The Whisper Seekers

In My Head

I stare at him, but neither of us says anything. We don't have to because we can hear everything we're thinking.

"Make it stop!" I shriek as I put my hands over my ears. I shake my head, but I can still hear everything I think as an echo. I am trying to be careful with my thoughts, but I feel exposed, freaked out, and vulnerable. I have to take back control.

"Get out of my head, Liam!" I threaten, and he shoots me a glare. 

"Get out of your head? You're in everyone's head all the time and you never seem to mind."

"Don't act like you know anything about me just because you and I share this freakish talent!" I yell back at him.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot that's what you call manipulating people. A talent," Liam scoffs, and I am now filled with rage. I hit the car door and yank on the handle repeatedly until Liam finally unlocks it. I leap out and slam it shut, shooting him a glare. I spin toward my front door, then pause, whirl back around, and stomp to his car. I tap on the passenger window, and he slowly rolls it down.

"This isn't over. But I'm slightly drunk, freaked out, and exhausted, so I'll deal with you tomorrow. Text me your address. I'll see you in the morning."

I don't wait for a response. I turn on my heel and charge up the steps, slamming through the front door. The house is surprisingly dark and quiet and then I remember my mom is still at her charity event. Looks like I won't get busted for curfew after all.

I kick off my heels at the bottom of the staircase and drag myself up the spiral steps to my room. My brain has been repeating, What the hell? every two seconds since I got out of Liam's car.

I flip on the light and catch sight of myself in the full-length mirror. My hair is matted and frizzy, mascara streaks beneath my swollen eyes, and my skirt is so hiked up I look more like I came from working a corner than a high school party. Mortification floods me. Liam saw me like this. Worse, he's been hearing my thoughts. He's been hearing my thoughts about him. 

He's seen me at my most vulnerable, and the discomfort is overwhelming. Now I finally understand how my friends and parents would feel if they ever found out what I've heard. It's awful. They probably wouldn't even be able to look me in the eye again.

After I throw on a baggy t-shirt and yoga pants, I crawl into bed still completely freaked out by the accident and by Liam's abilities. Wrapped in my plush comforter, I feel a small sense of security, but my mind is still racing.

So... there are others like me out there. I've always wondered, but I never really knew how to research something like that. Liam said he was surprised I hadn't figured it out yet, but how could I have? What did I miss? Was the fact that I couldn't hear his thoughts the biggest clue? But then... how could he hear mine?

My phone buzzes, jolting me out of my thoughts. I reach over to my nightstand and glance at the screen. Harper. I hesitate. Part of me wants to ignore it, but I should at least make sure she's okay.

"Hello."

"Where are you?" She barks, and I almost hang up on her.

"Home... where are you?"

"At Piper's, waiting for my mom to pick me up. The cops came and a ton of us got underage drinking tickets and had to call our parents. Lily ran, but I got caught trying to hide."

"I told you to get in the car," I mutter, but I'm sure she doesn't want an "I told you so" right now. I'm not even sure what she does want from me right now.

"Listen, Ellie, I didn't mean to attack you. I just don't get why you're all over Liam. It was the alcohol and I was still embarrassed about what happened at the game. When I saw him calling you, I just... snapped. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told everyone you're a virgin, even though, like, everyone kind of already knew. And I know you were just trying to keep me out of trouble." She finishes, but I don't respond right away. The silence clearly makes her nervous because she rushes to add, "Please, can we just go back to a week ago? Before I went all boy-crazy? You and Derek are perfect together. I shouldn't feel threatened by you when it comes to Liam. I know you're just friends."