A Need So Beautiful (A Need So Beautiful #1)(13)

I watch as Francisco raises his arms above his head. No one seems to notice me among the flashing lights. I hear the cops radioing back to the dispatchers, saying they’ve caught the perp. I’m relieved. The shoot-out was avoided.

Francisco is bent over the hood of his car as he’s handcuffed and the officer is reading him his rights. Then a chubby, short officer with his gun casually at his side leans toward Francisco.

“Surprised the hell out of me, son. Thought you’d be running all night. What made you stop here?”

I tense, hoping Francisco doesn’t tell them about me. I don’t want to have to explain this—the unexplainable. What would I tell the cops? I’m a freak that’s compelled to help people against my will? That I’ve tried to stop but it hurts too much? I can’t explain what I don’t know. I start to back away when I see Francisco blink, looking confused. Finally, he just mumbles, “I don’t remember.”

With that, I exhale, completely relieved. I start walking and as I’m about to turn onto Powell Street, I see something out of the corner of my eye. When I look, she’s there, just on the other side of the street. The woman from the bus stop.

Her blond hair is a stark contrast against her black leather trench coat and boots. Cops are moving around but no one speaks to her. She’s just watching me. I’m drawn to her, but I don’t move. I’m feeling a little nauseated. When I think this, she smiles. Then she reaches behind her shoulder and pulls her hood up over her head, shading her eyes. She turns on her heels and walks away, the clacking of them on the pavement echoing through the street.

And then it begins to rain.

Chapter 5

Damn it,” I murmur, trying to duck in the doorway of an old building. I’m suddenly freezing without the Need, and my wet white blouse isn’t helping the situation.

I wrap my arms around myself and wait a few minutes. Soon, just as suddenly as it started, the rain stops. I step away from the building, staring up at the night sky. The weather here isn’t usually this unpredictable.

With a heavy sigh, I limp through the dark city streets, wishing a cab would come by, but remembering that I don’t have the money to pay for a ride anyway. Each step is agony and I’m starving. But what’s worse is that Francisco’s words are still in my ears.

What are you?

I reach for my shoulder but then draw my hand away. I don’t want to touch the golden spot. I’m terrified of what’s happening to me.

I wish I really was just psychic. I wish I was anything. Because right now I feel so wrong—running out into the night instead of hooking up with my boyfriend. Knowing things I can’t possibly know. Seeing people’s souls! Despair hits me and I begin to cry, sniffling hard and rubbing at my cheeks. Maybe I’m cursed.

The sound of a motor cuts through the night from behind me and my muscles tense. Anyone out after dark is looking for trouble. At least, that’s what Mercy would say. Careful not to be obvious, I glance over my shoulder toward the single oncoming light of a motorcycle.

Harlin. I nearly explode with relief. I recognize his bike and worn, brown leather jacket and wave at him. I feel saved.

He drives his bike hard into the curb, jumping off of it before it clangs to the ground. “What the hell, Charlotte?” he yells, running to me. “I’ve been looking for you all night!”

I move toward him, wanting him to hold me and tell me that I’m okay. But he stops short on the sidewalk, the color draining from his face. His eyes are wide with concern, but then he rushes forward and throws his arms around me. “What happened? Are you okay?”

I’m confused, but then I remember the accident. Smacking my head. The warm liquid that soaked my hair and traveled down my cheek. I probably look really bad.

“I got hit by a car,” I answer quietly, watching him as he examines me. I breathe deeply, comforted by his smell. I want to tell him about the Need, about the golden skin. But I don’t. Because once I tell him I can’t take it back and he’ll know for sure that I’m a freak. How can he love someone whose skin is falling off?

“A car! Are you serious?” Harlin pulls back and looks me over from head to toe, just in case I’m missing a leg and he hasn’t noticed before now. “Is anything broken? Didn’t they stop?” He’s shaking his head, overwhelmed. I close my eyes and lean into him, letting him wrap me up in his arms.

I’m too tired to make up a lie right now. “Can you take me to the clinic?” I ask, not lifting my head from his shoulder. The clinic will be closed soon. I really don’t think anything is broken, but I’m bleeding from the head and the emergency room just seems like such a hassle. And then there’s the issue of my skin. What if they see it? They might send me to Area 51 or some top-secret lab.

“Of course I’ll take you.” Harlin keeps his arm around me as he leads me to his motorcycle. “You should tell me why the hell you climbed out my fire escape,” he mumbles. “But first, I think you need stitches.”

I nod, not sure how I’ll explain away tonight’s disappearing act, but instead of worrying, I press my cheek against his chest as we walk to his bike.

“How do you get hit by a car on Broadway at this time of night?” Monroe asks in his British accent. He’s treated all kinds of injuries, but he definitely seems to get more serious when it’s me—maybe because he’s known me for so long. With the situations the Need puts me in, it’s not that rare for me to require the occasional stitch or splint. I can usually avoid the head trauma, though.