Elana Johnson - Abandon

Secrets are hard to keepespecially if your girlfriend can read minds.

She shouldnt be a secret, Vi said, tossing me a pointed look over her shoulder as she straightened the blanket on her bed.

She is not a secret, I argued, she being my ex-girlfriend, Indiarina Blightingdale.

You did not mention her, Vi said, turning to face me. Until I asked you about herand I only asked you about her because shes all you think about! By the end of her sentence, she had started to yell.

I suppressed the desire to roll my eyes. Ive had other girlfriends, Vi. Do I need to detail my relationship with each one of them?

She narrowed her eyes as if she knew Id only had one girlfriendIndybefore her. Only the ones you still have feelings for. Her voice echoed off the low-hanging rocks of her bedroom and down the hall. No way everyone in the hideout couldnt hear this conversation.

I do not have feelings for Indy. I deliberately kept my voice low.

Vi curled her fingers into tight fists. Shes all you think about. She cocked her head to the side, as if reading my thoughts right now. I wondered if shed already discovered that I used to have a schoolboy crush on her sister.

You dont have to listen if you dont like what you hear, I shot back. And Im only thinking about her because Im worried about where she is. Its been two weeks, Vi. I swallowed back the fear that accompanied the thought of Indy being dead somewhere. Only she knows whats happened in the Resistance while Ive been . . . gone.

Her fists unclenched, and she closed the space between us with three steps. Where were you? You know, while you were gone.

I thought about Indy. I remembered the way our eyes would meet across a crowded room. I thought about how she knew exactly what I needed, and when.

Vi shoved me in the chest. Stop thinking about her.

Stop asking me about where Ive been. I stepped close to her again, leaning against the archway as if it would lend me strength to endure this argument.

Youre only worried about her because you still have feelings for her.

Not true, I growled, our faces only inches apart. Im worried about Thane, too, and I cant stand him.

Thanks a lot. She pushed past me, striding toward the makeshift tech lab, where my brother Pace was standing in the doorway watching us. So glad to know you hate my father.

You hate him too! I yelled after her, refusing to give her even an inch. She disappeared into the tech lab, and the fight left my body. I retreated to the hole in the wall I called a bedroom, but I couldnt figure out how to stop thinking about Indy.

See, Indy and I had gotten together on my fifteenth birthday, almost two years ago. And not only because she was an amazing leader in the Resistance. She wasnt hard to look at either, you know?

Id been leading the Resistance for three years and didnt have much time for girls. Sure, I fantasized about Tythe Seer I had worked with to develop my voice talent. But Pace had claimed her as his as soon as hed met her, and Id kept my childish imaginations to myself.

Indy, along with her brother Irvine, had come to a surprise party Pace had planned for my birthday. Not that it was really a surprise. Pace had to get special clearance to leave the tech facility, and since our house was his permanent address, I got the confirmation before he did.

At my party shed sauntered up to me, slid her arm around my waist, and put her hand in my back pocket. She smiled at me and motioned with her head toward the backyard.

Like I wasnt going to follow her. Id have followed her to Freedom when she looked at me like that.

Indy had to take her hand out of my pocket to go through the back door, but I quickly caught it in my own. I was game for whatever she had in mind.

We held hands as we walked toward the back hedge. Indy looked killer under the summer moon. Her pink hair shone fuchsia, and her dark skin and eyes glowed in the soft light. She wore low camouflage pants with a black tank top that lifted just enough to show a strip of bare skin. Her hand was rough and warm in mine. It fit just right, and when she gave it a gentle squeeze, I couldnt even remember my own name.

Happy birthday, Jag, she said.

I grinned like Id won the electro-sweeps instead of surviving fifteen years without dying. Thanks, Indy.

So. We going back next week?

I guess, I said, shrugging one shoulder. She wanted to talk about work? What next? The weather?

Jag, that thing you did with your voice last week was cadence.

I shrugged again. I hated talking about my talents. Its not like it actually took any special abilities to use them. They were just part of me. I tried to find her feelings, but I came up blank.

Indy cut me a look from the corner of her eye, a knowing smile playing on her lips. Nice try, she said. She slipped her hand out of mine and moved it up my forearm. Her bright yellow fingernails traced a pattern near my elbow.

I tried not to shiver, but it didnt work. I couldnt blame the weatherthe night was perfectly warm. I wish I could call on the wind to come cool me down.

I couldnt, so I choked out, What does that mean?

She slid her hand back to mine, and heat crept along my skin wherever she touched. It means that I felt you looking.

Looking for what? I asked.

How I feel about you.

I suddenly found the hedge in the neighbors backyard fascinating. Oh yeah?

Yeah. I blocked you out.

I glanced at her. How?

Something Irv invented. Nasty tech when you swallow it, but after that its dead useful.

Stupid Irvine. Hes forever inventing something to keep the Thinkers out. Id always supported him, but now that I couldnt use my empathic ability to find out what this incredibly hot girl thought about me? Not so much.

Indy traced her nails up to my elbow again. She took hold of my arm and pulled me toward her. Lets walk, man.

Sure. I stuffed my hands in my pockets. She laced her arm through mine, and we walked to the front of the house and down the sidewalk.

I wasnt sure what to say. Id been on many excursions with Indy, eaten dinner with her tons of times, seen her first thing in the morning after shed woken up on my living room floor.

But now? Words failed me. My imagination ran wild. How her mouth would feel against mine. What she would taste like.

Youre quiet for someone with a voice, she teased.

I grunted. Like I was going to screw anything up by speaking.

She removed her hands from me and put a couple of inches between us. So. I got a question for ya.

Whats that?

When are you gonna kiss me?

My mind went blank.

Its not like I wanted to get you alone so we could discuss tactics. Her voice sounded far away, like it came from deep within her throat.

Oh, well, I

Youre adorable, she said, stopping at the end of the street under an orange light.

Heat rushed to my face. Adorable was worse than cute. Ty had called me that two weeks ago during our training session. I was still pissed off. I wasnt a puppy.

Take it back, I commanded with my voice control all the way up.

She blinked, her eyes glassy, her jaw clenched. Then she smiled. Ah. The tech doesnt work against your voice. Ill tell Irv.

You do that, I said, striding back toward the house. Youre an idiot, I scolded myself. Here I thought Indy liked me, but she was just testing tech for her brotherone of my best friends and an amazing technician for the Resistance.

Jag! She caught up to me in a couple of steps and pulled on my arm to get me to stop. Wait. You havent answered my question.