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Emily opened her mouth—for what, she wasn’t sure.
But then he was through the door, pulling it shut behind him without a glance back.
The ball came flying out of the machine, and Michael swung the bat hard, feeling it all the way through his shoulders.
Crack. The ball went sailing into the net.
One place. That’s all he wanted—one place where he wouldn’t get hassled.
And now he was screwed.
What the hell was Tyler’s sister doing here, anyway? She wasn’t a jock chick. From what he knew of her, she should probably be flirting over the counter at Starbucks or something, not babysitting a half-dead sports center.
Summer should have meant a break from this crap. Ever since they’d moved here when he was in sixth grade, school had been a prison he got to escape at three o’clock every day.
Only to be hauled back in the next morning.
Just like in a real prison, not everyone sucked. There were the people who didn’t know he existed. The people who knew but didn’t care. The latter made up the bulk of the student body.
But then there was the group that knew everything about him. The group that wanted him dead.
The Elementals.
Like he’d picked this. Like he’d woken up one morning and said, I’d love to be tied to an element. I’d love to have so much power it scares me.
I’d love to be marked for death because of something I can’t control.
Another ball.
Crack.
This wasn’t the only place with batting cages, but it was the cheapest. One sat closer to home, with fake turf in the cages and everything, but here his feet were in the dirt, pulling strength from the ground below.
If he took his shoes off and swung barefoot, he could draw enough power from the earth to blow the ball straight through the net.
he did stop, and she got in front of him. “Then what do you think?”
He studied her. “Why did you come out here?”
She shook her head. “Don’t do that. Answer the question.”
He rubbed a hand across the back of his head and looked past her, at the field. “I think I spent five years wondering if I’d ever meet someone who could handle my life. Not just my brothers or the Elemental stuff. All of it. Then I met you, and I thought . . . maybe.” He paused. “I’ve been carrying this all by myself for a while, Hannah. I couldn’t figure out how to share some of the load without dropping all of it.” He glanced at her, then away. “I don’t just mean you, either. My brothers, too. I forget that they’re not little kids anymore.” He shook his head. “The morning after the fire, Adam told me that it was okay to let other people take care of me. The problem is that I’ve forgotten how.”
She was still looking up at him. “I can understand that.”
“I know you can.” He gave a short laugh. He wanted to touch her so badly that it hurt. He jammed his hands in his pockets. “Probably better than anyone else.”
“Irish told me that it was okay for me to start acting like a grown-up, instead of like a kid with something to prove. I don’t think I’m the only one.”
“You’re not.” He paused and looked down at her. “So . . . you and Irish . . . ?”
He let that thought trail off.
She turned and started walking, but she didn’t torture him too long. “We’re friends.”
Michael fell into step beside her. “That’s all?”
“That’s all. I’m still too hung up on someone else.”
