The Whisper Seekers

Three

Liam and I stay wrapped up in each other until another explosive part of the day strikes me. I pull away from him and ask, "Liam, what the hell was with those bullets? He aimed the gun right at his target, but they came nowhere near us." Liam flicks his eyes to me while sitting up.

"I actually wondered about that too," he says. "The first time I tackled Marissa, she had no idea what happened. I had to move fast so she wouldn't disappear underneath me. When she pushed herself up and you had the gun, I kept my arm close to Ian's in case he tried to shoot. I didn't want to tackle him outright—if I startled him, he might've pulled the trigger by accident. I wasn't expecting him to lower his arm and fire one-handed. I wasn't close enough to stop him. It wasn't me that made them miss. But I started wondering if it was you."

I replay the image in my head, and Liam follows along like he's watching a film clip inside his own mind.

"Do you think I could've controlled them?" I ask quietly. "Like... somehow moved them telepathically? Made the bullets go where I wanted?"

Liam leaps off the bed and walks over to my vanity. He grabs my hairbrush from the glass surface, and before I can even register what he's doing, I feel the sharp thud of it hitting my shoulder.

"What the hell was that for?" I snap, hurling the brush back at him.

"Okay, Ellie, I'm going to throw this brush at your face!" he warns with exaggerated seriousness.

He tosses it again—fast—but this time, it veers sharply to the right and clunks against the post of my bed. I stare at him, wide-eyed, then scramble to grab the brush off the floor.

"I can make things move?" I breathe, in total amazement.

"I think... if you know it's coming." He throws the brush again, and just like before, it deflects, hitting the bedpost instead of me. It's like something invisible is swatting it away mid-air.

"Ellie, I think you discover your abilities when you're under pressure," he says in shock. "You can create what you need at the time. You found out you could read minds when you needed someone to tell you an answer. You found out you could create illusions when you didn't want to get in trouble with your mom. And now I think you can move objects when you want them away from you or someone else."

We both stare at the brush with awestruck expressions. I grab the brush from his hand and turn it over in mine.

"I wonder if I am capable of anything else?" I ask, knowing I won't get an answer from him.

"I don't know, but this means you have three abilities... or talents or whatever the hell you call them," he replies back with a grin. I let out a soft laugh and toss the brush onto the bed. Shaking my head, I try to wrap my mind around everything I've just learned about myself. I have someone to share the excitement with, and it's such a weird change. 

I lie back down, and Liam silently follows.

I realize I haven't spoken to anyone besides Liam since we left the school. My phone is still there. Before I can even voice the thought, Liam slides his phone from his pocket and holds it out to me.

I smile, taking it from him, and quickly dial Lily's number. Seconds later, she conference-calls Harper, and just like that, the three of us are on the line.

We take turns sharing our perspectives on the day's events. I rest against Liam's chest while he gently strokes my hair, and I babble on, grateful just to talk. Harper tells us that the school went into lockdown just minutes after Marissa led us out of class. The lights in every classroom were turned off, and students ducked under desks, trying to stay hidden. No one knew Ian had no intention of hurting anyone outside the locker room.