smiled, seeming happy. I wanted to understand, and in an instant things around me shifted and suddenly I could see it all too. We were still on the beach, but now I could also see vague shapes and outlines of the real world that I hadn’t been able to see a moment ago. Lorcan Hall, the rail we were on, even the outlines of each of the stones in the floor of the porch were there, but the actual objects themselves were transparent. It was as though everything in reality was made of clear glass and you could only see the edges and shadows of the shapes.
“I can always see reality, but it’s also easy to ignore if I want to,” Alex said.
“What about other people? If someone were to walk by us right now, would they see all this?”
“Only if I wanted them to.”
“Would I even know if someone walked by?”
“You wouldn’t see them but you could still hear them. Listen.” The sounds of the ocean, which I hadn’t even registered were there, suddenly disappeared, and I could hear people – students and teachers – off in the distance, returning to their rooms for the night, or maybe heading to dinner. “I can create sounds, and cover the visuals of reality, but I can’t cover the sounds of the real world. I can drown them out when possible,” he said as the sound of the ocean came back, covering the distant sounds of the campus, “but any noise within a normal conversational distance, I can’t do anything about.”
“So, if I had said something in the hall the other day, I would have been busted?” I asked, remembering the way Alex was able to hide me.
“Definitely,” he agreed. “We both would have.”
The beach faded away as Alex turned his attention back to the palms he was casually braiding.
“Looks like tomorrow is the day,” he said after a while, glancing up at me, “For Ryland’s meeting I mean.”
“Oh… right.” I’d been wondering how much longer they’d wait.
“We can go get him in the morning. That is, if you want to go. I figured you’d still want to take him, even if you weren’t going in.”
“I do,” I nodded, feeling guilty. “Honestly, I do want to go in with him, you know, just to be there for him, but… I can’t.”
“It’s all right, I’m sure he’ll understand. And for his first meeting maybe it’s best that he does it alone.”
“Maybe. Still, I feel like I’m letting him down. And I feel horrible for making you do something that I should be doing.”
Alex looked up at me then with eyes so deep they might well have been endless. “I don’t think you have ever let anyone down, Becca.” The warmth in his voice made the back of my neck get hot, even with the chill in the air. “And don’t worry about me,” he added a moment later, “I am more than happy to help.”
As I looked into his eyes as he said those words, something fell together for me. He was more than happy to help; I’d seen that countless times over the past several days. But it wasn’t just that he was always helping me, he was always helping everyone. Taking care of everyone, the way that someone would care… for family. This was his family, where he belonged. Min, and Chloe, Anderson and Reid, it was even clear that he regarded Jocelyn as a father figure although I’d never actually seen the two of them together. He’d adopted them all as the family he’d never had. Though, I could also see that it wasn’t just the people, but the Holder idea in general. From the way he’d spoken about the first time Jocelyn told him that he wasn’t the only one who was different, to his vast knowledge of the Holder stories and histories, it was clear that this was truly who he was.
“This is your home, isn’t it?” I asked quietly. I knew the question didn’t really make sense, but I could see he knew what I meant.
He nodded slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. “It’s the only one I’ve ever had.”
Again for what seemed like the hundredth time since I’d met him, I was in awe. Instead of allowing himself to be defined by his horrible childhood – as so many people would have done – he took the opportunity offered by these people and this life to start over and make his own identity. Little as this