“Guess that’s what they mean when they say an engine purrs,” Michael added. The hum was soft and smooth and not completely unlike the vibrations of The Well. Despite the odd choice of Nakano’s being his very first passenger, Michael took the sound as an omen that he had made the right decision.
He drove to the parking lot slowly, not because he was scared or being careful, but because he wanted to savor the experience. It was the first time in his life that he was driving without an instructor. It was a milestone, and he wanted it to last as long as possible. When he saw Saoirse near the edge of campus, he also realized how much he really wanted to share it with everyone. Beeping, he waved his hand wildly out the window. “Saoirse!”
Startled, the girl turned her head, but instead of waving back or running toward the car to greet Michael, she ran in the other direction, into the woods. “What the hell?” Michael muttered. He beeped again, but she was already out of sight. “Why’d she do that?”
Holding his arm out the window to feel the soft breeze caress his hand, Nakano remarked, “Because girls are freakish.”
Michael turned back to see who Saoirse had been talking to. He could have sworn he had seen her lips moving as if she had been talking to someone who must have been standing just behind the large oak tree, but no one was visible. “Did you see anybody with her?” Michael asked.
“Nope,” Kano replied. “Just enjoying the ride.”
And what a smooth ride it was. Only a short distance, but Michael could tell the Benz handled the road a lot better than Blakeley’s old Honda. Proudly, Michael parked the car in an empty spot in the small parking lot behind the headmaster’s office. He turned to thank Nakano again for giving him the push he needed and making him realize what a fool he was being. But Nakano was already gone.
When he got to St. Sebastian’s Ronan was there as he had suspected. However, he hadn’t expected to see him sitting on the side of the pool, his feet dangling in the water; he had thought he would find him swimming. Ronan didn’t need to practice to maintain his form, but he enjoyed spending as much time in the water as possible. “You keep practicing like that,” Michael said, “and I’ll have no problem beating you this year.”
Smiling, Ronan reached out his hand, and Michael took it. He kicked off his flip-flops and sat next to him, submerging his feet in the cold water. “Ooh that feels nice,” Michael remarked.
“Not as good as this,” Ronan corrected. He pulled Michael closer and kissed him on the lips, only once, then rested his forehead onto his. Michael loved how Ronan’s skin felt—strong and warmed by the sun that flooded the gym. Their noses pressed against each other, their breaths instantly adjusting to the other’s rhythm.
“I made a decision,” Michael whispered.
“What’s that, love?”
“My father isn’t going to stand in the way of my freedom and ruin my life,” he said. “I drove my car.”
“Good for you,” Ronan replied, genuinely happy.
Michael broke their connection and sat back. “And you’ll never guess who drove shotgun.”
“Who?”
“Nakano.”
“Seriously?!” Ronan shouted, genuinely surprised.
“Believe me, I’m more shocked than you are,” Michael replied. “I’ll tell you all about it later.”
Smiling, Ronan said, “However it happened, I’m glad you finally got behind the wheel.”
“Me too,” Michael agreed. “But just because I did doesn’t mean I forgive my dad. It just means that I like to drive, and of course I had to park my car properly before David had another hissy fit.”
Ronan closed his eyes. “I’m glad you understand that the relationship between parents and their children can be complicated.”
Ronan’s tone had hardly changed, but Michael knew he was no longer talking exclusively about him and his father. “Um, you don’t have another secret to tell me, do you?” Michael asked, only half-kidding. “Like maybe somebody else came before Morgandy?”
Opening his eyes, Ronan shook his head. “No, you know about everyone from my past now.”
Well, if it wasn’t Morgandy or another boyfriend, what could it be? “So then what’s wrong?”
Smiling wistfully to cover up a sigh, Ronan covered Michael’s hands with his own. “I still haven’t heard from my mum.”
“After all this time she still hasn’t gotten in touch with you,” Michael said. “Even, you know, just a telepathic ‘Hey, how ya doin’.’ ” Ronan kicked his feet in the water, his body as restless as his spirit, and the pool was immediately filled with tiny waves. Up and down and up and down, the water kept rising and falling, slapping into the sides of the pool so hard that water sprayed over onto the gym floor even after his legs stopped moving. “I tried reaching out to her telepathically, I tried calling her cell phone, I even tried calling her private line that she instructed us to use only if it was a dire emergency and we didn’t want to risk someone’s tapping into our minds, and nothing, not one word from her!” Ronan blurted. “It’s like she’s deliberately blocking me out.”
Angry and frustrated, Ronan let go of Michael’s hands and leaned forward. His body hunched, tense, he stared into the pool, the surface once again calm, as if the water could unlock the mystery of his mother’s silence. The water held no answers, but Michael did.
“Let’s go.”
Looking up, Ronan saw that Michael was standing next to him, towering above him, his hand outstretched. Still lost in his own emotions, Ronan was too confused to respond right away. “I said, let’s go,” Michael reiterated.
The firmness of Michael’s voice propelled Ronan into action. He took his hand and stood up, half on his own and half relying on Michael’s strength to hoist him upright. “Where are we going?” Ronan asked quietly.
“To get to the bottom of Edwige’s vanishing act,” Michael proclaimed. “Now that I’ve sort of made resolution with my father, it’s time you did the same with yours.” Michael smirked, “Well, with your mother, but you know what I mean.”
Always the romantic, Ronan kissed a few knuckles on Michael’s hand. “Yes, I do.”
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Michael once again repeated himself. “Now come on, let’s go visit your mother.”
As Michael made a move toward the front entrance of the gym, Ronan lurched toward the back door. “Why are you going that way?” Ronan asked. “Someone might see us sprinting off campus.”
Smugly, Michael smiled. “We’re not going to use our water vampabilities to visit your mother’s flat. I’m taking you for a drive.”
“You can’t drive to London,” Ronan protested, his voice shrilly echoing in the gym. “You heard what David said.”
Michael grabbed Ronan’s hand firmly. “And don’t you remember what I said? Rules were made to be broken.”
Just as they were about to step outside, Michael turned to Ronan, his eyes wide with excitement.
“And don’t you love my new word? We’ve got water vampabilities!”
This time it was Ronan who had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. He couldn’t, however, stop himself from teasing Michael. “You are off your dot,” Ronan said, giving Michael a playful push. “Do you know that, Howard?”
Proudly, Michael responded, “Yes, Glynn-Rowley, I most certainly do.”
Just before Michael started the engine he got nervous. What if David was lurking in The Forest?
What if he was standing in his office, peeking through his blinds, watching them right now? Or what if one of his minions were spying on them? Anything was possible, Michael thought; any scenario could be real. And just like that Michael thought any alibi could be the truth.
He started the engine, and as the sound of the Benz’s delightful purr filled his ears, Michael decided that if David approached them, he would simply say they were driving into Eden since it was Friday, which was
