Tethered Souls | Books 1, 2, and 3

29 | Visitors II

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• Amir •

Amir stood idly by Luna as he tried to comfort her the best he could. He knew her emotions were skyrocketing everywhere, and Sarah was distraught. 

He smiled down at the family, wishing there was something more he could do for her. It hurt him to know she was crying over something that was out of her control. He was sound asleep and woke up from a dream when his chest twisted inside his body. He could sense Luna's breakdown and know right then he needed to rush to her side.

While standing there quietly, he turned his head toward Cami as she was smiling at what looked like her parents. She had her mother's smile and her father's cheekbones. He figured Faisal must have been talking to her, because he stood nearby, grinning in his Deadpool pajamas. 

He laughed when Faisal made funny but cute faces at her. No one else in the room was paying attention to him or his cousin, so there must not be other Tethered Souls around.

Bringing his gaze back to Luna, Amir spotted Vikram looking toward him. 

Wait . . . is he . . . is he one of us? 

He gulped, realizing Vikram could see him. 

Squeezing Liberty's hand on the table, Vikram turned away and gave Sarah a small smile. Then he leaned forward to Liberty's shoulder and kissed it gently. 

Amir walked around them and brought his body down to whisper into Vikram's ear. "Men's washroom. Now."

Standing up, Vikram uttered to the group, "I'll be right back. I hope you feel better, Luna."

She nodded as her neck hung low.

As soon as both men were in the bathroom alone, Vikram strolled next to a sink and stood still with his arms crossed, with one leg over the other. "So, who might you be?"

"I'm Amir Khan from Pakistan."

"Oh. The one Liberty had mentioned earlier. Luna's new friend."

Amir chuckled and nodded slightly. He was in shock over Vikram being part of them. But why wouldn't he say anything during Memorial Day when Amir was standing around the family? If he has always been a Tethered Soul, how was it that he was just now noticing him? He'd been around Luna plenty of times.

"Are you paired for someone here, or are you like other Tethered Souls who get attached?" Vikram asked. "Don't think I didn't notice the other guy hanging around a girl out there, wearing the most God-awful pajamas ever. Hopefully, that was just him being funny."

"That's my cousin for you. He loves to be silly with other people. His name's Faisal." Amir stared at him up and down with a confused expression on his face. "But my question is, why didn't you say anything before?"

"Well, you see, I have a talent that few Tethered Souls have. I can block every single soul out of my mind until I open my ability back up." Just like Cami, Luna, and sometimes Faisal. "I take it you've been around the girls when I was around. But I couldn't see you at those times. I wasn't able to. I cloak myself."

"I was around during Memorial Day. Your veggie burgers looked tasty."

Vikram smiled. "Thanks. It took Liberty a long time to eat something I made because she always liked French food and Italian. Then she enjoyed Indian foods more often."

"That's nice. Since you are one of us, where is your paired partner from? Is it a guy, or a girl?" 

He hoped he wasn't being too forward with him, but this was alarming. And probably for Luna, if she had noticed it, too.