by Jamie White
The following days saw her continuing to pore over the material while Sam was busy with hockey practices leading up to his league’s playoffs. Her impatience was getting the better of her. All she wanted was to start working on the stuff and see what she could, or couldn’t, do.
One afternoon, she found herself staring at one of the books like a small child eyeing a Christmas present. Courtney reached for the book several times, stopping short of grabbing it each time she thought of Sam and how she’d promised to let him be there when she started working on it.
What could it really hurt? It wasn’t like he’d been available often over the past few days, and she knew there was no way she could wait much longer to try. Her impatience finally won out and Courtney grabbed one of her books again, turning to a part where there’d been an exercise designed to help one prepare for such work.
Courtney went through the steps, one by one, until an odd sensation similar to the energy she’d felt the other night in Sam’s car took over. She set the book down and focused her attention on it, willing the thing to move where she wanted it to go. She could swear she saw it twitch a little as though it were going to do as she wished, but nothing more concrete happened. The bitter sting of disappointment hit her hard, but she refused to give up.
“Maybe I should start with something smaller,” she mumbled to herself as she looked around her room for a suitable replacement for the book. Eventually, her gaze settled on one of the hair clips lying on the desk.
Courtney focused her attention on the object, just as she’d done a moment before with the book. She put every bit of mental focus she had into the task, willing the thing to move to her. After a long couple of minutes, the clip began to shake before lifting off of the desk. Courtney had to fight to keep her focus as she watched the clip begin its trip across the room.
“Oh my God,” she whispered. She’d really done it! The thought sent a thrill through her. There was no chance she’d imagined this one. The proof was in the clip that now lay in her lap. She couldn’t wait to tell Sam about what just happened. She hoped he’d be as excited as she was.
Chapter Sixteen
“Are you sure your parents aren’t going to be home?” Courtney asked as they walked up to Sam’s front door. Courtney carried a bag with several different books she’d bought about clairvoyance and telekinesis.
“Yeah, they’re not going to be home until real late. We’ve got plenty of time,” he promised.
Her head was swimming with all she’d learned through the books over the past few days since their trip to the store. She was ready to show Sam something, but didn’t want to risk his parents seeing. Courtney followed him inside, looking around the living room while she waited for him to close the door. She’d always loved his house. It had a much more comfy feel than hers.
“Okay, so what did you want to show me that needs so much secrecy?”
“Sit over there,” said Courtney, pointing at the chair underneath the front window.
Sam gave her an odd look, but did as she asked without a word. Once he’d sat down, he crossed his arms and stared at her with an expectant look on his face.
“Wait a sec…” Courtney walked over to him and reached for the string that closed the curtains, making sure no one could see in the room. “Okay, that’s better.”
“What on earth are you doing?”
“You’ll see in a second,” she promised. Courtney took a deep breath and tried to clear her mind of anything that might distract her from the task at hand. Once she’d gotten herself in the right mindset, she surveyed the room until her gaze settled on a coaster on the coffee table. “Do you see that?”
Sam raised his eyebrow as he followed her gaze and spotted the coaster. “Yeah. What about it?”
“Watch,” she said. Courtney let out a breath and focused her attention on the coaster. Within seconds, the object was off the table and moving across the room toward Sam. It dropped in his lap and Courtney had to suppress a giggle at the look on his face.
“What the hell, Court? How’d you do that?”
“I told you,” she insisted, “It’s the same thing that happened at the movie theatre the other night. The only difference is I meant to do it this time.”
“You’re saying you just moved that thing with your mind on purpose?”
“That’s exactly what I just said,” she replied. She couldn’t help the pride that colored her words. “Don’t you get it? This means it really is all true. Those people in the pictures really are my parents and they really did have all kinds of strange powers.”
“Yeah…” Sam stared down at the coaster with a wary expression. After a minute, he stood and allowed the object to fall to the ground. “Okay, now you know for sure that your parents aren’t some psycho kidnappers or something. That means you can forget about all the books and stuff, right?”
A stab of disappointed hit her hard at his words. She hadn’t expected him to jump for joy at the revelation, but she at least thought he could sound a little more enthusiastic than that. It was as if she’d told him she just got an ugly shirt or something.
“You aren’t happy about this,” she said quietly, her stomach clenching at the thought.
“Are you surprised? Weren’t you in the car with me the other day when we were talking about this? I told you I was worried you might be opening some door you can’t close. From what I just saw, it looks like you just blasted right through it. I think you should take a step back for a while.”
Frustration colored his words, which only annoyed her. He was starting to sound like Lauren. Would Matthew turn on her next? She couldn’t understand why the people she loved the most were being so difficult when she was facing the biggest thing to ever happen to her.
“But—”
“You heard what your parents said,” he interrupted. “This could be dangerous. Hell, that might even be the reason your real parents are dead now. They could’ve stepped into something they couldn’t handle.” Concerned anger colored his words.
“It was an accident; you saw the article. They didn’t find anything weird with it. Well, except for me not being there.”
Sam threw his arms up in exasperation. “Of course they didn’t! You think they put paranormal investigators in charge of random car wrecks? Don’t you think it’s odd that happened almost right after they left you?”
Courtney clenched her fists as she tried to fight the conflicting emotions inside. She’d hoped he would understand, but she also wasn’t surprised that he appeared less than thrilled with this. “I get what you’re saying, I do, but I’m not planning to get all crazy with this. I just wanted to see if I could do it. Like it or not, this is part of who I am. Shouldn’t I be able to at least learn a little about it?”
“So, you’ve learned about it. What are you going to do now?”
Courtney shrugged. “I don’t know. Do I have to do anything with it? Can’t it just be a fun thing I know how to do without it being a big deal?”
“You tell me.”
Courtney put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying you don’t believe me?”
“You lied to me already, what do you think?” His voice took on a hard edge as he fixed her with an icy stare.
“I did not!” she protested.
Sam walked over and picked up the coaster off the ground and held it up for her to see. “You told me I could be there when you tried, but you were practicing on your own all this time, weren’t you?”
Courtney was about to argue, but she stopped herself as she realized he was right. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… you weren’t around and I got a little restless when these books sitting there staring me in the face.”
“So how am I supposed to believe you when you tell me you’re not going to get yourself too deep in all this? I’ve gotta be honest here, this whole thing is weirding me out. I mean, all these secrets and now you’re doing weird things. It’s a little bit much.�
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“I think I should go,” Courtney said. She stepped over to the couch where she’d left her books and collected them before turning toward the door. “I’ll talk to you later.”
“Courtney, wait.”
“I really think it’d be better if I left for now,” she said without turning around. “I’ll call you later, okay?”
Sam sighed. “If that’s what you want.”
“Goodnight,” she said. Courtney left the house and headed home, trying to push the argument out of her mind. Still, a twinge of guilt tugged at her gut and made it hard to forget. She felt terrible she’d broken her promise, but she also knew she couldn’t have resisted delving into the books she’d bought. It was like there was a pull that she couldn’t ignore. She just hoped he was wrong about it leading to places she might not be able to control.
The image of the wrecked car from the article she’d found pushed forward from the recesses of her mind, taunting her with the details of the smashed steel. Their pictures soon replaced the wreck and, for a moment, she could swear she saw them on the ground just as the investigators must have when they got to the scene. The image caused her to shudder and look around.
Even though the streets were empty, Courtney couldn’t help but get the odd feeling that she wasn’t alone. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up like when she used to visit haunted houses as a child. The anticipation of something sneaking up on her from the shadows had filled her with dread and excitement back then. Now, there was only discomfort.
Courtney shook off the feeling and continued on her way. She tried to tell herself that she was just overreacting to Sam’s concerns, which she supposed she couldn’t blame him for. Wouldn’t she be just as worried if she were in his shoes? Why, then, couldn’t she completely rid herself of the paranoia that had suddenly taken hold?
Chapter Seventeen
Courtney trudged into her house, trying not to call any attention to herself. For the first time she could remember, she went straight to her room without bothering to say hello to her parents. Courtney dropped the books she carried on her desk.
She plopped down in her desk chair and pulled the script in the top desk drawer out. She thought she might be able to distract herself by getting immersed in another fictional world. It was for her school’s production of Medea, and she had considered going out for the part of Cassandra. She only got a few paragraphs in before she had to set it aside.
She stood up, tapping the table with her fingertips a moment before pacing about the room. She didn’t know why she couldn’t focus, but it was making her crazy. Maybe she’d have been better off going out. At least then she’d be around other people who’d want to talk.
Yeah. That might be a good idea.
Courtney collected her cell phone from the bottom of her bag, then scrolled through the numbers until Lauren’s name came up. She hit the call button and waited.
“Hello?”
The sound of her cousin’s voice was a welcome distraction. She’d never failed to make Courtney feel better before, and she wanted nothing more than to spend a few hours hanging out to get her mind off of the fight with Sam. “Hey, I’m glad you answered! Wanna hang out tonight? I could use the company.”
“Sure, I’m free tonight. What happened? Sam busy?”
Courtney cringed at the mention of her boyfriend’s name. If Courtney didn’t know better, she’d swear Lauren was a psychic — or at least had crappy timing. The mention of Sam couldn’t have been more well-timed, or less, depending on one’s perspective. It was true, she usually spent Saturday nights with him, but that was a topic she didn’t care to explore. “It’s no big deal; I just felt like some girl time. Besides, I have something you might want to see.”
“Consider me on the edge of my seat,” she answered. “Want me to come get you, or you want meet me here?”
“Depends… is your roommate there?”
Lauren laughed. “Is she ever? She only keeps most of her stuff here so her parents don’t know where she’s really living.”
Courtney smiled at the idea, wondering if she’d have the nerve to do something like that when she went off to college. “What do you do if they call?”
“She uses a cell phone, so she always has it with her. It’s a good thing for her too, because I have better things to do than cover for someone.”
Courtney’s laugh echoed through the room. She couldn’t picture having the nerve to do something like that, so she admired her cousin’s boldness. “I can just picture that now. I’ll see you in a little bit.”
“Later.”
Courtney ended the call as she walked over to her bag. She tossed the phone inside, then picked the bag up and slung it over her shoulder before heading back into the hallway. “Mom? Dad?” she called out.
“Courtney, when did you get home?” Her mother asked as she stepped into the hallway from the master bedroom.
“Just a few minutes ago. I was thinking I’d go visit Lauren for a bit tonight. That okay?”
Her mother shrugged. “I don’t see why not. Just remember your curfew.”
“Okay,” Courtney agreed. “See ya.”
“Bye… and remember what I said about curfew.”
Courtney hurried for the door, waving over her shoulder. “No problem.” Somehow, she got the feeling that for once she wasn’t telling the truth. She shook the feeling off and got in the car for the drive to Lauren’s.
****
To her surprise, Lauren was waiting outside when Courtney got there. An odd sense of discomfort filled her gut as she climbed out of the car. “Is something wrong?” Courtney asked.
“No, everything’s good. You just sounded like there was something big on your mind and I’m dying to know. What’s up?” Lauren’s eyes were shining with excitement as she took hold of Courtney’s hand and led her into the building.
“I can’t tell you out here,” Courtney said with a laugh. “Come on, let’s go inside and I’ll fill you in. You are so not going to believe it.”
“You really know how to keep the suspense going, you know that?”
Courtney shrugged, adopting an innocent tone. “You don’t spend years acting without picking up on that.”
Lauren smirked as the pair made their way into the elevator and up to Lauren’s apartment. Once the door was closed behind them, Lauren turned and faced her cousin. “Okay, what’s the deal?”
“I better show you instead of telling you,” Courtney said as she searched the room. Her attention settled on a book lying on the couch. “You see that book?”
“Yeah,” Lauren confirmed. “What about it?”
“Just watch it, trust me.” Courtney let a breath out and once again focused on the object she wanted to move. Within seconds, the book was in the air and slowly drifting toward Lauren.
Lauren jumped, her eyes going wide with surprise. “What the hell? How did you do that?”
“I did it with my mind, can you believe it?” Courtney held her breath as she waited for a response, hoping she wouldn’t get a repeat of earlier.
“You’re screwing with me. How’d you manage it? Have you been watching those stupid TV shows about magic tricks and illusions?”
Courtney crossed her heart. “I swear I’m not messing with you at all. That was completely legit. I’ve been studying how to do it for days now after I did it once or twice by accident. It’s the craziest feeling in the world, seriously. It’s like there’s this electric charge going through my whole body each time, but it’s so much more than that. That’s just the closest thing I can think of to describe it.”
Lauren raised an eyebrow as she watched the book fall to the floor. She walked over and picked it up. “You really are serious, aren’t you?”
“Cross my heart,” Courtney swore as she made the sign again. “That’s not all. There’s some other stuff, too.” Courtney proceeded to tell Lauren about the dreams she’d had and how they seemed to be showing her things she shouldn’t know.
; “Wow,” Lauren said with an odd tone in her voice.
Courtney’s face fell at the tone Lauren took. It reminded her a little of how Sam reacted. “You’re not going to freak and get mad at me too, are you?”
“What are you talking about?” Lauren asked. “You didn’t tell your parents about this, did you?”
Courtney’s mouth dropped open in shock at the question. “You have to be joking! Of course I didn’t tell them. I told Sam. Let’s just say that he didn’t exactly act happy about it. Actually, we got into a huge fight.”
Lauren gestured for Courtney to take a seat on the couch. Once Courtney was seated, she joined her. “Sorry to hear that. He’s just looking out for you, though. There’s lots of dangerous things out there in the world, ya know.”
Courtney sighed. “You’re not going to start that too, are you? If so, go ahead and tell me now so I can go home.”
“Hey, I’m just saying that he’s worried about you and maybe he has a reason to be.”
“It’s not like I’m going to go all superhero or something like they did,” Courtney protested. “I just thought it might be interesting to learn about it a little. Why can’t people understand that?” She sighed, leaning back into the couch with her hands in her lap.
“There’s no need to risk it,” Lauren said.
Something about the tone in Lauren’s voice made Courtney’s skin crawl. “What’s that mean?”
Lauren tilted her head, looking Courtney over a moment before answering, “It means that sometimes people like you are too stubborn to stay out of things you shouldn’t get mixed up in. Sometimes you have to be nipped in the bud before you can cause too much trouble.”
Courtney shifted in her seat, a sense of dread building in her stomach. “Lauren, you’re freaking me out. Why are you talking like that?”
Lauren let out an exasperated sigh. “You really are dense, aren’t you? You have no clue what you’ve already done by playing around with those books of yours. It’s a shame… I did try and stop you before it was too late, but I guess there’s no point in playing games anymore.”