by Alicia Rades
“Why would he even take her?” Emma asked. “I mean, what’s the point?”
“I asked the same thing. I guess the brother—Jeff, Teddy said his name was—has this thing against Hope’s mom. When his brother Scott died, he thought he would be better for Hope than her mom was or something. I don’t know . . . none of this really makes any sense to me. That was just the police’s theory.”
I paused to collect my breath. “Jeff does sound like a logical suspect, but Teddy said there was no ransom note and that after Scott’s funeral, Jeff went back home somewhere south. They’ve checked all his credit card records and everything. But, I mean, it had to have been someone from the funeral, right? It was that same day, so it only makes sense.”
Emma’s lips pressed together in thought. “Why even treat it like a kidnapping, then? Couldn’t she have run away?”
“Abduction,” I corrected her. “I don’t know, really. I imagine they looked into that possibility, but where would she go? If she was anywhere around town, they would have found her weeks ago. Her mom sent her to bed, and then she was just gone in the morning. Abduction makes sense. Plus, there’s my vision that clearly shows she was abducted.”
Emma rolled her eyes like that was obvious. “Yeah, well, the police don’t know that. For all they know, she could have run away and slipped in the river.”
“You’re right, and I think some of them are giving up because they’re so clueless. I mean, Teddy won’t say that to my face, but I get that feeling from him. It doesn’t help that I’m not learning anything new about her, either.”
“Didn’t they dust for fingerprints or something?” Emma asked.
“I don’t know. It’s not like I was there with the police. If they did, they didn’t find anything.”
Just then, the doorbell rang. I had learned over the past few weeks to stay put whenever this happened. Emma would always stop me and say, “It’s the perfect opportunity to practice your abilities!” She’d make me sit there and guess who it was, not that we had a lot of visitors. We did the same thing with phone calls and texts, too.
“I’ll get it,” Derek shouted from the kitchen.
Emma and I stayed put on my bed and both closed our eyes, trying to summon an image of the person at the door. When I saw his face in my mind, I groaned.
I still wasn’t sure if Emma could actually do this or if she just guessed most of the time. “Who’s the hunk?” Emma asked.
That’s when I knew she was just guessing. “Hunk? Robin is not a hunk.”
“Oh, it’s Robin.”
I wanted to slap the cheesy grin off her face.
“The hot musician who’s going to be your step-cousin in a couple of months? You’ll have plenty of time to ‘get to know each other’ on your trip.” Emma wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
I swatted at her lightly. “Shut up. For one, Robin is not hot. Two, he’s hardly a musician. He just plays in a really dumb garage band. And three, ew! He’s Teddy’s nephew. Once Teddy marries my mom, that’d be, like, incest or something.”
“Not really since you aren’t blood related,” Emma pointed out.
Robin lived in the city about an hour from Peyton Springs, but since he was coming with us to Florida, he came today so we could get on the road extra early the following morning.
I heard Derek and Robin shuffling down the hall. I rolled my eyes at Emma and took the opportunity to escape her teasing. I hopped up from the bed and exited my room.
Robin was taller than I remembered. He had short blonde hair that stood up in every direction and a little bit of stubble that, okay, I had to admit was a bit attractive. His blue eyes shone bright, and his features seemed to come together flawlessly.
But I didn’t like him. He was always making some stupid joke at my expense. When Teddy first introduced us, I honestly had to ask, “Robin, as in Robin Hood?” because I didn’t hear him right.
And then he spat back, “And you’re Crystal, as in crystal meth?” And he was always picking on me for playing sports. Emma may have been right saying he was attractive, but the guy was a jerk.
“Um, you can stay in here,” I told Robin, gesturing to the room next to mine. It was usually an office, but we added the fold up cot for him to sleep on that night.
He smiled at me, which was weird because, like I said, the guy was a jerk. “Hi, Crystal,” he said.
“Um, yeah. Hi.” I didn’t know how else to greet him. “Did your parents drop you off?”
Robin’s parents weren’t coming because neither of them could get off work, but Teddy had invited Robin along anyway to come see his grandparents with us.
He pushed his way into the guest room and dropped his bag. Then he turned and jingled his keys at me. “I can drive, you know.”
“Oh,” is all I could say. Right. Robin was 17. I was briefly reminded that I was the only one in the house who still couldn’t drive.
Robin slipped off his jacket. Underneath it, he was wearing a short sleeve shirt that gave me a nice glimpse of his muscles.
I looked him up and down for a moment and then realized what I was doing. “Uh . . . make yourself comfortable,” I said with a half-hearted smile before fleeing the room.
3
The next morning, I woke with relief that I hadn’t dreamt the previous night. Even so, it was a restless sleep, so I was tired. I slumped down the hallway with my duffel bag and purse and loaded them into the car.
I settled in my spot behind the driver’s seat and fitted a pillow between my head and the door. Everyone else piled into the car quietly since it was early and we were still sleepy, but soon enough, we were on our way to Florida.
I didn't like the idea of facing Hope's abduction in my dreams, but I figured I was safe to rest my eyes. I must have drifted off because when my eyes flung open, I was in Hope’s bed again, being silenced by her abductor’s grip and then carried out through the window and placed in the car like normal.
Somewhere in the back of my conscious mind, I remembered what my mom had said. I had to look deeper, to forget the fright I was feeling and to seek further clues. The Crystal part of me struggled to break through the barrier that made me feel like Crystal on one side and Hope on the other. Was I Crystal, or was I Hope? While in the dream, I could never tell.
But then, for a brief moment, the Crystal part of me did break through. It didn’t last long, and it wasn’t enough to notice anything particular, but for a second, I knew who I really was.
My body gave a start, and I woke back in the car with my family. We had already made it from southern Minnesota to the flat terrain of Iowa. I slowed my breathing and stared out the window at the passing corn fields. It wasn’t much to look at. Since it was the end of November, all the greenery I enjoyed about the area was replaced with a dull brown pallet. A light layer of snow dusted the corn fields. It was still early morning. I couldn’t spot the sun, but I knew it was hiding somewhere behind the clouds.
It made me feel the way Hope was feeling right now. I didn’t know how, but I could feel her sometimes. I knew when she was lonely and when she was hungry and when she was sad. Right now, Hope was feeling sorrowful, and the gray November sky seemed to mirror her emotions.
My stomach sank in response, and guilt consumed me. I still hadn’t found her, and I was running away from the place where she had been taken when I knew she needed me. But what more could I do? I couldn’t just put my life completely on hold and refuse the trip in hopes that I’d find something new in the next week that I hadn’t seen in the past month. Besides, both Mom and Emma kept telling me I needed to relax. It's not that they weren't concerned about Hope. It’s just that my gift worked better when I wasn’t constantly worrying.
From next to me on the back seat, Robin pulled his earbuds from his ears. He looked at me with an expression I couldn’t quite read. Disgust, maybe?
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I blinked a few times. Did Robin just show concern for me? Maybe he had mature
d a bit since I last met him. I almost cracked a smile at the thought that he might be a decent guy.
Normally I would tell people I was fine, but I found myself saying, “Just a nightmare that’s been bothering me. Why?” I wasn’t good at lying, but I had a way of bending the truth so I didn’t feel so bad about misguiding people. Yet it surprised me that the full truth was coming out of my mouth, especially since I was speaking to Robin.
“Well, it’s just, you kind of look like you’re miserable, and it’s bringing the whole mood in the car down. Let’s try not to suffer through this trip, okay?”
My jaw almost dropped. Okay. There goes the idea that Robin might be nice for a change.
We rode in silence, and everyone attended to their own devices or watched the scenery to kill time. I spent most of the day with my nose in a book. I wasn’t usually one for reading, but it helped take my mind off things. I texted Emma and Derek a bit, but I had only been gone for a few hours, so there wasn’t anything new to talk about. I glanced over at Robin a few times. Each time I did, he had his earbuds in and was texting someone. I wondered if maybe it was his girlfriend.
Looking at Robin, I found myself curious to know if he had some sort of ability like I did. I was thrilled that I had my mom by my side, and it was cool to know that Teddy was intuitive, something I had learned last Halloween. I loved the support Emma gave me, too. But what if Teddy’s strong intuition came from somewhere in his family’s lineage? What if Robin inherited that, too? It would be different with him. I’d have someone my age who understood the awkward stage I was going through.
Sure, I had Emma, but she wasn’t born with an ability like I was. She was preparing herself and practicing her intuition whereas my gift was sprung on me from out of nowhere. Would Robin understand that feeling? I knew I couldn’t just ask him straight out, so I turned back to my book.
In the late afternoon, Teddy decided it was time to stop for the night. I thought it was a little early for turning in, but I was glad to stretch my legs.
Teddy pulled off an exit and into the parking lot of a rundown motel. The paint on the side of the building was peeling, and the parking lot was riddled with cracks that weeds had started growing through. Each room had a door that led straight onto the sidewalk.
“This is where we’re staying for the night?” I asked in disbelief. I mean, our budget wasn’t that low for this vacation, and I knew Teddy’s parents were helping us cover some of the costs.
My mother looked at me with a disapproving glare. “Crystal,” was all she said, but it was enough of a reprimand to get me to shut up.
“I think it looks cozy,” Robin said as he got out of the car and looked around.
Teddy opened his door and walked toward the front office to check in.
“Mom,” I said once we were alone. “What is this? This looks like the kind of place where they don’t wash the sheets and people get bed bugs and stuff.”
My mom shifted in her seat to look at me. She was a gentle woman who was more like a friend to me than a mother. It seemed that since the engagement, however, she had been taking sides with Teddy more and more. It’s not that I argued with either of them often, though. We actually all got along great.
My mom just looked at me and said, “Well, don’t let them bite.” Then she turned back toward the front of the car and laughed at her own joke.
I wanted to give her a look of disapproval behind her back, but her light mood made even me giggle at her dumb joke.
I scanned the streets. I still wasn’t sure about the place. It just didn’t sit well with me. Everything around here looked run down. There was a gas station across the street closer to the highway and a fast food place up the road. A small family diner sat next to the motel, but I didn’t see many people around, as if this was a dying town despite its proximity to the highway. My gaze wandered farther down the landscape.
That’s when my eyes fell on Teddy through the windows that led to the motel’s office. I noticed motion as he slid something into his pocket. That wasn’t his wallet, I thought. It was—oh, my gosh. Did Teddy just flash his badge?
“I’m going to—um—stretch my legs,” I told my mom, which wasn’t a complete lie.
I opened my door and began walking to no place in particular. I stole a glance at my mother, who was reading her book while she waited for Teddy. Robin was facing away from me studying the scenery, which wasn’t much to see in this tiny little town.
I slunk around the building and stayed low so Teddy wouldn’t see me. I pressed my body against the side of the motel and peeked in a window. My heart pounded in my chest. I’d never been very good at or confident in sneaking around. I was always too afraid I’d get caught, but I challenged the situation anyway and kept my eyes fixed on the scene before me.
I was close to Teddy now, so close that I saw him slide a photograph across the counter toward the attendant. The man picked it up, looked at it, and then handed it back to Teddy. I caught a glimpse of the image when Teddy took it back. It was a photograph of a man with short hair, cut almost to his scalp, and dark brows that a pair of menacing eyes looked up from under.
What is Teddy doing? I wondered. He’s not supposed to be investigating a case. He’s supposed to be on vacation!
The man behind the counter shook his head and then pointed to a high spot in the corner of the room. I followed Teddy’s gaze and noticed a security camera attached to that spot on the ceiling. I was shocked a place like this even had a security system.
They exchanged a few more words I couldn’t hear, and then I watched Teddy slide his credit card across the counter, thanking the attendant. He started to leave.
I circled around the building the opposite way I’d come so it wouldn’t look like I was roaming around near the office. It was clear along the length of the building, so I took off running to get blood flowing to my legs. It felt fantastic after spending all day cooped up in the car. When I arrived back at our vehicle, I was huffing.
“Where did you run off to, Kiddo?” Teddy asked kindly.
I shrugged. “Just needed to stretch my legs.”
Robin scowled at me, although I wasn’t entirely sure why.
I didn’t know how long I stayed awake that night in our motel room afraid to face Hope’s abduction again. When I finally fell asleep next to my mother, I was extra tired as I felt Hope’s and my own fatigue stronger than ever.
4
I woke to the familiar chime of my cell phone. I was sweating again and had relived Hope’s abduction one more time, yet I hadn’t seen anything new. I had tried, but I hadn’t broken through that barrier that distinguished Hope from me. I knew I would get it with more practice, but that still meant waking up terrified each morning.
Sometime during the night, I had thrown the covers off me, so they were now doubled up in a heap on my mother’s sleeping body. I fumbled around for my phone on the nightstand and prayed it hadn’t woken anyone else. Robin stirred from the bed next to mine. I looked over at my mother on my own bed. She was still sound asleep.
I turned the volume on my phone to silent so I wouldn’t wake anyone and then checked the text I’d just received.
Rise and shine! It was from Emma.
What? I replied. I looked around the room. It was still dark. The only light seeped in through the curtains from a nearby street lamp.
It’s yoga time. You promised we’d keep up while you were gone.
Oh. Right. I guess I hadn’t realized she’d want to do it at the break of dawn. I sighed. She had really thought this through. I mean, we couldn’t exactly share a yoga session while I was in the car the rest of the day.
I swung my feet over the edge of the rather uncomfortable bed and stretched my arms above my head, careful not to make too much noise. I tiptoed to my bag, pulled out my laptop, and unrolled my yoga mat—the one with an owl design on it that I had bought just weeks ago when we started these sessions—near the bathroom. The room we were staying in had a wall separati
ng the sink area from the rest of the room, so I tried to get a little privacy behind it.
I fired up my computer and immediately received a video chat call from Emma. Her face glitched across the screen, an indication of the poor Internet connection.
“So?” Emma asked, her tone full of anticipation. About what, I didn’t know.
“So, what?” I asked quietly.
“Duh.” She rolled her eyes. “How’s Robin? You can’t go on a vacation with a guy like that without something interesting happening.”
“Emma, he’s practically my cousin,” I whispered. “That would be so gross. Besides, I think he might have a girlfriend. He was texting her all day in the car yesterday.”
Emma crinkled her nose in disappointment.
“So,” I said, mirroring her tone in hopes that we could get off the subject of me and Robin. “What about you and Derek?”
“What?” Emma squeaked a little too loud.
I peeked my head around the corner to make sure she hadn’t woken anyone. Everyone else was still asleep.
“There’s nothing going on between me and Derek,” she insisted, but I swore I could see her blushing, even if the video quality was poor. “Um . . . why don’t we start our yoga session?”
I laughed a little inside at how she so quickly changed the subject.
Emma seemed to know what she was doing, so she was my guide for the day. I tried to make my legs bend in the right direction as she showed me new positions. The quiet, tranquil music she was playing through my speakers helped calm me, so I was relaxed when we finally said goodbye.
Emma had lectured me constantly the past few weeks about how important relaxation exercises could be when getting in touch with your “inner psychic.” Although I was a bit reluctant to try them, I believed her. Now that I was relaxed, I figured it would be easier to get in touch with Hope.
I thought about tiptoeing back across the room to get my crystal ball from my bag, but I didn’t want to affect the “zone” I was in, so I just crossed my legs on my mat and set my mind on Hope. I felt like I sat there for quite some time, but after a while, I started to feel something. I never knew how I knew it, but I could feel exactly what Hope was feeling. I knew she missed her mom. This was the feeling I always got when I focused on Hope. But this time, something was different. The feeling was stronger. I wasn’t sure if it was because Hope missed her mom more now than ever or if I was developing a stronger connection with her.