Mindsiege (Mindspeak #2)(56)

Jack was already staring at me when I made eye contact. He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Not like the smile I got out of him after our “swim.” Turning in his seat, he reached behind him, grabbed a chair, and brought it to the table beside him.

Briana and Kyle appeared to be having their own private conversation at the other end of the table.

I sensed Jonas in my head. Hi, Lexi, he said without even turning to see me. I concentrated hard on finding his presence on the outer perimeter of my mind where he liked to hang out. As if my hand could reach inside my head, I imagined wrapping my fingers around that presence, and I squeezed hard with all the rage I could muster. Then I expelled him from my mind.

Jonas flinched in his seat. He turned and looked at me, serious at first. Then a lazy grin spread across his face. “Very good.”

I closed the remaining distance between me and the group. I leaned down next to Jonas, my mouth next to his ear. “Stay out of my head, Jonas, or I will make it my mission to learn to use a gun next. I’m getting tired of your constant invasion. You never know when I might just snap.” As I said the last word, I snapped my fingers for dramatic effect.

Jonas laughed.

Asshole.

Language, Lexi, Jonas scolded.

I took my seat next to Jack.

“Did you eat anything yet?” When I shook my head, he stood. “I’ll get you something.” He glanced over toward Briana, then back at me. She could use a friend.

Briana looked like she had been crying, something I had never seen. I know. I’ll try.

Jack walked toward the lunch line. Out of the corner of my eye, I knew Jonas was watching me. I jerked my head in his direction. “What?”

He leaned forward in his chair and spoke softly. “If you continue with this pissy attitude and never-ending anger, we’ll get nowhere.”

I studied Jonas’s eyes. The amber specks flickered in the dark brown, producing a warmth I wasn’t used to with him. He looked nothing like the woman who produced him. Or like me, I guessed, since we didn’t share a single ounce of DNA. My heart, which had felt frigid before my swim, thawed slightly. Amazing how a good workout calmed me, especially one in the water, where I could be alone and shut out the rest of the world.

Jack returned with a cheeseburger and fries for me though I had zero appetite. Despite the earlier swim and make-out session, reality had flooded back the moment I had entered the dining hall. Jack sat and placed a palm on my knee. I covered his hand, sliding my fingers between his. I glanced between Jack and Jonas, then mindspoke so they could both hear me. I’m sorry for earlier today. This is going to be harder than I thought.

That’s why you’re not going to do it alone, Jonas said.

Jack leaned in and kissed the side of my head. “Now eat. You need strength.”

Briana and Kyle slid down closer to us. I poured ketchup on my burger and all over my fries. Briana squinched her nose up in disgust, which made me want to eat the entire plate.

“Bree knows everything,” Kyle announced.

Bree leaned in, her arms tucked under the table. “How could my parents keep this from me?”

“I had a decent relationship with my dad, knew he worked with stem cells, and even knew he once cloned a goat, and I still didn’t have a clue what I was.” I took a bite of my burger, suddenly realizing I was starving. After swallowing, I added, “How long has it been since you took the pills?”

“I ran out a couple of weeks ago, and forgot to get more.”

That explained how she was able to enhance her appearance by the pool. The small pills were all the evidence I needed to know that Dr. Wellington, President Fisher, and who knows how many others knew everything about the clones at this school well before I’d discovered the truth. The school doctors prescribed the pills to me under the pretense of helping me with chronic headaches and nosebleeds. In reality, the pills suppressed my healing abilities and the strength of my mind-altering capabilities. “What did you think you were taking them for?”

She glanced nervously around the table. “I thought they were regulating my periods.”

The boys smartly stayed silent.

“Bree, what do your parents do?” I asked.

She shifted in her seat. The whole conversation was making her uncomfortable. “My dad owns several restaurants around Lexington, and my mom owns thoroughbred racehorses.”

I had never heard that. It didn’t sound very high-profile. Danielle’s dad also worked with thoroughbreds. Maybe they knew each other.

Can you hear my mindspeak, Bree? I took another bite of my cheeseburger.

Jonas looked curiously from me to Bree, as did Jack. Kyle didn’t seem to catch on, but I hadn’t directed the words at him.

Instead of a quick jerk, Bree’s head rose slowly, her eyes a vibrant color through a layer of moisture that never fell. “Oh. My. Gosh.”

“Well, that answers that,” I said, and took another bite of my burger.

“Answers what?” Kyle asked. The other two laughed.

We didn’t all have the same powers or abilities, yet many of our mind capabilities overlapped. And so far, I had yet to witness the same healing powers in the others that Jack and I had. Unless I counted Jonas’s ability to ease pain and sickness.

“Where are Fred and Georgia?” I asked.

“Georgia freaked after the incident at The Program on UK’s campus,” Jonas said. “She and Fred left the morning after I brought you back to the house.”