Unbound (Unbound, Book 1) ~Formerly Casting Power~

Chapter 14

For the first time since, well... ever, I was taking Zach's suggestion under advisement.

It was all I could think of, though I had to distract myself with something meaningless in order to put my true thoughts in order. So, I found myself soaking in the tub, jets working at maximum speed while I talked to Nancy on speakerphone. She had gone to her family's cabin for the week. Even though she couldn't stop telling me how beautiful it was, she sounded homesick for her friends.

"So. It sucks?" I asked, leaning back into the bubbles. After a half-hour of venting—basically, Nancy whining about being there while I cussed her for not being here—that was what I'd been able to sum her side of the conversation as.

"Pretty much, yeah." She sighed. "Not at first, but it's not enough to be in a beautiful place—"

"I think it would be."

"That's because you're artsy. It's not like that for me. I can't even make stick figures."

"So, what's the cabin like?" They'd invited me to come, but like every year since they purchased it three summers ago, I'd declined. I'd love to just get away from it all—my mom, Zach, my powers—but I would hate it more if I unbound myself without my mother there to help me.

"I swear, Nora, I can jump off my deck and into the water. We don't even need a dock, though dad insists on getting one because he's trying to talk mom into allowing him to buy a boat."

"You must feel like you're in prison!" I laughed, only half-joking.

"Hey, you had the chance to come!"

"I know, but—"

"You can come next year, since you won't have anything to worry about, right? We always go in August and grad... Well, graduation is in June."

"I'll have over a month to learn to control my abilities."

"At least," she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice. "But if you unbind yourself before graduation—"

"Let's try to avoid that, Nance." We both knew it was a long shot that I'd last until then. I'd be lucky if I lasted until the first day of school.

"I know. It'd be cool, though."

"Maybe." The water splashed as I sat up, the jets' cycle complete.

"Noreena, you'll be fine."

I spat water as I splashed my face and quickly changed the subject. I was supposed to be clearing my mind, not adding things to dwell upon. "So, any hotties out there? What happened to that neighbor guy from last year that you gushed about?"

"Oh, he's here."

"And?"

"He's better looking than last year."

"Why doesn't that sound like a good thing?"

"Oh, I don't know," she drawled. "Maybe because he brought a girlfriend this year?"

"Are you serious?"

"Yep, and it sucks."

I laughed. "You played too hard to get. You couldn't expect him to wait all year for you on the off chance that you'd be available, or even willing, to hook up this summer."

"So, what if I did?" she asked with Nancy-logic. "If you play hard to get, the boys want to get it even more. It's the chase, you know?"

"No, I don't know." I stepped out of the tub, my skin wrinkling from over-exposure in the water. "Sometimes a guy will just move on and maybe find someone they like more."