"I'm not doing anything. Kyle, come on. Where's Caleb? I need him, he's the one. This isn't right," I yanked from him and pleaded.

Even I heard the hysteria in my voice and I turned away from his betrayed expression.

Kyle pressed his mouth to my ear.

"Caleb can't come out and play right now," the voice said but it was no longer Kyle's voice. It was deeper, more menacing and definitely not nice. "Neither can Kyle. Sorry."

I turned, looking around but saw no one.

"Who are you?"

"You don't remember? I'm hurt, Maggie, really," the voice sang with sarcasm.

He appeared in front of me from the shadows off the porch and smiled as he saw recognition flash in my face.

"Marcus," I gasped. I backed into the wall. "You scared me. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I scared you? Well, you're scaring me. You see, you're special. Not like in a get-a-big-head special, but special enough for us to be p.i.s.sed about it. It's not fair that the Jacobson clan gets to start getting their ascensions back when we've been just as patient as they have. They will have the upper hand now, you see? We've have had many a discussion about you in my clan. There is a reason for you, there has to be. There's something special about you and we can't let it come to pa.s.s."

"What? You can't let what come to pa.s.s?" I asked but was afraid of the answer.

"Your ascension. If we take you away from Caleb, you won't ascend and neither will he."

I gasped with pain at the thought.

"You can't do that! I'll die."

He laughed manically.

"You won't die, silly human!" He laughed again. "You'll be in agony, but you won't die. Well not at first, anyway. That's a sacrifice we're willing to make."

"No, please," I whispered my plea.

There was nothing else to do. He pointed outside. I saw a black car waiting on the curb for us.

"Get in."

"No! No! Please!"

"Too late for that. If only you hadn't saved him. This is your fault, I want to make sure that you see that. He will be in just as much pain as you, you know. He'll writhe in wanting and agony just as you will, with no cure. Now, how's your conscience?"

"What did Caleb ever do to you to make you hate him so much?" I ground out.

"He was born," he growled and then we were standing beside the car and I had no idea how we got there.

He grabbed me around my arm and threw me into the darkness of the open car door.

I screamed and scrambled to get a footing but there was none. I fell farther and farther into a dark place of nothing. I felt nothing, I heard, smelled, nor saw anything. Except the burning black handprint on my arm and when I finally hit the bottom, a loud boom.

I was jolted awake in my bed like I'd been dropped. I was sweating and crying. I reached up to my cheeks and felt the wetness and then the aches in my body pounded into me. It was almost too much. Even though I knew what was happening, I wanted to freak out and cry more from the pain.

I heard the doorbell in the back of my mind, heard voices. I laid on my bed and tried to catch my breath but it felt like I was suffocating as the stars danced in my vision.

Then I felt a hand on my forehead and wanted to sigh until I realized it wasn't the hand I needed. It wasn't Caleb. I opened my eyes to see dad looking at me with clear worry, the stars bouncing in my vision behind him.

"Honey, Caleb's downstairs but I'm gonna go tell him you're sick. You're burning up."

"No, dad! I need him!" I yelled and kicked off the covers.

"Maggie." He scoffed and held me down. "Look. I know you like this boy, but he can wait a day to see you if you're sick."

"No. Please. Caleb," I breathed painfully.

"I'm right here."

He actually pushed my father aside to get to me. Pushed!

His hands were on either side of my face and I almost cried with relief. Everything felt normal and right and I could breath again. Except for when I opened my eyes and saw how p.i.s.sed my father was.

"Excuse me, son. But I think you need to leave, right now," he boomed.

"Dad, wait. Listen-"

"You be quiet. No boy is coming into my home and pushing me around while he jumps into my daughter's bed in the morning like it was completely normal. What have you done, Maggie?"

"Nothing-"

"Sir," Caleb b.u.t.ted in as he set me and him up on the bed beside each other. He kept his arm around me, for contact and I felt his protection seeping out. Even though this was my dad, my dad was pretty red faced. "I'm really sorry. I just heard Maggie so upset and I panicked. I shouldn't have pushed you."

"You're da- darn right you shouldn't have! I don't know who you think you are but-"

"Dad. He said he was sorry," I said and he looked at me finally.

Then he c.o.c.ked his head and pressed the backs of his fingers to my forehead and then down my cheek.

"What happened to your fever? You looked like death warmed over when I came in here."

"I feel fine," I said and shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant.

"Hmmm." He looked between us. "You can go with Caleb today but he is not to come over so early in the morning like this anymore. Understand?"

"Dad-" I started to argue but Caleb squeezed me and interrupted me.

"That's fine, sir. Thank you for understanding. I am sorry."

"Fine. Whatever. You be careful with her on that deathtrap of yours." He turned to go but then pointed his finger at him. "And if I ever catch her on it without a helmet, so help me-"

"No, sir. Never. I promise you that."

"Fine," he said and huffed out of the room.

I turned to Caleb and reached my fingers around his neck just to have the contact and then started to protest about his non-protest.

"How can you say you won't come over in the mornings?"

"I will, he just won't know it," he whispered and smiled conspiratorially.

"Oh."

He pulled me close to him, hugging me to him and inhaled deeply from my neck, his nose grazing my skin.

"Wow, you smell good," he muttered and nestled closer. My heart rioted in my chest. My hand was still on his neck and I felt my fingers pulse with need to bury them in his hair. "And you look very cute in pajamas."

"Oh, yeah." I pulled back bashfully and crossed my arms over my chest. "I forgot."

"It's ok." He laughed. "You do look cute. But, something's not right. What happened this morning? That wasn't a normal withdrawal. You were terrified."

"I had a dream. It was so real." I rubbed my arm absently, remembering Marcus and his hateful grasp.

Caleb turned his head slightly. He looked concerned and then wary. He pushed my short sleeve up. I gasp as I saw a burned black handprint on my arm. But it was a dream right? He growled beside me.

"I'm gonna kill him."

"But it was dreaming. How is this possible?"

"We need to go see my father. I wish you could show me what happened," he muttered.

"But I can can't I? Just like you did me?"

He shook his head.

"You can try but everything is harder for humans."

I turned to him, laying my knee on his leg. I pulled his face close and I saw a flash glimpse of a kiss. I realized it was him imagining me kissing him. I held my gasp in check and pushed that aside. It was good to know he at least wanted to since he hadn't done it yet, I was curious as to why. But now I could see that in his mind, I wanted to smile but it wasn't the time. I pressed my forehead to his, just like he had done to me in the restaurant, immediately feeling his heartbeat unsteady and slightly faster, and remembered the dream.

It was just as real. Unlike any memory I've ever had and I guessed that it was just as real for Caleb as me when we memory transplant. I heard his fast intake of breath and knew he was seeing it too, now, so I let it all flow between us.

His breaths sped up as he saw me in pain, getting out of bed. Then when I yanked the door open to find Kyle instead he grunted in annoyance. And when Kyle told me he was my significant and Caleb didn't exist I had to grip Caleb's head harder to hold him in place.

Then we got to the Marcus part, he growled and huffed all the way through it. When I landed forcefully in my bed at the end of the dream, I pulled back and looked at him expectantly. But he surprised me by not talking about the dream right away.

"Maggie, I'm so proud of you for being able to do that. Everyone told me to warn you, to make sure that you understood how hard it was gonna be and what a struggle it was for humans but you have blown all those theories out of the water. You are so amazing."

I blossomed under his praise. I tried to hide my smile but failed. He smiled too and cupped my cheek, bringing his face to mine, our noses touching- our lips so, so close.

But no kiss.

We sat like that, sharing air and listening to each other's thoughts as we allowed them to be open and tangible for the other about the dream, about each other, about everything. I could feel what he felt in his thoughts, like they were my own. It was amazing and breathtaking.

Too soon, he pulled back and sighed forcefully.

"Can't put it off any longer. Let's go see my father."

"Ok," I said anxiously and practically jumped from the bed.

I wanted to know what had happened as much if not more than he did. I almost forgot Caleb was still here as I began to pull my shirt over my head. When the hem got to the edge of my bra I stopped, realizing what I was doing. I peeked at him and he was staring at me with a sort of gaze I'd never seen directed my way before. Which is sad since I had a boyfriend for three years.

You see, I'm a virgin. Yes, Chad and I dated for three years and yes I loved him, in some way, but now all that has been questioned. I never longed to see him without a shirt, I never sat in bed at night thinking about kissing him, I never got b.u.t.terflies or goose b.u.mps, ever in my recollection of being with Chad. Our being together was like an arrangement or agreement from day one of high school and it was just implied from then on. We kissed some, we wrestled, we played just like any other couple, went on dates, snuggled watching movies. But it was more for comfort I think.

He felt more like a really good friend and someone who I was comfortable being with more than someone I was in love with. He was someone who'd known me forever. I didn't have to let him see anything in me he didn't already know. He was safe.

Just like my father had said, he was right. There was no way I would have ever gone too far with Chad because he was always one foot out the door and I was too complacent with being stuck on first base. And neither of us had any intentions of changing that, before he decided to end it.

How had I not seen this?

I loved Chad but I wasn't in love with him. I missed him because I could talk to him about anything because he'd hug me and tell me it'd all be alright whether it really was or not. I had wanted him because he was my home base, my safe zone, my constant. And now, I could never go back to something like that. Not after having pa.s.sion for someone, after seeing what's it like to want and feel something in your bones, after blushing at the way someone looks at you, like I was blushing under Caleb's hot gaze, right now.

I pulled my shirt down swiftly but his eyes stayed fixed on my stomach, then jerked to mine.

"Sorry," he said and shook himself.

I wanted to giggle at him but I was still too shaken myself. I'd never had someone so fixed on me before. It was fascinating and exhilarating and terrifying, in that order.

"It's ok. Sorry. I almost forgot you were here."

"I'll wait downstairs while you get dressed. And try to avoid your dad and his wrath," he joked before rubbing his chin as he left, shutting the door.

I sat on my bed in a daze. Caleb had been in my room. I wonder what he thought of it.

I felt like I was crammed so tight. So much had happened in the past couple days, more then than ever, to change my life. I took a breath and went to my closet to pick something out, preferably something with sleeves to help cover the handprint. I'm glad dad hadn't seen it. He would never have believed me that Caleb hadn't put it there.

I dragged on a pair of jeans and a coral tank with a white cropped cardigan. Then I slipped on my flops and went to the bathroom to do the rest.

When I creaked down the stairs a few minutes later, I heard Caleb and dad talking in the kitchen. So I stopped on the stairs and listened.

"Yes, sir. I understand all that but I'm not some frat guy trying to take advantage of your daughter. Yes, I'm in college and I live in another city but we'll make it work."

"How long have you even known my daughter?"

A hesitation.

"A few days."

"So how can you possibly feel-"

"She saved my life."

"What?"