyes. “It’s n-nine-fifteen. How is it nine-fifteen? I tried to wake you up at six-thirty. I should be at school. C-crap! I’m late. D-Dan’s gonna freak. He—”
“He thinks you’re sick.” Aden remembered Dan’s visit, and what he’d said. “And you were. For a little while.”
Shannon calmed, focused on the girls and frowned. “What are you guys d-doing here? And when did you get here? God, this is w-weird. I’ve never passed out before. Never lost t-time like that.”
“Shannon,” Victoria said, her voice suddenly thick, layered…powerful.
The voice. Aden reached out and grabbed her wrist. When she focused on him, he shook his head. “Don’t do it.” Shannon had felt defenseless and out of control all his life, and Aden wouldn’t add to that—whether his friend realized what was going on or not.
Though she was clearly confused, Victoria nodded.
“Shannon, do you feel up to going to school?” Aden asked.
“Yeah. I—I feel fine. Except for that loss of time.”
“You can still make it, if you want.”
One dark brow rose. “You going?”
Aden shook his head. “Yeah, but not just yet.” At this rate, he wasn’t going to get any kind of education anytime soon. “I’m still not feeling one hundred percent.”
“O-okay. I dig.” His friend’s head tilted to the side. “But maybe o-one day, you’ll trust me with your s-secrets. See you later,” he added before Aden could reply. Motions slow, Shannon stood, bent down and grabbed his backpack, then headed out of the room, out of the bunkhouse, the door beating shut behind him.
So. Shannon suspected something was going on.
Worry about that later. Aden glanced down at himself. He wore boxers and sweat, and that was it. His knee was caked with dried blood, the skin still shredded. His skin was pale with a grayish tint. Nice. “Can you guys stay while I shower?”
“Of course,” Victoria said.
“Yeah,” Mary Ann agreed. She was peering at her hands, turning them in the light. “But will you tell us a little about what happened first? Just a small detail to tide us over before we grill you.”
“I…time-traveled through Shannon’s past.” Aden gathered some clothes—a plain gray T-shirt and jeans.
“That was Eve’s ability,” Victoria said, “not yours.”
“I know. Maybe, I don’t know, maybe when she left, her ability somehow stayed with me. Or maybe she gave it to me, even. A final gift in case I ever needed to right a wrong.”
“Or maybe you time-traveled so much, your body simply learned how to do it without her,” Mary Ann said. “You’ve heard about muscle memory, right? When a movement is repeated over and over again, a long-term muscle memory is created for that specific task and soon a person can perform that task without any conscious effort.”
That made sense—as much as anything in his life did these days. “You, Mary Ann, are a genius.”
She grinned. “I know.”
He rushed to the bathroom, where he hurriedly washed and dressed. By the time he returned to his room, Riley was there, sitting on the edge of the bed, stiff, obviously uncomfortable. Mary Ann stood as far away from him as possible, leaning against the closet door and looking anywhere but him. Clearly, whatever had plagued them yesterday had yet to be resolved.
Only thing they could be fighting about was that defense lesson. Was Riley still throwing a tantrum? Baby.
Victoria sat at the desk, composed again. Thomas had moved to the window, no longer an outline but as clear and sparkly as always.
“Oh, good. You’re back. I found this.” Victoria handed him a sheet of paper. “It’s for you, from Dan. Don’t worry. He had no idea we were here. I made sure of it.”
He peered down and read.
Aden,
You have another session with Dr. Hennessy this evening. Sorry for the late notice. He only called me this morning. I thought you were sick, so I told him no. Then I ran into Shannon, who was better and on his way to class. He reminded me you were better, too, and already there, so I called the doctor back. Glad you’re feeling better. I’ll expect you to do your chores after school. On another note, I’ve hired a new tutor, and she’s coming to dinner tonight to meet you boys. It’ll be after your therapy session, so no worries. Even though she won’t be teaching you, I’d like you to be there to help welcome her.