Free At First Touch by Mattie Dunman Page A

until Carey would arrive.
    I stood over my suitcases for an unprecedented amount of time, all the while scolding myself for acting like a simple minded schoolgirl when he probably just wanted to tell me what had happened at the police station and then forget all about me. Finally, with just a few minutes to spare I was dressed in jeans, a white button down with a turned-up collar, and a black vest topped off with wrist-length black gloves. I took a look in the bathroom mirror at the bruise creeping out from my temple and winced. As a rule, I don’t wear much makeup; my complexion is clear and make-up only makes me more noticeable. Today, however, I slapped on some concealer over the bruise. I started to leave and then turned around muttering curses under my breath as I put on some mascara and lip gloss. What a hussy.
    I heard a beep and hurried outside; Carey’s giant sled of a car was idling in my driveway. I forced myself to walk calmly and smiled as Carey hopped out of the car and dashed over to open the passenger door. He was grinning as he waved me in, which I thought boded well. After all, he could have probably just told me whatever he wanted over the phone. He didn’t have to go out of his way like this.
    He got back into his seat and glanced over at me. I was waiting quietly, still unsure about his motives for picking me up. Flashing me another heart-stopping grin, he backed out of the driveway, which was an accomplishment considering the size of the car, and slowly drove out of the development and down the road.
    “She doesn’t go very fast, sorry,” he mumbled.
    “It’s fine. So, uh…what happened yesterday?”  I asked, unable to keep the nervousness out of my voice. He kept his eyes on the road and was silent, considering.
    “Your head looks like it hurts,” he said. I restrained my impatience; I had a feeling he was building towards something.
    “It’s sore, but it’s really not that bad.” He nodded, as though this were of massive importance. Suddenly he swerved off the road onto a dirt track leading into the woods.
    “Uh…where are we going?”
    He swung off the track into a small graveled area. “This leads to the woods where everyone plays paintball. I wanted a moment to talk to you in private before we get to school.” I shifted in my seat nervously. This was not how I had seen this going down.
    “Ok. Just…ok.” I said and opened the connection between our minds. I figured it was fair since he had practically kidnapped me.
    “Ok, just ask her what she did. Don’t accuse, just ask, like it’s normal. She might be different, this might be a chance…”
    I closed the link and breathed easier, reassured that he wasn’t about to axe murder me and dump me in the woods.
    “The guy you knocked out, he said his name was Eddie Fitz. Well as soon as he came to he started confessing that he was, like, a serial rapist, giving all these details…” Carey’s nose crinkled in disgust. “Anyway, that was enough to make the sheriff bring him in on top of what I told them.  I have a pretty good relationship with the police here,” he said modestly.
     I nodded, knowing from when I downloaded him that he had accomplished a number of heroic rescues that had endeared him to local law enforcement.
    “So they told me what they found out about the guy.”
    He gave me a piercing look and I did my best to look innocent. He shifted in his seat so he was facing me. “They ran his prints and found that he’s wanted for questioning in a murder up in New York. The weird thing,” he said sharply, “as though the fact that you knocked out a potential murderer wasn’t weird enough. The stuff he was confessing to was disjointed and confused, like he didn’t even remember doing them.”
    I swallowed nervously. What had I done?
    “And then, when they questioned him about attacking someone behind the diner, he didn’t remember it. In fact, he didn’t even remember why he was in Pound or how he got