True Colors (book #1, The Masks Series)

by Melissa Pearl

  I gave her a soft smile as my insides flooded with intense relief. Thank God I’d said something. What if I’d just walked away?

  “I’m sorry for going off at you the other day,” she whispered. “Out of all of Liam’s group, you’re one of the nice ones. You and Indie. I should have just listened to you in the first place. I guess I so badly wanted to fit in.”

  “I know. I wish high school was easier for you and I’m sorry guys like Carter even exist, but like I said, the right guy is out there.”

  Her lips puckered and she shrugged. “I’ve dreamed about having a boyfriend forever. I keep fooling myself into thinking he’s waiting for me somewhere. Any guy who ever talks to me, I practically fall all over them. I’m pathetic. The only thing people want me for are my smarts. Whoopdeedoo.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She shrugged, her features overrun with a guilt I didn’t understand. “Just people always want help with their homework and stuff. That’s the only time they ever talk to me.”

  I frowned, trying to decipher her expression. Maybe I was reading it wrong, the light was dim, but did she feel guilty for helping people with their homework? I didn’t get that.

  “Libby—”

  “It’ll all be over soon anyway. I’ve applied to a bunch of schools on the east coast. Soon I can fly away from this place and start anew. No sisters to compete with, no mother to feel fat beside. Just me.” She drew in a shaky breath, but then turned to me with a smile. That thought calmed her and I didn’t want to disrupt it by now bringing up the homework thing.

  “That’s cool, Libby. You’re gonna be great.” I grinned at her, my insides tripping as I suddenly wondered what my future held. No matter where I went, I now had this power. I felt like there was no starting anew anymore. I was cursed...or maybe blessed...until I died.

  It felt good to know that Libby hadn’t crossed her own line because of something I’d said. It was with a sinking realization that I knew I wouldn’t have said anything if I hadn’t been able to see. I mean, yes, Carter talking to Libby was weird, but I probably would have brushed it off as none of my business. My newfound power was making me curious and that curiosity just helped someone.

  Maybe blocking everyone out wasn’t the answer.

  Help those around you, one person at a time, and you will have a full and happy life.

  The stranger’s voice was clear in my head. As Libby and I sat quietly on that beach, I couldn’t help admitting that maybe the homeless guy was right.

  Chapter 13

  Stella was pretty steamed that I left her at the party. I dropped Libby home before going back to collect her. I toyed with the idea of reading my best friend on the way home, but I didn’t have to, she was so drunk she told me everything. She didn’t like that I was changing and so ready to ditch her all the time. She felt abandoned by me and wanted her friend back.

  I felt bad and decided to make up for it the next day, but she was either too annoyed to talk to me or sleeping it off. When the afternoon rolled around and I still hadn’t heard from her, I was forced to put it to rest and deal with it the next day. My house was being overrun with little people and lucky me had been ordered to babysit. I didn’t mind too much. My nephews, Jake and Brody, were gorgeous. They were so full of fun and we always had a blast together.

  Isla, my two-year-old niece, was staying with her dad’s parents so it was just me and the boys for the night. My parents were being taken out by their two eldest children for the evening. Seth and Layla did this every year...and I was never invited. Why would I be? I was the babysitter!

  Thankfully, Seth’s girls were somewhere else. I loved them as much as the boys, but put all four together and it was an explosive concoction. I had done it once and my exhausted self had kicked up such a big stink when everyone got home that I was never asked to do it again.

  I checked my watch as I headed down the back steps. Everyone was leaving in half an hour. It would soon be game on and I wanted a second to collect myself.

  “Hey Caity.” Eric’s sweet voice made my insides flutter.

  He was standing on his lawn, leaning his surfboard against the fence. He finished drying off his hair and spread the towel out to dry.

  I tried not to stumble as I descended the stairs towards him. He propped his arms on the fence as he waited for me. His bare skin smelt fresh and salty. I wondered if he knew how much his shirtless form undid a girl. I’m sure he’d wear more clothes if he knew how much it undid me anyway.

  Trying not to gaze longingly at his chiseled frame was hard work. I licked my bottom lip and forced myself to look into his eyes. They were glimmering with a small smile.

  “So you never called me.”

  I ran my hand down my ponytail, wondering how to respond. Was he annoyed or sad that I hadn’t? I was tempted to read him, but forced his mask back in place when it started to fall away.

  “I guess the rest of your week was okay.” He touched my elbow as I leaned against the fence.

  “Pretty much.” I nodded. “I’ve been practicing a lot.”

  “Is it working?”

  “Yeah.” I grinned. “I can block out most emotions now. It’s good.”

  “But...”

  I glanced away with a snicker. “I thought I was the people reader, not you.”

  “I don’t need a super power to know there’s something more.” He leaned his chin on his hands and looked up at me. The green flecks in his eyes seemed to shimmer. “You don’t have to hide anything from me, Caity. I like that you’re letting me in.”

  My lips twitched with a smile as I looked at him. I could have stayed that way for the rest of the night, locked in the silent connection, but the back door swung open.

  “Caitlyn and Eric sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

  Jake.

  I closed my eyes and wanted to die. I could feel my cheeks flaming.

  Throwing a molten glare at my seven-year-old nephew, I was happy to see him yelp before running off with a giggle.

  “Sorry about that.” I winced, rubbing my forehead to hide my eyes. “I’m gonna go strangle him in a minute.”

  “Have fun with that.” Eric laughed, a bright smile taking over his face.

  I took a second to admire it.

  “Caity is in lo-ve. Caity is in lo-ve.”

  Brody. No doubt spurred on by Jake.

  Their giggles filtered down from the top window. I glanced up and saw it slam.

  “Okay, now I’m gonna go kill both of them.”

  “Are you sure your sister won’t mind?”

  “She’s leaving in like ten minutes, it’ll just be me and the boys. I’ll hide their bodies before she gets home. No one will know.”

  “You’ll have to come up with a good cover story.”

  “Or drive to Wyoming.” I chuckled.

  “I’m sure you’ll come up with something believable.”

  “Well, I’ve got all evening to do it.” I winked, probably way too suggestively, and walked up the stairs before he could spot my fierce blush.

  Ugh!

  Could I have made it any more obvious that I would welcome him coming over to keep me company after the boys were in bed? Was that the only thing on my mind right now?

  I slammed the back door shut and closed me eyes. The quiet patter of feet creeping down the hallway made me grin. I kept my eyes shut until the door creaked open.

  “BOO!!”

  They both squealed and took off. I chased them with a growl, happy to run from my humiliation. I caught Brody halfway down the hallway and swung him into the air. He was laughing so hard his giggles were silent. His red face and wide open mouth were too funny. I lowered his quaking body to the floor and tickled his tummy. A squeal burst free, giving him a chance to breathe properly.

  “Don’t hype them up too much before dinner. They’ll never eat.”

  I kept my eyes down, so Layla couldn’t see my eye roll.

  Poking out my tongue at Brody, I let him sc
ramble free and rush down the hallway. His father caught him as he tried to dash past and do a swan dive onto the couch. From the boys’ perspective, the best part about Grandma’s sunken in lounge was the opportunity to sky dive from the wooden floors to the couches below.

  “Jake, don’t you dare!” Layla raised her finger. He paused, his eyes dancing with the thrill of breaking the rules and the dread of getting in trouble. He stayed where he was, trying to weigh up if it was worth it.

  I winked behind Layla’s back, letting him know he could do it later, once the adults had gone. He grinned at me and stepped back.

  Layla spun back to look at me as Brody wriggled free of his father’s grasp and barreled into my dad, who hoisted him up with a laugh.

  Layla gave me a stern frown. “Don’t let them do anything naughty.”

  I snickered. “Layla, they’ll be little angels.”

  “Yeah right.” She rolled her eyes, crossing her arms to launch into a lengthly list of instructions. I’d heard them all before and I knew what I was doing, but I let her run through them. I knew it made her feel better. As she raised a finger for each new instruction, I pulled her mask away, more out of curiosity than anything. I wasn’t overly surprised by what I saw, although found it intriguing that the idea of leaving her boys made her feel a mixture of guilt and worry. I never realized she felt so obligated by her role as a mother.

  “And don’t feed them any candy.” She was up to ten fingers now. Surely this was the last instruction. “I’ve left out the dinner I want them to have. It’s in the fridge. There’s enough for you too.”

  “Thanks.” I forced a grin, knowing it would be some gross, overly healthy crap. Inspired by my mother, Layla followed the nutritionist path as well.

  “Okay, I think that’s everything.” She tucked a lock of her straight brown hair behind her ear. Man, she looked like Mom when she did that. Her mask was still off and I decided to try something.

  “You’re such a great mom.” I squeezed her upper arm. “You work so hard for your kids and take such good care of them. You deserve a night off. Go relax, have some fun. Don’t even think about your kids tonight. I promise I’ll call if there’s a problem, okay?”

  Her reaction nearly made me laugh. First it was utter confusion that her kid sister was saying something so sweet and mature, but next came the look of relief I’d been hoping for. Her guilt and worry eased a little as she gathered me into her arms with a warm embrace.

  “Thanks, sis.” She kissed my curls and held me at arms length to give me one more smile. I popped her mask back on and saw it was the same expression she was wearing. I was glad I made her feel better.

  With that she turned to gather up her babies for goodnight kisses while I was dragged into my daddy’s arms.

  “Have a good night, honey.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” I could barely talk past his bear hug.

  “Be a good peanut.” He flicked my nose, something I hated, but didn’t have the heart to tell him. “The restaurant is on the other side of town so we’ll be home late. Don’t wait up. The boys are sleeping over anyway.”

  “I won’t.”

  Brody and Jake came to stand beside me as we waved our goodbyes and blew kisses. The door clicked shut and I squeezed the boys’ shoulders, waiting until we heard the sound of a car pulling out of the drive. As soon as we got the all clear, I pulled the boys in front of me.

  “Okay, Jake, you start pulling all the squabs off the couch and Brody you start gathering up any pillow in the house you can find. Don’t go into Grandma’s room though, okay? But any other pillow in the house is ours.” I winked, making him giggle as he dashed away.

  Jake stood there with a beaming smile, just nodding at me. Yeah, at this present moment in time, I was the coolest aunt ever.

  Chapter 14

  It was eight o’clock and I was attempting to put the living room back exactly how it had been before the grown ups left. Thankfully I’d made the boys help me return some of the pillows earlier. What a mission!

  By some miracle, both the boys were asleep already. It probably helped that after half an hour of launching from the top step onto the mountain of pillows, blankets and couch cushions, I had taken them to the beach and run them ragged. After that, they devoured their tofu, stir-fry, brown rice noodle concoction and were too tired to do anything else but play in the bath and fall into bed.

  I had missed a call from Stella while I was entertaining the boys and had tried to call her back, but she wasn’t answering. It bugged me a little, but I decided to let it rest. I couldn’t be bothered grovelling. Yes, I did ditch her on Friday night, but for a really good reason and I went back to get her afterwards! I knew she’d never understand what I did for Libby, but I knew I’d done the right thing and that felt good.

  As I shoved the last couch cushion into place my thoughts returned to Eric...again! I'd been thinking about him all afternoon, wondering what he was doing. The idea that he got my hint and would come over skimmed through me, but I knew I was dreaming. As if he would. I laughed at myself as I turned to look at the pile of blankets. Once those were folded and put away, I was free to do as I pleased. I could tell my obsessional thoughts of Eric weren't going anywhere so I needed a heavy-duty distraction once I was done or I'd go insane. I shouldn't be thinking about him at all. If Stella knew how bad my crush was getting, she'd flip a switch. It's not like he belonged to her or anything, we'd both liked him for the same amount of time, but that was under the understanding that neither of us would ever actually get him.

  I seriously had to stop thinking about him!

  I was trying to decide whether to go for my kindle or the TV remote when the doorbell rang. I rolled my eyes. It was no doubt Stella. Not exactly the diversion I was hoping for, but probably exactly what I needed. With a deep breath I tried to summon the energy for the encounter. But when I opened the door I was flooded with a mixture of relief, astonishment and giddy joy.

  “Hi.” I leaned against the frame.

  “Hey.” Eric was now in ripped jeans and his pale-green Quicksilver shirt. I loved that one on him. It was just tight enough to see the curve of his chest and shoulders.

  “You want to borrow a cup of sugar or something?”

  He grinned. “Actually I was wondering if you needed help burying your nephews.”

  I swung the door open and stepped aside to let him in. “Actually they redeemed themselves by being adorably cute this afternoon, so I let them live.”

  “That was good of you.”

  “I’m a nice person.” I shrugged.

  Eric walked into our open living space, looking at the artwork as he went. He seemed impressed by my parents' collection of photography and scenic oil paintings, giving me a nod of approval. I pointed to the sunken lounge area and followed him into it. His eyebrows rose as he pointed at the pile of blankets.

  I shrugged. “Little boys doing sky diving practice.” I pointed from the top step then onto the pile. “That’s the last of the aftermath.”

  He chuckled as he reached for a blanket and threw it towards me, keeping the other end for himself.

  And so began the folding session.

  “I hope you don’t mind me just popping over.”

  Uh - that would be a NOT AT ALL, I can't believe you're actually here and trying to hide my ecstatic joy is taking major effort right now.

  I could feel my hips wanting to break into a happy dance, but I quelled the urge and managed a demure smile as he stepped towards me, touching the corners of the blanket to mine, before stepping back so we could make another fold.

  “Poppy and Lacey have gone for a sleepover and Mom’s boyfriend just arrived.” He rolled his eyes.

  “You’re welcome here anytime.” I took the blanket off him and placed it on the bottom step as he reached for another one.

  “Thanks.” He cleared his throat, looking slightly nervous and I wasn’t even reading him.

  “Are you okay?”

  As if sudde
nly aware that his edgy behavior was showing, he gave me a sheepish grin and reached for another blanket. “You said your week was better, but you were hiding something. I wanted to come over and see what that was.”

  I caught the edge of the blanket and found the corners, holding them wide until he nodded at me and we folded together. I stepped towards him, touching our corners together and felt him looking at me. As his fingertips brushed mine, I stole a glance up at his face, his intense gaze and those perfect lips. I wanted to stretch up on my toes and "accidentally" knock our lips together, but how would I ever explain that one! Instead I cleared my throat and took a quick step back, getting my foot caught on the edge of the blanket. He grabbed my arm before I fell, pulling me up against him.

  Damn his lips were close.

  What if I just—

  No. No. I would die if he didn't reciprocate and it didn't even occur to me to try reading him at that point. I was in such a fluster, my pulse thrumming in my head like a bass drum.

  "So, the party."

  "What party?"

  He let me go so we could finish folding the blanket and the moment was gone. I was such an idiot. I suppressed my self-deprecating eye roll and as we worked our way through the next blanket, the two thick quilts, and lastly the sleeping bag, I told him about the party and Libby and what Carter tried to do to her.

  “What a jerk.”

  “I know.” I hugged the sleeping bag to my chest, before placing it on top of the neat pile of linen. I’d put it away later. Pointing to the couch, I invited Eric to sit down while I pulled a beanbag over and perched on the floor beside him. “Carter is a jerk and I’m so mad at him.”

  “Did it make you glad you’d read them?”

  I smiled, knowing what he was getting at. “Yeah, I guess. I mean I know that I can help people. Libby is testament to that, but...I don’t know, she was pretty annoyed that I tried to get involved.”