by Alex Hayes
Finally, I find my voice. “Wow. Nothing I’ve done, I hope.” My breath feels scratchy in my throat.
“Nah.” Matt settles his hands on the table. “I mentioned my brother’s been talking about getting involved in the business.”
I nod, vaguely remembering him saying something of the sort.
“Well, he finally made up his mind. He’s heading out this weekend with his two boys to spend the summer learning the ropes.” Matt rubs his forehead with a grease-stained hand. “I was going to break the news to you on Monday, but as you’re here and you’ll be out tomorrow…”
He pushes the envelope toward me. “Here’s your pay for the week, plus a bit extra to help while you find another job. I spoke to Tom the other day. He said he had work in New York if you’re interested.” He sighs. “I hate doing this to you, son. And if there’s anything I can do, a recommendation or whatever, let me know. You’ve been a dedicated employee and you’ll be missed.”
I reach for the envelope with rubbery fingers. After working here for two years, the idea of not coming back on Monday seems too foreign to comprehend. And yet, an odd feeling of release, of freedom, hovers just beyond the shock and concern.
“Thanks, Matt.” My mind scrabbles around for the right things to say. “I’ll miss this place, but family comes first. I understand that…” Once started, the words flow easily enough.
When I’m done babbling, I shake Matt’s hand and head out, my mind still reeling. Today isn’t just the end of school. It’s the end of everything.
7
Cadi
Are you trapped in a toxic relationship?
I glance away from the tag line and straighten the books across the display of Brandon Williams’ latest self-help bestseller, Toxic Relationships, glad to be able to answer that question with a resounding No.
Idris’s dad would not be pleased to see a single one of his paperbacks sitting askew. And given the chances are high that he might drop in at this bookstore, just to check, I’ve made it my mission to keep his book stand looking perfect.
Headlights flash across the glass storefront as a car pulls into a nearby parking space. Idris. I don’t have to recognize the vehicle to know it’s him. I can sense his crystal, just like I know he senses mine.
A tingle vibrates from the stone embedded in my chest. Anticipation. His.
I smile.
The hands of an old train station clock on the shop’s back wall click to ten. We’re officially closed. And I’m officially off work.
I tug my blue apron over my head and wave goodnight to Manny, the store manager, who’s balancing the last register.
“I’ll lock the door after you.” Manny loosens his caramel tie and unhooks the top button of his blue shirt as he heads to the front door. “Your ride’s here, right?”
“Yes, thanks.”
He nods as I step outside and locks up behind me.
The BMW belonging to Brandon Williams idles. Inside the car, Idris rocks to a beat, his lips moving. He’s singing to the music playing in his head. No radio required. He reaches to open the passenger door as I round the vehicle.
I slide into a gray leather seat.
“Hey, babe,” he murmurs, and his lips meet mine.
More tingling in my chest that quivers into my abdomen and below. I cannot wait until this mating cycle business is over. As much as I’d love to jump my boyfriend, doing so in front of my workplace probably wouldn’t go down too well with Manny.
Idris grins as he pulls away. “Guess what?”
“What?”
His fingers pat the steering wheel. “The car’s officially mine.”
“Seriously?” I grin.
His lips turn up and his eyes gleam. “Yeah. All mine.”
I push my eyebrows up to their full extension. “So you’re not going to share?”
He shifts his gaze from the dash to me. “Love, I’ll take you anywhere you wanna go.”
“But you won’t let me drive.”
A panicked look widens his eyes, but he knows I’m teasing. I’ve had my driver’s license for all of a month.
I settle back in my seat. “So, can you take me home?”
“If that’s where you want to go.” He sounds disappointed.
“I didn’t check the crystal cutting before work. Wanna come with me?”
“Sure, babe.” He puts the car into reverse.
“Papa suggested getting a dog the other day, so I’d have company on my walks,” I say as the car pulls out of the parking lot.
A dark eyebrow lifts. “What’re you saying, Cadi?”
I glance at him and laugh. “Nothing insulting. Just stating a fact.”
“You think he’s serious?” Idris guides the vehicle toward the highway between Hopper and the turnoff to the cabin. Yeah, the place actually has its own turnoff.
“Seemed so.” I relax back into soft leather.
“Huh.” He frowns. “Wonder how a dog would react to you in Livran form.”
“Do you think it would care?”
He shrugs.
We reach the Jacobsens’ turnoff. Idris guides the car up their long winding driveway and stops in front of the house.
Once parked, we head down the back hill toward the forest.
Idris pauses when we reach the seclusion of the trees. “You wanna shift?”
I gnaw on my lip. Shape shifting to our Livran form would make it easier to see and the journey much faster, but I’m afraid what it will do to my libido. “I think it might be best if we don’t.”
“How come? Oh, right, the hormone business.” He turns on his phone light and scoops up my hand. “A romantic walk in the woods then.”
The wind rustles the leaves, making my responding chuckle turn into a shiver. Without sunlight beaming through the trees, the forest feels alien.
Idris’s light offers a puddle of security, glowing over the familiar dirt trail scattered with rust-colored pine needles and crisp leaves.
An intense whistle shatters the darkness. I jump. “What was that?”
“A night bird. Relax, Cadi. I didn’t think you were scared of the dark.”
I gulp. “I’m not. Usually. But it’s so isolated out here. And dark.”
“We could shif—”
“No, we can’t!” My voice cuts the darkness so sharp every predator within a ten-mile radius must have heard me. Ugh. I focus on the circle of light in front of us. “I’m sorry I’m making such a fuss, but if we shift, I’m afraid I’ll jump you or something.”
Idris laughs. “You don’t think I’d be complaining, do you?”
“I’m serious,” I grumble. “I hate feeling out of control.”
“At least it’s not every guy that makes you want to—”
“Enough.” I shake my hands in the air. “I don’t want to think about it.”
He nudges me. “Better than thinking about ghoulies and ghosties.”
I giggle. “Stop teasing me.”
A loud hoot interrupts from above. My fingers hook into Idris’s and squeeze tight. Just an owl. Relax! I order myself.
But my mind wends down the path ahead until it wonders about the Evatenon, those blue, four-eyed aliens who want to assimilate any Livran they can get their monstrous hands on. They could be wandering the forest searching for the crystal tree as we speak. Or worse, searching for us.
Reaching the cave takes way too long with my imagination planting muscle-bound aliens behind every tree. I’ll be so glad when this fertility season is done, and I can shape shift safely and see in the dark.
Why didn’t I ask Mr. Scrim how long these mating cycles last?
Once we’re outside the cave, I connect my phone to the customized weather monitor and check the app. A set of green numbers flash up. All measurements are within acceptable ranges. I sigh with relief as I’ve no desire to contact Mr. Scrim this late, or start messing with water and salt, or whatever.
Idris sidles up to me. “All good?”
“Y
eah. Let’s head back.” My voice sounds eager even to my own ears.
He snags my hand, interlacing our fingers. “Wanna watch a movie tonight?”
“Sure.” Neither of us has to rush out of bed in the morning. High school graduation doesn’t start until three.
“Whatcha in the mood for?” he asks.
Something not at all scary. Something happy. Maybe a romance. Or a musical. Idris recently discovered Bollywood movies, and I have to admit, they’re a hoot. “What’s that movie about an Indian stuntman in Hollywood?”
“Umm…”
As we head down the slope, a throaty grunt comes from our right.
I freeze. “Did you hear that?” My fingers tighten around his as I peer through the trees and see only darkness.
“A pine tree creaking. Nothing to worry about.” Idris leans close and presses his lips against my temple.
I nod and we continue walking.
A few yards further, another grunt breaks the silence of the night followed by a muttering sound.
My heart rate goes from zero to a hundred in one-point-three seconds.
“Shit,” Idris whispers. “Something’s out there.”
“We so need to get out of here,” I croak.
Idris pulls me further down the dirt path. “What do you think it is?”
“I don’t know. You’re the one who’s from around here.” My mind reels back to what Papa said when he was discussing getting a dog. “A moose?”
The worry in Idris’s chest notches up. “Moose are definitely dangerous.”
Judging by the racked moose head above the fireplace, I have to agree.
We take a few more steps and a screech erupts from the tree-knotted darkness.
A responding scream explodes out of me. A hand slams over my mouth. I struggle against Idris.
“Calm down,” he mutters. “I gotta shift.” He releases his hold around me.
Fear shoots through my body at the absence of his touch. I’m drifting. Alone. Surrounded by wildlife of the most dangerous kind.
Hands grip my arms and I almost jump out of my skin.
“You’re okay. I’m right here,” comes my boyfriend’s soft voice. “It’s not a moose.”
I let out a shuddery sigh of relief.
“It’s a black bear.”
My pulse shoots for the moon. A black bear? Aren’t they even worse than a moose?
The invisible creature lets out a series of grunts.
Idris pulls me closer, but his hold isn’t tight or particularly desperate. “That’s strange.”
“What is?” I squeak.
“I can understand her.” His voice is calmer still. “Hmm, I thought our crystals translated for us. Not that I ever understood an animal before today.”
“What does she want?” I demand, not caring about Idris’s latest superpower.
“For us to move away from her cubs.”
My breath hisses out of my lungs. “Where are they? Which way is away?”
“Ah, over there.” His body turns, like maybe he’s pointing some particular way, but I can’t see where. “Just back up, slowly. I’ll let her know we’re leaving.”
I almost ask how, when a series of grunts rumble out of him. He can speak bear? That is so weird.
“It’s okay, Cadi. Just keep walking backward with me. She’s crossing the path now to get to her babies.”
I squint through the darkness, trying to make out the mother black bear, but she’s invisible. To my human eyes, that is. I could shape shift and see what Idris sees, but what if that startles her? “Should I change form?” I whisper.
“Nah, you’re fine.” Idris pats my shoulder. “She’s moving away with her cubs.”
I let out a soft cry of relief, spin around and bury my face in Idris’s chest.
A soft chuckle vibrates from his chest as his arms close around me. “You’re fine now. We’re safe. She was more scared than we were.”
“Speak for yourself,” I murmur into his collar. His musky Livran scent floods my senses. Oh, dear.
Once my heart rate drops to a level approaching normal, I pull away. “I don’t think I want to come out here at night. Like ever.”
“Good idea. Especially if you don’t understand bear.”
My brain rattles in my head. “But how in the world do you?”
“They don’t have a super complicated language. She wasn’t communicating with words, rather specific sounds that reflect her mood. I’m thinking that’s why I understand her, because of my ability with sound.”
“And you talked back to her.” I’m totally impressed.
“I only grunted back.” He almost sounds apologetic, as if I shouldn’t be as impressed as I am. “It’s a matter of hitting the right tonal range.”
Of course. “Your perfect pitch.”
“Let’s get going.” Idris grabs my hand and guides me through the darkness.
My breath becomes ragged with him tugging me along the trail at Livran speed. “Umm, could you slow down a bit?” He cuts his speed, but I’m still gasping. “I need to break the news to Mama and Papa about the ar’n bala tree.”
“You didn’t tell them yet?” His surprise reverberates through my crystal.
“I’ve been waiting for the right moment. It’s kind of a Pandora’s Box, you know. Once the lid’s off, there’s no knowing what questions they might ask. And what if they want to see the crystal tree? I’d need to explain how we have to be in Livran form to enter the cave until it’s rooted, which means explaining…”
He squeezes my hand. “Yeah, the shape-shifting thing. That is kind of awkward. I’m glad my parents already know.”
“Well, I haven’t rushed to drop that bomb on mine. I don’t want either of them having a heart attack.”
Idris huffs. “But they know we’re from another planet. Do you really think our shape-shifting ability will be that big of a leap for them?”
“I don’t know.” I slow down, forcing him to do the same. “Papa loves the whole Ancient Aliens thing. You know, space people with extra large craniums and all. But it’s TV. This is real life, and I just don’t know…”
“You’re afraid they’ll reject you.”
I hate it when he reads my mind. Especially when he figures out something I’m trying to hide from myself.
“Cadi, the Jacobsens love you. They took your telekinetic ability in stride. They’re eager to help our people, even knowing we come from another planet. Why would you think they’d reject you because you can change shape?”
“They’ve only ever seen us looking human. Looking normal. I don’t know how they’ll react to me looking like a lizard.”
He tugs gently on my arm, getting me walking again. “Mom and Dad took it okay. They didn’t reject me. If anything, Dad finally saw me for who I really am. And Mom’s become more protective than ever.”
I swallow. “That’s because she hates me.”
“She doesn’t hate you.”
I glance in his direction. “Okay, she hates that we’re bonded and thinks you’ve been forced into some kind of an arranged situation against your will. Is that closer to the truth?”
“Well, yeah… But that’s because she doesn’t understand the bond we share. I mean, how could anyone who hasn’t experienced having an embedded crystal that links them to someone else? She can’t appreciate how amazing it feels to never be totally alone. And she doesn’t know how much I love you or how close we were when we were little kids.”
The trees thin as we reach the end of the trail, and the hillside leading up to the cabin spreads out, silvery blue in the moonlight.
“I think Mama and Papa understand that a bit better.”
“They’ve seen us together more than my mom has, Cadi. She needs time to get to know you. Once she does, she’ll discover how wonderful you are and love you too.”
“Yeah,” I say with no conviction whatsoever.
8
Dean
The vacuum cleaner wails a
nd whines from Ty’s room as I place a box wrapped in black and silver paper on the top of my dresser. A graduation gift for Shri. I compromised with the two colors, unsure if black would still be the in thing.
I rap on Ty’s door, “Leaving in five!” and head for the bathroom to check my shirt collar, but my damp hair distracts me. Should’ve had it cut last week. The wave that’s supposed to sweep over my forehead hangs limp. I smear gel across my palm and get to work.
“You look so handsome, hun.” Mom’s statement makes me jump.
She’s using her morning voice, the enthusiastic sober one that used to last most of the day. These days, we’re lucky if her chipper tone makes it until noon.
Her perfume hits me like a right cross to the nose. I try not to cough as I continue shaping my hair. High heels clack on the bathroom tile. Mom steps up to me and starts messing with my shirt collar. “Just a little crease,” she says.
I catch her reflection in the mirror and stare.
She’s wearing a floral sundress with spaghetti straps that expose an expanse of too-pale skin across her shoulders and arms. The pasty color of her face has been powdered over, and her lips match the scarlet poppies printed on her outfit.
“How do I look?” She smiles.
My eyes bounce up from a pair of ruby stilettos to meet hers. “Great.” The word escapes with more enthusiasm than I intend. What’s she so dressed up for, anyway?
She fingers the front of my shirt, making me rock back on my heels to gain some distance.
I glance at the gold watch on my wrist that used to be Gramp’s. “Jeez, we gotta go. Ty!”
Passing Mom, I pound on Ty’s door. “Come on, Tiger, I don’t want to be late to my own graduation.”
The vacuum cleaner shuts off and the door bursts open. Ty stands before me, shirt and slacks ironed and tucked. The only thing messing up perfection is the puckered frown on his face. “Pepper slept on my bed last night and it’s covered in dog hair.”
“After all that vacuuming, it’s gotta be gone by now.” I huff. “Like we’re supposed to be.”
A dramatic sigh echoes back. “It’s almost gone, but I’m gonna need a sticky roller to get the rest.”
