CASSIE
The chance of me getting caught went up. Dad’s car was in the driveway. I’d told Jason that Dad wouldn’t hurt me, but I don’t know if I truly believed that any more after the way he’d acted lately.
I let myself in the house as quietly as possible. I glanced around the living room, searching for Jason’s shirt, and spotted the evidence bag on the table near the sofa. Peeking upstairs, I held my breath, checking to hear if Mom or Dad were on the way down. When all remained silent, I snatched up the bag, and carefully peeled back the seal. I switched the shirts out and a noise creaked on one of the stairs like someone was moving stealthily toward me. My stomach dropped to my toes, and I quickly resealed the bag and put it back where I found it.
Tucking the original shirt into the waistband of my jeans, I hurried over, and plopped down on the sofa. I switched on the TV, and seconds later Dad walked into the room.
“Where have you been?” He flashed me a cold smile.
I could barely speak my heart beat so fast. To keep from setting him off, I kept my voice calm. “After school, I hung out with Syd.” I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was close to seven. Pizza night. I casually picked up the phone, hoping my hand wouldn’t shake and reveal my nerves. I pretended everything was normal. “Pepperoni, again?”
He snatched the phone and tossed it aside. “I told you to sign out and meet me.”
His voice rose with each word and I flinched. He sat beside me and I tried not to stiffen and scoot away from him, but couldn’t help it.
“What did you and Syd talk about?”
Dry mouthed, I shook my head. “I don’t know. Girl stuff.”
After a second, he smiled, and kissed the top of my forehead. “Of course.” I relaxed, thinking that was the end of it, until he said, “How do you think Jason managed to save Micah?”
I quickly shrugged. “Adrenaline, I guess.”
“Adrenaline, huh? That would explain it.” His tone was loaded with sarcasm. After taking the remote from my hand, he clicked the TV off. Leaning forward, he put the remote down, folded his hands, and then turned to me. “You’re sure you didn’t see anything out of the ordinary?”
I sucked in a breath trying to come up with an answer that would make him leave me alone.
“Oh my God, you’re grilling your own daughter again?” Mom shrieked as she entered the room. “You think she’s an alien now?”
Dad sprang up and turned around, holding his hands out defensively. “I don’t think she’s an alien. I was—”
“Investigating the rescue. Again and again and again, Sam. That’s what you were doing. Instead of being a father, you’re still in investigator mode. You’re always in investigator mode.”
Mom teared up and crossed her arms over her chest.
Seeing her like that made my world spin. Sadness enveloped me. Mom had always been so strong, so full of life, but lately, I’d seen the stoop in her shoulders and I knew it was because of my father. Time and again I’d heard Dad promise to leave work behind when he came home and be more emotionally present.
Except for the faint ticking of the grandfather clock, silence as thick as peanut butter engulfed the room.
She rubbed her forehead, then firmed her lower lip into a thin line. The pain on her face was hard to see. Taking a breath, she clasped her shaking hands together. “I can’t do this anymore.” She blinked rapidly and sniffed.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dad demanded as his eyes narrowed into slits.
“I think you should leave. Stay at a hotel for now.”
He put his hands on his hips and glared at Mom. “Denise, you’re overreacting and being ridiculous.”
Great job, Dad. Insult her. I hunched my shoulders, drawing in on myself, hating the yelling, hating the tension and fear swirling around me.
“Don’t you dare speak condescendingly to me.” Mom thrust her index finger toward the door. “I want you out.”
“You want…fine by me. If you can’t understand how important my work is, maybe I do need to leave.”
“That’s because you act like it’s more important than your family.”
“Because it is,” he yelled, and stormed up the stairs.
Mom called him a name, a word she didn’t normally use, and followed after him, regaling him with a list of how he’d failed us over the years. “How can your work be more important than your own daughter?”
I held my breath waiting for his answer. Waiting for him to say out loud that I was more important. He didn’t. Instead, he said, “Because my work protects the world.”
The emotional punch scored a direct hit to my heart and I crumpled inwardly.
“She needs you.” Mom’s voice quivered. “I need you.”
“Well, I don’t need this. Or either of you holding me back.”
“We need you, Sam.”
He remained silent.
I burst into tears. Rocking back and forth, I hugged my arms around myself. I expected a fallout between the two of them after all these months of them not getting along, but hadn’t expected Dad to dismiss Mom or me so easily. The rejection burned all the way to my soul.
Getting up from the sofa, I went to the door, and walked outside. I meant to get a breath of air and calm down. I had to get away from the house where the good and bad memories were bombarding me. I never meant to start walking away, but I did. All the hurts I’d tried to keep locked away for months hit, nearly smothering me with their weight.
Crying so hard I could barely see how to put one foot in front of the other, I walked toward the center of town, slowly bypassing the darkened post office. Raucous laughter spilled from Mary’s bar, and someone whistled at me. I quickened my steps, automatically heading toward Sydney’s place. She would be out on a date, but I could sit on the porch and wait for her. Anything was better than being home right now. I didn’t want to see them fight. Didn’t want to hang around while Dad packed his bags and left.
A few blocks later, my stomach rebelled. I doubled over, vomiting on the grass beside the sidewalk. Head swimming with dizziness, I sank to my knees.
Headlights swept over me, and brakes squealed as the vehicle stopped. Even though Wayside was a safe enough town, the occasional weird tourist sometimes stopped through on the way to Las Vegas. I pushed to my feet, determined not to end up as a cautionary tale on the news. Before I’d taken more than a couple of steps, a shadowy figure stopped in front of me. I looked up into the concerned gaze of Eli. He was so opposite Jason. Where Jason was built, Eli was lanky. Where Jason captured attention and owned a room, Eli blended into the shadows. His dark hair was tousled and there was what looked like a grass stain on the knees of his jeans.
When he saw my face, his serious expression changed into one of surprise. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“Yes. I’m hurt,” I blurted out.
He took his cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number. “It’s Cassie. She’s hurt. Main and—” He looked around. “Highland. Yeah. Okay.”
After hanging up, he took me by the arm, and led me to the truck, then helped me in. He jumped behind the wheel and hit the gas. As he drove toward the Sweet Scoop ice cream shop, he said, “I was on my way to pick up milkshakes. Jason will meet us there. He’ll fix you.”
I couldn’t get the words out that what was wrong with me didn’t have a cure. I cried harder. Deep, soul-wrenching sobs that couldn’t be consoled as I wept for what had happened to me on the camping trip, the wounded look on Mom’s face during the fight and for my dad, who’d lost his way.
Eli parked the truck in the shadows on the side of the ice cream shop away from prying eyes. “I’m gonna pick up the milkshakes. Be right back.” He got out, no doubt relieved to be away from me.
Several minutes later, Jason knocked on the passenger window. After I swung open the door, he ran gentle hands over my arms and legs. “Where are you hurt?”
My skin tingled where he’d touched me. “Inside.” It felt cheesy to say it, but the word came out anyway. I pressed a hand over my heart. I was sure I looked a mess, and everything was wrong and falling apart and I was a mess and falling for Jason—I half turned in the seat and launched myself at him, hating my weakness, but needing someone to hold on to. No, not someone. Jason.
His arms closed around me and he held a hand against the back of my hair. “Shh, shh. It’s going to be okay. Whatever is wrong, I’ll fix it.”
“You can’t.” I cried into the side of his neck.
“Tell me what’s going on.”
In broken starts and stops, I started talking. “My parents have been fighting, and now I think they’re splitting up and it’s everything.”
“Does it have anything to do with your panic attacks?”
I couldn’t tell him about those so I said nothing. Just continued to let the tears fall.
He lifted my chin so that our eyes met, then wiped the tears away with his thumbs. “I wish I had the power to mend broken hearts, but I don’t.”
I looked into his eyes. Everything about him fascinated me. When I was in school, I found myself lingering in the hallway, hoping to see him, even from a distance. Right now, he wasn’t distant. He was close. So close that if I shifted, our lips would connect.
Given the way his eyes darkened, maybe he thought about that, too.
Eli came back with milkshakes, interrupting the moment, and handed me one. “Here. I don’t really know how to handle girl drama, but this might help.”
I shook my head and gave it back. “No, thanks. I couldn’t eat anything if I tried.” The last thing I wanted to do was add food to my queasy stomach. Now I felt weak and like an idiot for crying on Jason’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”
“You haven’t done anything to apologize for.” He rubbed the side of my arm.
A gesture I’m sure he meant to be comforting, but it made my skin sizzle. I was still hyper-aware of how close we were.
“Thank you. You make me feel better. Safer,” I said.
Jason’s mouth curved into a slow smile. “I’m glad.”
Eli cleared his throat, reminding me that Jason and I weren’t alone. “I’ll take these back to the house.”
“Good idea,” Jason said and held out his hand to me. “Come here.”
I hesitated. I’d already been gone from home a while. I should call. My mother would worry after the way I’d left the house so soon after their fight. Careful Cassie, the girl I’d become after the attack, always let her parents know where she was going, and who she was with. Because I’d run out of the house without letting them know, they would both…or at least Mom would be worried. Careful Cassie would ask to borrow a cell phone, since I didn’t have mine with me. Tired of always being so careful and afraid, I put my hand in Jason’s and followed him to a dark blue sedan.
We got in and he asked, “Do you want to go home?”
He was giving me an out in case I’d changed my mind. “No.” I wasn’t ready for that. I didn’t want to deal with any more family drama right now. “Can we go somewhere else?”
“Sure. I know a place.”
Drained, I nodded and leaned my head back against the seat. “Thank you.” He flashed a grin at me, making his face even more handsome, and I had to make myself look away from his lips. “Oh, I almost forgot I had this.” I leaned up, and pulled the bag containing his shirt from the waistband of my jeans. “I switched them out.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
We couldn’t stop looking at each other and the space inside the car grew thick with tension, as if the air was holding its breath around us.
Finally, Jason exhaled heavily, broke eye contact, and turned the radio on. In seconds, a soft sweet song filled the car.
For the first time since my attack, I felt truly safe.
JASON
It wasn’t smart being with Cassie right now. I hated the thought of her heart being broken. Hated her feeling hurt. I wanted to comfort her. Kiss her. Cross lines with her. It was getting harder to say no to myself. I tried not to think about her sitting right beside me as I turned right onto a two-lane road off the main highway, then drove for a couple of miles until it became a dirt road. The car bumped along for several blocks, ending at a wooden bridge we’d have to cross on foot.
I got out and popped the trunk and grabbed a heavy duty flashlight from Mom’s just-in-case kit. Switching it on, I waited for Cassie to join me.
“What’s here?” she asked in a subdued tone.
“You’ll see,” I promised.
“Okay, but don’t let a bear eat me.”
I laughed. “Don’t worry. Even if we encounter a bear, I’m the most powerful beast in the forest.”
“Beast?” She wrinkled her brow. “That’s not how I would describe you.”
“How would you describe me?” I knew better, knew I was playing with fire flirting with Cassie, but I couldn’t help myself.
“Duh.” She pushed on my arm, a small smile playing about her lips. “Little green man.”
Her touch made my arm tingle. “Funny.” After seeing her crying, I was glad I could do something to distract her from what was bothering her. I grabbed her hand and held it. A mistake I didn’t care that I was making. I was walking close to the edge, not caring about falling. Her skin was soft against mine, her fingers clinging to me as if she never wanted to let go. The wind gave the night a slight chill and she shivered, her hand shaking in mine.
“Hang on.” I paused long enough to take off the hoodie I was wearing and draped it around her shoulders.
She slid her arms into it. “Thank you.”
What would she do or say if I leaned down and put my lips on hers? If I asked her to be with me? The thought rocked me and I took her hand again, acting like the thought never crossed my mind. We walked through a forested area for several minutes and as we came out of it, I stepped out onto the flat gray rocks at the base of a mountain. Off to the left, tall trees circled a small clearing.
“Watch yourself.” I shined the light at our feet, then moved my hand her elbow to guide us across the slick rocks. “It’s past the clearing.”
We hiked across the wide open space where wildflowers and tall grass grew to the other side of the gray rocks. The elevation wasn’t bad, but it was a bit of a climb, and by the time we reached the spot, she was winded. The sound of rushing water greeted us before we saw it.
“It’s beautiful,” Cassie exclaimed when the waterfall came into view beneath the light of the moon. “I’ve lived in Wayside all my life, and didn’t even know this was here. How’d you find it?”
I navigated the rocks closer to the edge of the waterfall. “I found it by accident hiking alone one day.”
“It’s peaceful.” She closed her eyes, and lifted her face toward the moonlight. Every time I’d seen her at school, I’d always thought Cassie was pretty, but now, after getting to know her, I realized I was mistaken. Cassie had the kind of beauty that was inside as well as out. She was sweet and brave, though she probably didn’t think so because of her panic attacks. Looking at her made my body stir with need.
“If only I could stay here,” she said.
Her skin was ethereal in the pale light and I wanted to touch it. I wanted to hold her. I wanted to kiss her until her heart stopped aching. The need was so overwhelming that it shocked me. I needed to get away from her before I lost my head. I knew if I touched her, she wouldn’t push me away. I’d seen the way she looked at me lately. I had to be strong for both of us. “We can’t stay too long.”
As if she caught the uncertainty in my tone, she said, “Okay.”
Knowing it was foolish to offer and I was playing with fire, I said, “I’ll bring you back another time if you’d like.”
“I would like that.” She studied the side of the rocks. “Aren’t we on the other side of the Void? We could see if we could sneak closer.”
“It’s not safe at night.” The Void was a place of nightmares, and danger during the day. I didn’t want her to be anywhere close to it when we couldn’t see well.
“You told me it was dangerous before, but I don’t understand why it isn’t safe. It’s not like we’re inside it.”
“It’s too easy to slip and fall out here. Whatever and whoever goes into it gets trapped down there. If we fall, we’d never get out.” She’d never get out. I’d be able to leave but the Void would never let go of her, and I didn’t want to take that chance.
Her eyes widened. “Are there still some of your people down here?” She shook her head immediately. “Never mind. The war was ten years ago. No one could be alive after all this time, right?”
“I guess.”
“I see something.” Cassie started moving forward before I could stop her. Skirting the edges of the rocks lining the water pooling at the base of the waterfall, she moved north at a quick pace.
Once I caught up with her, she tilted a rusting sign up toward the flashlight’s beam and read aloud, “Access denied by the authority of the FBI Friendly Alien Division.”
“FAD,” I muttered. My family had experienced a run in with that department years ago when we’d lived in Cane Creek outside of Washington, D.C. I ground my teeth. The agents there had asked too many questions about us. Had slapped me around. I remembered afterward how we’d hastily packed in the middle of the night and slipped out of town.
“I’ve met a few agents from FAD when they came down for a conference last year. One guy in the department, Rick Simon, he’s okay, but the rest of them gave me the creeps.” Cassie shuddered. “They’re cruel.”
“We should go.”
“I don’t want to.” She flashed me a mutinous glance.
“Running never solves anything.”
Her sigh hung on the air as she faced me. “Sometimes, I want to run away and never look back. Does that surprise you about me?”
“Not really. Humans are rarely what you see on the outside.”
Footsteps sounded behind us and I rushed to Cassie’s side. Pressing a finger against her lips in warning, I drew her into a crouch beside me. I’d learned a long time ago humans were far more dangerous than a bear.
A radio crackled. “See anything, Arthur?”
“Nah. All clear.”
“You’re wrong. Harris reported something not human close by. Could be an alien. I can feel it in my gut.”
Fear covered her face. “That’s my dad’s voice.” Cassie sucked in a breath, and then clamped a hand over her mouth, looking wide-eyed at me over her fingers.
Whoever Arthur was made a scoffing sound. “Your gut’s been wrong for years. We’ve been hunting for those creatures since the war ended. I’m telling you there aren’t any left.”
“Keep looking.” Her father’s voice gave the order in a chilly tone.
Arthur let go of the mic and muttered, “You’ve got aliens on the brain.”
We remained where we were until Arthur was out of earshot. I took Cassie’s hand and pulled her to her feet. “Take these.” I put the keys to my mom’s car in her hands. “I’ll catch up.”
“Wait a second.” She clutched my hand. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m not going to hurt anyone, but I have to get closer and find out what’s going on.”
She tightened her grip. “It’s dark. You could get hurt. There’s no good reason to check.”
“Yes, there is.” I didn’t want to scare her, but I’d sensed something in the air. There still might be a Ragespawn in the area. I tried to leave.
“No.” She tugged on my arm. “We should go before you get caught by the agents or a Ragespawn.” Her eyes begged me to agree.
“I can’t,” I said, trying to reassure her. “I have to learn what the enemy knows. It could be the difference between living or dying.” I gripped her by the shoulders and turned her in the direction of the road. “Now go, get in the car, lock the doors, crouch down low, and don’t move until I get back to you.” The memory of her getting shot was still too fresh in my mind. Seeing her pale and covered in blood had unnerved me and I didn’t want to have to worry about trying to keep her safe in case this situation turned ugly. As soon as Cassie was out of sight, I crept closer to the man wandering in the woods.