"You, need to come with me."

Oh, he did not just use his commanding tone on me! Heavenly looks be damned, I am going nowhere with this jerk!

"I'm sorry, but how exactly did you find out where I live?"

He tries to grab my arm, but I take a step back, putting as much distance between us as I can without actually slamming the door in his face.

"That's not important."

He looks at me then, with those striking gray eyes, and I barely manage to suppress the blush that is threatening to make its home on my cheeks. Not now hormones! Remember, this guy is a jerk, don't fall for his looks!

He doesn't seem to notice my inner struggle, and he takes one final deep breath before stepping forward, towering over me as he stares me down.

"How did you do it?" He says then, straightening up to his full height, eyebrows furrowed.

Well, if he's trying to intimidate me, it isn't going to work mister. I square my shoulders and look him straight in the eye.

"Do what?" I ask, genuinely confused, not knowing what he could be talking about.

He doesn't seem to believe me however, and he clutches the doorframe so hard his knuckles turn white.

"As if you didn't know," he spits out. "How did you predict what Simon Says was going to say?"

That catches me off guard, and my lips part on their own accord.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

He rolls his eyes, clearly annoyed, and I try not to shrink away at the barely concealed anger burning behind those bright orbs.

"The sentence," he groans, raking his fingers through his hair to pull at the strands. I try not to let my eyes stray to how those midnight locks fall back into place in delicate waves. I bet his hair is super soft.

Snap out of it Bri!

"The one you said back at your smoothie place," he says, as if he were talking to a mere child.

"The smoothie shack," I cut in.

"Whatever," he says, waving a hand dismissively. "After you passed out, you said something, and Simon Says just repeated it word for word on our way to HQ."

The sentence... Oh! he must mean what I accidentally mumbled when I thought no one was listening. What was it again? The second one is back, and this time, he will not be so forgiving? Something like that. It just popped into my head for some reason, I didn't even pay attention to who the voice may belong to. Or at least, I don't think I did. Although I guess it had sounded a bit like Simon. But what does that mean?

"You predicted his words," he says, staring at me with new light in his eyes. "What is your Gift?"

And there it is, the fated question.

"Umm. I-I don't have a Gift," I mumble, losing confidence towards the end, so he might have not caught the part where I said...

"You don't have a Gift?"

Never mind, he heard me.

"That's impossible, everyone is Gifted," he says, a tone of incredulity tinting his words.

I feel anger stab me in the chest, like a thousand little needles plunging into my heart. I clench my fingers at my sides, hands balling into fists.

"Hmm, that's funny, because the last time I checked, I wasn't, and I would really appreciate it if you..."

"Honey? Who's this?"

I turn around and face my mother, who must have been standing in the kitchen for quite some time if her face is anything to go by. But as I turn Kalen takes the opportunity to slip inside before the door closes. Damn him and his quick reflexes.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry for the intrusion, but your daughter needs to come with me."

Uh oh, bad choice of words.

My mother seems to grow at that, holding her head up high and giving off those 'don't mess with my baby' vibes that all mothers seem to project when they feel their children are in distress.

"And why is that young man? My daughter doesn't need to go anywhere she doesn't want to, unless I tell her so." She says, so calmly that if you didn't know her, you might miss the fact that she is practically fuming, eyes dangerously narrowed.

But Kalen seems to be used to this kind of reaction because he recovers much quicker than I would have expected.

"Your daughter, she says she has no Gift," he starts, looking at my mother with a slight frown tugging at his lips.

"That is correct." She snaps, clearly not liking where the conversation is heading.

She seems even angrier now, and I'm glad I'm not the one she's directing her murderous stare at.

"However," he pushes on, "she was able to predict what a man was going to say to a tee, minutes before he actually said anything".

At this something in my mom seems to crumble. It takes a minute for his words to register, but once they do her hand flies up to cover her mouth, eyes widening a fraction before they land on me.

"It can't be," she whispers, so low I could almost believe I imagined it.

Kalen must be able to tell that something is wrong, because he looks between my mother and I before he excuses himself into the corridor, leaving the door opened just in case I decide to lock him out, but still giving us some privacy.

"Mom?" I say softly, turning to face her completely.

She has tears in her eyes, and I'm starting to get worried. She motions me over to the counter, and this all reminds me too much of "that" day, the day she told me about dad passing. She sits on one of the high stools and leans on the wood board for support. I settle across from her, steeling myself for whatever she is about to say. She seems to hesitate for a few minutes, debating with herself whether to say anything or not, but her resolve slowly crumbles as she looks at me with the saddest eyes I have ever seen her give me.

"Your father," she starts, voice cracking, "was an Elite."

I nod.

I know that, she knows that I know that, why bring it up now? Why mention dad, now, of all times, after all these years?

"But he wasn't your usual Elite."

"I know, he didn't care about wealth, or fame or any of that stuff," I say quickly, not understanding what is going on.

She puts her hand on my knee to stop me.

"I mean his Gift," she says. "It was different, nothing like any of the other Gifts. No one ever heard about it before, at least I never did. I don't know much, you know he couldn't talk about that stuff, but I know it was special, and I know it could be dangerous if the wrong people found out about it."

His Gift, the thing I've been trying to learn about him since he passed away. Heck, since before that.

"Like I said I don't know much, but sometimes he would let things slip, and I started putting the little pieces I had of the puzzle together. I will never fully understand, but I know your father could see things, things that hadn't happened yet but that would happen. He..."

Before she can finish the sentence, Kalen comes barging in, phone at his ear, determination set in every fiber of his body.

"Well stall him for a little longer, I don't know how, just try Mara, I will get her to come."

He hangs up and looks at me, takes in my mother's startled expression and tries to relax a fraction. He probably doesn't want to make things worse than they already are for himself. But mom barely registers his presence, staring at him as if he were some sort of ghost.

"I hate to cut this short, but I've run out of time, I need you to come with me."

I snort.

"And what if I don't want to go?" I say, even though I'm dying to know what all of this is about.

He smirks. "Then I guess I'll just have to convince you."

I glance at him, and then at my mom, who still looks too shell shocked to say anything. This is the closest I've ever been to any sort of answer in my entire life. And it's all because I ran into these people. I look at Kalen. Maybe they can help me find answers, maybe they have some of the answers I've been looking for, and maybe... maybe they could figure out what was wrong with me. Why I didn't have a Gift, why this was only happening to me. My mouth makes the decision for me, not even giving my brain enough time to catch up to what's going on. I turn to my mother, and she must see something in my expression, because a sad smile lifts the corners of her mouth.

"Go," she says. "They may be able to help you, more than I can."

I give her arm a squeeze before facing Kalen, who takes one look at my face and seems to know my decision just as my mom had.

"Alright then, follow me."

He heads out of our apartment, and holds the door open, waiting for me to cross it.

The thing is, I know that something is happening, I can feel it. I know that the minute I walk through that door my life is going to change forever. Do I really want that? I look from Kalen, to my mother, and back at the door. Change is a good thing, right? Besides, who wants to stay the same forever?

I keep that in mind as I walk towards Kalen, and before I can chicken out, I take a deep breath, feeling more confident than I have in my entire life, and step out of my apartment.