Skilled

(c) KES

Chapter Eight

Ellie awoke the next morning to the smell of French toast. Unable to resist, she crept out of the room and into the bathroom to make sure she looked at least a little presentable. After redoing her ponytail and splashing water on her face, she headed for the kitchen.

To say she was surprised to find Lee instead of Jax was an understatement. She had decided to try to sneak away undetected when he acknowledged her. "Hey," he said.

She froze in the doorway. "Hi."

"So last night was awkward," he said conversationally. He gestured at the small table, where he had set a place for her.

"Yeah, a little," she agreed, dropping into the chair. "Is Jax gone?"

"Yeah, he had some prep work this morning," he replied dishonestly.

Ellie shook her head. "I appreciate the 'bros before hos' mentality, but why do both of you think it's going to work lying to me? I can Read you, you know."

He chuckled. "'Bros before hos?' Really? I haven't heard that since I was a teenager."

"Well, whatever. A little honestly doesn't hurt anyone."

"Are you sure?" he asked pointedly, dropping two pieces of French toast on her plate.

Touché, she thought, but didn't acknowledge it. It hurt that Jax felt it was necessary to lie to her about his whereabouts, but she had no idea where she stood with either of these guys anymore, so she wasn't going to give that away. "Are you going to tell me why you ran away from me like a little girl?" she asked instead.

Lee took the chair across from her and slathered his French toast with butter and syrup before he responded. "You know that sometimes it's easy to identify someone with the same skill as yours, even if you've never interacted with them before?" he asked. Ellie nodded. She was certain that she had picked up on Jax's skill when they first met in the courtyard. "Well, one unexpected thing that I've been able to do occasionally is tell when someone is using Manipulation on me."

Ellie raised her eyebrows, letting the implications of that sink in. "Are you saying I Manipulated you?"

"No. Look, I know you couldn't have done that. But it's exactly what it felt like. I know you've been Manipulated, but you can't tell it's happening, right?" she nodded again, but internally she disagreed. She had the privilege of knowing exactly when she had been Manipulated, even if it didn't work. "Sometimes I can. I don't know why, but I get this feeling in the back of my neck, kinda like the sensation you get when you think someone's watching you… that's what I felt that night."

Alarm bells were sounding in Ellie's head. "What if someone else was there?"

"There was no one around, Ellie. You know that. You would have Read them," he said and she knew he was right. For a moment, she thought that Henry had found her already and was out there, waiting. She knew it was going to take a minute for her heart rate to decrease after that scare. "Whatever I was getting was coming from you and it freaked me out."

"So you think I was Manipulating you into whatever was…" she trailed off. She still wasn't sure what had happened between them that night, so she didn't know how to put it into words.

"No, I told you that I know you didn't. And I was only doing what I wanted to, but it's just what it felt like. It was weird."

"Yeah," Ellie took a couple bites of her French toast, which was divine. "So what's your theory then? If it wasn't me and there was no one else around, what happened?"

He shrugged. "I was probably wrong. I could have been feeling something else. It's not like I wasn't distracted." He sighed and his eyes met hers. She could Read his resignation. "Listen, I don't know what there is or could be between us. I don't know what would have happened that night. But it doesn't matter. There's clearly something between you and Jax and I'm not going there."

"Bros before hos?" Ellie repeated her words from before. The conversation was making her uncomfortable. She had no idea what was or could be between her and either of them, but she couldn't deny that there was chemistry with both. It was unsettling that they had already gotten so far in.

"Pretty much," he responded, and there was some emotion just below the surface that she couldn't get a grasp on.

"It's fine, anyway. Not sure I want Lucy's seconds, no matter how pretty you are," she grinned at him.

He rolled his eyes, but she knew he was relieved this conversation had gone as well as it had. "Do you want a ride back to Elwood instead of having to walk of shame it back in your pajamas?"

Ellie gave him a wry grin. "And if I'm seen getting out of your car after you were with my roommate last night, that only bolsters your reputation, right?"

"Never crossed my mind," he said innocently. Ellie just laughed and accepted the ride, knowing she would prefer it considerably to being stared at by half the school's students.

They finished their breakfast in friendly conversation. She tried not to wince at the memory as she picked up her hoodie from where Jax had discarded it the night before. She was a little stung that he left with no explanation and a lie for her, but she shook it off. She knew the situation hadn't been easy for him either.

Lee offered her some advice when he pulled up in front of Elwood. "When Jax needs to think through some stuff, he usually takes the walking path behind the library to the river. He's probably there now, if you want to talk to him."

"Thanks, Lee. I'm not sure what I want right now."

He gave her a knowing glance. "Fair enough. But in case you figure it out…"

"Thanks," she said again and hopped out of his car. He took off without another word and Ellie moved inside quickly, thinking it would make her life considerably easier if people weren't talking about her, but she knew she was probably out of luck on that front.

Lucy was still asleep when Ellie crept into their room. She grabbed her bath towels and a change of clothes and headed towards the small bathroom.

Her mind wandered while she showered, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was responsible for whatever had Lee so freaked out that night. She had no idea how she could have mimicked the feeling he got when he was being Manipulated, but she didn't know what other explanation there was. She was already able to do so much more than other Readers. It almost didn't surprise her that there was something else to make her even more unique.

After she dressed and ran a comb through her hair, she checked her phone, surprised to see that she had two text messages. The first was from her grandmother, requesting a phone call. The second was from Jessica and had just been sent a couple minutes ago.

My roomie saw you getting out of Lee Cartwrights car. Heard he was w/ Lucy last nite, you bad bad girl. :) txt me later. i want to get off campus for awhile.

Ellie rolled her eyes, but texted the girl back, saying she'd be willing to meet up and that nothing had happened with Lee. She was sure people would jump to their own conclusions either way, but she needed Lucy at least to know she hadn't done anything with Lee.

I didn't do anything with anyone at all, she reminded herself grumpily. She grabbed her keys and her phone and crept out of the room, intending to call her grandmother. She figured it would be smart to leave campus to do it, so she drove a few miles down to a coffee shop. She went through the drive-thru for an iced coffee and sipped it in her car while she dialed the number she'd already memorized.

"Hi, El," her grandmother said when she picked up.

"Hey. Now's a good time, then?"

"Yes."

"So what's going on?"

"Henry gave up on the pretense that you were coming back, obviously. He did truly believe it because I Read some intense devastation from him yesterday. But it's shifting, Ellie. He's less sad than angry at this point and he's going to need somewhere to direct it. I wouldn't doubt that he's already looking for you," she said quickly. "Please be careful, sweetheart. I don't know how long he'll look or how many resources he'll use. I hope he'll just let it be."

"He won't," Ellie replied. "He's not just going to let me go. I saw what he wanted from me. He won't give that up if he can help it."

"I know," Ellen said quietly after a long pause.

"There's nothing you can do, Grandma. Just keep me in the loop if you think he's getting close. Play the part he needs you to play and you should be able to know exactly what he's planning. It'll keep me a few steps ahead, at least," Ellie sighed. "Part of me wonders why I enrolled here. It's not like I can stay."

"You enrolled to get some answers, I know that. To make it impossible for him to get in. They will be able to help you there, to strengthen your skill. It was a good idea, El."

"I have some questions about everything that's happened since you taught me to block Manipulation. I don't know how to figure any of this out by myself. Is your teacher still around?"

"No," she replied sadly. "But I thought you might want some answers so I did some asking around. She has a granddaughter who supposedly doesn't have an acknowledged skill either."

For the first time in a while, Ellie felt hope. "Is there a way I can contact her? A phone number or email or anything?"

"I'll do you one better, sweetheart. She's a professor on your campus. Teaches Skill History, from what I heard. Doctor Nora Harris."

"That's helpful. But you say she doesn't have an acknowledged skill? Does that mean people don't know what she can do?"

"Most probably don't," Ellen conceded. "There's some stigma around this skill, for a reason I can't grasp since Readers and Manipulators are everywhere. I think it's because it makes their skills obsolete and that scares the hell out of most people. So broach the subject carefully, Ellie. Be prepared that you might have to tell her who you really are."

"Okay." Ellie could tell the conversation was ending, but her talk with Lee was still on her mind. "Grandma, have you ever heard of anyone able to use another skill? One beyond theirs?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, is it possible for a Reader to Manipulate someone without any idea they're doing it?"

Her grandmother was silent for so long that Ellie started to worry. "Honey, if it's you, I would say anything is possible. Talk to Doctor Harris. She should be able to help you out with this."

"I will." Ellie didn't think she had a choice at this point and as much as she didn't want anyone knowing who she was, she thought the benefits were more likely to outweigh the risks. She and her grandmother hung up soon after, promising to call each other every few days to keep each other in the loop.

It wasn't until Ellie hung up that she realized just how homesick she was. The only person she had on her side at home was her grandmother, but it was still home, and she missed it. She finished her coffee, not wanting to go back to campus. Sometimes it was hard to pretend that everything was okay when it wasn't. She was getting tired of trying.

Ellie allowed herself ten minutes of self-pity before starting her car again and heading back towards campus. She didn't have the luxury of sinking into a funk, so she wasn't going to give herself the chance. She texted Jessica when she arrived, saying she was free for the rest of the day.

When she entered her dorm room, she was unprepared for Lucy's glare. She had completely forgotten that she intended to explain everything to her and now someone else had clearly told her that he had dropped her off this morning. "I didn't sleep with him!" she blurted out.

Lucy just raised her eyebrows at her, so she continued frantically. "When I left here last night, I went to his place because of his roommate. It's Jax, remember? I thought he'd let me stay."

Lucy broke into giggles. Ellie picked up a pillow and threw it at her half-heartedly. "You're mean."

"I know," Lucy said teasingly. "He mentioned that he and Jax were roommates. I figured that's where you went. I just wanted to give you crap, since everyone thinks we both slept with him. What happened with you and Jax?"

"A big load of nothing," she replied, sitting down on her bed. "It's my fault." She explained what happened to the best of her ability. Lucy was sympathetic in all the right places and, even if parts of the story were fabricated, it made her feel better.

"Don't worry about him. He took a hit to his pride, but he'll rebound, I'm sure."

"With someone else, probably," Ellie grumbled.

"I don't think so. You Readers rely too much on what you feel instead of what you see. And I saw how he looked at you. He's not just going to give up."

Ellie shook her head, but was saved from replying by a knock at the door. It was Jessica, in a vibrant purple tank top that reminded Ellie of Jax's and Lee's house. Of course it does, she thought sarcastically.

"So how was he?" Jessica asked Lucy without preamble. Ellie chuckled as Lucy's eyes widened at the question. She really liked the redhead.

"Exceptional," Lucy answered when she got past her shock.

"What about you?" Jessica turned to Ellie. "It stands to reason that you weren't here when they were getting busy, and since you didn't come to me, I imagine you went to Jax."

"Don't ask her that," Lucy answered for Ellie. "She was grumbling incoherently when I did."

"That bad?"

"Worse!" Ellie exclaimed. "Nothing happened." She sighed and gave Jessica the same story she shared with Lucy.

Jessica snickered when the story was over, but gave the same advice Lucy had. "He'll get over it, Ellie. Don't completely freak out." Before Ellie could respond, she continued. "So, I'm thinking pedicures. What do you ladies think?"

Both Lucy and Ellie thought that sounded wonderful, so they piled into Lucy's two-door coupe and wound up at a beauty school just down the street from the motel Ellie had stayed in before making Elwood her home. The school meant the pedicures would be cheap and would probably take a while, so Ellie settled into her massage chair happily after deciding on a shade of red so close to fire-engine that she knew Elena Inwood wouldn't have anything to do with it.

Jessica had spent most of the drive over trying to get the juicy details from Lucy's night with Lee, but she wasn't sharing, so she moved on. "It's such a small campus, pretty much everyone's going to sleep with everyone," Ellie just smiled as her feet soaked in the tub. She loved how blunt Jessica was because she was so unlike her. "Have you guys ever been with someone…" she glanced at the three mostly silent young women rubbing their feet. "Uh, who doesn't have the skill to attend our school?"

Lucy shook her head. "I've been at boarding school most of my life. I haven't really been around anyone who… couldn't."

"The only person I've been with is my ex," Ellie replied. "And he was a lot like you, Jess."

"Fabulous?"

Ellie chuckled. "No, he was a dick. But it's funny how impossible that is to see at sixteen."

"Right?" Jessica agreed, launching into a story about her boyfriend at sixteen. He managed to date several other girls under her nose before she finally caught on. "That was my first and last attempt at monogamy. It's fucked up."

Lucy nodded emphatically. "Agreed. My last ex left for school a year before me and didn't bother to break up with me before sleeping with half of his campus. Not dealing with that again."

"Let's make a pact," Jessica announced dramatically. "No relationships for the three of us. They only make everything complicated."

"I'm in!" Lucy exclaimed, gripping Jessica's extended hand. They both turned to Ellie, who was smiling.

"Fine," she agreed, clasping Lucy's hand. Her reasons may have been different, but Jessica was right, relationships did only complicate everything. And if she needed to leave at a moment's notice, she didn't know how she could if she was tied to someone.

She kept up her smile, but as she looked at her two new friends, she knew they were only afraid of being hurt and if someone could offer them enough, they would both be willing to break the pact.

Her mind strayed to Jax unwillingly and she knew she wasn't safe either. She couldn't help but wonder who would be the first one to do it.

Author's Note: Wow, yeah, it's been a while. I lost my way on this for a little while; didn't like where it was going, so I took a break. Feeling much better, so I hope it was worth the wait. I apologize that you may have to go back to reread a bit, but I tried summarizing what had happened so far and it didn't make much sense. Let me know what you think!