Hunter by Adrianne Lemke

light tone and joking around I could tell he was
concerned. By now we both had a pretty good sense about people and who would or
wouldn’t be a threat, so he seemed to take me at my word that there was
something off about that guy. It was almost funny that I wouldn’t recognize him
if I saw him again, but Jason, who hadn’t been there, would be able to identify
him easily.
                Sunday
passed quietly. I didn’t leave the house, but Jason went out again to look at
the files at the police station. Unfortunately, the people who normally let him
in were not there, so he was told to come back the next day. He came home
frustrated that he was being stalled, and went out onto the trails again.
                The
only things I did were finish homework and watch television. But Jason didn’t
seem inclined to get me to go outside for anything, so by the time Monday
rolled around I was very ready to go to school. Anything was better than
dwelling on the strange man or the case my brother was working on. Even a math
test was an improvement.
                “So
how’d you do?” Jake asked from behind me once we both handed in our test
sheets.
                I
shrugged, “Not sure. Pretty well, I guess.”
                “Hey,
you all right?” Becky asked. She had been sitting in the desk next to me all
year, but almost never talked to me.
                “Fine,
why?”
                She
shrugged, her cheeks reddening as she stared at her desktop. “I dunno,” she
mumbled. “You just seem a little distracted today, that’s all.”
                “Enough
talking. There are still people working on the test,” our teacher scolded.
“Those who are done can work on other homework. The assignments for tomorrow
are written on the board.”
                Distracted,
frustrated, and probably a little nervous. All these feelings were not my own,
so I tried to push them away. Jason never handled children in danger very well.
Too close to our own childhood, I guess. I turned my attention back to the
board to get the next assignments written into my notebook. “Hey,” I hissed at
Becky. She looked up, surprised by my initiating conversation. “Thanks for
asking,” I said with a slight smile.
                She
smiled shyly and hunched back over her book, scribbling answers onto the page.
The class period was almost over. Lunch was coming up next, giving me a little
time to sort out my feelings from Jason’s, so I could concentrate better in the
next few classes.
                My
day was going fine. I had no reason to be frustrated or nervous. Except that I
always mirrored Jason’s feelings to some extent. If he was nervous or angry,
then I would worry about what was bothering him. It was kind of a cyclical
problem that I hadn’t managed to figure out in the almost five years of living
with him. It was a blessing that I couldn’t sense anyone else’s emotions,
because I’d then also have to separate those feelings from my own.
                It
was also a blessing that I could feel Jason’s mental state. Without my ability,
I would have no clue how much hurt and fear he tried to hide from me on a daily
basis. Although I wouldn’t worry about him so much if I didn’t know about it.
Knowing Jason’s moods wasn’t always useful, because Jason didn’t know I knew.
                I
sighed. My problem wouldn’t be solved in fourth period algebra. Most likely,
I’d have to tell Jason about my ability so we could figure out something
together instead of trying to figure it out by myself. But then we’d have to
deal with him realizing that every feeling he’d tried to keep private had been
shared for the last five years.
                Maybe
I should talk to Dustin first. He might have some suggestions for how I could
tell Jason. Of course then I’d have to tell him. Why I hadn’t told