Page 26

Kerry

“Let’s try this again.” Gigi stood behind the service desk and held out a piece of paper and a black pen. “You sign a contract, and I give you a phone.”

I looked at the paper and panicked.

“Where’s Gemma?” I asked.

“Downstairs in the stockroom. She’ll be back.”

I narrowed my eyes at her, but she didn’t seem bothered. So I glared at Jax, but he was leaning an elbow on the counter and staring at his lady.

The store was empty this close to closing on a Thursday night, so I decided to do it. Taking a deep breath, I shoved the paper back.

“I can’t read this,” I muttered.

“I know, right? A lot of fine print and long words to tell you not to misuse a phone. No one ever reads these things. Just sign it.”

She didn’t get what I was trying to say, so I shrugged and let it go. I took the pen and slid the paper back.

“Where?”

“Right here.” She pointed to a long line at the bottom of the sheet.

I bent down, then paused and looked up at her.

“Does it have to be joined-up letters?”

“What? Oh, you mean cursive? No, you can print. As long as it’s your name written by your hand, it’s fine.”

Sweat beaded on my forehead as I wrote. I knew they were staring at me, but I ignored them as I tried to remember which way the legs on the “k” went. Writing my own name for the first time in so long was probably worse than running a marathon in flip flops, I decided.

Finally, I dropped the pen on the counter with a clatter and straightened up.

“You draw like da Vinci and write like — ” Jax cut himself off.

“A second-grader?” I kept my eyes on the wall and my hands in my pockets because I wanted to blast something.

Gigi cleared her throat.

“Well, that’s good enough, no matter what it looks like.”

She took the paper and put it in a wire bin, then brought a small box out from under the counter and gave it to me. I opened it and stared at the black phone and thick booklet.

“And I’m supposed to do what with this?”

“It starts with the basics.” She picked up the manual and thumbed through the first few pages. “Here’s how to turn it on, how to input contacts, and so on.”

“It’s probably easier if I show you,” Jax said. “We can work on it while we’re waiting to close the store.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. There were a few pictures with the text, but they wouldn’t be enough to guide me through setting up the phone or learning how to use it.

He spent the next ten minutes or so catching me up to speed on technology. In no time, we had a list of names and numbers in my contacts, and he showed me how to put a picture with each person’s info. We went on the Internet, and I picked out a cowgirl hat for Gigi, a cat for Chessie, and a clown fish for Jax. When he asked what I wanted for Gemma, Gigi interrupted.

“An angel, of course.”

I made a face at her, but how could I say anything when that was true?

Then I heard footsteps coming up from the basement and lost interest. I handed the phone over to them and stood up right as Gemma fell out of the doorway in a heap. Boxes flew everywhere. She landed hard on her stomach with a loud oomph! and rolled flat on her back.

What the—

I flew over and crouched at her side.

“What happened?”

She whistled a little as she tried to suck in air. Her face was red and her eyes were a little wild. Frowning, I glanced behind her to see if someone or something had chased her up the stairs, but they were empty.

“Did you trip?” Feeling helpless, I balled my hands up on my knees.

She nodded, still gasping.

“Got the wind knocked outta you, huh?”

I sank to my knees and waited. Her face was redder than I’d ever seen it, and I figured she was pretty embarrassed. She sat up, but must have moved too soon; she put one hand on her temple and reached out with the other. Her hand landed on my shoulder, her fingers brushing the skin of my neck, and she pulled back like she’d been burnt.

“Go ahead and hang on to me.” I smiled to show her it was okay. “At least until your eyes stop spinning.”

She did, and I stayed as still as a stone beneath her hand.

“Thanks,” she said after a moment.

“I didn’t do anything, but you’re welcome.”

Then her fingers brushed my shoulder and she froze.

Oh no. Here we go.

“You’re hurt?” She scrambled to her knees and traced around one of Jax’s bandages. “What happened? Why didn’t you tell me? I could have fixed it for you. Let me see.”

“No. It doesn’t matter. Because I knew you would fuss.” I answered her questions in order and stood, then reached down and grabbed her hands to pull her up, too. “Don’t worry about it.”

“But,” she began, and I cut her off as I started to pick up the boxes she’d dropped.

“Let it go, Gemma.” In less than a minute, I had the supplies stacked in my hands. “Where do you want these?”

“Put them on the counter over there, please. It’s almost time to go. The morning shift can deal with them.”

I nodded and did what she wanted, but I didn’t believe for a second she’d let it go. She’d given in way too easily.

“Here.” Jax came over with my phone and held it out. “Try it out. Do you remember how to make a call?”

I took it and used the tip of my index finger to poke at the tiny picture of an angel. Gemma’s phone buzzed and she pulled it out of her back pocket.

“Hello, Kerry.”

“Hello, Gemma.”

She reached over and showed me how to disconnect the call.

When it was time to go, I walked out of the store with Jax and waited while Gemma switched off the lights and Gigi locked the doors.

“Hey, Jax.” I had a sudden brainstorm. “If I drew pictures, could I use them for my contacts?”

“Sure. It’s not hard.”

We were at the girls’ dormitory in no time, and Gemma invited me to come in. Jax, his arm around Gigi’s waist, was already halfway to the door.

“We could have a snack,” she said, “or maybe watch a movie or something. If you want to.”

“Will there be other girls in your room?” When she shook her head, I shrugged. “Okay, I’ll give it a try. But I may not be able to stay too long. I’ve had a rough day.”

#

I wasn’t sure what to expect when we got to Gemma’s door. Jax and Gigi walked off down the hallway, holding hands and whispering to each other. I watched them go as Gemma unlocked and opened her door.

“It’s just the two of us?” I stood outside her room as she turned on the light.

“Oh!” She sounded startled and swung around to look at me. “Well, sometimes we hang out together, but Gigi wanted Jax all to herself tonight. I’m sorry. You probably thought they’d be here, too, and it’s just me. I understand if you want to go home.”

I frowned and took a step into the room, the door swinging shut behind me. I wasn’t sure about this, but I also wasn’t ready to say goodbye to her yet.

And I hated the look in her eyes because she thought I might not wanna hang out with just her.

Is she crazy? Being with her is all I think about.

“No, it’s good. I wanna be with you. Just, it’s okay, right? For me to be here alone with you?”

“Of course it is!”

Her face burned red for a reason I couldn’t guess. To give her space, I looked at her room, which was clean and tidy in a way mine never was. She had a narrow bed, a desk, two bean bag chairs, a crammed bookshelf, and a microwave, mini fridge, and TV.

The bean bag chairs looked like death traps, so I picked up the stuffed bear hogging the bed and set it on her pillow, then sank down on the edge of the mattress and rested my elbows on my knees so I could clasp my hands together.

The next thing I knew, she was on the carpet in front of me. Her face was still a little pink, and her eyes were determined.

I know exactly what she’s gonna say .

“Kerry, please tell me why you have a bandage on your shoulder.”

Yep, I was right.

“I told you, it doesn’t matter.” My eyes locked with hers.

“Did someone attack you? You can tell me, you know.”

I realized she wasn’t going to let up. She would badger and badger until I lost my temper and did or said something I’d regret. To avoid that, I explained about the rooster.

“Let me see,” she demanded.

“No.”

She held her hand just above mine and waited. With a soft sigh, I opened my palms just enough to catch her fingertips between them.

“Please. I want to help you.”

Her eyes are murder . It’s impossible to tell her no when she looks at me like that.

“You wanna see?” I growled. “Fine. Just remember you asked for it.”

I dropped her fingers, sat up, and turned my back to her. Willing my hands not to shake, I yanked off my sweater, unbuttoned my shirt, and let it slide down.

“You gonna throw up or pass out?” I glared at the wall, getting more and more worked up as the silence built.

Then the mattress dipped, and I felt her fingers skim over one of the scars.

“Neither. I might cry, though. It breaks my heart to think of how much pain you’ve endured.”

“I don’t want your pity!” I barked. Then, taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes. “I’m sorry. That was rude, wasn’t it?”

“I understand. You’re nervous and upset. I am, too. I want to heal this, but I’m not very practiced with scars yet. What if I do more harm than good?”

“How could you possibly make it worse?” I opened my eyes. “Practice on me all you want.”

“I’ll take care of the new cuts first.”

She peeled away the gauze and touched her fingers to each wound. I was pretty familiar with the sharp jolts of her healing power by now and didn’t make a sound as she worked.

“There. All better!”

“You don’t need to keep babysitting me. I know I’ve been a leech. You should scrape me off and get on with your life. ”

“I haven’t been babysitting you!” She sounded angry. “You’re not a leech. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“Are we?”

“Yes. You are my friend, and I am yours.”

“Okay, friend ,” I smirked, “zap the scars and let’s see what happens.”

“I don’t know about using you as my guinea pig.”

“Aw, guinea pigs are too fluffy to compare to me, angel. I’d rather be your lab rat. Rats are fierce, and they’re fighters.”

She seemed to be ignoring my sad attempt at humor and continued to fuss.

“I should try it on myself first.”

“You’re a healer, Gemma. How many scars do you — ”

My mouth snapped shut. I knew the answer to that question, didn’t I?

One.

She had one scar.

The one I gave her.

“Kerry — ”

“What’s the absolute worst-case scenario here?” I cut her off. “I could die? That should have happened years ago.”

“Don’t say things like that! I’m afraid it’s going to hurt a lot because of how many and how old — ”

“It’s just pain, Gemma. It doesn’t matter.”

“It matters to me.”

“Go ahead and do it if you’re gonna do it, woman! I’m getting cold.” To galvanize her into action, I put a little bite in my voice.

When it came out sounding meaner than I meant, I winced, but it worked.

“All right!” She flattened a hand against my back.

Long ago, I learned to deal with pain. It was that or go mad. When I was at my best, I could block it out so well, it was like I was watching from outside my body. That’s what happened now. Gemma’s lightning tore through the puckered skin of my back and forked every which way as it dug in. It went on and on as the minutes ticked by until the last of it finally fizzled away.

She moved back, and I waited for her to say something. When she didn’t, I turned around to look at her. She was panting a little, her face was flushed, and a drop of sweat slid down her cheek.

Her pupils look like she just did an eight-ball. The good side of my mouth jerked up. Ha. I doubt she even knows what that is .

“Pretty intense,” I said.

“Didn’t it hurt?”

“I suppose so. You probably would have fainted. Or screamed your head off. How does it look?”

“Well, it’s not perfect.”

She staggered to her feet and opened the closet door, which had a mirror on the inside. It was hard to view from this angle, but what I could see was amazing.

Instead of being covered in thick purple-red welts, my back now looked as if someone had used a pink marker to draw lines all over it. I reached as far as I could and rubbed the flat, smooth skin, needing to feel what my eyes saw.

“Gemma.”

My voice broke. I didn’t have the words, but she seemed to understand. She stood at my side, hands clasped in front of her, and met my eyes in the mirror.

“That took a lot of power. I could try again after I recharge, but I don’t think I can get it any better. Maybe once I learn more.”

“This is enough of a miracle for me.” I tugged my shirt back on, fingers fumbling over the buttons, as she closed the closet door. “Thank you. A hundred times, thank you.”

She laughed, then swayed a little, and I realized she was out on her feet.

“Go to bed!” I growled and was surprised when she nodded.

“I’ll just be a minute in the bathroom.” She grabbed a shower bag and a handful of what looked like pajamas. “Wait for me?”

I nodded, crossed my arms over my chest, and leaned one hip against the corner of her desk. When she left, I allowed myself to look around a little more.

The bookshelf took up most of the small room. It was half-full of textbooks, paperbacks, CDs, and DVDs, but I didn’t bother looking at the titles. There was a shoe rack over the back of the door, but it was stuffed with balls of yarn instead of shoes. There were a coupla long fabric cases in the bottom pouches, and I took one out, opened it, and found it full of thin metal sticks with hooks on the end. Some were short and others were nearly as long as my forearm.

Good idea, keeping a weapon handy at the door.

I went to put the case back, but the door swung in and bounced off my shoe.

“I’m sorry!” Gemma poked her head around the door, her eyes wide.

“My fault. I was looking at whatever these are. You could do some damage with these babies. Do you shove them up someone’s nose?”

“No. You do not shove them up anyone’s anything.” She slid into the room with a bundle of clothes under her arm and shut the door. “They’re crochet hooks. You use them to make things out of yarn.”

“Not weapons, then?”

“No. Not weapons.”

“They could be.”

Shrugging, I put the pouch away, then watched as she dumped her clothes in a hamper by the closet, put the shower bag back on her desk, and flopped on the bed. Her pajamas were pink with fat pandas on them, which was cute, but dark shadows were under her eyes now and her skin had gone even paler.

“Will you be okay by yourself?” I was a little concerned. “Do you want me to get your warden?”

“I’ll be fine.” She grabbed the stuffed bear and held it tight to her chest as she got under the covers. “Honestly, this isn’t the first time I overexerted myself. I just need to sleep.”

“If you’re sure. Well, good night. I’ll see you tomorrow. And thanks again, angel. I mean it.”

“You’re welcome. Good night, Kerry.”

Hiding my smile at the bear’s head lying next to hers, I pulled the door open and flicked off the lights.

That’s when she started screaming.