I felt my speed turn back on, the electricity tingling throughout my body. But that wasn't the only thing I was feeling.
I turned to look at Cassie. "I'm sorry. That was uncalled for. I just-"
"Don't apologize," she said back. "I...I liked it. Now come on. You still need to learn how to summon your refrax." She hurriedly got out of the car, slamming the door behind her.
I followed her lead, closing my door and walking behind her so she could introduce me to her parents.
She pulled her keys out of her pocket to unlock her door.
She pushed it open, looking back to make sure I was still behind her. I walked in after her and she closed the door, locking it back with a click. "I'm home!" she yelled into the house.
"No need to yell, honey." Her mother came out from a room behind the staircase to our right. "Oh, hello, Jay!" She said excitedly. "I've been wanting to meet you for a while now. Cassie's said so much about you. How are you doing?"
"Great, thanks for asking," I said, running my hand through my hair. "Uh..." I looked to Cassie for help.
"Uh, mom. You're embarrassing me," Cassie said. "Come on, Jay, let's go upstairs." She grabbed my hand and pulled me up the stairs.
"Ah, ah, ah. Not so fast, young man." A familiar voice called.
I cringed. Oh no. Why was he here?
I walked slowly back downstairs and forced a grin on my face. "Hey, Officer Wilkey."
"Didn't think you'd see me again, did you?" he asked, his arms crossed. "I'm Cassie's father."
Oh hell no.
Cassie's face twisted in confusion. "You know each other?"
"He's the policeman I talked to yesterday," I explained. When I told her what happened, I left out the name of the officer. Now, I'm wondering if I should have told her at all. She would automatically be prejudiced against me.
"Since I'm an officer, you should know very well how hard it is to lie to me without me knowing," Wilkey started. "So if I hear any shenanigans going on in my daughter's room, you will be in major trouble not only with the law, but with me as well." He walked up to stand right in front of me. We were about the same height, so I could look at him evenly. "Do you understand what I am saying?"
"Loud and clear." I stared at him intently.
It was a stand off to see who would back off first. It definitely wouldn't be me. I didn't want Cassie to see me stand down to her dad like that.
After a few seconds, Wilkey let me go, deciding that I had the guts to stand there longer than he could. He let me pass to the stairs.
Once inside Cassie's room, I sat on the soft bed I remembered from the last time. It felt equally as pleasurable this time around.
Cassie quickly shut the door behind me. She stormed over to me and picked me up by my shirt, slamming me against the wall adjacent to her bed. With a little help from her telekinesis, of course.
"That's my father," she said. Not as a question, but as a statement. The red glow I saw before flashed in her eyes. I saw her anger getting ready to spill over.
"...Exactly," I strained to say. "Look, I had no idea he was your dad, I'm sorry. But that doesn't change anything. He's still trying to get me killed, and I'm still trying not to get killed. This should only help, since I'm friends with his daughter," I reasoned.
"I don't want to believe you," she said after a moment. "But I know you don't lie- even if you do hold some things back," she pointed out.
I stayed silent, waiting for her to read my mind. That would solve a lot of problems right now.
And she did. I felt it this time. She poked and prodded around in my head, likely looking for my memories about Officer Wiley.
"I had no idea..." she dropped my body to the floor and started pacing around the room. I stayed on the ground, fearful of her grabbing me again. "Afterlight...Afterlight...Afterlight..."
"Why do you keep on saying Afterlight?" I asked.
"I found it in your mind. But that's not it. I've heard of it before, a long time ago. I just can't remember where. I think my dad was talking about it or something..." She started mumbling to herself, lost in thought.
I slowly got up and edged around the wall. "You know, maybe this is the wrong time. I can come back later."
"Aha!" She snapped her fingers. "I remember now. Ben said something about it, a long time ago."
"What?" I stopped in my tracks. "Ben who?"
"Ben Price," she said. "He used to go to Skyview. Weren't you friends with him?"
"Yeah, I was- am." How did Cassie know Ben? He disappeared right after she got here.
"How do you know him?" I asked her.
"We knew each other a few years ago. His dad was an officer too, and he got stationed here.
"It was right before he left for Highland. He said he needed to come here to find Afterlight." Cassie twirled a lock of her hair absentmindedly. "I didn't even know what he meant until now. I thought he was talking crazy."
"Cassie, that can't be right," I said. "Ben didn't know anything about Afterlight. Jake would've told me."
"Are you sure Jake isn't hiding anything from you?" She stopped pacing. "It's not like he wouldn't. He didn't tell you about Afterlight. He could have all kinds of secrets in that brain of his. I could get into his mind, shed some light on his thoughts if you want."
"No, I'll talk to him myself." I really wanted to rule out any possibility of Jake not telling me about Ben. But Cassie was right. I couldn't trust that Jake would tell me the truth without me asking.
"Alright then. Let's see how you can control your new power." Cassie moved on to the next subject, sensing my discomfort. She sat on the bed.
"Well, come on." She patted in front of her.
I was hesitant, wondering whether or not she was going to slam me against the wall again.
"Look, I won't hurt you again, okay? I'm known to have violent mood swings- I think it's called being bipolar or something- but I'm not about to get angry again. I promise."
That was all I needed to hear. I plopped down right in front of her on her bed. But I stayed a few feet away from her, just in case.
"Okay," she said. "I know earlier when you used your power, it came out when you felt a need to protect Jake, right?"
I nodded my head.
"So that means it's probably connected to your emotions. It turned off after...after you kissed me." She barely got the words out.
I didn't say anything. I was afraid that if I opened my mouth again she would slam me against the wall.
"Can you talk, please?" Cassie looked at me earnestly.
I looked away, towards her door, wondering if I should make a run for it. I think I could maybe make it before Cassie caught me.
"Did you forget that I can read your mind?" Cassie asked me. Looked like running away was out of the question.
"Alright." I finally gave in. "I think it more so has something to do with how much emotion I'm feeling, and how strong it is, as well as which emotion is at play."
"I think I get what you're saying. So if something causes you a certain emotion- or if you remember a certain feeling- then-"
"Then I would be able to control it," I finished for her.
"Yeah," she said. "So now, let's try to change you back into your refrax form. Close your eyes. Call up the memory of when you felt the need to protect Jake."
I did exactly as she said. I remembered the feeling of protectiveness I had felt when I saw Ian send that bolt of lightning at Jake. I felt the shiny hard surface cover my skin again, and I felt my speed disappear.
"Well, that was easy," Cassie commented. I opened my eyes to see her face really close to mine.
I jerked back, taken by surprise.
"Oh, sorry. I just wanted to see how your skin looked when it transformed." Cassie sat back.
"And how did it look?" I asked.
"Weird. It didn't go straight to diamond. It glossed over for a second, like your body was preparing for it."
"My powers don't work like other people's, you know," I told her.
"I know. But for real, it wasn't like you were covered in diamond. More like you were diamond. If that makes sense."
"Great. Just another thing for me to wonder about," I said.
"Now transform back," Cassie commanded me.
"I don't know how."
"You just did it a second ago. Just recall what you were feeling."
"I don't know what I was feeling," I said honestly.
"Yes you do. You just don't want to admit it."
"No, I don't. When I kissed you, I didn't know how I felt. It was good, but it was also different, something I've never experienced before. I can't remember the feeling."
Cassie's eyes bore into mine. It looked like she wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come.
"Jay," she said softly. "That feeling... it's not something to play around with, okay? It's called love. But like you said, we barely know each other, and I'm new here." She looked away, her cheeks turning bright red.
I looked at her, really looking at her for the first time today, and noticed how beautiful she was. Her hair rested on the side of her shoulder, and the light from her window shone off of her flawless skin. Her legs dangled off the edge of the bed, kicking back and forth nervously. Her pretty brown eyes directed at the floor, trying not to look at mine.
I felt my body shift back. I raised my hand covered in human skin and gently picked up hers. "Cassie, you change me back. And I'm not afraid to say I love you. I do. I hope you can say you love me back."
"I-"
And then the door opened. Cassie's father stood in the doorway. A gun was in his hand, aimed straight at my heart.
"You need to die," he said to me.