Doubt began to sink in quickly as I thought maybe it would be best to keep a safe distance. Besides, with one school year left anyway, what was the point of even trying? Quickly talking myself out of meeting his friends tomorrow, I snapped to the present.
Before tomorrow could happen, I would have to face my next step, Mother. She was home because I noticed her car parked in the driveway. I was sure she saw me walking beside Barry, which probably raised her interest. I groaned inwardly as I headed inside for the interrogation I knew would begin.
~3~
The Toy
“I’m home,” I yelled as I walked through the doorway. The entryway mirror caught my reflection, making me pause as I stood there staring. I tilted my head to the side as I studied a little deeper, wondering what I was getting worked up about. There wasn’t any way he’d find me attractive because I was just like every other girl. The one thing separating me from all of the other girls that sported long brown hair was the hint of red highlights that’s naturally sprinkled throughout mine. My eyes were darker brown than most, about the color of espresso, but other than that, there wasn’t anything special about me.
“In here, honey. Can you hold these curtains while I drape them around the rod?”
“Just a sec,” I answered as I glanced one more time at my reflection. Knowing there wasn’t anything I could do to change my appearance; I scrunched my face into a goofy pose before childishly sticking my tongue out. I’d never cared about my appearance before, and I wasn’t going to start now. Determined to stop worrying about it, I walked into the living room to help Mom. As I dropped my book bag down on the couch, my thoughts kept drifting back to Barry. Mentally replaying him running toward me brought an unmistakable warming sensation deep in my chest. My cheeks flushed at the memory of the sun cascading off his tanned body, causing a small smile to escape. I didn’t understand what that meant, but I found myself conflicted. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to meet some of his friends. After all, it was the part of my resolution that I had to keep reminding myself about.
As if reading my mind, Mom tried keeping her tone even as she asked, “Who was that guy you were walking with?” She didn’t do a very good job at being nonchalant because her voice was laced with curiosity.
I audibly sighed before replying. “Barry. He’s in my physics class. His car is being worked on, so he walked home with me since he was going to his grandma’s house. I guess she lives right next door to us.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” she stated, still trying to appear indifferent. But I could imagine the wheels turning in her head and sense her pleasure at the sight of me talking to someone. “Maybe he can introduce you to some of his friends.”
“One step ahead of you, Mom. He told me he would tomorrow at school.” I concentrated on the fabric in my hand, wishing she would drop the subject. I hated discussing friends with Mother since she desperately wanted me to have them. Yet the outcome was always the same—disappointment.
“That’s great. It’s just what you need,” she stated confidently. With the content expression she wore, I was sure she thought we’d already benefited from the move. Who knows, maybe we had, and I was just too stubborn to admit it.
Wanting to retreat to my bedroom, I handed her the last part of the drapery and started walking away. When I went to pick up my book bag, I noticed a faded blue toy truck lying harmlessly against my bag. How odd. Curious as to what it was doing here, I asked, “What’s with the toy truck?”
“Oh, I found it while cleaning out the hallway closet. It’s kind of cute, but well used. I thought about bringing it to work to see if somebody’s child would want it, but I’m afraid the condition is too rough. I’ll probably just throw it out.”
Intrigued, I bent down to inspect it closer. Mom was right; it had been played with a lot. By the way the toy was banged–up; the child must have really enjoyed playing with it. Further examining the dents and scratches, I decided they were placed there by some little boy’s passion for his toys. I couldn’t help but smile as I thought of old Pinchers. Pinchers was a stuffed lobster that I had carried everywhere with me. Where I went, Pinchers went. I would have been devastated to have moved out of my house then later realized Pinchers was left behind.
I didn’t know why but either out of curiosity, or just plain stupidity, I reached down to pick up the truck. As soon as my fingers grabbed a hold of the banged–up metal, a picture of a little boy around seven years old flashed through my mind. He was outside playing, smiling up at me. His smiles turned quickly into tears as a wave of sadness and fear overcame my body.
I dropped the toy as if it was on fire and inhaled a deep breath. As I stood completely still, I tried blocking out what I had witnessed. My plan was futile, for I knew it was too late. The vision had already been planted.
“What’s the matter?” Mom asked apprehensively, all her confidence from earlier quickly fading away as her stare bored into my back.
“Nothing,” I replied, trying to sound reassuring, but my voice was shaky, giving away my lack of composure. With my back still to her, she couldn’t see my expression, but she knew anyway. She wasn’t stupid. “I’m going outside for a minute,” I stated, not waiting for her to answer as I snatched up my handbag and hurried toward the backdoor.
Once I was out of sight, I picked up speed and ran out into the woods behind our house. I wasn’t sure where I was going, as I’d never been in these woods before, but it seemed like a good refuge. At least a far enough distance away from what I had just seen. The briar branches were whipping past me, scratching my skin, and snagging at my shirt as I went, but I didn’t care. I just kept running and running, trying not to trip over the roots sticking up from the ground, until I came upon a ravine.
As I slowed to a stop, I bent over, and rested my hands on my knees for support as I breathed heavily. The woods were completely deserted, and I could hear the barking sounds of the squirrels playing nearby. I was instantly jealous of how innocent they sounded. Why couldn’t my life be that carefree?
I squeezed my eyes shut, while clenching my fists, wanting nothing more than to scream at the life I’d been dealt. I needed to release my sudden anger, so I pressed clenched hands into my thighs in hopes of calming myself down. When part of the tension gradually released, my shoulders slouched while standing back up. The anger had lessened some, allotting me better control over my emotions. With a few labored breaths, I scanned the surrounding area. Off to my left, I saw a log that had fallen near a neighboring tree. The way they were wedged against each other created an ideal bench. Without thinking, I automatically went over and sat down. The rough bark felt moist underneath my hands, but I didn’t care. I needed to rest. My hands were trembling as I fidgeted around my bag until finally coming across my pack of cigarettes. A nasty habit I wanted to stop, but times like these were why I kept reaching for them. Finally managing to extract one and light it, I took a puff.
Afraid of closing my eyes, I stared straight ahead into the woods. Small streaks of sunlight shone through the trees, making everything seem golden and crisp. Despite the beautiful scenery surrounding me, the image of the boy remained in my head, tarnishing the beauty. A humorless laugh escaped as I wondered why I feared closing them. It didn’t matter if my eyes were closed or not, I could still visualize him. And I knew his fate. I may not know the exact circumstances, but I already knew his life had ended horribly.
Deflated, I laid my head against the tree I was leaning on. Why did I touch that toy? I knew better. That was all it took, a simple touch, which was why I was hesitant to shake Barry’s hand. I didn’t want to take the risk of him seeing me during one of my visions. Luckily nothing happened when our hands touched, but I fear in time someone will find out. Then, I fear it will be just like Clayton all over again.
That simple touch was how people found out my secret, back home. While walking down the hallway a girl, Kelsey, had come up behind me. All she wanted was the notes from the last hour, a simple req
uest, I thought. After she was through, she thanked me but reached over touching my arm at the same time. As soon as she did this, her shirt came in contact with my bare skin. Except it wasn’t her own shirt she was wearing. It originally belonged to April, her best friend, who’d been missing for a month.
The vision came at me strongly. It was like I became April, feeling her anxiety as she woke up with the realization she’d been kidnapped. I stood there in front of Kelsey with a very dazed and frightened expression upon my face. I remember feeling very groggy and cold as I visualized gazing out a tiny window. The window was the key to her location. The lake and a few other distinguishing features displayed through the glass panes provided enough clues for the police to find her. Toward the end of the vision, total fear had engulfed me, as her killer came toward her…I screamed a blood–curdling scream, reliving what April had experienced. Everyone who was in the hallway with me and Kelsey had stood there watching with horror–stricken faces.
I took another puff trying desperately to shake off that memory. No, I didn’t want people at this school witnessing me going through another vision, especially one of that magnitude. I was sure this town wouldn’t react any differently than the people from Clayton. Those smaller towns were usually all the same.
Finally surrendering to my exhaustion, or maybe just frustration, I closed my eyes. While resting for a minute, I heard a quick rustling sound, like someone running past. My eyes automatically popped open as I quickly scanned the area. Nothing had changed.
Confused, I called out, “Who’s there?” while trying to find the source behind the sound I heard. “Show yourself,” I demanded, but there was nothing but silence. Beginning to think I was acting completely foolish, I got up to head back home. As I started to leave, I glanced over my shoulder, still questioning where the sound generated. I shivered as a chilling sensation ran down my spine, and I couldn’t shake the eerie feeling that I wasn’t alone.
~4~
Nightmares
“What did you get on the physics quiz?” Barry asked as he walked me out of class.
“I didn’t do too well, an eighty–eight,” I said, kind of embarrassed. My grades have always been this side of decent, but they weren’t anywhere near the high honor level.
“That’s not too bad. I got a ninety–two, which I’m definitely all right with.” While running his fingers through his sandy blond hair, he asked, “Hey, I’m going to my grandma’s house after school today. Do you want a lift?”
“Sure. Meet you outside after school?”
“Okay…” He smiled as his body seemed to relax. With a quick wave, he turned and walked down the hallway.
I stood there watching him until he turned the corner and disappeared out of sight before turning into my own classroom. His smile was going to be my undoing. As I took my seat, I barely heard the teacher begin—I was lost in thought. I kept mulling over Barry and my latest vision. With everything that had happened to me this past week, concentrating on the lecture was difficult.
Actually, the week had been going well, all things considered. After returning from the woods the other day, I started searching for the toy truck. Not fooling Mom when I hastily departed, she had it hidden before I returned. She hesitated when I asked where it was, making me wonder if she’d answer. After a few seconds, she glanced over toward me, questioning if she should dispose of it. My instincts wanted to say yes…get that thing as far away as possible, but my mind recognized the importance. She gave me a disapproving look when I told her we’d better hang on to it a little longer. She was displeased, but she agreed to keep it, which surprised me. That was exactly what I feared, Mother being disappointed when a vision occurred. Honestly, I didn’t think it would happen that soon.
The young boy had been haunting my dreams every night since I touched that toy. Knowing he could invade my nightly sanctuary that easily was unsettling, if not disturbing. There wasn’t any peace to myself anymore. Never having dreamt about any of my visions, I didn’t know what to think. Ever since the vision occurred, something different had been going on, because he consumed my life. Even when I let myself think about Barry—which I found myself doing more than I’d like to admit—my thoughts strayed back to that little boy. For some reason, my mind intertwined them, disallowing me to think of one without the other. It was strange.
But the child wanted something from me, and I kept wondering what it could be. Sometimes, when those dreams occurred, I woke up with an inkling that he was trying to communicate with me. Unable to figure it out was slowly driving me crazy.
Each dream started out the same, he was happy, playing in his backyard, then turned to face me. His expression seemed one of recognition, but then it flashed forward to tears running down his face. Before I wake up; however, he appeared to be opening his mouth to tell me something, but I never hear what he tried to say. Unable to fall back asleep, I lay there unsuccessfully trying to figure it out.
Finally I had to push those thoughts out of my head as I sat in class, clearly not listening to the teacher. As Mrs. Pickard went over the first battle of the civil war, I sat there numb. All I really wanted was to go home and end this charade, not hear about Fort Sumter. Part of me felt bad for feeling that way since Barry had been an enormous help. He definitely made my transition into this school tolerable. And I almost felt half–way normal around everyone…Almost.
As promised, he introduced me to his friends during lunch a couple of days back—all five of them. When we met in the lunchroom and walked toward an awaiting table, I wanted to turn back around. In my mind, I pictured a few other people, not a crowd, but it turned out all right. Everyone seemed nice enough, polite even, but I didn’t feel completely relaxed around them yet. I was like an outsider, peering through a window at a group of people who were clearly at ease with each other. I supposed that would be normal, since I was new, but it will take me awhile to get used to them.
I’d forgotten most of their names, except for Caleb and Nicole. Caleb was easy to remember since he kept including me in their conversations—or at least he tried. Plus he liked to tease Barry. Watching the way they bantered back and forth with each other, I assumed they were best friends. The way Barry interacted with everyone made me realize exactly what I’d been missing.
Nicole’s the only girl in the group. She was rather quiet at lunch, but since then had been going out of her way to talk to me. She was actually in a few of my classes, which made it easier to get to know her. As time goes by maybe I’d be comfortable enough around her to start initiating conversations. Honestly though, I didn’t see myself ever reaching that level of closeness with anyone. Especially forming the bonds best friends have since I never fully open myself up to anyone. I felt trapped, constantly holding part of myself back, while the fear that something would trigger my ability lays dormant waiting to surface. That apprehension continued to linger over me the entire time I engaged in conversation. Well, with everyone except Barry.
The last bell of the day rang, pulling me out of my thoughts. I gathered up my belongings, went to my locker to grab what I needed, and made a quick dash outside to meet Barry.
“You ready to go?” he asked with his big smile. That was another quality I liked about him, he always appeared happy. That trait was so different from my life, it almost seemed foreign. I certainly hadn’t been familiar with any happiness, especially that past year. I found it rather refreshing.
“Yes, sir,” I replied, following him out to his car. It still surprised me how at ease I felt around him. When I was with him, I could be myself, and not have to pretend to appease him. I had to be careful, though. If I become too relaxed, my ability might resurface, causing him to slip away from me as easily as he came.
“So, you’re going to your grandma’s on a Friday night?” I asked out of curiosity.
He laughed. “I know, sounds weird. Grandma’s like another mom to me, though. Since my mom’s a single parent, Grandma prac
tically raised me. I like keeping her company at least one night during the weekend.”
“That’s really nice, Barry. Not too many people would do that.”
As I turned to view him, I noticed that his lips were turned upward in a small grin. He’s cute, I thought, continuing to stare at him. It was that exact moment when I realized how attracted I was to him. Not only am I captivated by his good genetics, but his personality as well. He had a certain charm to him that drew me in. For the first time in my life, I’d become close enough with someone to generate feelings for them. At least close enough to care, something I didn’t see coming at all. I was a little surprised at my revelation, but it didn’t stop me from admiring him.
“What?” he asked quizzically.
“Nothing.” I quickly turned away, embarrassed to be caught ogling again. His tiny grin grew into a large smile, making me think he didn’t mind my gawking. But still, I needed to get better control of my actions.
After pulling up into his grandma’s drive, he turned toward me. “Hey, are you busy later on? I’d like you to come over and meet Grandma. I know she’d like to meet you, too. You know, neighbors and all.” He playfully jabbed me in my side. “Afterward, we could watch a movie or something.”
With an eyebrow cocked, I peered up at him, asking suspiciously, “A date…? At your grandma’s house?”
“Um, yeah…It sounds kind of lame when you put it that way.” He laughed. “Say yes, and I promise I’ll make it up to you later.”
“That sounds good. I can probably come over around six o’clock,” I replied a little too fast, still surprised how easy it was to talk to him.
“Great. I’ll see you then,” he said as we got out of his car.
Visions: The Mystical Encounter Series (The Mystical Encounter Series Book 1) Page 3