The Ultimate Sacrifice, Talia Jager [novels to read .TXT] 📗
- Author: Talia Jager
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“Hi,” he said with a smile.
“Hi,” I whispered back.
I waited; he sat silently watching the movie. Finally he spoke. “Sorry ’bout this morning.”
“No biggie.”
“Arian is just acting out a little, she’s insecure. I hope you can understand.”
Next to me, Auralee started coughing, obviously trying to cover up a giggle.
“Yeah…sure. Are you, uh…with her?”
“With her? Like dating?” He seemed surprised. I nodded. “No, we’re not dating.”
“Oh.”
“Does it seem that way?”
I shrugged. “Well, you’re with her all the time.”
He laughed. “I don’t know anybody else here.”
“Fair enough. I’m Kassia Lagos.” I stuck out my hand.
He took it with a firm grip, sending a warm sensation up my arm. When he smiled, I noticed it was just a tad bit crooked and he had a dimple on the right side. “I’m Daxton Dekas.” After I raised my eyebrows, he added, “My parents like D’s.”
“I see that. Well, now you know someone here.”
“I guess I do.”
“Where ya from?”
“River Oaks,” he answered. River Oaks Institute was the other gifted school, located on the east side of the country.
“Oh, why the move?”
His face turned darker. “I’m not really sure. We were transferred here, but we weren’t told why.”
“Odd.” Transfers usually didn’t happen without a pretty big reason.
“Tell me about it.” He was silent again.
I wondered what he was thinking. I stole a look at Auralee, but she sat still. I waited for what seemed like a very long time. The movie played on and I happened to glance back to where Daxton had come from. Arian was glaring at us. “Are you sure you and Arian aren’t together?”
He followed my gaze. “Yeah, but she’s not a big fan of yours.”
I heard Auralee chuckle. I kicked her.
“So, it’s just seeing you with me?” I asked.
“I guess. She’s a friend.”
“Hmmm.” I’d have to think about that one. “And you want to be my friend?”
Our eyes met and I felt that pull again. “I’d like to be your something,” he whispered, without looking away.
Slowly, it seemed like our bodies were leaning closer to each other. I could feel his warm breath on my face. I licked my lips as the urge to kiss him built up in me. It was almost as bad as losing control and hurting someone. I felt like I couldn’t control my emotions. My body wanted to take over.
“Kassia.” Mira grabbed my arm. “You okay?”
Our gaze was broken and I looked over at Mira. She looked concerned. I cleared my throat. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I was a little miffed that she had interrupted.
Daxton looked dazed as well. “Well, I wanted to introduce myself properly. See ya later.” He stood up and walked back to his seat.
I wasn’t sure what to make of that. I leaned back against the tree, unable to take my eyes off of him. Arian was talking to him, her hands flying around. She was obviously mad. He gave her a hard look and she stopped. Then he looked over at me. He smiled, catching me looking at him. I returned the smile and then turned back to the movie.
After the movie was over, Mira and I walked back to the dorm. “What happened earlier?” she asked.
“I’m not sure.” I paused. “There was this really weird connection. Like we’re supposed to be together.”
“You looked like you were locked on.”
I nodded, pulling out my ponytail. “It felt a little like that. An intense feeling. I wanted to kiss him so bad!”
She giggled. “I’ve never heard you talk about someone like that.”
“I’ve never felt like that, not even with Finn.”
We got ready for bed and chatted a little longer. I hoped for a dream that night instead of a nightmare, but apparently that was too much to ask. The nightmare came again right on time, waking me up in a sweat, forcing me to check the mirror, and then wander over to my spot on the window seat.
I searched the courtyard, looking for something out of the ordinary. It was empty yet again, and I was able to breathe easier. But then something in one of the other buildings caught my eyes. A movement? I looked harder and stifled a gasp. The new boy, Daxton, was at his dorm window staring at me.
I wasn’t sure what to do. Stay there and stare back? Hide? Mira made a sound and I glanced over at her, but she was still sleeping. When I looked back, he was gone. I did a quick sweep of the courtyard and the boys’ dorm one more time, but couldn’t find any more eyes watching me. Had he been looking for me? Or was this whole thing a coincidence? As I sat there longer, I started to wonder if he had been there at all. Maybe I had imagined him?
I crawled back into bed earlier than usual that night. My body was tired and my mind was full of questions. I tried some deep breathing and was able to fall asleep.
Chapter Four
I didn’t stir again until I felt someone shaking me. “Kassia, it’s almost noon, get up!”
Noon? I yawned and stretched my arms. “I’m awake.”
“Good.”
“It’s Saturday.”
“Yes, that’s my point. You wanted to go into town for lunch.”
“Oh, right.” I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and pushed up. “See, I’m up. Give me a few minutes to get ready.”
“Few minutes?” She rolled her eyes.
I hurried down to the bathroom and quickly got ready. I decided not to dry my hair today. I brought it up into a clip and then pulled out a few strands. I touched my eyelids with the violet eye shadow and brushed them both with a few sparkles. Mira didn’t like it when I got too flashy, but she could deal with it for the day. After I pulled on my jeans and purple tank top, I spritzed my body with a spray called “Lilac Blossoms.”
“Done,” I said, turning toward her.
She looked me up and down and sighed. “You look like a faerie.”
“And that’s a bad thing?”
“Nope. Just draws attention.”
“I like attention.” I smiled.
“I know.”
Mira wore jeans with a green and brown shirt. She had braided her hair and only put on a touch of make-up.
I grabbed the keys real quick. “I’m driving today.”
“Kassia,” Mira whined, “you drive too crazy.”
I didn’t listen. I was in a good mood and practically skipped to the car. Every pair of roommates at school was assigned a car to share. Ours was a Honda CRV. Driving it made me feel free and spontaneous. We drove down to a little deli in town and had lunch outside. I liked feeling the warmth of the sun on my face. “Sometimes I wish we could just take off, the two of us, and never look back.”
“Is this the fantasy where we marry each other?”
I opened one eye and shot her a look. “Noooo. It’s the one where it’s just us. We don’t have to worry about anything or anybody else.”
“Somehow, I don’t think it would be that easy.”
After lunch, we did a little shopping before heading back to school. As we turned onto the road that would eventually bring us back to Glendale, another car veered into our lane. I was going way too fast and had to slam on the brakes. The cars clipped each other, putting us into a spin.
When the spinning stopped, I looked over at Mira and asked, “You okay?”
“Yeah, you?”
“Fine.”
Both of our cell phones started ringing. I looked at mine. “Noe,” I said at the same time Mira said, “Auralee.” We both answered the phones, promised we were okay, and said we would be home soon.
I looked out the window at the other car on the side of the road. “Think they’re okay?”
“We should find out.”
We both got out and walked over to the other car, a small sportster. The front end was scrunched up and reminded me of an accordion. A man with gray hair and a beard sat in the driver’s seat. He looked over and saw us coming. Quickly, he seemed to get his wits about him and jumped out of the car. “Look at my car!” he yelled.
“Sir, are you okay?” Mira asked him.
“My car isn’t!”
“Sir, do you feel okay?” Mira tried again.
“I’m fine. But, look what you did to my car!” He raised his voice.
“What we did?!” I asked, surprised. “You came into our lane!”
“I most certainly did NOT!” he yelled. “You two don’t even look old enough to be driving.”
“You swerved into our lane!” I yelled back.
He was taken aback for a second. “Where are your parents? Let’s call them.”
“There’s no need to do that,” Mira said, calmly.
“You are irresponsible! You are going to have to pay for this!”
As he kept yelling, I could feel the power rising in me. A tingling feeling shot through my body, getting more and more intense as the seconds passed. The man’s yelling slowed and he started rubbing his head. “Irresponsible and immature!” He started back up again. I didn’t like liars or people who called us names. I focused my energy at him. He stumbled.
Mira stepped in between the man and me; she looked directly into my eyes, grabbed my wrists, and told me to stop.
I tried to peer around her at the man, who was still complaining about his car.
“Kassia,” Mira said again, “calm down. Take a few deep breaths and reel it in.”
I mashed my lips, but gave in and started to breathe. I closed my eyes and told the powers growing in me to relax.
“What the hell is she doing?” the man yelled.
“Sir, I need you to listen to me.” Mira’s comforting voice took over and he grew quiet. “You hit a tree with your car, it was all your fault, there is no need to call the police,” she continued. The man turned, went back to his car, and got in.
Mira grabbed my hand and led me back to the car. She pushed me into the passenger’s seat and took off. “You okay?” she asked.
“Mmhmmm,” I responded, my eyes still closed.
“I thought you were going to do better.”
I opened my eyes and glared over at her. “I am trying!”
She raced back to Glendale and hurried me upstairs. She sat me on my bed. “Don’t move.” She ran out of the room. I heard her banging on the door down the hall. Then I heard hushed voices and finally she came back in, looking relieved. “Noe said it would all be fine.”
I nodded. “Sorry.” The worst part was it wasn’t something we could hide. Even if we got the car fixed secretly and told no one, they would still find out. Heck, they probably already knew.
My suspicions were confirmed about an hour later when there was a knock at the door. Mira opened it. Ms. Meadows, one of the school staff, stood there. She nodded at Mira. “Mr. Eaton would like to see both of you.”
I stood up and mumbled another apology. We followed Ms. Meadows to Mr. Eaton’s office. Dr. Frost was there too. “Hello, girls, please
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