by C. L. Stone
Sometimes he wondered if he even enjoyed the games at all anymore. That was the problem with diving too deeply into a passion. Become an expert in something you love, and then suddenly what you love doesn’t look the same. You want to fix the flaws. You want to create your own.
The only time he could play a game like he used to, was when he was with someone. Then he didn’t seem to see the code, he just saw the game. Like playing with someone else allowed him to stop thinking for a minute and just enjoy, seeing it through their eyes.
He really liked playing with Kayli. She didn’t take the games seriously, and joked through the whole thing. This afternoon, while they were waiting to hear from anyone about Wil, they played a whole two hours of Minecraft. Their characters died a million times, and she only laughed.
He smiled thinking of that. A few days ago, she’d been angry and lashed out, untrusting of any of them. While she was worried about her brother, Corey had told her that he had to be fine, because he was being spotted at school. It was just a matter of time. She relaxed at this. It was a good sign. She was starting to trust him.
The scrape of metal against the door brought Corey out of his game-induced trance. Numbers started to clear, and the code disappeared until he was back in reality.
He saw Axel coming through the door and paused his game.
Axel locked up behind himself, turned and then tilted his head at Corey. “Something going on?” Axel asked.
Corey shook his head. “No.”
“You’re up late.”
“So are you.”
Axel pursed his lips, nodding. “Hey,” he said. He motioned with his hand, pointing to his bedroom. “Can we talk for a second? It’s been a while.”
Corey studied Axel for a moment and then stood.
Axel continued on, opening the door, and allowing Corey inside.
Corey avoiding looking at all the creepy crawlies inside Axel’s bedroom. They grossed him out.
“Have a seat,” Axel said, closing the door behind him.
Corey’s heart started to race. He swallowed, avoiding Axel’s eyes. This sounded more serious than just a chat, and Corey could only imagine what Axel was thinking. They hadn’t talked alone since they’d returned from Florida. Corey had filled him in on the events, but it was in front of everyone else. Some of the finer details, like Blake’s appearance were still a little sketchy.
He hadn’t asked Kayli for details but got the gist. Somehow they connected, and Kayli used him to try to find out more about the Academy.
It was Corey’s own fault, because she’d tried to ask, and he knew he couldn’t give full answers. It was impossible to do so. The Academy isn’t something you just ask about and get a straight answer. You have to live it to understand. It wasn’t difficult, it just took time.
Corey stood by the desk in the middle of the room, checking the notes scribbled over the start of a new notebook.
Axel crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back against the door frame, looking at Corey. “Why did you take Kayli to Florida?”
That was it? Corey shrugged. “I mentioned I was going. She asked to come along.”
“You encouraged her?”
“No,” Corey said. “I didn’t even say what I was doing. I just mentioned I was going to Florida and thought she may want to hang out with someone else. She perked up and asked if she could tag along.”
“Didn’t she want to stay for Wil?”
“She asked if we’d get back in time to meet Wil on Monday. At the time, I was pretty sure we’d get back the same day. We didn’t know it’d turn into World War III.”
Axel’s lips pursed and he nodded. “They aren’t happy.”
Corey didn’t need to ask. Checking in was a normal part of Academy life. It was good the Academy had their backs, but it also meant teams were scrutinized.
Being the type of group that they were, they had to expect some suggestions for improvement. “Uh-oh,” Corey said.
“Uh-oh is right,” Axel said. He moved toward one of the fish tanks he had on a table. He leaned over, studying the tiny things swimming around inside. “She’s cost us several favors.”
“How many?”
“Let’s just say, it’s lucky we’ve got such a surplus. A normal group couldn’t afford the favors.” He stood, smiled. “Good thing we earned more than enough in Florida to cover the cost of that and her adoption.”
The favor cost for a closed adoption was high, but continuing to take the person on assignments, like the Florida debacle, cost a lot more, especially if it was dangerous. It was the price of trying to recruit anyone and taking deep risks. The Academy had to take extra steps to cover up for someone who didn’t understand the rules. The higher the risk, like a shootout, earned and took favors alike, depending on who was there.
Corey remained still by Axel’s desk. His fingers were touching the notebook but he wasn’t reading, just looking at it. “She didn’t know.”
“You did,” Axel said. He inched closer, nearly standing beside Corey. “We should have sent her back. She wasn’t ready for this. She probably has the wrong idea about us now.”
“She’s the one that discovered the truth about Fred.”
“We would have found out.”
Corey shook his head. “I was getting the runaround. Harry didn’t have a clue, and his grandmother was manipulating him to believe it was just a Ponzi scheme. I might have been there for a while, not thinking to look deeper. We were looking at the wrong spot from the start. We’re lucky Kayli got the mail and spotted the envelope.”
“But the moment learned the truth, you should have known better,” Axel said, his eyes darkening. “You kept her with you. You could have put her on a bus back home.”
“How come you didn’t?” Corey asked, looking up and meeting Axel’s face. He didn’t like Axel’s suggestion. Like Corey was deliberately putting Kayli in danger, or trying to cost their team in favors. “Weren’t you the one who had her following you around when you got there?”
“So I could keep an eye on her,” Axel said.
“Worked out great, didn’t it? She almost ended up in jail.”
“Not with me. It seems I have to keep her next to me. Everyone else gives in to her plans, her suggestions.” Axel sighed. “It’s like she’s trying to take over. And everyone jumps in and follows along.”
Corey grunted. “You don’t get it. She feels like she’s part of this team, now. She needs this.”
“She needs to get over it,” Axel said.
“She’s scared,” Corey said. “We’re all she has. You should have seen it when she came back after Marc and Brandon were arrested. She was terrified of the police.”
“They’re not going to hurt her.”
“She doesn’t know that,” Corey said.
Axel grunted, shaking his head. He moved to the bed and sat, rubbing his face.
“What’s wrong?” Corey asked.
Axel motioned to the window. “Now there’s Blake Coaltar who thinks we’ve buddied up. Now she probably thinks it’s okay to connect with him. Why the hell did you call him?”
Corey pressed his lips together. This was the heart of the discussion, he felt it. The problem was, he really shouldn’t lie to Axel, or any of them. He didn’t want to betray Kayli, either. Kayli was worried they wouldn’t trust her if they knew she’d used him to dig out information about the Academy.
He’d done the same thing, and it’d nearly cost him his career inside the Academy. You can’t get in if you don’t trust them. That’s the rule.
Axel huffed and shook his head. “I don’t get it.”
“Why isn’t it okay?” Corey asked. “I mean, he did help. I wouldn’t have let him if I didn’t think…”
“Because he—” Axel’s voice had risen, but stopped short. He lowered his tone, but it was still severe. “He could take her from us. He’s got more to offer her.”
Corey shook his head. “She didn’t like him before. She yelled at him w
hile…during…”
Axel shook his head slowly. “We’re a mess with her,” he said. “She’s needed to get away before and we keep dragging her back. She could see him as a method of getting away from us, but then he could…”
“I involved her,” Corey said. “She stuck with us. She’s here with us now.”
“She’s going to be looking for dirt,” Axel said. “Her father lied to her, and her brother is acting up. Now she’s going to be testing us at every minute, trying to see if we hold up. And we’re the worst group to be digging around.”
“That’s the past,” Corey said.
Axel pointed to the door. “We were shooting the shit out of things, and damaged who knows how much property. How do you think that looks to her? To Blake, who was there for nearly the whole time? We’re a bunch of hypocrites to her now. And he’s going to feed her lies just to get her on his side.”
“We don’t care about him, do we?”
“She does,” Axel said.
Corey frowned, turned his head. He didn’t like Blake. The moment he saw that car, the window rolled down and Blake’s head poking out, he’d wanted to nab Kayli and run the other direction. After, when Kayli seemed really upset that Corey was mad at her, he felt she must have really cared about what he was thinking. To him, that proved she cared about him.
And then there was how she’d asked him to go out with her.
Corey had said okay. He thought she was joking at first, but she was always hanging on to him, getting close. When he asked her private things and she started to open up, she’d looked too beautiful and happy around him. She didn’t tell him about Blake, but he was making progress with discovering her distrust about the Academy. That’s when he realized what she needed the most. She didn’t really trust unless she had proof you were there no matter what. But even then, she’d test you at every possible angle, trying to find out for sure.
Maybe if he’d talked to her sooner, he would have prevented Blake from even being in the picture. He just hadn’t had the time.
Axel leaned his head over, catching Corey out of his swirl of thoughts. “What?”
“Nothing,” Corey said quickly.
“That’s not nothing,” Axel said. “You know something.”
Corey shook his head, pressing his lips together until it was almost painful.
“Don’t give me that face,” Axel said. “Is it about Kayli?”
Corey almost shook his head, but it would have been a lie, and he wasn’t sure if he should. Maybe it was better to get it out of the way. “She asked me out.”
Axel squinted. “What?”
“I don’t know if she was joking, but she’s been holding my hand and snuggling up to me and…”
“I thought,” Axel said, “you were interested in on someone else.”
Axel was the only one who knew this. Corey confessed it, had to when one day Axel had caught him staring. Axel hadn’t told the others that Corey was interested in both guys and girls, and never judged. Axel had been encouraging him to tell the others. Corey knew they’d never make fun of him, but his biggest issue was making anyone feel so uncomfortable they’d leave the team. If you tell a guy you’re attracted to him, they act weird if they don’t reciprocate. That had happened to him and eventually the friendship ended. Corey never forgave himself for letting the secret out.
It’s why Corey never said anything to him.
Corey shook his head. “He’s never shown interest. And I never wanted to make things weird.”
“It’s not weird if you’re honest. I don’t really think he’d turn you away. He just doesn’t know you’re interested.”
Corey’s eyes flicked toward the door, and his mind was instantly on the member of his team who was sleeping not too far away. He shook off the thoughts quickly. He pressed a palm against the back of his neck, rubbing. He sighed, focusing on the bookshelves but not really looking at them. “I really like her, too.”
“You’ve got competition,” Axel said.
Corey jerked his head back until he was focusing on Axel.
Axel was unreadable.
“Who?” Corey asked.
Axel shook his head quietly.
It was unfair to ask, since Corey expected Axel to keep quiet about his private feelings.
“You’ve got options,” Axel said. “I don’t know which one might…satisfy you.”
“It’s not a… I mean it doesn’t matter.”
“Look at me, Corey.”
Corey lifted his eyes, focusing on Axel’s dark gaze.
Axel tilted his head forward slightly. “We’re in a really delicate situation right now. She’s the only girl in a group with six guys, five of which are single. Kayli’s a hot girl and she not only can keep up with us, she’s worked with us and understands, or is starting to figure out about the Academy. The longer we mix her in with us, the more difficult it will be for her and for us.”
“Are you kicking her out? We can’t do that.”
Axel’s head shook slightly. “That’s exactly what I was worried about.”
“What?”
“We’re already too deeply involved for her to leave.”
“But you just said…”
“Because I don’t want to let her go, either,” Axel said. “And if we keep fucking up on assignments like this, the Academy will step in and yank her out of it for her own protection. And because the relationship will be too complex.”
Corey made a face. “What relationship? She asked me out.”
“Seriously?” Axel asked. “You said she may have been joking.”
“I thought she was at the time, but she slept next to me that night. She snuggles into me in front of the others.”
Axel was quiet for a long moment. “You should ask her directly. You should find out.”
That was the problem. Corey wasn’t sure how to ask her if she was serious. “She’s in my room right now.”
“She may feel safe with you. You’re the type of guy who keeps his hands to himself until she says she’s ready.”
“Doesn’t that say something?”
“It isn’t enough,” Axel said. “And you’re still asking for trouble if you don’t find out the truth and quickly. She needs to tell you who she’s interested in. And you need to be honest with her. Does she know you’re interested in someone else? Is she going to be okay with knowing you’re working alongside someone you could develop feelings over? Is she going to be comfortable knowing you’re interested in guys, too?”
“Why are you doing this?” Corey asked. “You’ve never cared this much about who I go out with or what I do.”
“I care when I can see disaster coming,” Axel said. “I still think you should tell him.”
Corey narrowed his eyes. “You’re pushing me off of her, pushing me toward him? You don’t think it’ll work between me and her?”
Axel shrugged, looking at the wall.
Corey never saw Axel avert his gaze like that before, not when something serious was going on. Axel was a rock, steady. He had to be hiding something now if he was nervous.
Suddenly, Corey knew. “You,” Corey said. “You’re into her.”
Axel frowned, but didn’t reply.
Corey didn’t believe it. Axel was jealous? “You never said anything. You didn’t…”
“She’s one hell of a girl,” Axel said quietly.
Corey sighed and moved to the bed. Axel was the one with the crush and Corey was the one telling him about his feelings for her. It felt horrible, like he was hurting Axel. “It’s all messed up. I’m sorry.”
“We’re making it worse throwing her into Academy situations. They’re going to want to know where she stands, and we can’t lie.”
“I’m more worried about Kayli.” Corey’s heart was racing. Hoping. He felt strongly about Kayli. He’d be in bed with her right now, except he was having a hard time sleeping next to her without being so wound up and turned on. He hadn’t felt this way about a girl in a while
.
When she wasn’t there, he doubted himself. Was he picking up on signals that weren’t there? When he got a chance, he needed to be around her to see if she continued to flirt and smile at him.
“What do we do?” Corey asked.
“Do you love her?”
“It’s too soon for that,” Corey said. “You’re not saying that you…”
Axel raised his head, held his gaze.
Corey winced. “You can’t.”
Axel frowned. He breathed in deeply, pressing a palm against his face and rubbing. “I can’t tell you. But I need to know very soon. You should know, too. You’ll have to ask her if she was serious.” He looked up. “I should never have let her on the team. I just had that feeling, though.”
“One of those again? Like with Marc?”
“Marc was a good kid when we grabbed him.”
“Yeah, but look how long it took to recruit him.”
“Kayli’s been easier.”
“Not that easy,” Corey said. “There’s Blake.”
“There is Blake,” Axel said. “No matter which one of us she may like, if we push her too hard, she may turn to him.”
Corey had to agree. Blake was dangerous. He knew too much, and he’d confessed he really liked Kayli. Corey forced his palms against his thighs at the thought of him.
“You’re going to have to make a choice,” Axel said. “You’ve already got one crush. If you introduce Kayli into this, it may draw hurt feelings. If he’s interested in you, he may not like sharing you with a girl. And she may not like sharing you with him.”
Corey wasn’t so sure. Maybe he entertained the thought a bit too much, but at times he wondered how it could work out. “You’re saying this because you want me to go after him, and leave Kayli to you.”
“I want everyone to be happy,” Axel said. He stood up. “And I don’t want to lose you.”
There was a tug at Corey’s heart hearing that. Axel was an extraordinary guy. It was difficult keeping his feelings in check. He’d always believed in Corey. If it wasn’t for Axel, Corey wasn’t sure if he’d be where he was today.
