Seers (7 page)

He was moving quickly for the door, and his face was hard.

He wasn’t moving like a leisurely teenager. He was taking large strides with deep purpose. He suddenly looked a lot older than a high schooler, and when he reached the door and glanced back at me, his intense stare matched the invisible man’s perfectly—only Patrick wasn’t smiling.

He looked right at me, and our eyes caught and held each other from across the restaurant. Still staring at me, he murmured a few words into the phone. Then he pulled it away from his ear, and shoved it into his pocket without breaking my gaze.

“You okay?” Aaron asked from across the table. I turned toward him and saw the confusion on his face. “You were like, in a trance or something. Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

“I—Patrick’s over there—by the door. I was just surprised to see him here.”

“Patrick O’Donnell?” My boyfriend’s tone was deeper suddenly, and he straightened in his seat to get a better view of the entrance. “Where was he?”

“The door,” I repeated, turning as I spoke. There he was, still standing before the door. Still staring at me.

“Where?” Frustration was leaking into Aaron’s voice. “There’s 46 K • • •

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no one by the door.”

I watched as Patrick O’Donnell swallowed hard, and nodded slowly to me. I felt my entire body break out in sweat. He was standing there clear as day. But Aaron couldn’t see him.

“I guess it wasn’t him,” I whispered slowly, riveted on Patrick’s smooth face.

I heard Aaron slowly return to his meal, but I continued to watch Patrick. I couldn’t believe what was happening to me. I didn’t understand what was happening to me.

Patrick abruptly turned away, pushing almost roughly against the glass door. He rounded the corner of the building and I lost sight of him. He was swallowed by the coming shadows of night.

s

Aaron wanted to go see a movie, but I wimped out and asked him to take me home instead. The day had been a long one, and luckily he understood that something was up with me so he didn’t argue.

He drove me home, and I was happily surprised to see no invisible man, and no Patrick O’Donnell. I thanked Aaron for dinner on the porch, and I even initiated out good night kiss. It was a fast one, I knew he wanted more, but I couldn’t focus on kissing at the moment. My skin was crawling, and I wanted to get safely inside before I saw anyone else I wasn’t supposed to.

Once in my room I called Lee and told her everything. She was as confused as I was when I told her Aaron couldn’t see Patrick.

“Something really weird is going on,” Lee sighed.

“Tell me about it.” I glanced at the clock. It wasn’t even eleven yet, but I was exhausted. “I think you’re right though—It’s time to investigate Patrick O’Donnell.”

“Seriously,” she agreed. “And make sure your doors are locked.”

I wondered if locks could keep invisible people out.

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Six

I was one of the first people in American Lit the next morning. Andrea—the redhead with perhaps the most jealous purple aura I’d ever seen—was sitting across the prear-ranged circle from me, reading some dark vampire novel.

I had just settled into my own seat when Patrick O’Donnell entered the room. His gaze went right to me, and he offered one of his small smiles. He took the desk next to me, and then spoke quietly.

“How was your dinner last night?” I stared at him, barely keeping back all the accusations I wanted to chuck at him. Like how he turned invisible, or who the heck his creepy friend was. “Great. Yours?”

“Great,” he copied me, then lowered his voice further. “Look, this might seem kind of strange, but, could I see your hand?” I blinked, and instinctively pushed my hands beneath my desk, tightly gripping my knees. “Why?” I demanded shortly.

He stared deeply into my eyes and spoke smoothly, his voice carefully low. “I wanted to see if they turned red from all the ketchup you spilled.”

My eyes narrowed. “Is that supposed to be your idea of joke?” He shrugged. “You’re not too friendly, are you?”

“Maybe you’re too friendly. Did you ever think of that?” He leaned back in his chair to regard me expansively. “I get the feeling that you don’t like me very much.”

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“Really? How observant of you.”

His lips quirked in what I almost thought was his first genuine smile. “Is there a reason behind the dislike?”

“Maybe.”

“Are you going to tell me?”

“Probably not,” I returned smoothly, leaning away from him to pull out a notebook and pencil. A few more students trickled in—including Aaron. He eyed Patrick strangely when he passed behind him, but was smiling his regular charming smile when he sat at my other side.

“Hey Patrick, Kate told me she saw you last night at the malt shop.” My boyfriend wasn’t very good with subtle.

“Yeah, I popped in for something. I was really just in and out.” Aaron pulled his backpack onto his desk and began digging through it. “Sorry I didn’t see you. I know what it’s like moving to a new area and feeling like an outcast. It bites.” Patrick shrugged. “I’ve gotten pretty used to it.”

“I can’t imagine moving to a new country. Do you miss Ireland?”

“Sometimes,” he admitted. I waited for him to elaborate, but he didn’t.

Then Mr. Benson came in, and the conversation ended as class began. We got a reading list, and I was surprised by how unfamiliar I was with the titles. Most of the author names I knew, but Benson explained that he wanted to read the lesser known classics. First up would be “The House of the Seven Gables,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. I’d read “The Scarlet Letter” before, but I’d never even heard of this one.

Class ended, Aaron kissed me goodbye, and I walked toward history. I didn’t realize Patrick was walking beside me until he spoke. “How long have you two been dating?” I gave him a weird look as I pushed through the crowded hall.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.” He shrugged a single shoulder. “Curious, that’s all.”

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“Over a year. Why?”

“Just curious,” he reiterated.

“So . . . how come you’re stalking me? Just curious,” I added when he glanced up at me.

That quirky smile was back. “You noticed?” At my pointed look he actually laughed, though the sound was low. “I’m a certi-fied lunatic, and a serial killer. You’re going to be my next victim—

if you don’t choke to death on a sandwich first.” His words did get a slight smile from me, but I wasn’t ready to be all buddy-buddy just yet. “So you’ve admitted that you did get into all my classes on purpose?”

“All part of the grand design,” he reassured me with a grin. He caught the closing classroom door and pulled it open for me with one curling hand.

I paused in the hall and peeked up at him, realizing that he wasn’t much taller than me. “What’s up with guys opening doors for girls anyway?” I blurted suddenly, thinking of Aaron’s overly gentleman behavior. “I mean, it’s not like we’re weak and unable to twist a knob.”

Patrick cocked a single eyebrow as he studied me. “Maybe it’s not about weakness, but respect. Gentlemen open doors for ladies. That’s how it’s always been.”

“What if I’m not much of a lady?” I challenged.

He shrugged characteristically. “Maybe you’re not. But I’ve always been a gentleman.”

I looked into his eyes and was captured by the sudden intensity I saw there. They were truly the bluest eyes I’d ever seen. Pure, and beautiful. Deep, but clear. I wondered if they were his greatest weapon when it came to hypnosis—I was certainly becoming lost.

He stared right back at me, probing, searching . . . I could see the look of concentration on his face as he searched my eyes.

For what, I couldn’t imagine. I was starting to feel dizzy, and I realized I’d locked my knees and was no longer breathing. But I couldn’t move. Not because he’d hypnotized me—I think—but 50 K • • •

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because I didn’t have any desire to break the contact. I felt like we were sharing a moment. Almost like we were becoming one. It was the weirdest sensation, but after the numbness, pain, and fear I’d experienced since the accident, it was the most exhilarating and peaceful moment I could ever remember having.

Someone coughed beside us. Patrick broke the gaze and turned at the sound—I was only a split second behind him.

Lee’s long black hair laid in sheets against either side of her face, and her dark makeup made her look all the more serious as she stared at us. “Kate? You okay?” I nodded quickly—too quickly. The dizziness brought spots of color into my vision—well, more than was usual, anyway. I didn’t speak or look at him as he held the door for me and Lee.

I marched to a desk in the back corner and I was relieved when Patrick moved to the opposite side of the classroom.

Lee sat next to me and hissed in my ear as we sat. “What were you doing with him? It looked like he was looking into your soul or something.”

I let out my breath in a low, steady stream, and hazarded a glance across the room.

He was watching me, a thin smile on his face.

“Kate?” Lee demanded lowly, slapping my arm to get my attention.

“What?” I jerked my eyes away from Patrick and focused on her.

“What? What? Honestly, you’re scaring me. Patrick equals freaky aura, remember? If you can’t protect yourself from him, how are you supposed to protect me?”

“Nothing happened. I mean, he opened the door for me, and . . . ”

“And . . . what?”

“Nothing. I think you’re right. I don’t think he’s evil.” Her brow raised in a disbelieving sort of way, and I hurried to clarify. “He’s still weird, and mysterious, but I think I just got a

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look into his soul or something.”

“Well, he was certainly boring into yours, so it’s only fair.”

“Seriously, Lee, I think he’s okay. I don’t know, it’s almost like . . .” I couldn’t stop my eyes from wandering back across the room, and my voice was a mere whisper. “It’s almost like he knew I was afraid of him, and he was . . . letting me know he’s safe. Does that make any sense?”

Lee regarded me with an almost disgusted look. “No. But nothing in your life makes sense anymore.”

“Tell me about it,” I sighed, watching him as Patrick bent to get a pencil.

“Well,” Lee snorted. “I guess I’m not uninviting him to my party then, am I?”

I shook my head slowly, still watching him. “Nope. I think your undercover mission was a great idea—and it starts now.”

“Yippee,” Lee cheered dully.

s

I sat next to Aaron at the lunch table, still looking over my shoulder, watching as Patrick paid for his meal. I wasn’t afraid of him. I was positive that he’d let me look into his soul or something, so I could see his intentions. I knew he meant me no harm.

But the whole experience left more questions than anything else.

If he wasn’t here to hurt me, then why was he here? Perhaps even more importantly, why did he let me glimpse his soul anyway? Did he somehow know about me?

There was only one sure way to get these answers; I intended to befriend him. I wasn’t quite sure how that would go down, since he annoyed me half the time, and his unexplained presence still sort of unnerved me—not to mention I had a boyfriend. Still, it was the only way I felt I could safely get my answers. I refused to just walk up to him and start demanding answers—why he was here, who he really was, if he knew about my abilities, why he’d gone invisible at the restaurant, if he knew an invisible guy, and 52 K • • •

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why his aura was silver. No, I would be cool and collected about this. I would be so cautious and subtle, he wouldn’t know what hit him.

I started poking at my lasagna, but I was focused on Patrick as he and Lee walked toward us.

I was grateful that Jaxon was deep in conversation with Aaron, so my boyfriend couldn’t read too far into my sudden fixation with the good-looking Irishman.

I was just about to turn back on my food, so I wouldn’t look too interested, when I saw Patrick stop—speak briefly to Lee—

and then turn and walk in the opposite direction. My forehead crinkled as I watched him walk around the crowded cafeteria.

Where was he going?

Lee sunk on the bench next to me and I kept my voice extremely low so no one else would hear. “Where’s he going?” Lee shrugged. “I don’t know. He just said that he wanted to sit at another table today.”

“Another table? Why?”

She shrugged again. “Maybe he’s not really stalking you.”

“He just wants me to think that,” I grunted, turning once more to follow Patrick’s movements.

In a second I spotted him. He was sitting at a sparsely occupied table, the one closest to the cafeteria ladies. He was sitting with the special needs students.

He was laughing at something, and reaching to help a larger kid open his water bottle. He seemed perfectly at ease, and the small cluster of special needs students seemed to warm right up to him though I’d never seen another student sit with them before.

I couldn’t keep my eyes off his back as he ate and joked with the teenagers around him. I probably would have stared at him the whole time if Lee hadn’t elbowed me just in time for me to turn around before Aaron could notice. I might thank her later, once the bruise disappeared.

“So Lee,” Aaron said, laughter still lacing his voice from his

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conversation with Jaxon. “Is this party going to be like all your others?”

She swallowed a gulp of Coke before answering. “Super awesome? Of course.”

“Are you going to actually invite people you know?” Jaxon asked. “‘Cuz, seriously, last time I didn’t know half the people there.”

“That’s what makes them fun,” Lee countered. “I mean, if it’s just the same old crowd, how are you supposed to make new friends?” She turned to Aaron for help. “Support me on this. If I remember right, you met Kate at one of my parties.” Aaron cleared his throat, and nodded. “True. I guess I won’t rip on it too much.”