“Yes!” She felt a rush of hope. “Something happened to me too.”
“I don’t know what it is, but something is going on—and I’ve had a feeling you were experiencing it too.”
She suppressed the urge to hug him. Instead, she told him about how she had premonitions. “I’ve always been like that a little, but recently it’s overwhelming. And sometimes it almost feels like I’m not just predicting what will happen, but like I’m controlling it too—actually making it happen. But then it’s like I realize I can’t control it—it’s too big.” She sighed.
“Have you tried to control it? I mean really focused and tried to use your mental strength to control it?”
“How?”
He looked uncertain. “I’m not really sure how, but I know it’s possible. To a certain degree anyway.” He pulled a pen from his backpack and tossed it onto the floor in front of them. “Watch.” He narrowed his eyes and his forehead furrowed, almost like he was in pain. His fists clenched and he took in a deep breath—and suddenly the pen began rolling directly toward him. He let out his breath, leaned over and picked it up. “I know it seems like a cheap parlor trick, but I assure you, it was real.”
“Wow.” She nodded. “I believe you. Impressive.”
He rubbed his forehead. “Not that it’s good for much. But I’m going to keep working on it.” He turned to her. “Maybe you should too.”
“I don’t even know where to begin.”
He pointed at her forehead. “Start there. Next time you get a flash, focus on it, and try to work with it. See what happens.”
Suddenly the total absurdity of their conversation struck her and she started to laugh. “This is so bizarre.”
“I know,” he agreed. “But something strange is going on in this town. And somehow I plan to get to the bottom of it.”
“Really?” She studied him closely as the bell rang. She was eager to hear more of his thoughts, but realized she needed to get to class. “What are you doing here anyway?” she asked as she quickly gathered her things.
“Telling my troubles to Miss Truvell. Mr. O’Malley set it up for me.”
She rolled her eyes as she stood. “Yeah, me too. Good luck with that.” As they parted ways, she wondered when she’d get the chance to talk to him again. It was so amazing that he understood what she was going through. Almost like he was here to help her...or maybe she was going to help him.
For the rest of the day Avery was focused on two things—avoiding Dexter and looking for Riley. Thankfully tonight’s game was in a town a couple hours away so the football team left right after school—and she had no intention of going.
“There you are,” Raven said as they met in the locker bay. “Did you have any more run-ins with the ex?”
“Thankfully, no. But I did have a nice conversation with Riley.” She glanced around the locker bay. “Have you seen him around?”
“No, but Quinn said they were going to the game tonight.”
“Really?” she frowned. “Why?”
Raven pointed over Avery’s shoulder. “Well, there’s Riley…I guess you can ask him.”
While Raven was getting something in her locker, Avery went over to Riley. “Are you really going to see the football game—after what Dexter did to you?”
“Because of what he did,” Riley told her.
“Huh?”
“Remember the pen?”
“Yeah…but—”
“I want to practice on a moving target. You know, like a certain quarterback.”
“What—are you serious?”
He laughed. “It probably won’t work, but I thought it would be interesting. Want to come along and watch?”
“Sounds like fun, but I think I’ll pass. I’m trying to distance myself from Dexter. If I’m at the game he’ll probably assume I’m still into him.”
“But if you were with me.” He grinned. “It might convince him you were done.”
Avery cringed as an image of Riley severely beat up flashed through her mind. “It might also get you seriously hurt, Riley. I don’t think Dexter is someone to mess with.”
“You mean, like he’s been drinking the water too?” Riley’s smile faded.
“Something is up with him,” she confided quietly. “For his size he is incredibly strong—and amazingly fast. Remember when he hit you.”
“I never saw it coming.”
“Me neither.”
“Weird.” Riley shook his head.
“Be careful.”
“Be careful about what?” Raven asked as she joined them.
“About Dexter,” Avery told her.
Raven just nodded. “Yeah. He’s kind of like a loose cannon with a smiley face painted on it.”
Avery turned back at Riley. “Do be careful. And let me know how it goes, okay?”
“I will.” His smile returned.
Avery was happy to spend Saturday night with the O’Malley kids. And Sophie and Jackson seemed equally happy to be with her—although she could tell they were still missing their mother. To make up for their troubles, she made popcorn and they played board games until well past their bedtime. “Promise not to tell on me that I let you stay up,” she said when she finally sent them off. “And I’ll promise to come back and babysit next time your dad asks.”
It was close to eleven when she finally checked her phone for messages. Riley had texted her from the game and it almost sounded like he’d had success. So she texted him back and then he called her. “I’m not sure if it was me or not,” he said, “but Dexter stumbled a couple of times tonight.”
“Really? He stumbled?”
“Yeah, everyone thought it was pretty weird. I mean before he’s been so coordinated and then tonight he stumbles over his own two feet. As a result they put in the other quarterback. You know that home-schooled kid. I think his name is Isaac. Dexter was benched.” He laughed.
“Wow. You think you did that?”
“I’m not positive, but it was pretty cool. Anyway, I’m going to keep working on it. If Dexter goes after me again I want a way to defend myself.” He chuckled. “I wouldn’t mind if Dexter was permanently benched.”
They talked a bit longer and Avery was surprised to discover she felt slightly torn. On one hand, it was extremely interesting that Riley was working on something like this—even though it was totally bizarre. On the other hand, she felt a tiny bit sorry for Dexter. But then she remembered what he’d done to Riley…how he’d been pressuring her…maybe the boy needed to be benched.
After the phone call she thought about Riley’s challenge to her. “Try to focus your mind, make the energy work for you instead of against you.” As she was walking around the O’Malley’s house, she wondered if it was even possible. If she could control the brain flashes instead of having them controlling her. It was intriguing.
She picked up a sculpture that Louisa had done several years ago. It was of Sophie when she was about four, holding a basket of flowers. Louisa was so talented and artistic and creative—and yet she never seemed to take her skills too seriously. Even when she came and did sculpting workshops at the high school and even when kids would praise her, she would just brush them off, acting like it was no big deal.
Suddenly Avery felt it coming on again—a debilitating brain flash was starting. She set down the sculpture for fear she would drop it. Then instead of surrendering to the pain, instead of being the victim, she tried to focus her thoughts. Staring at the sculpture, she thought about Louisa and how she needed to come home. Come back to your family, Louisa, she said inside of her head. Drop whatever you’re doing and come home right now! Your children and your husband need you. She reached for the sculpture again, this time holding it close to her chest as she focused all the energy flashing through her brain onto Louisa. Come home!
When the flash ended, Avery felt as if she’d just run a fast mile. Her heart was pounding and she was breathing heavily with beads of sweat running down her face. However, she didn
’t feel the usual pain inside her head. Mostly she felt totally drained. She was just about to go collapse on the couch when she heard the phone in the kitchen ringing. Worried that something had happened to Mr. O, she ran to answer it. “Hello?”
“Oh?” a woman’s voice sounded surprised. “Who are you?”
“This is Avery McAllister,” she said in a formal tone, “babysitting for the O’Malley’s and—”
“Avery! This is Louisa.”
“Louisa?” Avery felt her knees getting weak as she sank down onto one of the bar stools. “Where are you?”
“Bangkok.”
“Oh…why are you there?”
“Long story…I’m not even sure myself. But, tell me, how are the children?”
“Oh, Louisa, they really miss you. How can you stand to be away from them? They’re so sweet. They need you. So does Mr. O.” Avery continued rambling, going on and on about how Louisa should come home. “You were always my ideal mother and wife. I wanted to be just like you. You have no idea how this has shattered me.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely. I mean I know it’s not about me, but I just can’t believe you’d leave all this. Aren’t you ever coming home?”
“I’m not sure….”
“Louisa....” Avery took in a quick breath. “Why did you call just now?”
“I don’t really know…I just got this strong impulse—it was straight out of the blue.”
“That was me, Louisa.” And now Avery opened up and spilled it all out to her—about the weirdness with certain kids at school, how things were changing, maybe there was something in the water, maybe it had to do with the new corporation. “It’s like something is going on here,” she said urgently. “Something that’s not good. I know it sounds crazy, but I swear to you something very strange is happening in Silverwood. And if I were you—and the mother of Sophie and Jackson—I would want to be here.”
There was a long pause and Avery wondered if she’d lost her connection, but finally Louisa spoke. “Okay...you’ve got me thinking, Avery. Can you ask Mark to call me when he gets home?”
“Yes, yes, absolutely.” Avery wrote down the number. “Please, come home,” she said one last time. “We all need you.” After she hung up, Avery couldn’t believe it. Her brain flash had somehow contacted Louisa halfway around the world. Somehow it had made her call tonight. At least that’s what it seemed like. She couldn’t wait to tell Riley about this new development.
On the night of the Fall Art Fair, Mr. O was like his old self again. Of course, Avery knew this was because Louisa was coming home, but like Mr. O had asked, she was keeping quiet about his domestic affairs. Still, it was fun seeing him strutting around, showing off his students’ works. The only fly in the ointment was that Miss Truvell seemed to be hitting on him. Didn’t she know he was married? Or did she simply not care? Avery couldn’t quite figure the woman out, but she didn’t trust her. And when she spotted Miss Truvell deep in conversation with a couple of people who were known to be associated with IGT, she trusted her even less.
Avery turned her attention back to her painting. One purpose of the art fair, besides raising money, was for students to demonstrate various forms of art to the community. Tonight Avery had been working on her most recent oversized flower painting, but thankfully it was almost quitting time. She was just putting some finishing strokes on the pale pink peony when she spied Dexter walking directly toward her.
Over the weekend she’d stayed close to home and ignored his numerous calls. And when he slowly drove by her house she didn’t go outside. Eventually Grandma, who knew what was happening, went out on the porch and stared him down. Really, Avery could not figure out why he was trying so hard. Dozens of girls would be over the moon to be his girlfriend. Why couldn’t he find someone else?
On Monday, just when she was hoping he’d given up, there he was waiting for her at her locker. Thanks to Raven’s quick thinking, she got away. And during the next couple days, Raven, Quinn, and Riley’s various interventions helped her to avoid some nasty confrontations with him. But tonight, as Dexter stormed straight toward her, there was no way to evade him.
“Why are you doing this?” he demanded as soon as he reached her.
“Doing what?” She tried to sound casual as she rinsed her brush in the jar of murky water.
“Treating me like this.”
She set the brush on a paper towel. “Dexter…” she said patiently. “I already told you, we’re done. Okay?”
“No.” He glared at her. “It’s not okay.”
“What do you want from me?” She stared at him, trying not to be taken in by his good looks or the fact he was dressed perfectly. “You can’t possibly want to be with a girl who doesn’t want to be with you—can you?”
He stepped closer. “That’s not true. You do want to be with me. I know it. You’ve just let your friends convince you otherwise. They’ve brainwashed you against me.”
“No.” She firmly shook her head. “It was my decision, Dexter. I do not want to be with you. It was a mistake…right from the start. I’m sorry.”
“But we had something,” he said quietly, but with passion. “I know you felt it too, Avery. It was way beyond anything I’ve ever had with other girls. It was totally amazing.” He reached over to take her hand and she felt an intense jolt go through her—just like it always did when he touched her. “It’s electric and powerful,” he whispered. “It was as if we were meant to be together. Don’t tell me you didn’t feel it too. That you don’t miss it as much as I do.”
She pulled her hand away and caught her breath. “No, Dexter. I don’t miss it. And I don’t want to be with you. Can’t you get that?”
“But I love you, Avery.” His eyes felt like two blue spears probing deep into her.
“You don’t really love me,” she quietly told him. “You just love what you think I can give you. The fact is, you don’t even know me—you’ve never taken the time to know me. You’ve always been more interested in yourself than me. Besides all that…I know I don’t love you, Dexter. I will never love you.” She felt cruel for saying it so bluntly, but perhaps that was the only way to end this thing, once and for all.
His countenance darkened. “I can’t believe you’d say that, Avery.”
“I said it because it’s true,” she said gently. “And, really, there are so many other girls who would—”
“Don’t tell me that!” he yelled. “Just shut up!” And now he swore at her so loudly and profanely that a few others turned to look. Avery’s face flushed with embarrassment and she was tempted to hide behind the oversized canvas.
“You will regret this,” Dexter seethed at her before he turned away. Mr. O and Riley were hurrying over to see what was wrong. She watched as Dexter stormed past them, his arms flailing with each step. Thankfully he didn’t knock them down on his way out. She felt certain it would’ve been painful.
The next week passed relatively quietly, but each time Avery saw Dexter, she felt a rush of fear. Although he could still act perfectly charming and natural around other people, it was obvious that he was still enraged at her. If looks could kill, she would be laid out at the morgue by now. Still, she was determined not to obsess over it. Instead, she decided to focus her energy on trying to tame these brain flashes that seemed to always catch her off guard. Like when she’d been going into the restroom and nearly got knocked to the floor yesterday. The girls in there thought she was having an epileptic seizure. But she’d managed to convince them otherwise as she’d shuffled into a stall where she sat on the toilet until her head and the restroom cleared. It was all very unsettling—more than anything, she wanted to control it. Instead of having it control her.
However, she was encouraged to know how she’d played a part in getting Louisa to come home. And she truly believed it was a result of her episode the night she was babysitting. Now if only she could learn to master it—she could hardly imagine all the good that might come from t
his sort of giftedness.
“Anyone going to the Monster Ball?” Raven asked their group at lunch. “Less than two weeks away, if anyone’s planning on going they should be working on their costumes by now.”
“Costumes?” Riley asked.
“It’s a masquerade ball,” Avery told him.
“It’s always the Saturday night before Halloween and everyone dresses up,” Quinn explained. “Kind of like a flashback to childhood and trick or treating. Only we’re bigger and the costumes are scarier.”
“Witches and vampires and ghouls, oh my!” Raven chanted.
“It’s a tradition,” Quinn continued his informative spiel. “The junior class puts on the ball to raise money for prom. We had to do it last year when we were juniors.”
“Sounds like fun,” Riley said. “But I’m not sure about wearing a costume.”
“That’s what makes it fun,” Raven told him.
Riley pointed at Avery. “So, do you want to go?”
“With you?” she asked with raised brows.
“Sure with me.” He nodded.
As much as she liked Riley, Avery wasn’t certain she wanted to go on date. Especially after what had happened between her and Dexter. But a group date might be different. She looked at Quinn and Raven. “Hey, why don’t you two go too? We could all go together. Now that would be fun.”
It was quickly agreed and they soon began discussing costume possibilities. Quinn decided to come as the Grim Reaper and Raven was leaning toward a vampire. “But I mean an old fashioned vampire,” she explained. “Not those Twilight versions. Too boring.”
“Maybe I’ll be a contemporary vampire,” Riley told them. “Just wear my regular clothes but have blood dripping down my chin.” “You’ll be lucky not to have real blood dripping,” Quinn told him. “I mean, when Dexter discovers you’re taking Avery to the dance.”
“Oh, yeah,” Raven said soberly. “What will Dexter do if he finds out?”
The 'Naturals: Awakening (Episodes 17-20 -- Season 1) (Young Adult Serial) Page 4