The phone only rings twice before Olivia’s voice bursts through the speaker. “Mason? Is that you, Mason?”
“It’s me,” I say with a rush of relief. My body sinks against the wall as an unimaginable wait lifts off my shoulders. The sound of her beautiful voice pierces my soul and I forget everything else. “It’s so good to hear your voice, Olivia. I’ve missed you so much.”
The sudden silence on the line worries me. I pull the phone away from my ear, afraid the call was dropped, but I see the timer still counting up and press it back to my ear. I am about to say something, but the sound of her gasping in a breath as she tries to hide the fact that she is crying breaks my heart.
“Oh, Olivia,” I say softly. The ache to be with her doubles, triples. It presses down on me until I fear I will break apart.
“I’m sorry,” Olivia says, sniffing and mumbling as she tries to calm herself back down. “I’m sorry. I’m okay, I promise.”
The fact that she rushes to reassure me only sets me on edge. The overwhelming desire to run home to her is only made worse by the fear that hovers around me at her words. Everything I have felt coming from her since the last time we talked has burned itself into my memory. “You’re not okay,” I whisper, pain squeezing my chest. “I know you’re not. You’ve been hurting. I can feel it. It’s been killing me, Olivia.”
“What do you mean?” she asks, somewhat more calm now.
“I don’t know. Once, it was like that first time I felt something strange from you. You were all I could think about, and then all I could feel was this terrible ache,” I explain. “But it’s more than that. Every once in a while I get these flashes of hurt and sadness. They aren’t coming from me.”
“I …” Olivia sniffs again and I hear her breathing pick up. “I tried to connect with you again. That was probably what you felt.”
“But that wasn’t everything I felt.” My fingers curl into a fist and I press my forehead into my knuckles.
Olivia’s voice is trembling when she finally speaks. “I’m okay. I am. It’s just so hard being away from you, harder than I ever imagined. I want to be stronger, and I’m trying, but I just miss you so much.”
My chin quivers as I take in her words. “I can come home, Olivia. I’ll find a way.”
“No!” she says, her voice raw. “No, Mason, you can’t. It’s not safe. I’ll be okay, I promise.”
I can’t respond. I can’t say a single word, because if I open my mouth, the only words that will come out will be, I’m coming. My whole body strains against reason. I double over as my desire to be with Olivia, to rescue her from this pain, nearly breaks me. I want nothing more than to curl my body around hers right now and shield her from all of this. I am standing, stepping toward the door before I even realize I have moved. Only Molly’s small hand slipping into mine gives me a moment’s pause.
“Mason,” Molly says quietly, “it’s going to be okay. Please don’t leave without me.”
I look down at her sad, frightened face and drop to my knees. I pull her into my arms and hold on tight. “I’m not going anywhere without you, Mollywog. I promise.”
“Was that Molly’s voice?” Olivia asks quietly. “I… I thought she was an Aerling?”
Pulling back from Molly just a bit, I stare at her curiously. “She is. How did you hear her?”
“I don’t know,” Olivia says, “but I just heard her tell you it’s going to be okay and ask you not to leave without her.” Olivia’s breathing hitches for a moment. She takes in a long, shaky breath. “Mason, you weren’t really trying to leave, were you?”
I don’t respond right away. Being with Olivia, it’s all I can think about. “I don’t know how much longer I can stand to be away from you,” I admit.
“It’s just a few weeks,” she whispers. “We can do this. I know we can.”
Olivia breathes in slowly. I can hear the forced calm she is imposing on herself. She’s only saying that because she’s too scared to let me come home, but I know she wouldn’t stop me if I did leave. I try to hold onto my composure and stay focused.
“I found another story,” Olivia says, “and I think it might be about the Aerlings and why they were sent here.”
“Tell me about it,” I say as I sink back to the floor. Anything to distract me from running.
“It’s from the Māori culture,” Olivia begins. “They have stories about their weather god fighting his siblings after his brothers separated their parents. He had to send his children down to Earth not only to protect them, but to help him fight his brothers.” Olivia sighs. “I don’t know how much of it might pertain to the Aerlings, but maybe there was some kind of battle. Maybe that’s why they sent you here, to be protected.”
“And to fight,” I say thoughtfully.
Olivia is quiet for a moment. Her voice is heavy when she speaks. “Yes, and to fight. Mason, I don’t think going home is going to be an escape from danger. I think your real parents sent you down here to keep you safe from a bigger threat, but …”
“They sent me here to train,” I say as realization sinks in. I crush my head against my hand as it all starts to make sense.
“Mason?” Olivia asks. “What’s wrong?”
I cringe as I realize during our last, brief conversation I was so rushed that I didn’t have time to tell Olivia everything. My heart aches as I dread the thought of telling her, but she needs to know the truth.
“If I don’t learn to control my power by the time I go home, everyone who tried to train me that isn’t an Aerling will die,” I say slowly. “You’re right about there being more danger when I go home. That’s why it’s so important Aerlings learn to use their power before they return.”
“What does that mean for Robin?” Olivia asks quietly.
“Nothing,” I say, “so long as I finish training before my birthday.”
Restless movement from the bed makes Molly and I freeze. I realize we may be pushing our luck staying this long, but there are a few more things I need to tell Olivia. First, I need to ask a few questions.
“Olivia, this connection we seem to be developing,” I begin, “is it only one sided? Can you feel whether or not I’m in danger or hurt?”
Olivia is quiet for a few seconds. “What do you mean?”
“There are times I can feel how much you’re struggling, even though we’re so far away. Does that ever happen to you?”
“Not yet,” Olivia says slowly, “but it will. Right now, I can feel where you are and that you’re okay, but that’s it. The less time we have, the stronger it will get.”
I breathe in, finding it suddenly hard to do. I hate feeling Olivia in pain, but not feeling her at all is even worse. The idea of being connected to her all the time nearly stops my heart altogether.
“Why are you so worried about me being able to feel it if you’re in danger or hurt? Did you see something in a dream?” Olivia’s breathing escalates as she understands the answer without me saying anything. “Mason, what did you see? What’s going to happen?”
The pleading and fear in her voice crushes me. I run my fingers through my hair as I try to find the right words. I don’t want her to panic, but I need her to be ready. “Ollie, the Sentinels are going to find me before my birthday.”
“What?” she cries out. “When? How are they going to find you?”
“I don’t know,” I say softly.
Olivia’s voice quavers as she tries to speak. Every false start and trembling breath cuts me to the core. “Mason, you can’t let them hurt you. You just can’t. Being away from you is hard enough. Not having you at all, I just can’t do it. I can’t.”
The rising panic in her voice scares me more than I can admit, but I somehow keep my own panic under control enough to talk her down. “Olivia, it’s okay. I’m not going to let them hurt me. I’m learning to use my power better, and I know it’s coming.”
“But you don’t know when or where. How can you be ready for them?”
“That
’s why I need you to keep practicing,” I say softly. “If something happens, you’ll know and you’ll be able to find me.”
“But what if I can’t?” Olivia says.
“You will,” I say firmly. “You’re strong. You can do this, Olivia. I know you can.”
The line is quiet as I listen to Olivia try to regain control of herself. It feels like an eternity later that she finally calms herself back down. “I can do this,” she says.
“Yes you can.”
I jump when Molly’s head falls against my shoulder. She blinks quickly and rubs her eyes to try and keep them open, but it’s clear that she’s not going to last much longer. Tightness wraps around my chest as I think about ending the call, but I know getting back to the Parkers will be twice as difficult if I have to carry Molly the whole way.
“Olivia,” I say, “Molly’s about to crash. I need to get her back to the house.”
“Okay,” Olivia says.
A little hand taps against my shoulder and a sleepy voice says, “Can I talk to Olivia?”
Smiling, I tell Olivia, “Molly wants to say goodbye.” I hand the phone over to my little companion and watch as her eyes light up. All traces of sleepiness vanishes the instant she puts the phone to her ear. I put my arm around her shoulders and smile.
“Olivia, can you hear me?” Molly asks.
I can only hear bits of Olivia’s muffled response, but whatever she says, it makes Molly’s grin double in size. I know we need to leave soon, but I sit back and let Molly have a few minutes to talk on the phone, something I realize she has probably never done before. Molly happily babbles to Olivia until a huge yawn breaks up her chatter and she decides it’s time to say goodbye. She hands the phone back to me looking extremely pleased with herself.
Holding the phone back up to my ear, I say, “Olivia?”
“I’m still here,” she replies. “Molly is adorable. I can’t wait to meet her. She seems so happy to be with you.”
One corner of my mouth turns up, but I can’t manage a full smile as I think about what will happen to Molly after I’m gone. I don’t want to make Molly any promises I can’t keep, but I want to make sure she is taken care of. Choosing my words carefully, I say, “Molly is a great kid. She’s going to stay with me until I go home, but after …” I pause as I think about how to phrase this.
“We’ll make sure she’s taken care of,” Olivia says. “If I’m not there to do it, my parents and Evie will.”
I sigh in relief. My love for Olivia grows even more. I can’t even express how much it means to me that she would so willingly take on the responsibility of protecting this little girl without even knowing her. It isn’t just because she knows Molly is important to me. Olivia’s loving soul could never let anyone be left alone and scared.
“Thank you,” I say.
I can almost feel Olivia’s kind smile reaching out to me over the phone. “I love you, Mason. Please be careful until we’re back together.”
“I love you, too, Ollie. We’ll be together soon, I promise.”
It’s almost painful to end the call. I feel a piece of myself slip away when I do, but I can’t stay here any longer. I put the phone back where we got it from and lead Molly back out of the room. We make it halfway down the flight of stairs before I end up carrying her. I’m contemplating how to manage getting back to the Parkers without arousing suspicion when I stumble to a stop at the sight of Mr. and Mrs. Parker waiting for us in the parking lot.
Chapter 12
Siblings
(Mason)
My sudden stop rouses Molly from sleep. She looks up and her eyes double in size. “Uh oh,” she whispers.
Not exactly the words running through my mind right now, but close enough. I struggle to close my mouth and say something. Mrs. Parker steps forward with a confused and worried expression on her face.
“Mason, what are you doing here? We thought you and Molly were running away, but when you came here we were even more confused.” She purses her lips. “Were you meeting someone here? Mason, you have to know how dangerous that is.”
Gently, I set Molly back down on her feet. She clings to my side and I pull her in tightly. “We weren’t meeting anyone. We weren’t running away, either.”
“What were you doing then?” Mr. Parker asks. “It’s a risk for our family to take you in, Mason. We’re happy to do it because we believe in helping people, but we need to know that you’re not intentionally putting our family in danger.”
“I’m not,” I say quickly. “I would never do that. I only came here to… call Olivia.” My words trail off as I realize how that sounds.
Mr. Parker looks at me with a firmly set jaw. “Your girlfriend? You put everyone at risk so you could call your girlfriend?”
“It’s not like that,” I say.
Mr. Parker bristles, but his wife puts a restraining hand on his arm. She turns back to look at me. “Mason, I know we don’t know you very well yet, but I truly believe you are a good, responsible young man so I’m going to give you a chance to explain.”
“Yes, I miss Olivia more than I can even express, but I wouldn’t risk putting her or your family in danger just to have a midnight chitchat with my girlfriend,” I say. “You know Olivia is my Escort. Your family and I aren’t the only ones who know that. The Sentinels do, too.”
Mr. Parker stops trying to glare me to death and his eyebrows pop up in surprise. “They know, and they haven’t killed her?”
“They’ve tried, twice.”
Mrs. Parker presses a hand to her lips and closes her eyes. “I wanted to ask you about this when I heard you tell the boys who Olivia was, but I didn’t want to overload you tonight. It can’t wait now. If she’s your Escort, why isn’t she with you? It’s dangerous for you to be apart. Not only will it affect Olivia physically to be away from you, being with her gives you a certain amount of protection. The Sentinels can’t feel your presence as well when you’re with her.”
A sigh of frustration slips out of me. Once again, I am angered by what the Parkers share so openly, yet Robin’s parents hid away. “Robin’s parents didn’t bother explain any of that. They just convinced me that if Olivia came with me the Sentinels would track me down more easily.”
“Who is Robin?” Mr. Parker asks slowly. The wary look on his face says maybe he already knows.
“Robin Montgomery. She moved to our town and accidently stumbled across me. She didn’t know I was an Aerling at first, and I guess she should have stayed away once she did realize, but she didn’t. I don’t know if it’s her fault that the Sentinels found me, or if they already knew where I was, but it’s her parents who set this up.”
When I finish talking, the Parkers share a look that is rather disapproving. Mrs. Parker shakes her head. “We wondered who would ever choose the Brittons to look after you, but it makes sense knowing it was the Montgomerys that instigated this.”
Somewhat surprised, I ask, “I thought you guys weren’t supposed to be so familiar with each other anymore. Robin told us about the split.”
“Just because we changed protocols doesn’t mean you forget people,” Mr. Parker says. “We’ve known the Brittons and Montgomerys for a very long time. Needless to say, we’ve never gotten along with either of them.”
“So, you know about what happened to Eliana?” I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me.
“We know the basics. Enough to worry me that Robin is involved in all of this,” Mr. Parker says. He looks up at me. “She’s not still involved, is she?”
Grimacing, I nod. “She’s trying to help Olivia figure out how she’s supposed to get me back home along with a few other things.”
Again, a look passes between the Parkers. “It’s been quite a while since we’ve associated with Robin,” Mrs. Parker says, “but please be careful when it comes to dealing with them. The Montgomery’s have very specific ideas about how Aerlings should be handled, and Robin… well, perhaps she’s grown up a bit since we knew her.
”
Mr. Parker looks doubtful. “Robin was always a difficult child back when we knew her. She was manipulative and spiteful and our kids always had a hard time with her.”
“You should be careful about trusting her,” Mrs. Parker adds.
A sick feeling settles in my stomach. Olivia never fully trusted Robin. Evie flat out can’t stand her. I really want to be right about her. I try to tell myself that maybe I am. Maybe Robin has changed and truly wants to see me safely home. I run my hands through my hair knowing I can’t pin everything on my hopes.
Slowly, I force thoughts of Robin and her family out of my head for now and pull Olivia back to the front. “What exactly will happen to Olivia while I’m away from her?”
“At first,” Mrs. Parker says, “she’ll just feel unsettled. There will be a nagging compulsion to go find you. Over time, it will get worse. If she doesn’t come and find you she’ll become ill.”
“How sick will she get?”
“It depends on how long you’re apart.” Mrs. Parker glances nervously over at her husband.
I don’t say it out loud, but I won’t stand by and let Olivia become crippled with illness while I hide.
“The fact that you’ve been together so long may help,” Mr. Parker adds. “Her body should be used to periods of time where she wasn’t with you.”
Please let that be true, I beg. I run my hand across my face, frustrated with this whole situation.
“Was checking on Olivia the only reason you snuck out tonight?” Mr. Parker asks. The tone of his voice insinuates he suspects it wasn’t.
Given how forthcoming the Parkers have been, I decide to give in to Molly’s insistence that I can trust them. Meeting Mr. Parker’s gaze, I say, “No, it wasn’t.” Sighing, I compile everything I feel I should tell them. “I’ve been sensing that Olivia was hurting. I know she’s learning to use whatever power she has, and she’s gotten to the point that she can sort of sense where I’m at, but I needed to know whether she was experiencing the same thing I was because I need her to be able to sense if I’m in trouble.”
Intangible Page 9
