“Freya,” Lily whined.
With a deep breath she responded, glancing at me, before giving Lily her attention. “She wants in on our relationship,” she admitted.
Lily blanched. “Oh,” she said in a high pitch.
“I told her that wasn’t an option though,” Freya quickly added, only to focus on me. Her tone was firm. “Right, Sam?”
I coughed uncomfortably. “Hey, why are you even asking me? It’s not like it would be my decision anyway.”
“Sam!” Lily scolded again.
I tried to redirect the conversation, speaking to Freya. “Okay, seriously. Why does Heidi want to be in our relationship anyway? I mean, I’ve met some deviant people over the years, but I feel like the average woman doesn’t want to share their man–”
“Right,” Lily cut me off to agree.
“So why does Heidi want to be a part of it?” I continued.
Freya was quiet for a moment. “Well, if I’m being honest, actually Lexi kind of does too.”
“Seriously?!” Lily exclaimed.
“Well, I already knew that,” I mumbled.
“Seriously?!” Lily repeated in a higher pitch.
“It’s different for both of them,” Freya admitted. “Lexi just wants to feel safe, and Blaze was so convincing in the beginning that now no one feels safe except Sam.” She sighed. “And Heidi has sort of written off long-term relationships entirely. She likes the idea of just being Sam’s side-chick, so she doesn’t have to worry about all the normal relationship stuff. That, and she wants to watch us in bed.”
Lily was really warming up the interior of the car now, and my Mustang wasn’t fireproof. She spoke through her teeth. “Freya, can’t you just play match-maker and use your third-eye to find them nice men to be with?”
I cringed at the idea.
I knew the Stockton sisters needed to move on with their lives, but I was not looking forward to it.
Freya evaluated my uncontrolled reaction for a moment, before shrugging. “Maybe. I don’t really want to get that involved, but I might have to…” Her voice trailed off as she continued to stare at me.
I was literally starting to sweat now, so I chimed in. “Lily, please calm down before you light my Christmas present on fire. I’m not going to jump in bed with either of them, so you don’t need to worry about that.”
Surprisingly, Freya didn’t contradict me, even though she was well aware of the situation that happened with Heidi. I honestly wasn’t sure why – maybe because she knew it would just make Lily more upset.
“Plus,” Freya added, her hand touching her small baby bump as she focused on Lily again. “I can recover from a fire, but the baby probably wouldn’t be able to.”
That sobered Lily up real fast.
“I’m…I’m sorry,” she whispered, the temperature in the car dropping instantly.
Freya reached back to grab her hand. “It’s alright. And you’re getting really good at controlling it. Before you met Sam, you would have long since been on fire already if you had let yourself get this worked up.”
“Thanks,” Lily whispered. She then groaned. “I like Lexi and Heidi, but I’m not crazy about them being around if they’re both trying to get some of my man.” She sighed. “What are you going to do if Heidi demands that?”
“I don’t know,” Freya whispered. “I don’t want to be mean to her. And I can hurt her pretty bad by denying her Rose, but that hurts our daughter too.” She took a deep breath. “Not to mention, Rose is old enough that she might just do what she wants if we tried something like that. So, at the end of the day, that’s a stalemate Heidi would ultimately win if we pushed it that far.”
“What are you trying to say, Freya?!” Lily exclaimed.
“I’m just saying, if all of us dug our heels in, Heidi has the biggest ace up her sleeve. And I’m not about to do to her what Blaze did, although I admit I did hint at it.” She paused to hold Lily’s gaze silently for a moment. “But Lily, I don’t want to lose you. If it comes between you dying and giving Heidi what she wants, then I’m going to give her what she wants, even if I hate every second of it.”
“Well, I’m not going to do that,” I countered, truly being sincere. “It’s one thing if you two were okay with something like that, but I’m not going to get in a situation where you’re being blackmailed to share me. I know I’d be devastated if the situation was reversed.”
“Yeah,” Lily whispered, looking devastated just from the thought.
Again, even though I really meant what I said, I half expected Freya to contradict me. Thus, I was surprised when she didn’t, instead grabbing my hand. “I know,” she agreed.
I glanced at her to verify that she was serious.
Granted, she knew my thoughts anyway. Yes, I was attracted to both Heidi and Lexi, and yes, I had almost had sex with Heidi, but that was like a freak accident. Not to mention, since I knew what was coming, I did choose not to cheat. Honestly, I wasn’t even sure what came over me, because that had been the one and only time I almost lost it in the heat of the moment.
“So,” Freya continued. “I think for now we just shouldn’t worry about Heidi possibly blackmailing us one day. At the moment, I’m comfortable with Lexi and Heidi being a close part of our lives, and I think that as long as we make sure they both feel included in our family, then it will never come to that. Having that rapport with Heidi will go a long way to preventing that future outcome.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Lily replied with a sigh. “It just sucks. I do like her, but I don’t want her in bed with my man.”
“Me either,” Freya agreed, glancing at me as if to emphasize that statement.
I took a deep breath. “Maybe if I tell her how old I am, she’ll change her mind.”
Freya scoffed. “Nope.”
I looked at her in shock. “What in the world do you mean by ‘nope?’”
“Umm, I sort of told her back in January…”
“You did?” I asked in disbelief.
She grimaced. “Sorry. Technically Rose told her, but she didn’t believe her until I sort of confirmed it.”
Lily chimed in. “And she still wants Sam?”
I scoffed. “Wow, thanks Lily.”
“I’m just saying. I have an acquired taste, but I feel like most women would run away if they found out.”
“I don’t know about that…” Freya said quietly.
“Freya,” I said in a warning tone, knowing she was keeping secrets.
She sighed. “Heidi told her sister of course, and while Lexi was surprised, it didn’t affect how she felt either.”
Lily groaned. “Sam, maybe you need to stop being so perfect.”
I scoffed again. “Thanks for the compliment.”
She grinned mischievously. “You’re welcome baby.”
Freya rolled her eyes at us, only to return to devouring her three meals. At the rate she was going, I half expected her to raid the fridge when we got home too. Honestly, I wanted to enjoy the sight as much as possible, but now it had recently become a bad reminder that our baby was growing at a frightening rate.
Of all the babies in the world, why did ours have to be one of the rare ones that was cursed?
19: Eerie Revelations
Lily Dodson
March 24, 2735 – 5 Days Later – Afternoon
Lily knocked on Heidi’s door tentatively, her heart racing. She really didn’t want to have this conversation, but she felt like she couldn’t relax around Heidi after discovering that the younger woman had literally reduced her age by a few years. That, and from knowing she was the key to her possibly living forever.
“Come in,” a highly muffled voice responded.
Lily carefully opened the door and peeked her head in to find Heidi sitting on her bed with a tablet in hand. “Hey, do you mind if I come in for a few minutes? I was wondering if we could talk.”
Heidi scoffed. “It’s your house, Lily. Of course.”
She closed the door behind her and moved
to sit on the edge of Heidi’s bed. “Yeah, but this is kind of your room right now. It would be rude of me to just barge in whenever I wanted.”
Heidi shrugged, putting her tablet down. “Yeah, I guess. So what did you want to talk about?”
Lily interlaced her fingers together and stared down at the floor. “Well, Sam and Freya sort of told me about the side-effect your superpower has…”
Heidi was silent.
Lily glanced at her to see she was looking at the wall now, her expression unreadable. “And, I just wanted to say, thank you. But you don’t have to do it again, if you don’t want.”
Heidi’s head snapped back in her direction, looking shocked.
Lily quickly continued. “It’s just, I know how hard it is on you to heal people, and yeah, it would be really nice to stay in my twenties forever, but it’s your superpower and I feel like you should be free to use it however you want.” When Heidi still didn’t say anything, just silently holding her gaze, Lily finally looked away. “And I know you only used it on me because you were trying to save Sam, so I can understand if–”
“Wait,” Heidi interrupted. “Didn’t they tell you I said I’d do it?”
Lily sighed. “Yeah, but I don’t feel like you’re very happy about it. I mean, it’s not like you’re all,” Lily deepened her voice and made a funny face, “‘Hey dude, I think you’re cool and I want to keep you around, since we’re friends and all,’ it’s more like,” she pouted, “‘I really don’t want to do this, because Lily’s a pain in the ass and like hell do I want her around forever.’”
Heidi grinned. “I don’t think that.”
“Well thanks,” Lily retorted. “But still…”
“You really consider me a friend?” Heidi wondered.
Lily looked at her in surprise. “Um, duh. How could you even ask that when we’ve spent so much time together? Like, we’ve spent every day together for the last, what? Six or seven months?”
Heidi shrugged, pulling her knees up to her chin and wrapping her arms around her legs. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “I guess I just feel like everyone wants to use me.”
“Who is everyone?” Lily asked in disbelief. “Because last I checked, I had no idea what your superpower was capable of until recently, and I’ve never asked you to heal me.” She scoffed. “Not to mention, you haven’t even used your ability in all this time until Lexi got hurt. And don’t you remember when I cut my finger on New Year’s? I mean, you totally offered to heal it for me, but I declined. And, yeah, it was just a cut, not like a broken arm, but still. You’re my friend, Heidi. I don’t just keep you around because you can heal me if I get hurt.”
Heidi sighed. “Yeah, I guess.”
Lily pulled herself more onto the bed and crossed her legs. “And just like with the cut,” she continued. “I’m telling you now not to worry about it if you don’t want to.”
“You really mean that?” Heidi asked.
Lily shrugged. “Well, obviously. I mean, if you had grabbed my hand on New Year’s and said, ‘No dammit, I’m healing your finger,’ then I wouldn’t have stopped you…” She paused to grin when Heidi smiled again. “But I also wasn’t going to make you feel like you had to.” She sighed then, resting her cheek in her hand, her elbow on her knee. “Heidi, if I had your ability, I would totally use it on you, but I also didn’t go through what you did. So, whether you decide to use it on me again or not, know that I’m not going to stop being your friend.” She then paused, her expression hardening a little as she pointed her finger at Heidi, lowering her voice. “Now, if you try stealing my man, then that’s a different story.”
Heidi laughed uncomfortably, switching the subject. “Yeah, well, Rose would really miss you if I didn’t do it.” She paused to tighten her embrace on her knees. “And, I guess I would really miss you too,” she admitted. “I don’t have any friends.”
“Yes you do,” Lily countered confidently. “You have me, Freya, Rose, and your sister definitely counts too. Just because you’re related doesn’t mean she isn’t your friend.”
“I guess,” Heidi repeated. She then laughed. “Freya feels almost like a mom sometimes though – a cool mom.”
“Well, she is really old,” Lily said with a grin.
“Doesn’t that bother you?” Heidi asked seriously.
Lily shrugged. “No, not really. I’ve met plenty of old people who were as immature as teenagers, and I’ve met some people our age who were a thousand times more mature. So age really is just a number – it doesn’t indicate maturity at all. And I doubt I’ll be much different when I’m seventy or eighty, other than possibly being wrinkly.” Lily grimaced at the thought, exaggerating her disgust a little.
Heidi laughed. “Yeah, well I won’t do that to you.”
Lily smiled. “Well, thanks for that, but only do it if you want to.”
“I want to,” she admitted. She shivered slightly then. “I don’t want to ever lose a friend again…”
“Again?” Lily asked in confusion.
Heidi nodded, taking a deep breath. “Yeah, when I was eleven my best friend died of Leukemia. I didn’t know I could heal people then, otherwise I would have.”
“I’m so sorry,” Lily whispered.
Tears abruptly began appearing in Heidi’s lavender eyes. “I was devastated when I found out what I could do.” She unexpectedly sobbed, ducking her head against her knees. “It was so stupid. I was holding a dumb cat that only let me touch it because it had a broken leg…” She sobbed again, her voice quickly becoming incoherent. “And a couple of hours later the stupid thing jumped out of my arms perfectly fine.”
When Heidi started whimpering, Lily immediately moved closer to sit beside her. “Shh,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around her friend. “It’s okay.”
“If only I had held my friend,” she sobbed, her words barely intelligible. “Someone who actually liked me, not some stupid cat.”
“Shh,” Lily repeated soothingly. “I’m here. I’m right here. It’s okay.” She continued to rub her hand over Heidi’s arm as she held her tight. “It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known. And I know it doesn’t make anything better, but the only reason why I’m alive is because of you and Sam. I should be dead right now.”
Heidi sobbed again, before taking a deep breath. “Thank you for protecting my sister,” she whispered. “For jumping in front of her,” she clarified.
Lily sighed heavily. “Yeah, well you’re both my friends. When I saw a man pointing a machine gun at her, that was my first reaction.”
Heidi laughed humorlessly. “I would have run away, even though out of everyone I might actually be able to recover from something like that. I’m such a coward.”
Lily sighed, giving her a gentle squeeze. “You’re not a coward. It’s normal to be afraid. I wasn’t afraid because I’ve never gotten hurt like that before. I’d be more hesitant if it happened again.” She paused. “Like, to be honest, Sam has had to wake me up a few times, because I was having nightmares about it. And besides, coward or not, you put yourself through hell to save your sister, and then you did it again to save Sam.”
Heidi finally lifted her head, wiping the tears from her lavender eyes before setting her chin back on her knees again. “Yeah, well I couldn’t just sit there and let them die.” She sighed, glancing up at Lily. “And I guess I feel the same way about you too.”
Lily nodded and leaned her head against Heidi’s blonde hair giving her another tight squeeze. “So…I thought we were already friends, but I guess I have to ask now to clarify.” She pulled away to meet her gaze. “Friends?”
Heidi smiled. “Yeah. Friends.”
❖ ❖ ❖
Sam Archer
March 24, 2735 – Current Day – Afternoon
Lily had gone upstairs to talk with Heidi, and in the process we all sort of trickled up there as well to sit on the sectional sofa in the large loft. Freya was seventeen days pregnant, which we confirmed on Lily’s birt
hday was correlated to the same number of weeks. And tomorrow, on Monday morning, we would be going in to find out if it was a boy or girl.
No one was overly excited about it though. I mean, sure, we were looking forward to it, but it was extremely bittersweet.
Freya was depressed. I was depressed. Lily and Lexi were worried. Even Rose seemed to be less chipper than usual.
Although, really it was Lily who was helping Freya and I stay afloat by trying to keep us focused on the positive. Lexi helped a little too, and so did Rose just by being cute, but overall Lily was saving the day. If it were just Freya and myself, I was pretty sure we would have just sat in silence, locked away in our own thoughts and worries.
Thankfully, everyone else, to some varying degree, kept that from happening.
Freya sat at one end of the sectional sofa, with Rose sitting beside her holding onto her mommy’s belly, while I sat on the opposite end to face Freya at an angle. Lexi was sitting closer to me, a cushion in between us, staring at her phone, leaving us all silent for a few minutes.
I stared out the window overlooking one of the fields that surrounded the house, doing my best to enjoy the company of just having people I cared about around, instead of worrying about our baby that was growing way too fast.
It was difficult though.
Rose was especially excited to be a big sister, a pleasant smile on her adorable little face as she occasionally rubbed her hand over the bump. However, that too was bittersweet, because it made me sad to think that Rose might lose someone important to her before she was even twenty.
And then that thought made me sad too – the idea of Rose growing up.
So I was just a spiraling mess of depression, a shitstorm of negative thoughts, barely staying afloat in a hurricane of despair, like I said.
Heidi’s door opening caught my attention, with Lily and Heidi both coming out only to stop in their tracks when they saw all of us.
“Oh,” Lily exclaimed. “I didn’t realize everyone came upstairs.”
I smiled weakly at her, doing a poor job of hiding how I was feeling, prompting her to close the gap and plop down on the couch next to me. Heidi followed suit and sat next to Rose, a smile appearing on her face as she exchanged a glance with the little girl before Rose went back to rubbing her mommy’s belly.
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