Fuck. Them.

  And fuck me, too, for not fighting hard enough for what I wanted.

  The final four minutes left in the workday ticked away in slow motion like an overdramatic montage. I’d tuned out the development team, who were discussing facets I didn’t understand that related to back-end something or another. My idea for creating a vision board to better explain what this app should be had tanked: everyone thought it was a cute idea, but not practical for their goals. Or rather the company’s goals to make money off it.

  I rubbed my temples as they rambled on. I closed my eyes and focused on my breathing. The telltale tingling in my fingertips wasn’t surprising; my emotions were volatile, a heady mix of disappointment and frustration and anger at myself for not being better prepared for this meeting. If I didn’t let these emotions go, I was liable to accidentally use my ability. Now that I had more control over it, I had no idea whether I’d teleport myself or regress to breaking things by shattering the space it occupied. And I didn’t want to find out.

  A hand on my shoulder made me jump. I looked up to see Leo’s smiling face. I glared at him as the other three left the room, throwing quick farewells over their shoulders or, in Malcom’s case, nothing. The door softly closed behind him, leaving Leo and I in silence that made my ears ring.

  “You okay?” Leo asked, now looking concerned.

  I glanced to the door, wondering how soundproof it actually was.

  “No,” I answered. I shoved back from the table, quickly packing up my belongings and tossing them haphazardly into my bag.

  “What’s wrong?”

  I scoffed and refused to look at him, heading towards the door.

  Leo darted in front of me, blocking my path.

  I looked up to the ceiling, trying to find some patience and failing, as the tingling crept up to my palms. If I don’t let this out of my system soon…

  “Callie,” he insisted, reaching out towards me again. I twisted away without moving my feet, message clear. He dropped his hand.

  “I can’t help if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.” His tone was lower, growing agitated at my silence.

  “Leo,” I whispered harshly. “I’m barely holding it together right now.”

  “Why?” He crossed his arms and planted his feet.

  I laughed bitterly and shook my head before finally meeting his gaze.

  “For all this talk about the app being mine, it sure as shit isn’t. And I tried to explain, but you all just… just steamrolled me, even you, and I can’t… This isn’t what it’s supposed to be. You didn’t listen, none of you listened. This is a waste, and I’m…”

  Where my words failed me, Leo filled in the blanks. His expression softened to one that suspiciously looked like pity.

  Keeping my emotions, my ability, in check, I pointed an accusing finger at him. “You should know how important this is to me. The bio-screens are yours, and this is supposed to be mine. But it’s not, and…”

  I let my arm drop and took two steps back. My heart was racing, lungs heaving, and… Yep, I was going to lose it.

  I brushed past Leo, ignoring him when he called out after me. It took ten seconds to burst into one of the bathrooms. My lungs couldn’t gather enough oxygen, and I gulped down air.

  The door behind me creaked, and I spun to find Leo standing there. Concern was etched across his features. But the moment he took a step forward, my back hit the opposite wall and I held up my hands in a plea for him to give me space. Tears were silently falling down my cheeks.

  “I’m mad at you, at myself, and this all just fucking sucks,” I said between gasping breaths. Was I nearly hyperventilating?

  Splendid.

  My hands ended up on top of my head as I focused on slowing my breathing. Leo didn’t make a move as I slowly turned in a circle. I needed to ground myself.

  Five things I can see.

  I focused on the toilet, the sink, the opaque window, the tile floor, and Leo.

  Four things I can touch.

  I tugged at my hair, smoothing it down. I checked the strap of my bag. My hand reached inside and found my phone and tablet.

  Three things I can hear.

  My breathing was ragged, water rushed through the pipes, and my shoes made scuffing sounds as I turned around.

  Two things I can smel—

  Nope. Not in a bathroom. That was good enough.

  I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying to staunch the flow of tears.

  Leo had waited patiently, not saying a word as I calmed myself. Now, he asked, “Do you want a hug?”

  On principle, I wanted to refuse. But I couldn’t deny that my brain would benefit from some deep pressure and the tactile input that hug would provide.

  Silently, I nodded, and Leo wasted no time in wrapping his strong arms around me and squeezing.

  It was what I needed. I let my face fall forward against his shoulder and breathed in the smell of his fancy button-down shirt and expensive cologne. Or was it just deodorant? I didn’t care; it was grounding, moreso than the mental exercise I’d learned in therapy years ago.

  “I’m sorry,” he muttered into my hair. One of his hands gently stroked the stands near my neck, sending a shiver down my spine.

  At that realization, I stepped back. Leo easily released his hold on me only to gently tip my chin up to meet my eyes. I stepped back again, and his hand fell away.

  “Why are you sorry?” I asked, scrubbing my face with my hands in part to wipe away the tears, in part to hide from him. We’d been arguing just this morning about how I’d been keeping my distance, and now we were in a bathroom together hugging? Talk about mixed signals.

  “I didn’t think of it that way. That this is yours like the bio-screens are mine. I guess I didn’t realize how much it really meant to you. I should have,” he elaborated. “And I’m sorry I was part of the problem.”

  I… didn’t know what to say to that. I let my hands fall.

  “I need to go. Like, use my ability right now and leave,” I admitted. The tingling in my hands hadn’t improved by getting my emotions back under control.

  “Do you—can you make it?” he asked. It was a valid question, but one I didn’t have an answer to.

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  “How far away would you say your place is?”

  I didn’t miss the ghost of pain flit across his face when I called it his place instead of ours.

  “Maybe a mile and a half?” He pulled out his phone to check. “I don’t know. But you really shouldn’t try, because what if—”

  “I’ll see you later,” I interrupted, not waiting to hear the rest of his warning.

  This was a significant risk, but I needed to let it out. Teleporting apples for the rest of the evening wouldn’t be enough, and I had another meeting to get to tonight.

  I gathered my wits, focused on what I wanted, and with a deep breath teleported myself back to Leo’s apartment.

  It was nearly instantaneous, if a little disorienting, and I landed on my hands and knees on my bed. Lucie startled, puffing up, hissing, and eyeing me like I was an intruder. I reached out a hand to offer pets, but she spat at me and bolted. I couldn’t blame her. Sighing, I let my work bag slide off my shoulder and pried my shoes off my feet. Using my ability made me feel better: I’d gotten the built-up energy out of my system like dogs got the zoomies.

  A small, teeny tiny part of me felt bad about my abrupt exit from the bathroom. I pulled out my phone and sent of a quick text to Leo that I made it safely and in one piece. He sent back a thumbs-up, and I snorted. He’d definitely want to lecture me about taking unnecessary risks, but the joke was on him because now I could get changed and be out of here before he even got back.

  And that was exactly what I did. I sped through a shower, piling my hair up out of the spray of water, and scrubbed myself until I felt like I’d washed away the awful day at work.

  Showers were like free therapy: something about the repetitive, soothing motions of washing allowed my brain to mull through things. Shower thoughts, I called them. And today’s made me realize that if I wanted to be taken seriously and get what I wanted out of this app, I’d have to have a more heavy hand in its development. Of course, that required actually learning about app development, coding, and whatever else I was surely ignorant of.

  Was I up for that kind of a challenge? These people knew what they were doing, had experience, and probably a thorough education on it. What did I have? The internet? Granted, much could be learned online. If I started there, I’d at least be able to follow the flow of conversation better. The likelihood of me being able to contribute to it was low, but I wouldn’t be so lost like I was today.

  I decided that, yes, this was another project I was going to attempt like my probably dying sourdough starter, but I’d give it my best shot anyways. Worst-case scenario, I’d learn something along the way.

  After throwing on comfortable leggings and oversized flannel, I repacked a smaller bag in preparation for my meeting tonight with the Organization.

  The last contact I had with anyone in the Organization had been to set up tonight’s training, and that was weeks ago. After helping Amelia through her initial awakening—manifestation?—of her ability, Dr. Goodwin had offered me a position on the acquisitions team. I’d been hesitant, but accepted.

  A zing of excitement travelled up my spine. Despite how disastrous today had been, I was looking forward to learning this new role. Being able to help others more directly than simply asking them questions was an improvement.

  As I left my bedroom ready to head out to grab dinner somewhere, Leo stormed through the front door. I froze on the spot like a deer in headlights as he directed his glare in my direction. I’d underestimated him.

  “I was just…” I gestured in his direction. Swallowed once. “I’m heading out.”

  “Callie, I am so mad at you right now,” he said unnecessarily. I could tell.

  “Can you be mad at me later?” I asked.

  “That was reckless,” he ground out between gritted teeth. I’d only seen him this angry maybe once, and it hadn’t been directed at me. “You could have killed yourself. You don’t know the limits to your power. You could have burned out, and for what? To get away from me?”

  “No, I just needed to—”

  “How much of your ability do you have left?” he demanded.

  He had a point. I pulled back my sleeve to check and had to school my face into a neutral expression.

  Well. That was close.

  I dodged his question and just said, “I’m fine, Leo.” I moved toward him, and he thankfully stepped aside to allow me to pass. I would have teleported again if I had to, but I wasn’t sure how much over my limit that would put me. The maximum was a soft limit after all; I could push myself further, but I’d pay for it. “I’ve got a meeting. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  I glanced over my shoulder at him when he didn’t respond. A handful of items—one of the dining chairs, Lucie’s toy mouse, the knife block in the kitchen—were all hovering a few inches in the air.

  “Leo.” I pointed behind him. He turned, taking in the scene. With a long breath, the things slowly settled back down as gravity intended.

  He didn’t turn to me. Again, that pesky guilt from worrying him crept up to bug me. I debated continuing the conversation from this morning and the issues from this evening. But was there really enough time to talk about everything between us?

  No.

  I left without another word.

  In the silence of the elevator, I let out a long sigh that turned into an agitated groan. Why was this so complicated? Why couldn’t something be easy?

  I shouldn’t think that way. I’d jinx myself.

  Needing a distraction, I pulled out my phone and called Alex. I got his voicemail, and didn’t bother to leave one. Instead I shot off a text to my dad, checking in to see how everything was going. By the time I made it to my food chain of choice for dinner and ordered, he still hadn’t opened the message.

  And that was it. The end of the list of people I felt comfortable reaching out to without a specific reason. I could reach out to Amelia, but we hadn’t exchanged messages since agreeing to meeting up this weekend. I wasn’t sure what to say, anyways. Hey, my roommate is driving me nuts, my boyfriend and dad aren’t answering me, and I have no one else to talk to. What’s up?

  Yeah, right.

  Burrito in hand, I found a table in an isolated corner. I propped up my tablet against my bag to read, hoping to reset my head before my training. But for all my love of books and their ability to whisk me away into new and exciting worlds, I couldn’t concentrate. I switched to social media, hopping between a few different platforms, but ultimately had the same problem.

  Too many things were stressing me out. Until I handled at least one of them, I doubted I’d be able to relax.

  I chewed my burrito slowly as I let my thoughts wander. Everything with Leo today was just… too much. From our argument this morning and this evening to being ignored during the app meeting, I was thinking more about him than I had in a week. The ache in my chest was either indigestion or emotional distress.

  So what was I going to do about it?

  Ruminating about Leo wouldn’t make a difference. I needed to focus on the things I could change. That started with this app: everything with Leo related to this project in some way, after all.

  I pulled out my phone and tapped on the app I needed. Usually, I didn’t like using my AI assistant. There was something about seeing the sources of information with my own two eyes from a web search that was reassuring. But I needed to start learning about this, like, yesterday.

  My first question to the AI was how to get started with building an app. And its response let me know I wasn’t even ready for that yet. Too many of the words and acronyms were unrecognizable—API, staging environment, SDK—for me to make heads or tails of where to start.

  My next request was for a list of common jargon and explanations. It returned a list of at least twenty-five terms.

  I put my nearly-finished burrito down and buried my face in my hands. I let the helplessness wash over me for ten seconds and then shoved it away. There was no time for self-pity. However, there was time for me to stuff my face with my comfort dessert while drilling these terms into my brain.

  At least I had somewhere to start now. And I was determined that today had been the first and last day of my ignorance. If this app was going to help people the way they needed, it was my responsibility to make sure it got there.