Accordance (Significance #2)(22)

But before I could dwell on that, I felt myself slip in further and saw a new loop of memories. Him watching me at his band practice, my face filled with awe and love and longing. I was shocked by it. It was all over me how much I loved Caleb and he absolutely loved that look on me. Then another one came of us surfing, me taking a glide and then fast forwarded to the pavilion. Me pressed against the wall. I blushed at the scene in which I was utterly enraptured in him and he was eating it up, loving it.
Then I was jerked away, seeing the energy ribbons I had completely forgotten about fizzle away in the air. Caleb put his forehead to mine breathing raggedly.
“You can dig in my mind anytime you want, babe, but not like this,” he said sternly but chuckled. “I want to, you know I do, especially since we were so close last time and were interrupted. I don’t think I could stand to start and not...finish again, ok? Let’s just wait until we know we won’t have any distractions.” 
“Ok,” I sighed and took a deep breath to calm myself.
I wondered what he meant by ‘finish’. I wondered what happened at the end of the Mutuality. If it was that amazing during the act, I wondered what in the world could happen to top it off. My skin was hot and flushed from being so consumed by him and seeing the things I’d seen in his mind. He smirked at me and helped me up, standing himself.
“I better get you inside,” he said into my ear, his breath in my hair, “before you convince me that the public beach is an appropriate place for such a thing.” He nipped my earlobe.
“Caleb,” I breathed, “that’s not helping.”
“I know,” he snickered and dodged my swat. “Come on, gorgeous. I’m hungry, for food,” he said and gave me a sidelong grin, taking my hand.
I just shook my head and tried to walk straight. Bella trailed us and as we made our way inside she bolted to her bowl and scarfed the contents.
“There you are,” Rachel said and put a hand on her hip, spatula in hand. “I was beginning to wonder. You know it’s almost ten o’clock in the morning? Wasting perfectly good daylight,” she said and smirked.
Everyone was piled in the kitchen around the table or at the bar with plates high of pancakes.
“We were...practicing on the beach last night,” Caleb explained and smiled at me.
“Practicing what?” Bish muttered darkly.
I’m sure I don’t want to know.
“Um...” Caleb hadn’t thought about Bish being in there, “surfing.”
“You’re not wet,” Bish observed and glared at me over the rim of his coffee cup.
“We changed our minds, it was cold,” I lied and went to grab a plate from Rachel.
She gave me a small knowing smile and then made a plate for Caleb.
“It looks pretty warm out to me.”
“So, I was thinking,” Dad interjected and glanced at me. I gave him a grateful smile, knowing he was changing the subject for us. “We’re in California and I’ve never been here. How about we head out and do some sightseeing today?”
“Yes!” Rachel said excitedly and took off her apron. “We can show you all the- oh wait, you meant you, Maggie and Bish, of course.”
“No, I meant all of us unless you’d be bored. I’m sure you’ve seen it all.”
“Not at all. We’re usually just content to lounge around and be lazy and…relax,” Peter chimed. He glanced at Rachel with a smile that made me hide a blush under my hand. I heard Caleb groan in my mind. “We’d love to come if you wouldn’t feel imposed on.”
“No, of course not,” he said.
“I better go get all dolled up then,” Bish said and thanked Rachel for breakfast before heading out.
“Peter,” I said softly and he glanced at me, “I need you to do something for me.”
“You want me to call the Reunification meeting early? Done.” He glanced at Rachel, “Can you hand me a knife, honey?”
“Sure,” she said and opened the drawer. A butter knife floated out and went through the air, straight to his hand.
“Thanks,” he said as he dug in, my father gawking openly.
“You already called it?” I asked, “How did you...”
He smiled and winked at me as he took a big bite of pancakes.
“These are divine, Ray,” he said to Rachel.“Thanks, honey,” she replied.
“I’m not even gonna ask what a reuni… reunited…whatever meeting is,” Dad questioned, “I’m sure it’s something with a lengthy explanation and I’m ready to sight see. I’ll go get ready too.” Then he looked at me. “What were you two doing on the beach?”
“Practicing,” Caleb repeated. “We...discovered something about Maggie last night, something new.”
“What...like a new ability?” Peter asked excitedly and leaned forward on the table towards us.
I nodded and Dad went off...mentally.
Great, juuuust great, more reasons to keep her away from me. More reasons to upset Bish, to lie and more reasons for her to be even more of a freak.
I gasped and felt Caleb wrap his fingers around mine to calm me, but I felt the shock pouring off him too.
“Dad,” I breathed in disappointment.
He looked up and his face blanched white that matched the china plate his breakfast was on.
Crap, I forgot.
“Baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that.” He looked between Caleb and me and then over at Peter and Rachel, who had no idea what he’d said, and Jen, who’d been surprisingly silent. I felt my lip tremble and Caleb pulled me to him closer, a hand rubbing small comforting circles on my back. “Maggie. I completely forgot about your ability. That’s not an excuse but...I’m sorry. This all takes some getting used to.” He leaned his elbows on the table towards me. “I’m sorry, really, that wasn’t only an insult to you but everyone else in this room and I apologize.”
I nodded but didn’t feel much better.
“Dad, I know this is hard. Especially being on the outside of it and just looking in all the time. I’m sorry...I mean, I’m not sorry this happened, I’m just sorry that you had to get all wrapped up in it.”
He gave me a surprised look.
“You’re not sorry this happened? How can you even say that? They hurt you, those men who took you. You’ve had quite a few close calls. You’re saying if you could go back, you wouldn’t change anything?”
He did not understand at all. Not like I thought he did. He still saw this as something I was being forced to endure and just making the best of it.
“Dad, you’re so clueless. I’m not being disrespectful.” I held up my hands. “You have no idea, for some reason I thought you understood. I’m not being forced, Dad. I’m not unhappy. I’m not just enduring Caleb. I’m not just accepting my fate and going with the flow. I like my abilities...most of the time.” I shook my head side to side in debate. “I like being a part of Caleb’s family, I love Caleb. If I could go back and change the day I met him, I wouldn’t.” 
“You said he touched you and then you saw visions and then he was feeling your heartbeat and he’s like a drug to you. That’s the gist of all this isn’t it?”
Crap, we were going to have to hash this out in front of Caleb’s family. I pulled him to the edge of the kitchen to have a little bit more privacy.
“The day Caleb touched my hand and I saw all those things, I was excited. Yes, a little freaked but excited more. I felt like...everything I ever needed was right there. I still feel like that. It’s not something you can just turn off and I wouldn’t want to. I want him more than I need him.”
“Maggie, being addicted to someone isn’t the same thing as real true, pure love,” he said softly like this was an intervention.
I shook my head and felt my breath leave me in a rush. Even Peter was thinking of saying something now, still being able to hear us from across the room. They all could. Dad was infringing on all our relationships at this point. I thought I saw a few energy ribbons bounce in the air by the window but when I looked there was nothing.
“Dad, you have no idea what you’re saying,” I said. “I’m going to get ready to go.”
I expected Caleb to follow me but he didn’t. I figured he wanted to either talk to my father or his but I didn’t care. I needed a shower and he couldn’t come with me anyway.
As I reached for the doorknob to the bathroom, Bish was coming out. He snorted and crossed his arms over his bare chest. The towel wrapped around his waist.
“No Caleb? This must be a record.”
“Shut up!” I yelled, suddenly furious and spent from the morning. “I am so tired of you lately. Why are you always on my case?”
Oh? She wants to fight, huh?
“Someone has to try to look after you, though I question the point now. It’s obvious you are so completely different than before and Caleb is just...I don’t know but whatever this is that you won’t tell me, I can handle it.” He braced his hands in the door frame and stood over me with a menacing sneer on his lips. “What can it be? It can’t be that bad if we’ve ruled out marriage and babies. I don’t get it and it does nothing but insult and piss me off that you feel the need to be petty and lord over me some secret that I’m not allowed to be privy to.”