The Key of Hearts by Mia Rodriguez
Chapter 5
"Yes and no?" asked Selena, puzzled.
""Yes."
“Explain,” Selena demanded.
He took a deep breath. “I made sure it didn’t fall on her.”
“You got it to fall and then you made sure it didn’t crush Moonflower?”
“You don’t understand,” he stated, intensely looking at his hands.
“Make me understand,” Selena insisted. “Does this have something to do with you not being able to control your gift all the time?”
“No.”
“No?”
“Don’t look at me like that, Selena,” he stated.
“Like what?”
“Like you don’t know me. It really hurts me when you don’t trust me. Do you honestly think I’d try to hurt Moonflower?”
“No, but if you can’t control yourself . . .”
“I already told you that that’s not what happened,” he said angrily.
“Let’s take a few seconds to calm down,” she murmured.
That’s a good idea,” he mumbled.
When Selena sensed Xavier more serene, she started speaking again. “I’m sorry, Xavier. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. It’s been so confusing today.”
“I need you to believe in me. Even though I don’t care what others think of me, I care about what you think and that you trust me.”
“Of course I trust you,” Selena said, grabbing his hand. A jolt of his telekinetic energy rushed through her.
Before intertwining his fingers in hers, he shot his dark sincere eyes into hers. “The only time I can’t control my telekinesis is when I’m very upset, very, very upset. I can control it ninety-eight percent of the time and the two percent that’s left over I’m learning to work with. When that thing happened in the library, I was calmly talking to you, remember?”
“Yes, we were talking about our Science project.”
“That moving bookcase—I had nothing to do with it. Not at first anyway. Do you believe me?”
“Yes, of course I do,” she assured, throwing her arms around him.
“Thanks,” he said, hugging her back as he gleamed warmth from her.
“You saved Moonflower, though, didn’t you?”
“I stopped the thing from landing on top of her but . . .”
“Yes?”
“I just can’t figure out how it all happened,” he commented, baffled.
“What do you mean?”
“How did the bookcase fall in the first place?” His dark eyes solemnly landed on hers.
“I’m sure there’s a logical reason. Stuff falls all the time from being too heavy or—”
“No, Selena,” he said quietly.
“No?”
“That bookcase didn’t fall by itself.”
“It didn’t?”
“No.”
“How do you know?” Selena asked, puzzled.
“A force was fighting me.”
“What?”
“It should’ve been easy for me to make the bookcase fall the other way instead of struggling with it.”
“Is that why it was suspended in mid air and then shook before it landed away from Moonflower?”
“Yes . . . I could feel a force fighting me . . . that’s why I was sweating.”
“Now I understand,” muttered Selena.
“Selena,” he said with points of surprise in his voice, “I’ve never met anyone, except for my mother, who can do what I do.”
“You really think someone else has your abilities?”
“I’ve been alone with this for so long that I can’t imagine anyone else cursed like I am.”
“Stop calling it a curse,” Selena chided.
“I’ll try to stop.”
“Try hard.”
“Who could have been fighting with me?" Xavier blurted, puzzled. "Who else is telekinetic?”
“It could’ve been anybody, Xavier,” Selena explained quietly. “There were a lot of students in and around the library. With its glass walls anyone can see what’s going on inside.”
Xavier nodded. “I’m wondering why someone would want to hurt Moonflower?” he asked concerned.
Selena drew in a quick breath. “Do you really think someone is after Moonflower?”
“I don’t know. The more questions I ask, the more confusing it becomes.”
“Very confusing.”
“Selena, I’m still not sure that what happened today was because of some one else's telekinesis.”
“So where do you think that force came from?” Selena inquired, pensive.
“I don’t know. Maybe there’s a ghost in the library after all.”
“Maybe.”
“There can be other explanations,” Xavier offered.
“I guess so.”
They stayed quiet for a few minutes in deep thought. All of Selena’s questions about Xavier’s gift came to the forefront. She knew he hated talking about it, but this was as good of a time as any to try to understand his puzzling abilities.
“Xavier?” she asked timidly.
“Yes?”
“Is your gift that strong that you could move that massive bookcase?”
“Yes,” he mumbled.
“That strong?” she repeated, needing to let it sink in.
“Yes.”
“Can you move cars and—“
“Do we have to talk about this?”
“Xavier,” she sighed. “Your gift is part of who you are and I love all of you—not just parts of you, so I need to know it all.”
He intently stared at her before speaking, his fluid eyes trying to take her all in. “Okay, Selena. I’m sorry I’ve been a jerk about this. It’s only fair that you should know about all of me since I know all about you.”
“Yeah.”
“What do you want to know?” he asked, gently nuzzling his nose in her hair.
“How do you do it?”
“How do I move things?”
“Yes.”
“I just think about an object moving and it moves,” he answered nonchalantly.
“That’s it?!”
“Yes, that’s it, why?”
“You don’t have to concentrate hard?”
“Only when I’m trying to control my energy,” he said, frowning. “Or when I’m fighting a force.”
“Only then?”
“Yeah, in fact if I try too hard, I mess it up.”
“You do?”
“Sometimes I have to use my hands just so I can focus my energy, but usually it’s easy.”
“Wow!”
“Don’t be impressed,” he said with a deep frown. “It’s nothing.”
“No, it’s really something . . . Show me how it’s done.”
“What?”
“Make something move.”
“Selena, I don’t think—“
“Please.”
“Selena—“
“Pretty, pretty please. For me.”
“Okay,” he announced. “But only because you’re begging.”
“I’m not ashamed to beg,” Selena said, chuckling.
Xavier threw a warm smile at her and then stuck out his hand and opened it, palm up. A leaf from the Fir tree next to the home fell down in a beautiful spiral and landed carefully on his palm.
“How’s that?” he asked.
“It could’ve been the wind,” teased Selena.
“The wind?” Xavier smirked as if he was insulted. “That was me.”
“Oh, yeah?”
"Okay, you're really asking for it!" Xavier blurted, his lips pursed in a mischievous smile. "I'll show you."
"Let's see."