by Amy Reece
“It was a girl?” I whispered.
“Yeah. She’s beautiful.” At my shocked look, she nodded, saying, “She’s here with me. Scott will get to see her someday. I’m so glad he finally found someone else and has a family. He was the best thing that ever happened to me and he deserves to be happy. I loved him so much, Ally. He reminds me of your Jack, actually.”
I smiled at her. “So it doesn’t bother you to see him with his new wife and family? You aren’t jealous?”
“Not at all. It’s not like that here. Now that I’m dead and I know I can’t be a part of his life anymore, I only want the very best for him. I want him to be happy.” She clasped my hand once more, then said, “Okay. Time’s up. You’re waking up and we need to figure a way to get you out of here. I will not accept that he can do this to two girls. This stops now!” she said fiercely.
“What should I do? Am I tied up? What are my options?”
“Yes, you’re tied up with duct tape, like I was, and you’re lying on the bed in his guest room. He didn’t tie your feet, so we can work with that. He’s sitting at the kitchen table, cleaning his shotgun.”
“He has a gun? Shit! I don’t want to get shot, Ashley! Why did I come in here?” I moaned.
“Because you felt really, really sick. You should have stayed home today, Ally. You know, Jack is right. You are about the most stubborn person I’ve ever met. You might want to work on that, sweetie.”
“Thanks,” I said sarcastically. “I’ll get right on that as soon as I get out of here without getting freaking shot.”
“You need to get up very quietly, find something to hit him with, maybe the lamp he hit you with, and then sneak up behind him and bash the crap out of him. I think it’s your best option.”
“I don’t know if I can do that. I’m scared, Ashley.” I could feel myself beginning to panic.
“Calm down, Ally. You can do this. You have to. Jack, Tara, everyone you love is outside waiting for you. There’s a S.W.A.T. team and everything, but you need to get out of this house before David has a chance to use that gun. He is completely unstable and has absolutely nothing to lose at this point. He does not plan to leave this house alive and doesn’t mind taking you with him,” she warned.
“Jack’s outside? And my mom?” I hesitated, feeling something in my mind. “Rémy! He’s out there too. I can feel him trying to reach me. Why can’t I get through to him?”
“I don’t know. I don’t understand the connection you have with him. Maybe you can’t reach him because you’re unconscious.” She looked at me sympathetically. “It’s time to go.”
“Okay. Will I see you again?”
She shook her head, smiling. “No. There’s no reason. You don’t need to talk to dead people on a regular basis.”
I smiled wryly. “Bye, Ashley.”
“Bye, Ally. Thanks for helping me.” She began to fade from my vision.
I woke slowly, groggily, but remembered what she had instructed me to do. I sat up as quietly as I possibly could, looking around for the lamp David had used to hit me. It was on the floor by the bed. I grabbed it awkwardly because of the position of my hands, tied together with the tape. I stood for a moment to get my balance and gather my waning courage. My mouth behind the duct tape was bone dry; I couldn’t even manage to work up enough saliva to swallow. Okay, I needed to calm down. I could do this. I had to do this. Jack was right outside. My mom and Grams were with him. I crept into the kitchen, praying he wouldn’t turn around. He was sitting at the table, re-assembling his shotgun, and mumbling.
“I loved you, Ashley. Why did you cheat on me? How could you do that? I had to do it. I did. I had no choice. We were supposed to be together. It wasn’t my fault. I couldn’t help it. You should have loved me!” He was sobbing pathetically as he worked. “Now this girl knows! What am I going to do? I can’t let her leave! She has to die. It’s over, Ashley. It’s finally over.”
His crazy ramblings caused my blood to freeze in my veins; he might be insane, but he was planning to kill me. I was completely terrified, but knew I had to try to get away. To do nothing was to give in and be killed. I had nothing to lose. I crept toward him as quietly as humanly possible. I managed to get almost close enough when he must have sensed me and began to turn around. I was out of time. I lunged with the lamp, striking him on the side of the head with as much force as I could possibly muster. He fell out of his chair to the ground, but I could see he was only stunned, not knocked out. I turned and literally ran for my life.
I reached the front door and wrenched it open, hoping I wouldn’t get shot either from behind or from the S.W.A.T. team out front. I made it as far as the front path when I heard Jack yell my name. I saw him break away from Brian and run toward me. I turned to see what he was looking at behind me and was horrified to see David Moore raise his shotgun. If he didn’t hit me, he would hit Jack. Everything within me screamed at the thought of Jack getting shot and I felt a huge energy pulse rocket away from my body right as the gun went off and everything was bathed in blue light. Then the concrete was rushing up to meet me.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“I saw eternity the other night,
Like a great ring of pure and endless light.”
–Henry Vaughan
I woke to Mat’s face right above mine, his hands running over my body, checking for injuries. I tried to sit up, but he pushed me gently back down and removed the duct tape from my hands and mouth as gently as possible. I whimpered as I felt like all the skin on my lips was ripped away.
“Hey, lie still. Were you hit? We have an ambulance on the way,” he said.
The last thing I wanted was another hospital visit. I sat up saying, “Mat? What are you doing here? I’m fine. I didn’t get shot. I passed out. I’ve been sick. Ow, my head really hurts.” I reached back to feel the lump. “That bastard! He hit me! God, I’m tired of getting hit in the head. Where is Jack?” I finally noticed someone was holding my other hand and turned to see who it was. “Jack!” I threw my arms around his neck, knocking him over. I didn’t care in the least and crushed my mouth against his, even though it really hurt my lips. I remembered then that Ashley had told me everyone was outside waiting for me. Well, they could wait a second longer because I needed to be in Jack’s arms.
“Apparently, she’s fine,” said Mat wryly.
“For God’s sake, Ally,” Grams broke in. “Let the boy breathe.”
I reluctantly broke away as Jack sat us both up, saying, “I can breathe just fine.” He kissed me on the forehead before helping me stand. “Let’s get her inside, okay?” He kept his arm around me as we followed everyone inside the Graves’ house and Jack led me to the sofa. Tara brought me a glass of water, which I gratefully gulped. Mrs. Graves bustled to the kitchen muttering about making tea for everyone. Mom and Grams sat on either side of me, Mom worriedly examining the back of my head. “When the paramedics get here you need to let them do a more thorough examination than Mat was able to do. And if they say you need to go the hospital, there will be no argument from you. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said and hugged her. “I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, Ally-bear. You have got to stop doing this.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think I was doing anything the least bit dangerous,” I defended myself.
“How in the world did you end up in Moore’s house?” Brian asked.
“I got a phone call from Mrs. Graves asking me to come over and talk to her son. None of us could reach you and she said he was leaving soon so I decided to walk over and meet you here. I called you and left a voicemail. I overestimated my recovery from that damned food poisoning and needed to rest. I was right in front of Mr. Moore’s house, and I had to sit on the curb to rest. He saw me and invited me in for a drink of water. I didn’t think anything of it. Boy, was that ever a mistake.” I realized I was rambling and paused to drink more water. I told them how I had gone to the bathroom, opening the wrong door.
I had seen the cardboard box sitting on the floor and couldn’t resist taking a quick look. When I saw what was inside, I immediately realized David Moore was the killer and I planned to get out of there as fast as humanly possible, but the crazy old coot had bashed me in the head with a lamp. I didn’t tell them all about meeting Ashley; that would have to wait until Brian and Mat weren’t present, although I figured Mom was going to have to spill the beans to Brian sooner or later. That would be a fun conversation. “Did you arrest him, Brian? You got him, didn’t you?”
Brian knelt down in front of me. “He shot himself. He’s dead.”
The paramedics arrived and I was able to keep my thoughts to myself as I was examined. They looked at the lump on the back of my head and shone a light in my eyes to check my pupils.
“Well, there doesn’t seem to be an obvious concussion. You have a couple of options,” the paramedic said. “You can let us take you to the ER in the ambulance. You can get someone else to take you, or you can go home and get some rest. Have a family member watch you carefully for a few hours. You need to drink lots of fluids to get yourself rehydrated after being so sick.” I had told them the reason I passed out was from the food poisoning. Nobody mentioned the blue energy pulse. I wondered how many had seen it and what in the world they thought it was.
“Please, Mom.” I gave her my best sad puppy-dog eyes. “It’s Friday. I swear I’ll stay home all weekend and rest. I won’t budge from the couch. Please don’t make me go to the hospital.” She and Grams conferred in whispers for a minute.
“All right,” Mom finally relented. “But the first sign of any problems and I will drag you to the hospital myself.” She looked up at Brian. “Can we take her home now?”
“Yeah, go ahead. I need to stay here for a while, but I’ll stop by later to finish questioning her.” He looked at me carefully. He had apparently seen the blue pulse and I knew there would be some interesting conversations in our future.
“All right. Come on, Ally. Let’s get you home,” Grams said. “I assume you’re coming, Jack?”
He looked at me for affirmation. “Yeah, of course. I’ll meet you at the house, okay? I need to drop Tara and Mat off at the school so they can get their cars.” He leaned down and kissed the top of my head. “I’ll see you in a few minutes, babe.”
As I watched him walk away, I finally noticed one other person who hadn’t said a word yet. “Rémy!” He smiled his little smile at me and I remembered feeling him in my thoughts, checking where I was and if I was okay. “Come to the house too. Please?” It was time to let a certain cat out of the bag.
“Of course.” He nodded and left, following Jack. I hoped Tara would be smart enough to send Mat home. I really needed to tell Grams, Mom, Jack, Tara, and Rémy about Ashley and everything she had told me. And I knew they wanted to know about the blue pulse. I really didn’t want to complicate it with trying to explain the whole crazy psychic thing to Mat and Brian at this point. Grams and Mom looked at me, apparently questioning why I was inviting this boy, but I shook my head at them slightly. They were going to have to learn to trust my judgment.
***
I was upstairs in my bedroom, changing into my sweats/pajamas when I heard a soft knock at my door.
“Ally? Are you decent? Your mom said I could come up and see if you’re okay,” Jack called softly. I opened my door and pulled him in quickly, shutting the door behind him. I threw myself in his arms for the second time that evening.
“Jack!”
He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tight against his warm, hard body. “It’s okay, querida. I’ve got you.”
“I need you to hold me.”
“Always.”
We stayed like that for several minutes, simply holding each other, until I finally let go and led him to sit beside me on my bed. I held his hand tightly. “I was so scared tonight, Jack,” I whispered.
He sighed and lifted me onto his lap. “You have no idea.” He pulled my head to rest under his chin. “I almost lost my mind tonight when we couldn’t find you. You have seriously got to stop rushing off to save the day, babe.”
I pulled away to look into his eyes. “Jack, I swear I wasn’t trying to do that.”
He chuckled ruefully. “I know, I know. But don’t plan on me letting you out of my sight for the next several weeks…or decades.”
I laughed and pulled him down for a kiss. “I am absolutely fine with that.” I went back to kissing him, which he complied with nicely for a few minutes.
“Are you sure you’re okay? Maybe you should have gone to the emergency room.” He brushed my hair out of my face and looked hard at me.
“I’ll be fine, Jack. I simply need to rest. You’re my best medicine, you know.” I smiled at him and moved back in for another kiss.
“Oh, I am, huh?” he asked. I giggled and nodded, sinking my fingers into his thick hair. “Well, maybe you need a stronger dose.” With that he pushed me onto the bed and followed me down, half covering my body with his own, and began really kissing me, opening my mouth with his, stroking his warm tongue against mine. His hand slid down to my thigh, wrapping it around his hips. “Mmmm. I could stay here all night, babe.” He kissed me once more and sat up. “But everyone is downstairs waiting for us. Your mom is sure to bust through that door any second, so why don’t you put some pants on so we can go downstairs.”
“Pants?” I looked down and realized I was in my underwear. “God, Jack,” I complained as I reached for my sweatpants. “Why didn’t you tell me I was parading around in front of you in my underwear?”
He laughed and rubbed his hands over his face. “Uh, let’s see—because you look super hot and sexy? I’m happy to let you parade in front of me in your panties anytime you want.”
I threw my stuffed dog at him and laughed. “That’s so altruistic of you, Jack. Thanks a lot!” He laughed as well and clasped my hand, entwining our fingers, as he guided me down the stairs.
Grams fussed over me, making sure I was wrapped in a fluffy blanket with a cup of tea. Tara and Rémy arrived at the same time and I had the task of telling everyone why I had invited him.
“Grams, Mom, you’ve met Rémy before. I told you he’s an exchange student this semester from France. At least, that’s what he’s pretending to be. In reality, he’s twenty-two years old and is a Seer. His grandmother is the Oracle.” I decided it was better to drop the whole bomb at once.
“Well,” said my mom as she sank onto the couch next to me. “Jack said earlier he was a Seer, which both Brian and Mat heard, by the way. But the Oracle…”
“My goodness,” said Grams.
“Bonsoir, mesdames,” Rémy said quietly. “I apologize for keeping so much from you. I can only say I felt it was necessary.”
“Rémy,” I held my hand out to him, motioning for him to sit by me. “I felt you, in my mind. Thank you.”
He smiled tightly. “Of course. I’m glad Jack thought to call me.”
“All right, sweetheart. You’ve gathered us all here. Now, what is it you needed to tell us? Perhaps you should start with the blue light?” Grams asked.
I shook my head. “I have no idea what that was. I saw the gun pointing toward Jack and I don’t know. I—I couldn’t let Jack get shot. I don’t know what happened.” They were all staring at me. I shifted uncomfortably. “What?”
Jack knelt in front of me and took my hands in his. “Sweetheart, that blue pulse…exploded from you. It knocked Moore and me down. I’ve never seen anything like it. It came from you, Ally.”
“I didn’t want him to shoot you, Jack,” I whispered.
“Well, it seems you’ve developed yet another power,” observed Grams. “We’ll need to tell Cassie about this.”
“There’s more,” I said. “I saw Ashley tonight. I actually spoke with her.” At all the shocked looks, I continued. “After Moore knocked me out, I ‘woke up’ sort of,” I used my fingers to make air quotations, “in a big white room with Ashley walking toward me.
She told me what happened to her all those years ago.”
“Ally, you don’t need to tell us. Let me.” Rémy held his hand out towards me. Jack stood to allow Rémy to take his place next to me.
I looked up to see Jack narrow his eyes at the sight of him holding my hand. I smiled and winked at Jack as I placed my other hand on top of Rémy’s. “That would be great, actually. Thanks.” I closed my eyes and let him read my memories. I felt him probe into my mind as I went back over the entire episode with Ashley. When we were finished, he sighed, put my hand back in my lap, and patted it as he stood up, gesturing for Jack to take his place. I laid my head down in Jack’s lap and he pulled the blanket up around my shoulders, brushing my hair back, as Rémy began to tell my story. I tried to listen, but couldn’t keep my eyes open.
I woke as Jack was gently placing me in my bed. “This is getting to be a habit,” I murmured. He smiled and tucked the covers up around me.
“I’ll come over tomorrow after work, okay?” I nodded sleepily. “I love you, Ally.” He kissed me.
“I know,” I mumbled. I was asleep again approximately thirty seconds later.
***
Brian showed up bright and early Saturday morning to finish questioning me. Although Grams, Mom, and I would have preferred to wait to tell him about our psychic abilities until after this investigation was over so as to keep it from muddying any of his opinions, I was expecting him to ask about the pulse. There was absolutely no way he would let that go. It wasn’t, however, terribly germane to the basic facts of what had happened: I received a call from Mark Graves and decided to meet Brian at the Graves’ home. I walked over from school, but felt too weak from my recent food poisoning to continue. I stopped at David Moore’s house because he was on the front porch and I asked him if I could have a glass of water and sit for a few minutes. I went to the bathroom and opened the wrong door. I saw the box on the floor of the guest bedroom and looked inside to find Ashley’s backpack, her purse, and several pairs of her underwear. Moore found me spying and coshed me on the head with a lamp. When I woke up, my hands and mouth were duct taped, but I was able to stand up, grab the lamp, and sneak into the kitchen. I managed to hit him on the head, and although it didn’t knock him out, it did give me time to escape. I ran out the front door and collapsed on the walkway right as he shot at me.