Free Manipulation (Shadows) by Jolene Perry

me.
    We walk away quickly, no point in risking screwing it up. The noise of the cars and the water make it hard to talk, and my breathing echoes in my head just adding to the noise.
    “What now?” The hood of her thin sweater is pulled as far over her face as it can be.
    I look around. Wait. We’re only two blocks from my house, the one I really don’t want her to see. “There’s a Starbucks on the corner over here.”
    “How do you know that?”
    “Come on.” I start to walk away.
    “Wait up, Dean!” She jogs to catch up.
    I’m too freaked out to realize I’m probably being rude. Like she should have my jacket, or I should at least be walking next to her instead of half running away.
    “Did you see what we just did?” Her voice is filled with excitement.
    “Yeah.” And I thought I couldn’t trust her before.
    We duck into Starbucks. “Wow, it’s really coming down.” She pulls her hood off. Her hair’s wet, her face is wet and she looks more stunning than I’ve ever seen her. Well, the two other times I’ve seen her.
    I must be staring.
    “What?” She’s staring.
    “Aren’t you a little freaked out about all of this?” I ask.
    “I guess I figured I’d find someone else sooner or later.” She shrugs. “Ellie keeps telling me I’m not alone. She loves to research.”
    I don’t buy it. My guess is she’s just as freaked as I am, she just doesn’t want to admit it. Maybe she’s just better at stuffing things away than I am. And I wonder if Jeremy would be the same way if we were still around each other.
    “What do you want?” She stands at the cash register and orders something with too many names for me to follow.
    “You’re not buying me anything.” I shake my head.
    “How much money do you have in your pockets right now?” Her face is nothing but challenge.
    Three bucks, but I don’t say anything. I want none of her attitude. My guess is a lot of her attitude is for show, but I could be wrong. Sam’s ran a lot deeper than I guessed.
    How much? She touches my shoulder, but I’m prepared for her now. It’s almost like I can feel her thought creeping in. Maybe if I can stop her, it won’ t be so bad. Right. As if Addison and I are suddenly going to be pals.
    “Nice try, Addie.” I don’t mean to shorten her name, but I do. At least I didn’t let Bunny slip out.
    “Addie?” She pulls back.
    “Sorry.” Only I’m not sure what I’m apologizing for because it seems like an obvious thing to do with a name that’s sort of a mouthful.
    “No, no, it’s fine.” Her face looks stiff for a moment before breaking into a smile. Weird. “How did you stop my thought from sinking in and answering when I told you to?”
    I shrug. “I don’t know. I just felt it, and made it stop.”
    Her brows pull together. “Wonder if I can.”
    I reach out to touch her, but she backs away, shaking her head with a smile. “Not now.”
    “Fine.” I smirk as I turn back to the cash register. I don’t want to blow all my three bucks on one stupid drink, but I hate their coffee out of the pot. “A twelve ounce hot chocolate.” It’s the cheapest thing on the menu.
    “Wow.” She smiles. “That’s so cute.”
    “Thanks.” I ignore her mocking tone.
    I follow Addie to a table, and we sit in silence for a moment as she pulls out sanitizer and slathers it on her hands. I’m wondering how many germs she could have possibly found between here and the car, but there’s another conversation I want to have more—I just don’t know how to start it.
    “So you can…”
    “Get people to do things for me. With a touch, yes.” She nods. “But I think—”
    “We can do it without touching.”
    “When we’re together?”
    “It’s never really freaked me out before, you know?” I lean across the table and keep my voice quiet. “Because it’s been so limited.”
    Her brow wrinkles in part confusion. “Yeah, I guess I know what you mean.”
    Now I’m staring at her again. Her petite