At First Touch by Mattie Dunman

should be safe for a while.”
    I took a moment to think about how I wanted to address Fitz’s memory problem and decided there was just no way to explain it without giving away my secret.
    “As to what he confessed, I can’t tell you anything about that.” I blew out my breath and felt a little lighter for sharing my troubles, abridged as they had been.
    I kept staring down at my hands, unable to face Carey, not knowing how he would respond to what admittedly sounded like a bad spy movie. Finally, when I couldn’t stand it anymore, I looked up at Carey and was shocked at his expression. His eyes were shining and there was an unmistakable look of admiration on his face. I frowned, not sure what to make of this reaction.
    “Liz, thank you for telling me,” he finally said. “I’m so sorry about what happened to you. Don’t worry about telling me anything else unless you want to. I shouldn’t have even made you tell me that much.”
    He shook his head angrily and took my gloved hand in his, trapping my gaze with his fathomless sapphire eyes.
    “Look, I realize you barely know me and have no reason to trust me.”
    If he even knew the half of it.
    “But I swear I will never breathe a word of this to anyone. I can be a friend to you, a good friend. It’s obvious you can take care of yourself, but I swear, I can help protect you and your father.” He gripped my hand so tightly I thought it might break. “I know this must sound stupid coming from someone like me, especially to someone who’s been through what you have, but I swear I really can help.”
    He was so earnest and sincere. I could feel the tears burning my eyes again. I blinked them away, knowing even more than he suspected exactly how helpful he could be. It seemed wrong to involve him. He had his own secrets to keep and things would be the worse for him if the Coalition found out about his abilities; but the offer was so tempting and I was tired of never having someone to rely on, never sharing anything of myself. Perhaps in time I really could tell him the truth. I knew he would understand what I had been through, how much it would mean to me to know someone different like him. Despite my inner qualms, I gave him a watery smile and nodded.
    “Carey, you really don’t know what you’re offering, so I won’t ask you for anything except to keep my secret. But I would really like to be your…friend. I think I‘d be very lucky.” He stared at me intently and I met his gaze, more hopeful than I dared to be in a long time.
    “Liz, I’ll do whatever I can for you.” And then he smiled his heart-breaking smile, melting me into a little puddle on the crushed velvet seat. “But I’m really glad you want to be…friends. I think we might understand each other.” He squeezed my hand again and I gasped. He released it suddenly and looked abashed. “Sorry, sometimes I don’t know my own strength. But you know, that could be useful for you.”
    I grinned at him, feeling happier than I had in a really long time. I might have done something truly awful to Fitz, but deep down I knew I would have done it again if I’d been in the same situation. No matter what, I would never let the Coalition get their hands on me again. But now, knowing that Carey really did like me and having had the chance to unburden myself a little, I felt lighter and freer, ready to laugh.
    Carey glanced at his watch and let out an exclamation. “Crap! It’s after eight. We’re both going to be late for school.” He gave me a sheepish grin. “Sorry about that. I should have picked you up earlier.” I told him it didn’t matter and he started the car and pulled carefully back out onto the road.
    After a moment of silence, I broached a question I had been pondering. “I hate to bring it up, but could you tell me what they ended up doing with Fitz?”
    Carey glanced at me and then kept his eyes on the road. “Yeah, sorry. I got sidetracked. Um, they were keeping him in a