I scream at the top of my lungs, yelling for Henry to get up, for Leland, Seth, Miss Jaynie, anyone.
Someone has to help me.
Something grabs hold of my face. It feels like someone’s placed a plastic bag over my head. Breathing becomes impossible. I’m being suffocated by an invisible attacker. Panic fills me causing me to gasp for non-existent air.
My eyes lock on the bodies of my baby cousin and my brother. Tears stream down my face and I’m quickly becoming hysterical.
This is how I die.
Five huge wolves with enormous teeth and claws come charging from around the house. The sight of them sends another surge of terror through me. But their arrival chases the shadow, and suffocating feeling, away. My fear is quickly replaced with relief as my lungs receive the air it desperately needs.
As I choke and gasp, I crawl over to Henry and Alex, and beg for them to wake up and come back to me, I pray for it. I’m shaking violently. Arms come around me, and someone shouts my name.
I realize that I’m not shaking; someone is shaking me.
I open my eyes to see my uncle’s face. Henry is holding my legs, and I’m still choking and crying. I must’ve really been screaming.
When my sobs slow, Leland tells me he loves me and leaves me with Henry.
Henry crawls up next to me on the bed and hugs me to his chest.
“It was…horrible, Henry. I couldn’t warn you…or save you or…Alex. You wouldn’t wake back up… They were so huge, but they saved me. It was horrible.”
“I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. You can hear my heart beating, can’t you?” I nod against his chest. It sounds heavenly after that nightmare. “Alex is fine, and surprisingly, he slept through the screaming. I love you. Now go to sleep. You won’t be alone.”
I fall asleep quickly in Henry’s arms. I must admit, I have the best brother in the world.
***
In the morning, Seth meets me in the student lot. Because of the dream from last night, I stick close to Henry until he allows himself to be swallowed up by the fan club and the giants. When I finally make it to Seth, he puts his arms around me. I sigh and feel the tension leave me.
He bends down to whisper in my ear, “Are you okay?” I can hear the concern in his voice.
Tears fill my eyes as I look into his. I bite the inside of my cheek and nod.
Before he can say anything else, Barry comes over and shoves him away, as their posse of catty girls follow him over.
“Enough of the PDA,” he sneers. “Some of us would like to keep our breakfast down.” A few girls giggle.
“Barry, why don’t you take the “ass” hat off and put on a “nice guy” hat for once?” I shoot back.
“It’s too early for nice, too late for sleepy, and I just don’t have the energy for charming at the moment. So unless you find me another monster,” he says, looking pointedly at Seth, “You’re stuck with plain old me. Take it or leave it.”
“Leave it.” I grab Seth’s hand and head for the doors.
“Bye, Jazzy!” Barry, Tony and Flynn yell in girly voices. I’m not sure which I find more annoying, them being confrontational to Seth or them when they thought Seth being near me meant they had to mark their territory.
Seth snorts. I guess he caught my thought. We part ways to head to our classes.
By the time Acrylics starts, I’m ready for a nap. That nightmare last night really took a toll on me.
“You look like you could use an energy drink.” Skeeter smiles at me as we take the last few steps into the class.
I nod. “I didn’t sleep very well last night.”
“I’m sorry,” she tells me. “Can I ride with you and Henry this afternoon?”
“Yea, I don’t see why not.” I nod.
“Awesome, thanks. My grandma wants me to meet her at your place,” she groans.
It’s so weird hearing her call Miss Jaynie “grandma.”
“Speaking of, I have some questions for her,” I tell her.
“Like what?” she asks me.
“Like…” I lean close to her to whisper. “This mind talking stuff.”
Skeeter giggles. “I’m sure she’d be able to answer that. Ask her when we get there.”
We walk over to our seats, and my lake painting is lying on my desk. I snatch it up and flip it to check my grade. 100%.
Excellently done, Miss Williams, if I hadn’t watched your progress with your beautiful scenery, I would’ve thought you bought it somewhere. I want to grab a blanket and a book, and step into the canvas. Keep up the good work!
I smile, and show Skeeter. She’s just about to say something when Mr. Becker comes over.
“Jasmine, close to the end of every year I invite the students who have impressed me, along with artists, college scouts, and designers, to attend an event here at the school. Some of the students in the past have been offered scholarships, and even career opportunities, sometimes critiques. I was wondering if you’d be willing to attend. You just need to put together a portfolio. I’ll give you until Friday to decide. The event is in five weeks,” he smiles and heads back to his desk.
I’m stunned and just stare at my canvas.
“Is something going to jump out of the lake or did you fail?” Derik smirks as he waltzes over.
“Perfect marks,” I grin. I’m not telling him about the offer for the show, he wouldn’t appreciate it for what it is. It would just give him another reason to throw his annoying attitude at me.
Skeeter comes back over and pushes Derik out of the way. She starts squealing. “This is wonderful!” Thankfully, Derik walks away.
After class, I walk over to Mr. Becker’s desk. “I have my answer,” I tell him when he looks at me. “I want to do the event, but will I be able to keep this piece?”
“Certainly, you may want to include it in your portfolio one day.” He smiles at me. “Do you have other paintings or drawings you’d like my opinion on, for the event?”
“Yes, I can bring some in tomorrow. I have one in particular I’d like your opinion on, but I’ll bring a few.” I give him a nervous glance.
This drawing I have never shown to anyone. I worked on it while I locked myself in my room after we lost Dad and Sophie. I haven’t even shown Henry, yet.
I focus on the laugh lines around Mr. Becker’s brown eyes to stay in the present.
“I’m looking forward to it. Have a good day,” he says with a smile.
When the bell rings I stand outside the door and wait for Seth. I’m bouncing on the balls of my feet. I’m excited to do the exhibit Mr. Becker holds at the end of the year.
I watch Seth walk towards me with a smile on his face. My heart is doing that crazy flutter and butterflies seem to be making a home in my belly.
Will this feeling ever stop?
“You’re making a habit of being late for fourth,” he chuckles and leans on the wall next to me.
“Yea, Coach Jaymes will probably write me up,” I smirk.
“Not that I’m not glad you wanted to see me, but why are you making yourself late again?” he asks and leans closer to me.
“Mr. Becker offered me a spot in his exhibit at the end of the year.” My smile is so large that my cheeks already hurt.
“That’s great!” His grin is nearly as wide as mine.
“I know! I just had to tell someone, other than Skeeter.” I dance a little. “Okay, I should probably get going before Coach Jaymes makes me do laps or something.”
Instantly I’m nervous, I’ve never had a boyfriend. Are you supposed to kiss them, or something, in the halls? My cheeks heat as I remember this boyfriend can hear my thoughts.
He leans down and kisses my pinked cheeks. “Get to class,” he whispers. I giggle a little and walk away from him.
With every step that brings me closer to the locker room, the colder I feel. I’ve got that same feeling again, someone is following me. I hear the thunking of footsteps behind me, gooseflesh covers my arms, and the
hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. I try to block it out best I can, but I can hear the steps behind me picking up speed. I run, flat out, the last few feet to the locker room.
I press my back to the wall behind the door and work on slowing my breathing.
“Jaz, are you okay?” Hanna, one of the girls in my gym class, asks.
“Yea, I just ran here, that’s all.” I smile. I hope it’s as reassuring as I want it to be.
I walk over to an empty locker and begin to change for class. As I’m pulling my blue shirt with “LHS Trojans” logo on it over my head, a locker slams behind me, I scream and jump.
I hear a giggle. “You screamed like a little girl!” Heidi says.
I fix my shirt and shrug to her. “It startled me.” I finish getting dressed and walk out to the gymnasium to begin stretching. A tap on my back startles me, again.
“Jeez! You’re jumpy today. You okay?” Ashleigh asks.
“I’m fine, Ashleigh,” I smile, and we start jogging up the bleacher steps together.
Coach Jaymes blows her whistle, and I startle again and trip on my way back down.
“Williams, you okay?” Coach asks. I nod and blush, as everyone stares at me. “Do you need a pass to the guidance counselor or nurse?” she whispers.
My eyes go wide. “No, I’m okay, thanks Coach,” I assure her.
I may have accepted the pass, if I didn’t have to be alone in that hallway again. It’s strange to be in a school filled with hundreds people, and feel stalked.
If I talk to Henry about it, he’ll worry that I have gone off the deep end, if he doesn’t die of laughter first. I guess I can ask Miss Jaynie what to do about it, maybe she knows if ghosts are real.
When the bell rings, I make sure to leave with a large group of girls to avoid being alone. I spot Henry on the opposite side of the hall outside the cafeteria, and take off running. When I’m close enough, I jump onto his back and cover his eyes.
“Guess what?!” I say into my brother’s ear.
He teeters slightly. “I thought this usually starts off with guess who?” he chuckles.
I laugh. “I have good news!” I shout as I climb off his back.
“Ok, I’ll bite,” he says through his laugh.
“My art teacher was very impressed with my painting and wants to put it in his event in five weeks, for professionals and colleges to look at. I have to put a portfolio together, but I could get career placement, or a scholarship, or something, if they like my stuff.” We have another year until graduation, but I honestly have no clue what I want to do after high school. I wouldn’t complain if it had something to do with art.
“That’s great, Jazzy!” Henry beams. “Do I get to see this painting?”
“Henry, you’ll love it!” Skeeter says, appearing out of thin air. “It looks just like you’re sitting in your backyard.”
“Yea, but I need to get some of my other paintings from the old house tonight. And Skeeter is coming with us,” I tell Henry. He nods and walks away as Seth comes over to Skeeter and me.
I hope Henry gets over, whatever this is, soon. It’d be nice to not have to force him to be near my friends.
***
Seth walks with me out to the student lot after study hall. I lean into him and close my eyes, just letting him guide me.
“That nightmare last night has drained my energy,” I mumble to Seth.
“If there’s ever a next time, I’ll bring you some energy drinks and coffee,” he says quietly.
“Hey, Jaz, which one is…” Skeeter trails off. “I guess the shiny black Charger that’s surrounded by the ditzy queens is your brother’s car?”
Seth snorts, and I crack one eye open.
“Yep,” I snort.
She groans. “You deal with this every day?”
I nod. “I don’t get the dirty looks anymore since Henry mentioned I was his sister,” I chuckle. “They used to give me the death stare, now they’re sickly sweet.” I roll my eyes.
Skeeter grins. “Think I’ll get the death stare?”
“I know that look,” Seth rolls his eyes.
“Don’t be such a downer,” she snaps at him.
She skips over and squeezes past two of the girls surrounding Henry and leans into him. Curiosity gets me and I sneak closer to them.
“Thank you for the ride,” she smiles sweetly. Two girls storm away from the group, and the rest give her the death stare.
“Take your rank breath and get out of here, nerd,” one of the girls snaps at her.
“Oh sweetie, I think that’s you. That perfume could peel the paint off a bulldozer,” she quips.
Just as a blonde opens her mouth, Henry steps up. “Enough!” he barks. “Let’s get goin’.”
“I call shotgun!” Skeeter laughs and jumps in the front seat.
I smile and turn to Seth, he smiles at me before pulling me close to him. My arms snake around his neck as my lips meet his. His hands tighten on my waist and his emotions flood my senses. He’s amused and happy.
The blare of a car horn behind me causes me to jump and shriek. I spin around and see Henry smirking.
I shoot him a dirty look. “Annoying buffoon…”
“Hey, call me when Skeeter leaves,” Seth tells me, before kissing my forehead.
I nod and say goodbye before climbing into the backseat.
“Really funny,” I say and smack the back of Henry’s head.
He just laughs at me and starts driving towards our old house. I let them chat while I try to remember where all of my artwork is, and figure out which ones I want to bring in for Mr. Becker.
Once we get to the old house, I rush through gathering the pieces I want to take tomorrow. I ask Henry to grab the quill and ink bottle drawing I made for Dad. It’s in his office and I’m not ready to go in there yet.
When we get home, Miss Jaynie and Alex are waiting for us on the porch. Henry grabs my stuff and heads inside.
Miss Jaynie stops him. “Henry, can you take Alex out back and wear him out for me?”
“Sure. Come on, little dude. Let’s go on the slide!” Henry says excitedly, and Alex squeals.
I’m jealous. I want to play, too. But, I need some answers first.
“Miss Jaynie, can I ask you something about the mental communication thing?” I ask feeling a bit silly, but knowing she understands so I’m not worried about sounding like an idiot.
“Go ahead,” she says.
I sit in the wooden chair next to her, and Skeeter sits in front of us, on the floor.
“How do I respond to something mentally?” I look to my lap as my cheeks heat. She might understand, but it’s still strange.
“It gets easier to share things when you want to as the relationship strengthens. Intimacy will strengthen your relationship, and that makes it easier to hold a conversation.” I stare at her wide eyed with, I’m guessing, flame-red cheeks, but she ignores me. “You’ll never be able to control everything that gets shared. And you can’t go snooping around in his thoughts or him in yours. It’s just what crosses your mind currently, even after you two have been with each other for a hundred years, you still won’t know every thought.
“The Ancients thought it perfect to have no secrets at all or close enough. I find that it’s a pain in the you-know-what,” she huffs. “If there’s a way to block it, we haven’t found it.”
I never thought about telepathy being a burden, but I can definitely see where it would be a problem.
“Strengthening doesn’t happen overnight. Ya’ll just need to be patient,” Miss Jaynie says with a smile.
“So for now, we just work on strengthening our relationship?” I ask for clarification.
She nods. “Ya’ll are old enough to know about ‘being careful’ in a relationship, and to wait until you’re ready. Don’t you dare let him pressure you into anything,” she says sternly.
My jaw drops, and Skeeter starts laughing.
Miss Jaynie continues. “Just think of so
mething that has a powerful emotion associated with it. Love, hate, fear. Those are some strong emotions, so think of things that link with those for now.”
“Uh, I…” I stutter like a fool. Skeeter is still laughing. I guess if I could see the look on my face right about now, I’d laugh, too.
“Sugar, calm down. You can wait as long as you want. Make me a happy woman, and tell him “no” until you’re fifty,” she pats my leg and laughs. “Don’t think of him as a life sentence, or even as your soul mate. Just think of him as your boyfriend,” she shrugs. “Go on dates, sneak kisses, and surprise each other while you can!”
I give her a one armed hug. “You’re the best, Miss Jaynie. Thanks!”
She just gave me permission to not think of Seth as my soul mate, I could kiss her! I’m still not comfortable with that title.
“Jazzy! Your face just now was priceless!” Skeeter giggles.
Miss Jaynie shoots her a look, and she struggles to quiet her laughter. “Anything else on your mind?” Miss Jaynie asks, looking at me now.
I nod. “It’s probably just me being paranoid.” I blow out a quick breath. “When I’m at school, I keep hearing footsteps, but when I look, no one’s there. I can feel eyes on my back, and I hear the footsteps, and it’s really creepy. It’s crazy, I know. But I feel like I’m being stalked. Do you think the school’s haunted?”
I brace myself for their laughter, but that’s not the reaction I get.
I look at Miss Jaynie, she looks furious. Skeeter looks almost terrified.
What the hell is going on?
Chapter 8
Protection
“You’re going to meet a few Elders tonight, dear,” Miss Jaynie says as the three of us pile in her car.
“Okay,” I squeak.
“They’re not bad. Just old and boring,” Skeeter says.
“Delilah,” Miss Jaynie scolds, and Skeeter rolls her eyes. “Jazzy, they’re going to help. You don’t need to be afraid of them.”
I take a deep breath. “Okay,” I say sounding closer to calm. “Why do I have to meet them?”
“Because this is a situation where you need help, more help than I can offer,” Miss Jaynie says, with concern.
True Connection (The Soul Mate Series) Page 9