02 Seekers Read Free

thoughts reached out and brushed mine quietly. “How about you cook me lunch?” she asked
    cheerfully, masking her worry.
    “That sounds fun,” I said dryly.
    “It does for me.”
    I laughed and started pulling out things for a grilled cheese sandwich.
    “Alex is here,” Daniel said, moving to help me with the food.
    “Good! She can help me pick out something to wear for tonight,” Ellen said.
    “I don’t know if she’s going to feel like it,” Daniel said.
    “Why?”
    Before he could answer, the front door creaked open and tired feet drug along the wood floor in a very un-Alex way. Seconds later, Alex appeared in the doorway of the kitchen. Her normally happy face was etched with lines of sadness. Unlike Ellen, Alex worked hard to keep her
    thoughts scrambled, so the reason behind her sadness was obscured. She was getting better, to the point where I couldn’t hear her unless she let me. Her sadness was obvious, though; no amount of thought scrambling could take away the expression on her face.
    “What’s wrong?” I asked.
    Alex sighed and sat down at our round kitchen table. “I just broke up with Davis.”
    Davis and Alex had only been dating for a month, but Alex really liked him. He was polite and quiet, and absolutely adored her. It was enough for any girl to want.
    “Why?” Ellen asked.
    Alex shrugged and looked down at the table. The tired lines grew more pronounced as she
    started tracing invisible lines on the table with her finger.
    “Alex…if you don’t tell us Ellen will ‘mom’ it out of you,” I said.
    “I will,” Ellen agreed.
    “Then I’ll ‘Clare’ it out of you,” I added.
    “She will,” Ellen agreed again.
    “How are you supposed to date someone when you can’t be honest with them?” Alex suddenly
    asked the room in a fit of irritation. “I mean, how? How do you have a real relationship when you can’t tell the person you’re with that you have the ability to turn into a demon? How do you go about mentioning that without putting him at risk? How does that even work? I can’t be
    honest with him…ever. It’s useless…Dating is useless.”
    Daniel shifted uneasily next to me and turned to keep the bread from burning. He took the
    spatula from me and flipped the sandwich. His flip was deft and graceful, but the movement was rushed, awkward, so unlike him. It was strange, but I kept my attention on Alex. Her problem was the more immediate one.
    She shook her head in frustration as she continued speaking. “Davis is great, but I can’t lie anymore…he was upset about the breakup, too. I could see it.” Alex shut her blue eyes, eyes that were capable of seeing straight into the heart of a person’s motivation; eyes that saw more since I had given her my blood a month ago.
    Not only had I given her the ability to change into a Nightstalker, but other talents were starting to develop. She wasn’t a Watcher like Daniel, but she wasn’t strictly human anymore. She was as much between worlds as I was. It was another thing I had placed on my ‘things to feel guilty about’ list.
    “This is my fault,” I said.
    Alex rolled her eyes. “God, if we have this conversation again, I’m going to scream.”
    “That would be loud,” I said.
    “Some things just aren’t meant to be,” Alex said. “End of story.” She turned to Ellen, her face purposefully transforming away from the sadness. “You and Dad are going to dinner tonight, right?”
    “Yes…” Ellen agreed.
    Alex grabbed Ellen’s hand and stood. I sensed an epic distraction in the making; one that would keep her mind away from her breakup. “Come on. Let’s find you something amazing to wear,”
    she said to Ellen. Alex forced Ellen down the hall and up the stairs, their laughter and their conversation filling the house with sound.
    Daniel turned off the stove and put three sandwiches on a plate. He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms. I leaned next to him on the counter and mimicked his