Independence

by Shelly Crane

  "He didn't take me, Beck. I'm right here."

  "You're only here because you have to be. Otherwise, you would have never told me any of this, now would you?"

  "No. Of course not. Would you have believed me?"

  "No!" Beck shrieked. "I barely believe you now."

  "Ok, then. There's reason we've kept our distance these past couple weeks. But I had no idea he'd go after you." Maggie's eyes filled. "Beck, you'll never know how sorry I am."

  "I know." Beck sighed and looked at the floor. "Mags, I know, OK? You don't have to feel guilty because some egomaniac with a God complex cut our fuel line. What you should feel guilty about is thinking that you could keep this from me." They both looked up and stared at the other. "The only way you could have ever kept all this from me was to either lie to me every day or let me go. Were you going to slowly let me go and we'd drift apart, not being friends anymore in a few years with me just thinking life had gotten in the way? That it was just how normal friends ended things?"

  "No. I just didn't know what to do. I wanted to keep you, but I have to keep Caleb."

  "If you loving him means losing me, you should've chosen me! I had you first!"

  "It's not that simple," Maggie ground out. "I love him, yes, but we have to be together. We have to touch and…" She shook her head. "You know what? No. This isn't some hos before bros situation, OK? I shouldn't have to choose. I was going to do what I had to do to still be friends, but it is normal, Beck. To drift apart, to not be so dependent on each other anymore. When you find the person you're going to marry, they become first. Everyone else is second to that, as they should be. You don't think that if you and Ralph got married that he'd always come before me?"

  Rebecca snorted. "We're not talking about me, we're talking about you!"

  Maggie just sighed. I decided to take that opportunity to butt in. "We need to check out soon. You can finish this fight at my place."

  "Oh, we're done," Beck said sarcastically. "We'll be waiting in the car."

  And they left. I couldn't see Maggie's face, as she was turned away, but I suspected tears. Her mind was as blank as an empty chalkboard. But when she turned, her face was drawn in anger, not sadness. "How dare she?" she asked.

  "Maggie-"

  "No, how dare she!" She turned to look fully on me. "She's acting like I fed her to the wolves instead of saved her life. I protected her, I've done everything to keep her, even argue with you over it, and she has the nerve to make out like she's the victim?"

  I felt that go straight through my chest. "And you feel like the victim?"

  "No," she said quickly and then looked at me. Really looked at me. "No, Caleb. I don't think there's a victim at all here. Yes, she's Marcus' victim, but not mine." She practically ran across the room to put her arms around my middle. She squeezed. "Don't be thickheaded here, Jacobson." She smiled with truth. "I always wondered why Beck and I were friends. We were absolutely nothing alike. She's crazy and rash and rude and can be downright snobbish sometimes. But she's always been there for me. If she can't be here for me now? Now when I've found you, my husband, then we're not really friends anyway, are we?" She moved closer, letting her thighs touch mine. "I'll always choose you."

  I nodded. She cocked her head to the side."Why didn't you just read my mind? You would have seen the answer there."

  "I'm trying to give you space. We can't be in each other's mind all day, every day for the rest of our lives. There needs to be some mystery there." She smiled at that. "Plus, I thought you might want some privacy while you talked to Beck. Especially since you were fighting about me."

  "You mean if I wanted to have thoughts of regret, you were going to let me have them in private?" she said wryly and scowled up at me.

  I didn't hesitate."Yes."

  "My, my, how the tables have turned," she said playfully, but then frowned. "You're doubting me? Really?"

  I got a full dose of the feelings of the very limited times when Maggie had felt inadequate, like she didn't deserve me, like she wasn't what I needed. It hurt like hell in my chest to be on the other end of that. To feel her ache as she sat there and thought that I thought that I was ruining her life. Beck was important to her, I knew that, and now she had to choose between her and me. And she was going to choose me, every time.

  There wasn't a doubt in my mind about that.

  But I hated it to hell and back that she had to choose because Beck was human and humans freaked when they realized something hokey was going on. Seeing your best friend give you a vision was pretty hokey.

  I sighed as I took her elbow in my hand and pulled her to me. My body screamed at me to take away her hurt. And when my fingers touched her skin, she jolted with the hit of calm I gave her. I pushed everything I had into it and pulled her into my arms. She didn't resist and I hoped it was because she wanted me to hold her and not just because her body wanted my comfort.

  But when she settled in and started to play with the buttons of my shirt, I got my answer. I had to stop doubting this girl. This amazing girl who loved me even after she lost her friend because of me.

  For the first time, I really did feel like a tyrant.

  She reached up on her tiptoes and pressed her face to mine. She didn't kiss me, but let our cheeks and noses touch. I smiled, realizing she was doing what I had done to her so many times when I waited for her to kiss me. She had to make the first move in the beginning, those few short weeks ago. Seemed like an eternity ago now.

  And now as she turned the tables on me, I gave her a ghost of a kiss. I barely let my top lip touch her bottom one before going back for another soft touch that killed me to do. But I enjoyed her reaction as she pushed forward to take more, which I denied by leaning back a little. "We should go," I whispered. "Still a couple hours away from my place."

  She groaned, "You did that on purpose."

  "Uhuh," I answered and tightened my grip on her elbow. "I'd rather not have nips and pecks here when I can straddle the line with you as soon as we get home."

  She sucked in a small breath and let her feet fall flat to the floor. Her eyes were wide as she agreed with a nod and scooted quickly to get her purse from the bed. I chuckled huskily in amusement and enjoyment.

  This girl was going to be the death of me.

  Well, that was fine. They could write "Died a happy man" on my coffin.

  Chapter 7

  Maggie

  The car ride was possibly one of the most awkward I'd ever endured. It was more awkward than the time I caught my parents having sex…before church, and we all had to ride together in that strangely hot, too small car to God's house.

  But as we walked into Caleb's apartment, and Beck pushed through us without so much as a 'thank you' to Caleb for letting them crash there, I would have relived that awkward moment with my parents any day.

  We had to creep. Beck was wearing Caleb's hoodie and Ralph had on Caleb's hat and whoever's sunglasses had been left in the SUV. They went first and waited for us. Caleb and I waited a few minutes before we went, too. Then Caleb unlocked the door, looking around for anything strange, and let them in. And there we were.

  Ralph looked back at Caleb and me with a sympathetic look. "Sorry about her. Thanks for letting us stay here, man. I'm still not quite sure what's going on though." His questioning eyes glanced to me and back to Caleb.

  "We'll….talk later," Caleb promised and sighed as he tossed his keys into a VOLS cup on the hall table. "You two can take the last room on the right."

  Ralph saluted and jogged to catch up to Beck, who was the one who slammed the door, I had no doubt.

  As Caleb locked the door behind us, I looked around his walls. I made my way to the fireplace and was impressed with the place. It was nice for a college kid, but the accommodations were definitely more along the lines of a bachelor. There was nothing on the walls. In the living room, there was a couch, an end table and a lamp. End of story.

  He did have a couple of photos on his mantle. One of Maria and
one of their family. Caleb looked so young there. I picked it up and rubbed my thumb over his photo face. No dust. I eyed the mantle and found no dust there either. So, Caleb had a maid.

  "I do," he answered from behind me. "Her name is Rose and she comes once a week."

  I put the picture back gently, straightening it just as I found it before turning to him. He was leaned with his hip on the arm of the green couch, watching me. But I noticed his lip as he chewed and sucked on it; his nervous tick.

  He was nervous that I was here. It gave me pause, but something else took precedence over that.

  I was in Caleb's home. Finally.

  I grinned before tackling him, both of us falling back onto the soft, green pillows of the couch. He laughed in surprise before I covered his mouth with mine. My knees were bent and his legs were still dangling over the couch arm, but he didn't mind as he pulled me up his body further with his hands on my sides.

  I pulled back and held myself up on my elbows. I was already winded, but managed to say, "I love your apartment."

  He smiled. "You've only see one room so far."

  I shook my head before he was even finished. "Doesn't matter. It's yours. You live here. It's your home."

  "It's your home," he countered. He shook his head slowly and reached up to push my hair back. He let his thumb rub my temple as he spoke. "I have wanted to bring you here ever since…the beginning." His mind ran with images of us at the stop light, him talking to his parents about me, picking me up the next day at my Dad's house. "And now you're here. In my space," he said, his voice gravelly and sexy. "Gah…I love it."

  "I love it, too."

  "And I love you in it." I just smiled down at him at that. "You being here is like a missing puzzle piece finally coming together with the rest of it." I nodded and reveled in the feel of his hands in my hair. He reached up to kiss the corner of my mouth. "Do you want the tour?"

  "Not right now I don't," I countered and let my weight fall on him once more. Our lips met spot-on, as if they knew right where to go. Caleb's hands both went under the hem of my tank and gripped the skin of my sides. It was like, the more skin he was touching, the more intense our connection was. My mind pushed right into his and he put up no fight.

  But as soon as I started to see the energy ribbons behind my eyelids, I heard a faint knock in the back of my consciousness and then the door opened. I lifted up to see over the couch as Kyle and Lynne came in without waiting. I gasped and glared at him as he lifted his arms in an annoyed manner.

  "What the hell are you two doing here?" he asked. "And making out, no less. Uncle Peter is going nuts worrying about you both." And then he looked to the hallway and paled. "Beck?"

  I jumped up and straightened my clothes. "We found them, but couldn’t take them home. I had a vision."

  Caleb grunted in annoyance beside me. "And I called Dad and told him we were fine."

  Kyle had to drag his eyes from Beck who stood bored in the hallway entrance, arms crossed. "Well, he's just worried about you. He said you should have called him again by now, so I decided to come and see if you were here, though I never actually expected to find you here."

  I saw in mind exactly what he'd been expecting. His house was still crowded from the meeting, and family in and out. He thought he'd get some alone time in with Lynne. In Caleb's apartment. Alone.

  Lynne smiled even as the boys stared angrily at each other, and came to stand next to me. She laced her arm through mine. Beck moved further into the room and cocked her head at me. Or Lynne, rather. "So, you've replaced me? And with this blonde cute-as-a-cookie chick at that? Is that why you don't care about being friends with me anymore?"

  Lynne jolted at the implication and looked at me. I said, "No, I didn't replace you. What are you, five? Besides, you were the one with the ultimatums and accusations. I saved your life, if you remember."

  "Yeah," Beck sneered, "how could I forget, freak."

  "Hey!" Kyle yelled, startling us all. "Don't talk to her like that. She's the V-"

  "It's OK, Kyle," I waved away his help and Caleb's as I saw his mouth open to say something, too. "Beck's just having a hard time." And she definitely didn't know anything about the Visionary stuff and I wasn't inclined to clue her into it yet. She was already walking away as I said it. I heard the door slam again.

  "So, anyway," Kyle continued in annoyance, "you need to come back and let Uncle Peter know what's going on."

  Caleb sighed and licked his lips before saying, "Well, I'm the Champion now, not Dad." Kyle sighed, too. "I'm the Champion and I saw what needed to be done and did it. I have to do what's best, not worry about whether Dad will be angry, even if it means he's left in the dark."

  Kyle twisted his lips. "Yeah. I kind of forgot about that. Sorry."

  "It takes some getting used to," Caleb agreed. "Even I forget half the time."

  "No you don't," I called him on his bull crap. "You never stop thinking about it." I left Lynne to stand in front of Caleb. He looked so vulnerable and open right then. "But the thing you don't understand is that no one has doubts that you can do this, but you."

  He took a deep breath. He glanced over at Kyle. Kyle took that as his cue to say something smart, in typical Kyle fashion. "Yeah, what she said. But you can keep your bossy pants off when we come visit, 'cause I ain't following orders, bro."

  Caleb cracked a wry smile. "Speaking of which," he crossed his arms, which was very distracting for me, "what the heck are you doing marching in my house when the door was locked?"

  "So I had Aunt Rachel make a key." He shrugged. "What's the big deal?"

  "The big deal?" Caleb laughed. "This is my house! And Maggie lives here now, too. What if you had walked in on something?"

  Kyle grinned devilishly. "I thought I had."

  I bit my lip, but still blushed. Caleb laughed and punched Kyle's arm. "Shut up, man." He came behind me and put his arms around me.

  "Besides," Kyle continued and accepted Lynne into his arms as she came back to him, "I thought I was going to live here once upon a time, remember?"

  "You still can," I interjected. Caleb nuzzled the side of my neck and grunted his disagreement of that.

  "No offense, but I'm not interested in bunking with the leader of our race, thank you very much," Kyle spouted and mimicked Caleb's position by wrapping his arms around Lynne from behind. He nipped her neck. "And I think we'd rather live alone anyway."

  "Kyle," Lynne complained and slapped his hand, but she leaned back into him further and slung her arm around his neck. "Oh, my gosh, you're so crass!"

  "You like it, babe, don't lie."

  She grinned. "OK." She giggled. "I like it."

  "I know," he groaned and bit into her earlobe.

  I felt my lips part in shock of their brazenness. Yes, Caleb and I could be accused of being a little clingy, and I was never afraid of PDA, but those two were going above and beyond.

  Caleb thought so, too, and said, "All right, hit the road." He shooed them with his hand. "We just got here. I want Maggie to myself."

  "But we can't stay the night?" Lynne whined. "We wanted to be away from Kyle's house tonight if we could. No offense, Mister Champion, but your family is driving me insane."

  "What's wrong?" I asked. I loved the Jacobsons and couldn't imagine being annoyed with them.

  "That granny won't stop making inappropriate sex talk!" Lynne spouted. Caleb, Kyle and I burst with laughter. "What?" she said, vexed. "It's true! She's so nosy and always asking me if I'm being careful. I'll have her know I'm a proud V-card carrying member."

  I laughed harder. "Oh, my gosh, Lynne! Stop!" I gripped Caleb's arm for support. "How could you not like Gran?"

  "Oh, I like her just fine, but she's a ball buster."

  Caleb and Kyle were falling all over each other laughing.

  Kyle and Lynne eventually accepted defeat and knew they couldn't stay there with Beck and Ralph already taking up the guest room. So they started to leave. Lynne hugged me hard and said
we should do something seriously girly soon, like shopping and coffee. I agreed.

  But they were on their way out when Kyle reached for Lynne's hand to tow her out the door, and that's as far as they got.

  They both gasped, but Lynne was the one who spoke. "What is that? Kyle!" she screeched in fear.

  He pulled her close and smiled in adoration, taking her face in his hands. "It's OK, babe. It's the ascension," he breathed in reverence. "Just hang on to me."

  I felt Caleb's arm pull me into his chest, but I couldn't look away from the magic of what was going on. I saw it all as it transformed and realized their abilities just as they did. They had some kind of affinities. Lynne's was water and Kyle's was air. My mind immediately went back to Captain Planet, a show I used to watch when I was a kid.

  Lynne was freaked. She had no idea how to go about using it or where to even start. All Kyle could think about was all the pranks he could do with his gift. I started to speak, to think of something brave and inspiring and…leadery to say.

  Lynne's eyes met mine right before her gaze jerked to the hall and she gasped. It all happened in a rapid succession that was almost too fast to follow.

  Lynne's ability fired without her consent as she panicked, breaking the fire sprinkler above her head on the wall, and blasting Beck with a downpour of water, who had chosen the worst moment to mosey into the hall.

  I felt in Beck's mind as the water that a scared Lynne dispelled pelted her skin. She screamed and fell back into the wall dramatically, more mad than anything else. I lifted my hand to stop the water spraying out, damming it back. Beck gave me a look of disgust at my act. I started to rush over, but she screamed for me to stop. I heard her thoughts, but tried to play it off as her being freaked by what happened.

  No such luck.

  "Don’t touch me!" she screamed and scrambled to the room. She slammed the door. I ran after her and tapped on the door gently, but she told me to go away.

  I felt torn. Lynne was now my responsibility, as were all the Aces. She was going through something supernatural that I'd already been through and it was my job as Visionary to 'deal' with it. Beck was being…Beck. Hopefully, she'd understand soon.