Mindspeak (23 page)

“Asking questions?” My eyes darted
back and forth, searching his. Then, the realization hit me. “The Program.”

“The Program is designed to reveal
the research our fathers, Sandra and others have been involved in. Information
is being filtered to me slowly. Too slowly. When your father was killed… the
thought that you were in danger… possibly because of what we are?” He sucked in
a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “That’s what haunts me now.”

“You could have told me some of
this sooner.”

“Aren’t my reasons obvious?”

“Not to me.” I searched his eyes. Something
besides fear and nervousness was there. I tried to remove my hand from his.

He held tighter, looking deep into
my core. “I’m in love with you, Lexi. And I will do anything to protect you
from the absurd cards we’ve been dealt.”

This time I pulled my hand away and
stood. I walked toward the fireplace and stared straight into the burning
flames.
I guess I can’t possibly hide what I feel from you, can I?

Jack’s arms circled me and drew my
back against his chest.
I know you love me. But, man, you’ve done a pretty
amazing job of fighting it.

I chuckled, a little from embarrassment.
“I’m sorry. These feelings are new to me. And I’m so scared.”

Say it now.

“I love you, Jack,” I whispered, my
voice hoarse.

He turned me around. His eyes
searched mine, then drifted to my lips. His hands held my face as he leaned in
and kissed me.

I threw my hands around his neck,
and I kissed him back like my life depended on it. I ran my hands through his
hair, and he mine. We continued like that until neither of us could breathe.

When we came up for air, Jack
hugged me tightly, burying his face into the crook of my neck. “I’ve been so
scared to tell you everything.”

“I still have so many questions.”

“So do I. But we don’t have to
solve the entire mystery tonight.”

“What was my father’s part in all
this?”

“I don’t know,” Jack whispered. “I’ve
told you most of what I know.”

“But—”

Jack placed a finger on my lips. “Shhh.
We both have a lot to learn. And we will.”

“But Jack, why is someone trying to
kill us? Are we in danger here?”

“We are safe here. This farm is
wired with an electric fence, which is thankfully on a generator. Father placed
security at every entrance after your father was killed. No one is going to get
to you here.”

My body tensed. “What about school?
Who else knows that we are cloned humans? Are we going to be turned into
governmental lab rats?” I suddenly felt so exposed. No wonder my dad hid me
away at a boarding school and changed my name. Why didn’t he just tell me? Did
he think I’d fall apart? Like I was obviously doing. My thoughts and questions
raced too quickly for anyone to keep up. Even Jack.

“Stop. Okay?” He kissed my
forehead. “Let’s take a break.”

“A break?”

“You play pool?”

“Pool?” The suggestion caught me
off guard. “As in white ball, black ball, lots of colors, and a stick?”

“Yeah. Pool.”

How can he possibly be thinking
about playing a game? “Really? You want to play pool. Now?”

“I’ve been dealing with this a lot
longer than you. I know. I get it. You’re wigged out. I’m pissed that someone
caused me to wreck my car last night. I have found that I can’t stop trying to
mix in a little bit of real. Games. Fun. You know? We have to continue living
like the humans we are or we will start feeling like…”

“Freaks?”

Jack shook his head in disapproval.
“Pool is a great way to learn control, too. I might be able to show you how to control
the thoughts I hear.”

I arched an eyebrow. “So, pool?”

“Yeah. Do you play?”

“A little, I guess.” I looked away
and tried to think of anything but pool. Or how good at pool I was thanks to
Kyle. Or about flipping cars, a hurt shoulder, or bloody noses.

“Oh, my. We have a lot of work to
do. I had you pegged as a control nut.” Jack tapped a finger to my temple. “But
your mind is wide open. Even when you try your hardest… maybe especially then…
I hear everything.”

I blushed, thinking about the not
so flattering things I thought about Jack when he first arrived at Wellington,
and then at the more than flattering thoughts I had later. My face must have turned
crimson.

“I heard loud and clear that you
think you play pool pretty well, but that your shoulder might be too hurt.”

“Is that all you heard?”

“I’m a gentleman, Lexi.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means exactly what I told you
earlier. You don’t have to hide your thoughts with me.” He stepped closer, stared
down on me. “Pool or not? Can you handle it?” He grazed his fingers over my
shoulder.

I stuck my lips out in a pout. “I
can play. I’ll live with the pain.”

“Good. Because we need to start
working on getting you to control your thoughts and mind altering abilities as
soon as possible.”

~~~~

“Concentrate, Lexi.”

“Stop yelling at me.”
I’ll show
you concentration when I concentrate on aiming my knee right where it will—

Try it. I dare you.

Jack’s eyes were hot on mine,
daring me to knee him. Something told me I might be the one that ended up on
the ground with a new injury if I tried.

You’d be right. Besides, that’s
another lesson altogether. Now, concentrate.

I stuck out my lower lip and blew a
strand of hair out of my eyes. “Fine.”

I gathered the pool balls and
racked them for a new game, then walked over and twisted the square of chalk on
the end of my pool stick, giving it a quick blow after.

Candles lit the room. Large, small,
some in glass hurricanes.

Jack sat on the edge of a barstool
and leaned into his stick. A candle flickered on the table behind him, casting
a soft glow upon his face. His eyes followed my every move.

He was in love with me. Even though
I couldn’t suppress what I was feeling for him, I had to find a way to keep him
from knowing my every thought. A girl’s gotta have her secrets.

I lined up the white ball and
prepared to break while simultaneously concentrating on building a barrier
around the inner workings of my brain—coating each thought, each worry, every
question I still had with a protective shield.

As I focused on those thoughts and
questions, something strange began to happen. Instead of closing my mind off,
it opened up. I sensed Jack’s presence. I didn’t hear his thoughts, but I
smelled the scent of his shower gel. Felt the caress of his breath against the
back of my neck. His mind knocked against that imaginary coat of armor I
constructed.

I shot the cue ball and missed the
triangle of colorful balls completely. I whipped around. Jack still sat on the
same barstool ten feet away.

His lips curled into a smile. “Very
good. You felt me tapping into your thoughts.” He stood and approached the
table, proceeding to replace the white ball and break. He stepped close to me.
This time, his breath
was
on my cheek as he said, “I’ll take the solids.”

Slowly, a crack formed. Then just
like that, all of my thoughts and worries spilled out.

Jack frowned. “That’s enough for
tonight. Let go, Lexi. It will come. At least now you know what it feels like
when I enter your mind. Right?”

I nodded. It was an invasion. Like
someone broke into my locked chamber of secrets and stole my… everything,
really.

Jack sunk three more solids before
he missed. He walked over to me, and grabbing my hand, he lifted it and kissed
each knuckle. “Your turn.”

I placed my hand on his chest and
pushed him aside. How was I supposed to keep him out of my head when he
flaunted those well-sculpted pectoral muscles around and kissed me at every turn?

He backed up, chuckling under his
breath.

“Something amusing you?”

Most definitely.

I missed again. I was starting to
see this game for what it was—an exercise in concentrating amidst heavy
distractions. If I were truly going to keep Jack out of my head, I had to learn
to control my mind subconsciously.

“Who exactly is Seth?” I asked
while I waited for my turn.

Jack shot, sinking the red solid. “Seth
is Sandra’s twin brother.”

Twin? And I’m a clone of Sandra, so
therefore... I gave my head a little shake. “He warned me away from you.”

“Oh yeah? When?”

“At the nursing home after Dad died.
He told me you weren’t who you claimed to be.”

“He was testing you.”

“Testing me? How?”

“He wanted to know if you would
run. He was testing your strength.”

“Did he have something to do with
the cloning?”

“No.” Jack leaned against the pool
table. His eyes focused on some spot behind me for a moment before finding my
eyes again. I attempted to erect the barrier around my mind again, and believed
it was working. Jack continued, “Seth found me when we arrived in Kentucky. He
convinced my mother and father that he could take my medical training further. For
some reason, they trusted him. Of course, my father knew him, but I didn’t know
that at the time.”

“Since they trusted him, and
because of your thirst for knowledge, you what? Let him take your home
schooling further?”

A line formed between Jack’s eyes. “Something
like that.”

Something about Jack’s body
language told me I needed to tread lightly where Seth was concerned.

I tried, but failed to suppress a
yawn.

“You’re tired.” He took my stick
from me and placed it on the rack against the wall. He returned and boxed me in
against the pool table, placing a hand on either side of my hips. “Bedtime.” He
reached a hand and trailed a finger down my cheek, across my lower lip, and
down my throat. He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. The touch was firm;
his lips were warm. He slid his fingers through the belt loops of my jeans. His
hips pressed into mine.

My head went all woozy, and I
couldn’t process a single thought. Even if only temporary, I forgot everything
related to the cloning, genetic manipulation, and murder. My hand snaked around
his neck and I threaded my fingers into his hair.

The connection between us deepened,
and I found myself wanting more. So much more.

But the timing was all wrong.

He pulled back. His forehead leaned
against mine. We were both short of breath, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to stop.

“I’ll walk you to your room. I want
to try something.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Stop it. Nothing like that. I’m
shocked at how your mind works, Miss Matthews.” He fake-gasped. “I had no idea
the places you would allow your thoughts to roam.” He shook his head.

“What did you have in mind?” I was
sure my cheeks darkened three shades.

“I want to try to heal your
shoulder and see if I can control the nausea after.”

I suppressed a look of
disappointment. I did need my shoulder in order to swim. And I didn’t want our
relationship to go further than it already had. Not now. Not yet. Our complicated
existence was based on questionable morals as it was.

But the way he looked at me right
now. I’d let him do anything. Well, almost anything.

I felt Jack’s mind push against
mine. A slight nudge. I had done it. I had blocked him out.

I looked up at him and smiled. I
was very satisfied with myself. I’d won a small victory.

“Very good.”
But now, I really
want to know what you just blocked from me.

~~~~

I woke with a start to the smell of
cigarette smoke.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. A
trail of smoke hovered by the open door to the DeWeeses’ guest room like a
thick fog.

Jack didn’t smoke, and no one else should
be here. I threw the covers back, and after slipping out of bed, I padded
toward the door. The fog slowly drifted out. I ran my fingers along the door,
brushing the doorknob. I was certain I had closed the door before I crawled in
bed.

The smoke tickled my nose. I followed
it down the stairs, through the house and out the back door.

Strange. The alarm didn’t sound. Then
I remembered the electricity had been out.

I stepped lightly across the patio
and down the steps toward the pool. A figure lounged in a chair facing the deep
end of the pool. He lifted his hand and took a drag of his cigarette.

“Who are you?” My voice came out
hoarse.

“You know who I am, Lexi.”

I tilted my head. His voice did
sound familiar. His. A boy.

“How about a swim?” He gestured
with his hand toward the pool. It was lit up by a large light at the deep end.

Without thinking, I walked over to
the edge of the pool. Instinct told me I should check the water temperature,
but as I started to dip a toe in, the voice behind me said, “Go on. Jump in.
You’re an excellent swimmer, Lexi.” My name rolled off the edge of his tongue.

I shrugged. Why not? I
was
an excellent swimmer.

I bent my knees and jumped, swan
diving into the deep end of the pool.

The freezing temperature of the
water hit my skin like a billion tiny needles.

I opened my eyes and looked around.
It was dark. Someone had turned off the light. I couldn’t breathe.

Against all instincts, I sucked in
a breath. Instead of air, I inhaled water. My lungs burned from the icy
temperature of the liquid that slid down my throat. I twisted and turned,
thrashing in the water. My limbs refused to work the way I knew they were
capable. I labored for another breath.

Finally, I stilled. I was surrounded
by darkness and calm. My body was numb, and I was no longer able to take a
breath.