Dateless and Deadly

Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

I was back in the kitchen in time to feel the earthquake.

Wait, it couldn’t be an earthquake, only my upper body was shaking around, my head snapping back and fourth like a doll. I focused on holding my neck rigid to avoid whiplash and opened my eyes.

James was the cause of the earthquake. He’d grabbed my arms and was shaking me with way too much force.

“Could you stop now?” I asked through gritted teeth that rattled thanks to one final shake.

“What the hell happened!” he shouted, hurting my ears.

“Jeez, would you use your inside voice,” I said trying to push by him but finding myself locked in by his weirdly strong hands. I looked pointedly at his right hand on my left arm. “You can let go now.”

He released me like I’d caught fire.

Okay so he found me repulsive.

I sighed and concentrated on looking for my sister. She was sitting at the table with her head in her hands. She was sobbing.

I moved towards her, kneeling in front of her chair.

“Sam, are you okay?” I asked pulling her hands from her face.

Her blue eyes stared into mine and I could see the guilt there.

She shook her head as a fresh wave of tears dripped down her cheeks. “The things I thought.” Her voice was an unsteady whisper. “I really wanted to hurt you Cass.”

“It wasn’t you, Sam. Don’t worry about it.” I shrugged and pulled up a chair beside her, putting my arm around her shoulders. After a second she leaned into me.

“What do you mean it wasn’t me? I mean, it didn’t feel like me but somehow I knew the thoughts were coming from inside of me.” I could feel her body shaking under my arm.

“Um, yeah.” How the hell was I supposed to explain this without revealing too much? “Well I somehow managed to um, telepathically bond with you, probably because we’re sisters, and it seemed like Ca- someone had managed to plant some...suggestions in your mind. So it wasn’t your fault.”

“Really?” Sam asked, hope in her glistening eyes. I nodded. “So you’re not mad at me?” Her lower lip jutted out, trembling.

“Of course not. You’re my big sister. How could I stay mad at you?” I squeezed her shoulder and she threw her arms around me.

“Thanks Cass! I’m sorry I said those things. I didn’t mean all of them.” She smiled, stood up and skipped out of the room, guilt free.

“‘All of them’?” I muttered.

“Okay now that that’s settled,” James said from his spot leaning against the kitchen counter, “care to explain what happened while you were comatose?”

I thought about it for a second. “No, not really.”

He just glared at me.

Jack moved to take the seat that Sam had just vacated. “Actually, I’m curious too, sugar. You might as well tell us.”

I sighed. It’s not that I was trying to keep it from them, I was just tired.

“All right I’ll tell you.” I explained about what happened. How I’d managed to get inside of Sam’s head only to see Caine standing there like he owned the place. When I mentioned his comment about how easy it was to penetrate Sam’s flimsy barriers, James frowned.