No Pain: Book 1

Chapter 4: Star

It's pitch black and the air is thick as I walk along the road, it's going to rain soon. I need to get someplace safe for the night, I have no I.D. to show if I'm stopped and no back up to call if I'm caught. I'm on my own here.

"That's how you like it, isn't it?" I mock myself. "Yeah, I like to be alone." Najee always had to laugh at me when I said that. He always has to disagree with me.

"Hey!" A man's voice startles me. I whirl around, my hand on my knife, and find a truck beside me. How did I not hear that?

"What do you want?" I snap eyeing him as he jumps out of his truck and approaches me.

"Do you need a ride?" The guy looks about nineteen or twenty. I examine him, his body is relaxed, his eyes concerned. I don't feel any tension from him, his body isn't giving any indication of an intention to hurt me.

"Yeah, that'd be great." I follow him back to his truck.

"What's your name?" He asks opening the door for me.

"What's yours?" I force a smile.

"John." He smiles back and closes the door after I get in.

"What did you say yours was?" He asks climbing into the driver's seat.

"I didn't." I scrutinize him as he puts the truck in drive, I keep my hand on my knife.

John smiles "mystery girl, huh?"

"You could say that." I try to keep the typical smirk off my face but it's become the natural form of my mouth over the last few years.

"Where are you headed at this time?" John asks, "Kind of dangerous considering all the freaks that come out at night."

"How do you know I'm not one of those freaks?" I can't help the bit of defensiveness in my voice. He laughs "I can see it in your eyes, you'd never hurt anyone."

I laugh "really, you can tell that just by looking in my eyes?" I shake my head, if only he knew the things I'd done.

"I bet you've never hurt an innocent person in your life." He drives down the road and I settle back into the seat. "Soul reader, right?"

He smiles at me sideways "what gave me away?"

"Lucky guess." I let my face relax into its natural smirk. The cost of reading one's eyes is the inability to read gestures and expressions.

"No fear?" He asks. He's innocent compared to me, it's easy to forget when you spend all your time fighting for the peace you don't get to enjoy. Sometimes, I almost forget why we fight the idiosyncrasies.

"No." I can't bring myself to lie to him. "I... uh, I don't feel pain."

"Really?"

I don't miss the edge to his voice. I fall into the dangerous category.

"I can walk now if you don't want me in your car." I reach for the handle but he stops me.

"No, I'm happy to give you a ride." He smiles. I meet his eyes and he stares into mine without blinking. He smiles wider.

"You've been through a lot, huh?" He takes his hand away from my shoulder and faces the road.

"I heard it in your voice, don't try to pretend now." I'm not one to accept pity.

"I'm more surprised that you told me." He admits. "but I should have known from the look in your eyes."

"And what did you see?" I always wanted to ask a soul reader what they saw in my eyes but I've never been brave enough to seek one out.