Tahereh Mafi - Shatter Me

Adam finds his voice before I do. “How safe is this place from attack?”

Kenji laughs. “Safe as hell . I don’t even know how they managed to get as close as they did. But they’ll never be able to find our exact location. And even if they do, they’ll never be able to break in. Our security is just about impenetrable. Plus we have cameras everywhere. We can see what they’re doing before they even plan it.

“It doesn’t really matter, though,” he goes on. “Because they’re looking for a fight, and so are we. We’re not afraid of an attack. Besides, they have no idea what we’re capable of. And we’ve been training for this shit forever.”

“Do you-” I pause. Flush. “Can you-I mean, do you have a… gift, too?”

Kenji smiles. And disappears.

He’s really gone.

I stand up. Try to touch the space he was just standing in.

He reappears just in time to jump out of reach. “HEY- whoa, careful-just because I’m invisible doesn’t mean I can’t feel anything-”

“Oh!” I pull back. Cringe. “I’m sorry-”

“You can make yourself invisible ?” Adam looks more irritated than interested.

“Just blew your mind, didn’t I?”

“How long have you been spying on me?” Adam narrows his eyes.

“As long as I needed to.” But his grin is laced with mischief.

“So you’re… corporeal?” I ask.

“Look at you, using big fancy words.” Kenji crosses his arms. Leans against the wall.

“I mean-you can’t, like, walk through walls or anything, can you?”

He snorts. “Nah, I’m not a ghost. I can just… blend, I guess is the best word. I can blend into the background of any space. Shift myself to match my surrounds. It’s taken me a long time to figure it out.”

“Wow.”

“I used to follow Adam home. That’s how I knew where he lived. And that’s how I was able to run away-because they couldn’t really see me. They tried to shoot at me anyway,” he adds, bitter, “but I managed not to die, at least.”

“Wait, but why were you following Adam home? I thought you were looking for me ?” I ask him.

“Yeah-well, I enlisted shortly after we got wind of Warner’s big project.” He nods in my direction. “We’d been trying to find you, but Warner had more security clearance and access to more information than we did-we were having a hard time tracking you down. Castle thought it would be easier to have someone on the inside paying attention to all the crazy shit Warner was planning. So when I heard that Adam was the main guy involved in this particular project and that he had this history with you, I sent the information to Castle. He told me to watch out for Adam, too-you know, in case Adam turned out to be just as psycho as Warner. We wanted to make sure he wasn’t a threat to you or our plans. But I had no idea you’d try to run away together. Messed me the hell up.”

We’re all silent for a moment.

“So how much did you spy on me?” Adam asks him.

“Well, well, well.” Kenji cocks his head. “Is Mr. Adam Kent suddenly feeling a little intimidated?”

“Don’t be a jackass.”

“You hiding something?”

“Yeah. My gun-”

“Hey!” Kenji claps his hands together. “So! Are we ready to get out of here, or what?”

“I need a pair of pants.”

Kenji looks abruptly annoyed. “Seriously, Kent? I don’t want to hear that shit.”

“Well, unless you want to see me naked, I suggest you do something about it.”

Kenji shoots Adam a dirty look and stalks off, grumbling something about lending people all of his clothes. The door swings shut behind him.

“I’m not really naked,” Adam tells me.

“Oh,” I gasp. Look up. My eyes betray me.

He can’t bite back his grin in time. His fingers graze my cheek. “I just wanted him to leave us alone for a second.”

I’m blushing through my bones. Fumbling for something to say. “I’m so happy you’re okay.”

He says something I don’t hear.

Takes my hand. Pulls me up beside him.

He’s leaning in and I’m leaning in until I’m practically on top of him and he’s slipping me into his arms and kissing me with a new kind of desperation, a new kind of passion, a burning need. His hands are threaded in my hair, his lips so

soft, so urgent against mine, like fire and honey exploding in my mouth. My whole body is steaming.

Adam pulls back just a tiny bit. Kisses my bottom lip. Bites it for just a second. His skin is 100 degrees hotter than it was a moment ago. His lips are pressed against my neck and my hands are on a journey down his upper body and I’m wondering why there are so many freight trains in my heart, why his chest is a broken harmonica. I’m tracing the bird caught forever in flight on his skin and I realize for the first time that he’s given me wings of my own. He’s helped me fly away and now I’m stuck in centripetal motion, soaring right into the center of everything. I bring his lips back up to mine.

“Juliette,” he says. 1 breath. 1 kiss. 10 fingers teasing my skin. “I need to see you tonight.”

Yes.

Please.

2 hard knocks send us flying apart.

Kenji slams open the door. “You do realize this wall is made of glass , don’t you?” He looks like he’s bitten the head off a worm. “No one wants to see that.”

He throws a pair of pants at Adam.

Nods to me. “Come on, I’ll take you to Sonya and Sara. They’ll set you up for tonight.” Turns to Adam. “And don’t ever give those pants back to me.”

“What if I don’t want to sleep?” Adam asks, unabashed. “I’m not allowed to leave my room?”

Kenji presses his lips together. Narrows his eyes. “I will not use this word often, Kent, but please don’t try any fancy secret-sneaking-away shit. We have to regulate things around here for a reason. It’s the only way to survive. So do everyone a favor and keep your pants on. You’ll see her in the morning.”

But morning feels like a million years from now.

The twins are still asleep when someone knocks. Sonya and Sara showed me where the girls’ bathrooms are so I had a chance to shower last night, but I’m still wearing Kenji’s oversized clothes. I feel a little ridiculous as I pad my way toward the door.

I open it.

Blink. “Hey, Winston.”

He looks me up and down. “Castle thought you might like to change out of those clothes.”

“You have something for me to wear?”

“Yeah-remember? We made you something custom.”

“Oh. Wow. Yeah, that sounds great.”

I slip outside silently, following Winston through the dark halls. The underground world is quiet, its inhabitants still asleep. I ask Winston why we’re up so early.

“I figured you’d want to meet everyone at breakfast. This way you can jump into the regular routine of things around here-even get started on your training.” He glances back. “We all have to learn how to harness our abilities in the most effective manner possible. It’s no good having no control over your body.”

“Wait-you have an ability , too?”

“There are exactly fifty-six of us who do. The rest are our family members, children, or close friends who help out with everything else. So yes, I’m one of those fifty-six. So are you.”

I’m nearly stepping on his feet in an effort to keep up with his long legs. “So what can you do?”

He doesn’t answer. And I can’t be sure, but I think he’s blushing.

“I’m sorry-” I backpedal. “I don’t mean to pry- I shouldn’t have asked-”

“It’s okay,” he cuts me off. “I just think it’s kind of stupid.” He laughs a short, hard laugh. “Of all the things I should be able to do,” he sighs. “At least you can do something interesting. ”