Psy-chik

~8~

"If you're gonna do this, you're gonna need help." Aunt Carol said firmly. "I'll send some of the readers I have here with you two."

"Thank you, Aunt Carol, I truly can't thank you enough." Said Usif, kissing her forehead.

"Yeah, thank you so much." I smiled. It was already dark outside, and I didn't have a dollar to my name, so a hotel was definitely out of the question.

"Now, let me show you to your rooms." Carol winked at me. Even though it was nothing embarrassing this time, her being able to read my thoughts really annoyed me. "You're definitely teaching me to block my thoughts." I transferred the thought to Usif, who simply smirked, following Aunt Carol up the wooden steps.
"So.. where are the others?" He asked.

"Most of them are the same age as you two." She chuckled. "They're out and about, doing whatever teens do." I knew all too well. The parties, drunken hook ups. That'd been me not even two days ago. I had a feeling that after this was all over, I'd never live a normal life again.
"Don't you worry about their safety? I mean, getting caught and everything?" I questioned.

"Why, of course.. But I know they'll be fine. And if not, they know what to do." She grinned. "Their parents sent them to live here for a reason."
A moment of silence filled the hallway before it was broken by aunt Carol.
"Welp, here's your room!" She threw open the door, revealing a medium sized room. The walls were painted a soft pink. A black plush couch sat in a corner of the room, a flat screen hanging on the wall opposite of it. In the very middle of the room was a queen bed, taking up most of the room's space.
"No hotel could beat this, eh?" She winked at me and walked out of the room. That woman was something else.
"What was that?" Usif asked, clearly amused.

"That's why you're teaching me to block my thoughts." I rolled my eyes.
"Come here." He laughed, grabbing me by my waist.
"I'm gonna protect you, Jess." His expression suddenly turned serious. "Through everything we might go through, anyone we run into. You're safe with me." His face was inches away from mine.
The urge to kiss him became too much to resist as I closed the space between us, pressing my lips against his. He kissed back with no hesitation, cupping my face with his warm hands. "I'm so happy I met you." I mumbled against his lips.
"As am I."
We stumbled onto the bed, where he broke the kiss. "We don't have to..."
"I want to." I interrupted him. "I'm ready."
And that night, Usif didn't turn into my ex. In that moment, he was just the boy that I'm slowly falling in love with, the one who saved me, not once, but two times. And now he had my virginity.

*

"Wakey, wakey, love birds! We got work to do!"

I groaned, slowly opening my eyes. Usif was still asleep next to me. In the doorway stood a girl who looked about my age, maybe two years younger. She had jet black hair, striking blue eyes, and stood at at least 5 foot 7. Her baby face was the only thing that gave away her age, being that she had more curves than me- an 18 year old girl.

"Well." She cocked her head. "Are we going to save your mother or not?"

"Y-yeah. Give me some time, I'll wake him up and we'll get dressed." I mumbled, stumbling out of bed to go close the door.

"Aunt Carol says you have 30 minutes. We have business to discuss." She said, looking me over and closing the door. What a ray of sunshine she is. I thought.
"Usif..." I shook him gently.
"Hmmm." He mumbled, opening one eye.
"Apparently, we have 30 minutes to get dressed and downstairs to "discuss business." Get up." I sighed, grabbing my overnight bag. I pulled out a basic pair of blue skinny jeans with a black crop and headed to the bathroom to shower.
I felt my muscles relax under the hot water, without even realizing I'd been so tense. I was having major anxiety wondering what I was about to get myself into. Would I be at risk of being hunted down by the government if I went looking for my mom? She always told me, "never draw attention to yourself." The address we used for my school wasn't even ours, it was an abandoned house about a block away from our tiny secluded house. I couldn't help but wonder how they found my mother. Was it something I did? It was pretty weird how right after I met Usif- another mind reader, my mother goes missing. I shook away the absurd thought that Usif was involved in her disappearance.
"Jess?" A knock sounded the door.
I turned off the shower. "Coming out now!"
I quickly dried myself off and changed into my outfit, brushed my teeth, and brushed my hair. Makeup wasn't really necessary at a time like this. When I opened the door, Usif stood before me.
"Well good morning, gorgeous." He smiled, leaning down to kiss me. Though, the disturbing thought of him lingered in my mind, and I couldn't bring myself to smile back at him. I thought of his aunt's strange behavior yesterday night. She kept other mind readers in this house... Which is in the middle of nowhere. You're being ridiculous, Jessaline. I thought, brushing past Usif.
"You okay?" He asked. "Listen, if you feel weird about last night..."

"No!" I exclaimed. "I-it's not that, Just nervous about today is all." I cleared my throat. He nodded slowly, tossing his towel over his shoulder. "Remember, I'm with you every step of the way." He smiled, which I returned. After he closed the door, I quickly grabbed his phone, praying there was no password. Great. I grinned, seeing that there wasn't one. What am I looking for? What am I doing? Usifs been nothing but good to me since we met that night.. he couldn't have even known I was gonna be at that party for my theory to even make sense...
I sighed, putting his phone down. The stress of this situation was obviously getting to me.