Windswept Read online

  “Do you remember the fight last night?” he asked.

  I did all too well. “Yeah, of course, what about it?”

  “Did you notice anything . . . odd about it?”

  I let out a breath. “Reid, you’re not making any sense. I don’t know what I saw last night. You—” I looked away from the door. “You were really good in that fight, but you were almost too good.”

  “Let me show you. It’s the only way for you to understand.”

  I hesitated, unsure.

  “Okay.” I nodded, even though he couldn’t see.

  “Stay right there, all right?”

  “I thought you were going to show me.” How was he going to do that with a door between us?

  “I am going to show you, but you need to stay there.” Another moment of silence passed before he said, “And, Sam, please don’t freak out.”

  With those words, nerves settled into my stomach. I didn’t know what to expect.

  Then it happened.

  The air rippled right before my eyes, like a thin veil of water. My heart pounded at the sight of it . . . and then Reid appeared. A slight breeze came with him, ruffling my hair, tickling my neck and cheeks. The fragile wisps of air that he came from slowly disappeared with his presence. They were like invisible strings in the wind, something I had never seen before. It was beautiful and frightening.

  One second, Reid had been on the other side of the door, and now he was here, in the hallway of my house. He had just . . . appeared. He waited for my reaction, something that should have probably included running or screaming, but I did neither.

  Was I dreaming again? I touched my stomach because I felt slightly sick and really started to doubt if any of this was real.

  Reid caught on and asked, “Are you okay?”

  “I’m not sure—am I dreaming right now?” I glanced around. Everything looked normal. Everything except Reid’s appearing in front of me out of thin air.

  Reid hesitated and said, “No, you aren’t dreaming.”

  The wave of sickness passed, leaving me with nervousness, fear of the unknown, and a bit of curiosity.

  “Reid, you—” I searched his eyes, as dark and warm as ever. He was nothing but real. “What did you do?”

  He stepped closer, to the point where only a foot separated us. He smelled like the air, but the air you would find in the middle of a field in some unknown land. The way your hair smells after you have ridden a roller coaster or your skin after you have ridden a motorcycle.

  “You didn’t freak out.” He studied me. “Why didn’t you freak out?”

  I shook my head slowly. “I don’t know. Does everyone else freak out when you show them?”

  “I’ve—never shown anyone before. You’re the first.”

  His response puzzled me but also made me feel like maybe I actually meant something to him. Didn’t he have any family or friends? Maybe he’d never told them.

  “What is it exactly?” I felt stupid for asking, like I was asking him what a car was.

  Reid gave me a crooked smile. “It’s drifting.”

  “That guy last night, with the Australian accent, he mentioned drifters. I didn’t know what it meant. I just thought it was gang slang. Is that what you are? A . . . drifter?” My breathing still came faster than normal, but I think it was just because he was close to me more than anything else.

  “Yeah, and so is Jake, my friend.”

  “And what about those men last night? Are they drifters, too?”

  His smile dropped as he scratched the back of his head again. “No, they’re not, but they aren’t normal either.”

  I tried to make sense of everything he said. It was nearly impossible. Reid was . . . different, and I thought I was okay with that. But I still didn’t know anything about him. Where was he from? Did he have any siblings or family? How long had he had this ability and how did he get it? Was he born with it or was it more of a Peter Parker–type situation?

  I had so many questions for him, and now that I knew this tiny piece of him, I needed to know more.

  “I know it’s a lot to take in,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

  He waited for my response.

  “Okay, yeah . . .”

  “Okay?”

  “I mean—” I threw up my hands and said, “I’m just still trying to process this. Everything. Everything is just so—”

  “—Sam.”

  The room started to spin, and I felt for the wall behind me, needing something solid. Reid reached out for my wrist and said, “Just breathe.”

  “What?” I asked, practically breathless.

  “Just . . . breathe. Don’t worry about anything. It’s you and me. We’re in the hallway. It’s nice and quiet.”

  Reid let the silence hang between us, and my heart slowed a bit, because he was right. It was just us here, and the questions about Reid were slowly pushed to the back of my mind, ready for when I really needed them. Because there was only one fact I cared about right now: Reid, holding my wrist, smelling like wind and rain.

  He wasn’t lying to me. I’d seen it happen with my own eyes. The truth settled inside me, calmer than before.

  There was only one question I wanted an answer to right then.

  I swallowed and asked, “Why did you come here?”

  “Because I wanted to give you answers.”

  “No, why did you really come here? Why me?”

  His jaw flexed, and I worried that I had asked the wrong thing. Because how could someone like Reid like someone like me? But instead of brushing off my question, Reid said, “This is the first time I’ve met someone I wanted to share my secret with. I don’t want to walk away from that type of thing.”

  Oh.

  He kept going. “Look, I know this is a lot to take in, so I’ll come back later. I’ll knock on your door. If you don’t answer, I’ll never bother you again, I promise. But if you do decide you want to see more of me”—he stepped closer and lowered his voice—“I’ll show you things you’ll never forget.”

  I could feel the warmth from his breath, and my heart raced even more. He was so close, it felt like we could kiss without moving.

  “Close your eyes,” he said.

  The moment after I did, I felt a rush of air sweep across my face. When I opened my eyes, he was gone. I stayed in that spot for a few more minutes, trying to think through what had just happened.

  I slid down the length of the wall, my legs too weak to hold me up. Then I swore, multiple times, and only the dog was there to witness it. A couple minutes later, I really did throw up. Whether it was from shock or being sick, I wasn’t sure.

  I just knew I wanted to see Reid again, no matter what that looked like.

  REID

  NEW YORK, UNITED STATES

  IT WAS HARD LEAVING SAM. I HAD TO HOLD myself back from touching her and getting too close. But I’d been close enough to breathe her in. That was all I needed for my blood to race.

  When I left her, I drifted into Manhattan, wanting somewhere to go without thinking about it. But as I stood there, staring at a pretzel stand, my stomach complaining, I knew I needed to go someplace entirely different to take my mind off things until later when I’d go back to Sam. I couldn’t stand around all day wondering if she would want to see me again, if she’d answer when I knocked on the door. I wanted nothing more. I’d felt a thrill run through me when I showed her my ability—even more so when she didn’t freak out about it. Everything could still change—there was a chance she wouldn’t let me in when I returned—but there was hope, too. Hope that she’d open the door and let me into her life and that I’d finally be open and honest and wholly me.

  My stomach rumbled, reminding me Buck took all my money. I thought about going back to my apartment only because I might’ve left food there. As I thought more about my bed, my eyes became heavier, and I remembered I hadn’t slept much last night.

  “Are you going to buy something, buddy?” a thick Brooklyn accent asked.<
br />
  I blinked myself back to reality, seeing that the pretzel vendor stared back at me with an impatient expression on his face.

  “Um, no.”

  “Well, would you mind moving then?” he asked rudely. “I don’t think people would want to stop if there’s some punk kid standing in the way.”

  I blinked and looked around, seeing nobody.

  “What are you, high?” he asked again.

  I sighed and decided to go home. But before I went, I said, “No, but I think you are.”

  An unfortunate side effect of drifting is that it’s impossible to see their faces after I’ve disappeared in front of them. I would have loved to have seen his shocked expression and his mouth hanging open. I didn’t do it often—rarely, actually, because of the number of cameras, cell phones, and possibly satellites spying on me from above. But sometimes I couldn’t resist.

  I drifted right into my room, because I still had secrets to keep. It was in an old condemned apartment building that could be torn down any day now, but somehow other kids had found a home in it, just as I had. I could hear them downstairs, fighting over something stupid. About a dozen lived here, all kids who had run away from foster homes or real homes where they didn’t feel like they belonged anymore.

  Old pictures from the previous owners still hung on the wall, and there was nothing but cabinets for a kitchen. But nothing looked cozier than my bed in the corner, placed right underneath the window.

  I went over to the old dresser where I kept a few changes of clothes and a stash of food if I had any. It looked empty, but hidden in the corner was a bag of Cheetos. My mouth watered as I devoured them. I must have looked pathetic, standing in front of a dresser eating a single bag of chips. I knew I needed a shower, and I’m sure dark bags marked my eyes from my sleepless night.

  After throwing the Cheetos bag in the trash, I dropped down on my bed. The light splattered over my body as I watched my stomach rise and fall. I needed more to eat. If I didn’t eat, I couldn’t fight, and if I couldn’t fight, I wouldn’t eat. It was a never-ending cycle.

  I hated stealing food. Not as much as stealing money, but it still left a bad taste in my mouth. But sometimes I didn’t have a choice.

  I stood outside a supermarket somewhere in Madison, New Jersey. It was just past noon and business was picking up. Cars crowded the parking lot and an attendant was busy rounding up the shopping carts. The employees inside would be occupied with customers, and it’s not like they would see me entering the store anyway.

  I took a chance and drifted right into the stockroom. I appeared in the back corner, and there was nobody around. I waited a few moments to make sure and then opened my bag. I’d left everything at home so I could fit enough to last me though the weekend. I knew of a lower-class bar that held fights every Monday night. That’s when I would get paid next.

  I never made as much as the fight clubs. The real fight clubs.

  With my bag full, I drifted to Jake’s apartment since I knew he wouldn’t be there. He was rarely in New York, and when he did come into town, he never stayed long. I was only going to be there long enough to take a shower.

  Sometimes I would go to a gym’s locker room; closed or not, it didn’t matter. If people see you there, they just assume you have a membership. But locker rooms weren’t as nice, or quiet, as Jake’s apartment.

  I dropped my bag on the couch and headed for the bathroom. I started the shower, watching the steam roll out of the top of the glass wall, about to cherish a wonderful moment.

  Pulling off my shirt, I caught a glance of myself in the mirror. The bruises from last night were still fresh. I hadn’t looked in a mirror for a long time, and my body was still in relatively good shape, but if I didn’t start eating well—and often—again, I would start losing weight and muscle.

  I’d been a small kid, and usually the shortest in my class, but throwing punches every few days made me just as strong as everyone else and I finally grew to a normal height. Unlike when I was younger, I could take care of myself now.

  The hot water felt scalding against my cold skin, and I welcomed it. Showers were a luxury, and I didn’t get to take them often enough. If I could have it my way, I would take one every day. I let the water run over my head for an extra five minutes, just because, the heat relaxing my sore muscles.

  My thoughts drifted as I was under the hot water, and I thought of Sam and smiled. Whenever I was away from her, I wanted to see her again, and when I was with her, I wanted to be closer. But on the other hand, I was confused, because I never really knew what she was thinking or what she wanted. In many ways, we were still strangers, yet somehow I had trusted her with my deepest secret.

  One thing was clear: I wanted to keep seeing her.

  I took my time getting dressed and even used Jake’s blow-dryer so I wouldn’t catch a cold from having a wet head in this weather. I made myself a cup of coffee and enjoyed the view for a few minutes before getting ready to leave. I had a lot of time before tonight, and I thought of a few ways to pass the time— snowboarding somewhere in Europe or finding a lecture to sit in on at an Ivy League school instead of the community colleges I frequented. I didn’t officially go to school, but I was still learning new things every week.

  I pulled my jacket on, when there was a knock at the door. I instantly froze. Nobody knew Jake in the city, so I had no idea who it could be. I slowly crept toward the door and looked through the peephole. There were two men outside who looked a lot like detectives—judging from the badges hanging from their necks.

  I quickly backed away when another knock came.

  “NYPD, we just want to ask a few questions,” a voice said from behind the door.

  Why were the police at his door? I knew Jake got his money from stealing, but I didn’t think he would ever get caught for it. I had to leave and find him—he needed to know that the police were looking for him. With my heart racing, I thought hard about Jake.

  A picture formed in my mind: he stood outside of a café, talking to a pretty girl with dark hair. It was nighttime, and the restaurant lights were illuminated behind them. It was like a scene from a romantic movie.

  Typical.

  I didn’t wait another moment and drifted into a nearby alley. The next thing I knew, I was breathing in the scent of the small southern town in France. People on the street didn’t look twice as I stepped onto the sidewalk. The streets were busy with Saturday-night shoppers.

  Jake faced my direction. As I got closer, his eyes flickered over to me, but he didn’t react in any other way, still talking to the woman next to him as though I didn’t exist. That in itself surprised me; I rarely came to see him, so I had expected more of a reaction.

  “I need to talk to you,” I said when I reached him.

  Jake and the woman looked at me, like they weren’t at all surprised to see me there. The woman was rather tall with dark skin and hair, wearing jeans and a thin blouse with a light jacket.

  “I was actually about to come find you,” Jake stated.

  “You were? What for?”

  He glanced around at the thick crowd surrounding us. “Let’s take this someplace else, yeah?” Jake walked off toward the alleyway I’d come from, and to my surprise, the woman followed him. I had just thought she was a random date.

  I followed the two of them down the narrow alley until we came up on a dead end.

  “There were cops at your door just now,” I said before I even stopped walking.

  “Cops?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. “And why were you at my place?”

  “Detectives, actually. And I was taking a shower.” I shrugged.

  He smiled. “Well, it looks like you won’t be able to use it again either. Somebody probably gave them my name. Buck, no doubt, and he would do the same thing to you if you weren’t homeless.”

  “That’s beside the point.”

  “Yeah, well, just don’t go back there. I’ll find another flat soon.”

  “What about the
cops?” He didn’t seem worried about them at all, but of course, it wasn’t like we could be locked up in a cell either.

  Jake paused, looking at the woman beside him. She raised her eyebrow. “That’s the least of my worries right now,” he said.

  “The least of your worries?” I asked, looking between them. “What’s going on?”

  “Reid, this is Sabrina. She’s a friend of mine from Spain, and she just told me some interesting news.”

  “Sabrina.” I nodded. “I’ve heard of you.”

  “You have?” she asked, her accent barely noticeable.

  “No.”

  She smirked wickedly. “Well, I’ve heard of you, and you’re shorter than I thought you’d be.”

  I heard Jake let out a quick breath in an attempt to suppress his laughter. When he caught sight of my face, he cleared his throat and said, “But seriously, Reid, this is something that concerns you, too.”

  “What is it?”

  “There have been . . . drifters going missing.”

  “Missing?” I asked, because while we could disappear and often did, we didn’t stay missing. Drifters didn’t get lost, and the only people able to go up against us were sliders.

  Sabrina cut in, like she was reading my thoughts. “Taken, actually. And we think Knox is behind it.”

  “What for?” I asked. “Do we know why?”

  “Not yet,” Sabrina said. “We aren’t sure what his next move is going to be, so we’re watching him and trying to get evidence, so we know for sure.”

  Then Jake said, “There’s another meeting tonight. You should join us for once.”

  “And break my perfect record of absent attendance?” I asked with a grin. “I’ll pass. Besides, I have plans. But keep me posted if it gets serious.”

  Even though I was acting as if the news didn’t bother me, it really did. Buck already had it out for me, and since he was working for Knox, what if he decided I needed to be next?

  I kept up my facade, not wanting Jake to become overprotective.

  He said, “Plans? Reid, you never have plans.”

  “Well, I do tonight.”

  “Fine, but be careful, all right? I’ll come find you later, hopefully with a new apartment.”