Spectra

Chapter 7

Emily

I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. A text from Mom, I tapped in my passcode and read. She said, "Where are you?!" I was dead. It was close to midnight and my detective mother was at home waiting for me with no excuse. Most people would just make up an excuse but my mom could sniff out lies like a blood hound. Luckily I've got that skill as well.

Lucas. He was still at his house getting worse and worse by the hour. If I waited all night he'd probably be proposing the next day. After deciding that at the moment my friend was more important than my worried mom, I ran as fast as I could to the Marshalls' house. Mrs. Marshall was pacing back and forth in the lab. Lucas was tied down in a chair. His mom ran to me.

"It's bad, he was going crazy about trying to come and find you. It's the only thing I could do to keep him safe." I nodded and walked over to the squirming boy. He saw me walking over and froze. His eyes were a scary shade of hot pink making me miss his blue ones. Without warning I shined my light in his eyes. He squinted but the pink still remained. I did it again. No luck.

"Uh, it's not working. Why is it not working?" I kept shining it but it didn't work. It must've been too strong for my light to reverse the effects of the pink. Mrs. Marshall was tearing up behind me and ran upstairs.

"Can you untie me? My arms hurt." Something was off in his voice but I reluctantly undid the rope. He stood up and hugged me tight. "I was worried." I hugged back but his voice made me feel uneasy. After an uncomfortably long hug I pushed away.

"We have to figure out how to reverse this." I bit my lip and leaned against the table.

"You're pretty when you're worried." Lucas said in a daze and stepped closer to me. There was nowhere to back up so I awkwardly leaned even farther back on the table.

"Lucas, seriously. How can we reverse it? The light worked on everyone besides y-" I rambled on until I was interrupted by his lips hitting mine. My eyes widened as my friend had his arms around my waist. I pushed away. "Lucas w-" Once again I was interrupted and his lips landed on mine. But this time my arms instinctively went around his neck. I relaxed as it almost felt right. When Lucas pulled away I left his grasp and stepped away. "Oh god." I groaned. But the pink in his eyes faded and he rubbed his head. I stared at him kind of horrified but hey, it worked.

"I've been wanting to do that for awhile." He mumbled. But after a few seconds he seemed more like himself.

"Well, I gotta go!" Without another word I ran off. I passed the blurs of houses and buildings. But one thing was one my mind. Lucas kissed me. Did I like it? I guess you could say that. But he was one of my best friends, I didn't like him like that. I wished I could vent to Cassidy but she was visiting her grandma in the hospital this whole weekend. I didn't want to put anymore drama in her life. Without thinking I ran up to my apartment. I was about to knock on the door when I realized I was still in my suit. Luckily I had my clothes in my bag and quickly changed into them. After shoving my suit in my backpack I opened the door. My mom was sitting at the kitchen table biting her nails like she always does when she's nervous.

I walked in, ready for impact. She noticed me and quickly stood up and ran to me. I expected her to interrogate me but instead I received a hug.

"I was worried sick about you! I got home after work and you weren't here." My mom stepped back and crossed her arms. Her bad cop scowl was on her face. "But, where were you? It's Saturday morning now, past midnight and you just got home from who knows where!" I winced at her loud words.