by Alicia Rades
“Crystal, are you okay in there?”
I couldn’t answer for a moment. I didn’t know how long I’d been gone. I didn’t know if I was alright. I looked back toward the spot where Scott had been standing, but I found myself staring into thin air. “Yeah,” I answered. “I’ll be right out.”
When I got back to our table, our food was already there. I was glad because it meant we wouldn’t have to talk. My mind was still racing with questions. What was Scott trying to tell me? What would he have said if Robin hadn’t interrupted?
I was nearing the end of my meal, contemplating these ideas all the way through it, when Scott’s words came back to me and I realized something. I had asked where Hope was. Scott said, “I didn’t know.” Not I don’t know. I didn’t know. What could that possibly mean?
As I was finishing up my meal, Robin started speaking. “So, what do you want to do now? Should we go find your friend again?”
The thought scared me. I didn’t actually know where Hope was. We’d gone to the wrong house to begin with, but I knew I was close. What could I do now? I couldn’t talk to Robin about this. He’d either think I was crazy, or if he believed me, he’d find some way to criticize how terrible a psychic I was for getting everything about Hope’s abduction wrong. I thought about calling Emma and discussing the situation with her, but I didn’t want to run off from Robin again. He’d know something was up, and he probably suspected something already. But I couldn’t tell him. He wouldn’t understand. Unless he was hiding an ability, too.
“I don’t know yet,” I answered. “Can we go somewhere to relax? Like a park or something? I just need to clear my mind.”
He shrugged. “Okay.”
We paid for our food and exited the diner. Robin was telling me a funny story about one of his band members while we walked. I knew he was just trying to cheer me up, and it was almost working. I had just cracked a smile when we rounded the side of the restaurant and I watched Robin’s face fall. I followed his gaze and nearly crumpled to my knees. Robin rushed to the vehicle before I could truly react.
It took me a moment to digest the scene in front of me. I managed to compose myself in a brief instant and chase after him. It was all I could do not to crumble into the pit forming in my stomach.
Robin was frantic. His fingers ran viciously through his hair as he paced beside the car and cursed.
When I reached the car, I let myself finally fall to my knees. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The tires on Teddy’s car were slashed, the front window was caved in, and the passenger side window was smashed. Scratches ran up and down the side as if someone dug their key into it.
“This can’t be happening,” Robin said in disbelief. “Uncle Teddy is going to kill me.”
It’s not your fault, Robin, I wanted to say, but I couldn’t move from the ball I was curled into. I stuck my face in my hands.
“What kind of person would do this?” Robin ranted. “It must have been a random hit, but why us? Why now? Why here? Teddy is going to be furious.”
I squeezed my eyes shut in frustration, and then suddenly, I wasn’t in the parking lot at the restaurant anymore. I found myself behind the wheel of another car. I drove along a street in a neighborhood I recognized and slowed the car as I neared a blue house. I almost pulled into the driveway until I noticed two people standing on the deck.
Who are these people, and what are they doing at my house? I thought. I can’t let them see me. Not with her.
I sped away.
The scene shifted until a new one played in my mind. All I saw was a baseball bat connecting with the car window. In slow motion, the glass shattered in my mind.
Just like that, I was back in my own body, and I knew without a doubt that this wasn’t a random hit. This was a warning.
15
All the stress I’d been feeling lately caught up with me in one big wave at that very moment. I couldn’t breathe. Someone was out there, someone who wanted to hurt me. I gasped for breath.
“Crystal.” Robin rushed to my side. Suddenly, his anxiety about telling Teddy left him and was replaced with sympathy for me.
I couldn’t let Robin see me like this, but that thought only made me gasp harder. Robin’s arms wrapped around me, and he pulled me into his chest. I wanted to enjoy this, to take in his scent and let his embrace envelop me in a serene encounter, but I couldn’t get past the fact that someone had just vandalized our car and it was all because of me. What would they do if I pursued my visions any further? Would they hurt me? Would someone else get hurt because of me? I trembled with fear, wondering if the perpetrator was still nearby. I couldn’t help but sob into Robin’s shoulders.
“Crystal, shh. It will be okay. I was overreacting. Teddy will understand.”
I shook my head. Robin didn’t comprehend my true fear.
“We’ll figure things out, Crystal. It will be fine.”
Robin pulled me in closer. I took this opportunity to bury my face in his chest. He smelled good, like a fresh spring morning. I inhaled his scent to soothe myself. He gently kissed the top of my head, and I almost pulled away in surprise, but then his arms came around me tighter, and I let myself melt into him.
When my sobs ceased, I finally pulled away. I wiped at the tears on my face. “I’m sorry,” I said with a nervous giggle. “That was really embarrassing.” I hated that I’d been crying so much lately.
“No,” he insisted. “It’s fine. I understand.”
I expected him to say something witty, but he didn’t. I finally nodded in agreement. Only, he didn’t understand how terrible the situation truly was. What if the person who did this was still hanging around? What measures would he take the next time I tried to pursue a path in which my abilities led me? I couldn’t just ignore my abilities and the messages they sent me, even if I did go on the wrong path. Would the vandal come after me?
Robin was standing up now and had his phone to his ear. My heart pounded in anticipation of Teddy’s reaction.
I heard a muffled voice on the other end of the line, but for the most part, I could only hear Robin’s side of the conversation.
“Uh, hi, Uncle Ted,” Robin greeted nervously. He laughed, probably his way of leading Teddy into bad news. “What would you say if something bad happened to your car?” Pause. “No, I was driving safely. We’re both fine. It’s just . . . well, here’s the thing. We went out to eat, and when we came back, your car was kind of damaged.” Pause. “Well, not kind of. I mean, the tires are slashed and everything. Looks like someone thought we were an ex-boyfriend or something.” Robin laughed again to ease the tension, but we both knew this wasn’t a laughing matter.
I finally got to my feet while Robin spoke and walked to the front of the car to inspect the damage. That’s when I saw it. I glanced over at Robin briefly, but he wasn’t paying any attention to me. I reached in through the smashed passenger side window and snatched the letter from my seat. I stared at it through blurred eyes for a few moments before focusing on the words. My hands quivered, so I gripped the piece of paper with two hands to steady it.
“STAY AWAY!” was all it said, sprawled in surprisingly smooth letters.
I heard Robin’s voice grow louder as he turned back toward me. I quickly balled the note up and shoved it in my pocket, trying desperately not to let my quickened pulse show through in my expression. I couldn’t let Robin believe someone had targeted us. That only meant I would have to tell him I was psychic, and I still didn’t want to do that. I was sure he wouldn’t believe me and would only push me away.
“No!” Robin practically shouted into the phone. “I mean, coming here doesn’t really make sense. We can find someone to fix the car.”
“Where exactly are you!?” I heard Teddy shout from the other end of the line.
Robin looked around nervously. “Like, four hours north or something. Look, Teddy, really, there’s no reason for you to come here. That’s just another eight hours of driving for you, and you’ll
have to get the car fixed somewhere around here anyway. We’ll be fine.”
My jaw nearly dropped to the pavement when Teddy agreed. When Robin finally hung up, I stared at him wide eyed. “Teddy’s just going to let us handle this ourselves?” I asked.
Robin ran his fingers through his hair. “I know. I can hardly believe it either, but I guess my logic made sense to him. I don’t think I could handle him seeing this. We’ll have it fixed soon and be back on the road in no time.”
“He didn’t say anything about us being here?” At this point, I was certain he’d be more upset about me disobeying him than he would be about his car.
Robin just shrugged, which left me to believe Teddy was upset at me and Robin wasn’t about to repeat what he said.
Robin searched his phone for a nearby garage and towing service. When he finally found someone, he told me they wouldn’t have the right tires in until tomorrow and that we’d have to wait. Robin called a few other places nearby, but tomorrow was the best any of them could do.
I shook with nerves when Robin called Teddy back to give him the news. I was shocked when Teddy said we had no other choice but to stay the night and wait for the tires to come in. He made us promise to call the police and get a report filed before we had the car towed.
I was mostly calmed down until I saw the squad car drive into the parking lot. Luckily, the parking lot was secluded enough that we didn’t have any onlookers. The note felt hot against my thigh, but I knew I couldn’t tell the officer about what really happened here. My family and friends had been supportive when I found out I was psychic, but I didn’t think a stranger would be. I didn’t know how to explain my situation in any other way no matter how much I wanted to tell the officer this was a targeted attack.
I watched nervously as the officer stepped out of his vehicle and approached us. “Officer Brown,” he introduced himself, sticking out a hand toward us. Robin shook it firmly, but I think my nerves showed through in my grip.
Robin immediately jumped into an explanation of what had happened. “We just came out of the restaurant and saw it like this. We’re not even from around here. I figured it was a random hit. I’ve been looking around, and it doesn’t look like the restaurant has any security cameras.” He pointed to the areas where security cameras would be. The officer’s eyes followed Robin’s gaze. Mine did, too, but I didn’t spot any security cameras anywhere. I was shocked that Robin was calm enough to notice this.
A sickening sensation overcame me the more I thought of the attack, which gave me a good excuse to not really pay attention to anything the officer was saying. I didn’t feel like I could talk to him about what really happened, so I let Robin answer most of the questions.
Soon enough, pictures were taken and the officer had our witness report before he was on his way. I purposely left out a few details, like that I had a vague idea of who the vandal was.
Maybe I should just stop pursuing this, I thought briefly, but at the same time, I knew I couldn’t just let this go.
Shortly after the police officer left, someone came to transport our car to the garage. “You two need a lift somewhere?” the guy asked. I hadn’t even thought of that. What were we going to do while we waited for the car to get fixed?
“No,” Robin said. “I saw a hotel down a couple of blocks. We’ll stay there and then get a bus or something to bring us to the garage when you’re done with it tomorrow.”
A hotel? Like, I was going to be sleeping in the same room all alone with Robin? In almost any other situation, two teenagers in the same hotel room alone at night would be completely inappropriate. Then I had to remind myself that we were practically cousins. Although not blood related, a voice in the back of my mind—which sounded a lot like Emma’s—reminded me.
Robin shared his feelings about the vandalism with me on our walk to the hotel. “Bad luck, I guess,” he kept saying. We arrived at the hotel before I even realized it. It wasn’t super fancy by any means, but it was a step up from the run down motel we stayed at on our way to Florida.
I briefly wondered how we were going to book a hotel room as two young teens, but somehow Robin wooed the desk attendant into letting us stay. I was grateful for my mom’s credit card when I handed it over to pay for the room.
I looked around the lobby while I waited for Robin to finish talking to the desk attendant. There was an area for a continental breakfast, a sitting area with a TV mounted against the wall, and a payphone around the corner. Before I knew it, Robin was getting my attention and leading me toward our room.
“How did you do that?” I asked once we reached the second level.
“Do what?” he responded, only I heard a hint of smugness to his voice that told me he knew exactly what I was talking about.
“Get us a room. I thought you had to be at least 18 or something.”
He quickly flashed me an object in his hand, but it disappeared too quickly for me to process what it was.
“Is that a . . .” I paused in realization. “You have a fake I.D.?” I hissed.
We reached our room, and Robin slid the key card in the door. “A guy can have a bit of fun, can’t he?” He smiled a sideways smile before pushing into the room.
I fell onto the bed closest to the door. Everything that had happened earlier came crashing down on me all at once. Completely exhausted, I let the fatigue overcome me, and I drifted off in no time.
16
It felt like only minutes later that Robin was lightly shaking me awake, but when I opened my eyes, I noticed it was getting dark outside. I was calmed by the fact that I’d had a nightmare-free sleep but also slightly disappointed that I hadn’t learned anything new to point me in the right direction.
“How was your nap?” Robin asked with a smile.
“Surprisingly good,” I answered honestly. “What’s up?” I sat in bed and rubbed my eyes, forcing my body to wake.
“Hear that?” Robin pressed a finger to his hear. We both paused for a moment, and I strained to hear whatever he was talking about. I did hear it. A deep bass pulsed through the walls of our hotel room.
I stared up at him. “Music. So what?”
“Not just music. A party.”
I didn’t take my eyes off him. “And?” I paused. Oh. “You want to go?”
He shrugged and then walked over to the other bed and sat on it. “You’ve just been so down lately. I’ve noticed you’ve been crying a lot.”
I almost cringed at the thought that he’d noticed.
“It’s just,” he continued, “this is supposed to be our vacation. It’s supposed to be fun. I thought it might get your mind off of things for a while.”
I recalled how I had gotten my mind off things before and it led to the vision of the funeral. Maybe if I did it again, I could finally figure out the missing piece to the puzzle. But I couldn’t go to a party. Apparently my expression gave away that thought.
“Come on,” Robin insisted.
“Robin, look at me.” I gestured toward myself. “No one is going to let me into a party.” I glanced over at my reflection in the mirror on the wall. I was too skinny with small boobs and no hips to speak of. My face was that of a 12-year-old’s, not a 15-year-old’s, and certainly not any older.
Robin leaned across the space between the beds and gently touched a finger to my cheek. He was so close now that I could feel his breath on my face. My cheek flamed in the spot where he was touching it. He stared deep into my eyes, but I couldn’t bring myself to look directly at him. I glanced anywhere but his eyes: the clock on the nightstand, the lamp in the corner of the room, and his lips. I was suddenly overcome with a desire to kiss him just to see what it would taste like. It would be my first real kiss.
My mind fought the thought as the rational part of me remembered we were almost related. But what would it be like?
“Crystal, you underestimate your beauty.” That was all he said, and then he pulled away. The place on my cheek where he’d touched it grew cold in
disappointment.
Why was he being so nice to me? He seemed so rude and cocky before. What had changed? I couldn’t seem to sort this guy out the same way nothing else about this trip made sense in my mind. I swallowed, forcing the butterflies further down my stomach.
Robin stood and ran his hand through his hair again. “I just thought maybe you’d want to get your mind off things for a night.” He shrugged again like it was no big deal, but the look on his face told me that it was.
My heart dropped. My rejection for his invitation was only breaking his heart, and I couldn’t stand the thought of that. Somehow, I managed to put on a smile. “I’ll go. It will be fun.”
Robin beamed for a second before he realized how much emotion he was showing, and then his face fell back to its normal expression.
“Give me a minute,” I told him. I dug around in my purse and found some makeup. Although I usually went light on it, I tried making it darker so I would look older. A night out with Robin could end up being really fun, I thought. Besides, what else could we accomplish by sitting in our hotel room the rest of the night?
“How do I look?” I asked, not really expecting much of a response.
Robin took me by surprise when he looked up at me. He didn’t answer for several long seconds. A smile formed across his face, and then he said, “Honestly, you look really good.”
My heart fluttered. That was the second time he’d called me beautiful today. It wasn’t something I heard often from guys, so it immediately boosted my confidence. I pushed my hair out of my face and nervously thanked him.
While shoving my makeup back in my purse, I noticed a new notification on my phone. I quickly checked it and saw that I had a missed call from my mom along with a text.
Just checking in. Hope you two are alright.
Even without my abilities tingling my senses, I knew my mom wasn’t just concerned for my physical wellbeing. She was wondering how I was doing emotionally with my gift.