The Bed She Made
Page 25
"Sloan, when we ran into my Gran after you said you needed to pick up some canned green beans from her, that was a coincidence. When we were talking about going to Matt Sheridan's keg party and we ran into him at the beer store, that was a coincidence. When you said you hoped Shannon Green would get syphilis and we saw her walking out of the Health Department, maybe even that was a coincidence." We both laughed.
She tapped her nails against the bar top. "Billy Stewart is supposed to be working on the backside of a mountain right now, Sloan. He shouldn't be anywhere near the city. I was joking and trying to get you to make him magically appear…and then you did. That's not a coincidence."
I groaned.
She lowered her voice and leaned into me. "What are you not telling me? Did you make that happen or not?"
It was too late to try and recover with a lie. I had no other choice but to tell her the truth. My legs were shaking under the table and a trickle of sweat ran down my spine. "I'm not a hundred percent certain, but yes. I think so."
She sucked in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. Her eyes were wide and looking everywhere but into mine. "I'm going to be honest. You're kinda freaking me out a little bit right now."
I nodded and pinched the bridge of my nose. "I know. I wish I had a grand explanation, but I've never had anyone explain it to me either."
I felt her hand squeeze mine. "I love you, so let me have it. Tell me everything."
My stomach felt like an elevator free-falling through the shaft. "You're going to think I'm crazy."
"Sloan, I think we bypassed crazy about twenty minutes ago," she said with a genuine chuckle.
The bartender placed our drinks in front of us, and I wrapped my fingers around the short tumbler. Adrianne drained half of her whiskey in one swallow.
I took a deep breath. I let my thoughts roll around for a moment in my head, and I tried to choose my words carefully so I didn't sound as nuts as I felt. Finally, I looked at her and lowered my voice. "You know when you're out and you see someone you really feel like you know, but you can't remember how or who they are?"
She nodded. "Sure."
I paused for a moment. "I feel that way around everyone. Like I already know them."
Her face contorted with confusion. She tried to laugh it off without success. "Well, I've always said you've never met a stranger."
I looked at her seriously. "I haven't ever met a stranger, Adrianne."
She cleared her throat. "I really don't understand what you're talking about."
Sadly, I didn't understand what I was talking about either.
"I see people I've never met and feel like I've known them forever. I can even just see a picture of someone and know if they are alive or dead and what kind of person they are. I don't know their names or anything specific, but I have a weird sense about them before ever talking to them. It's like I recognize their soul."
She let my words sink in for a moment. "Like the time you told me not to go out with the exchange student in the eleventh grade, and then he date-raped that cheerleader?"
"Yes. I knew he had a lot of evil in him," I said.
"And you get these 'vibes' from everyone?" she asked.
I nodded. "Absolutely everyone."
"So that's why you're so good with people…why you can talk to anyone and everyone at any time?"
I nodded again. "It's easy to befriend people when it feels like you've known them for years, and I seem to be somewhat of a people-magnet."
She interrupted me. "But what does that have to do with Billy Stewart showing up here tonight?"
"There's more."
She sat back, exasperated. "Of course there is."
"I think it's somehow related. People are naturally drawn to me, and somehow I can manipulate that."
Her eyes widened. "You can control people?" Her voice was almost a whisper.
"I don't think I would call it controlling people…" My voice trailed off as I sorted through my thoughts. "I know things about people, and sometimes when I talk about someone, it's like I can summon them to me."
She laughed, but it was clear she didn't think it was funny. "Come on, Sloan. Really?"
"Just think about it." I looked at her over the rim of my tumbler and sipped my drink.
She was quiet for a while. There were a thousand odd events she could have been replaying in her mind. Like, the time I said I wanted Jason Ward to ask me to the homecoming dance, and he was waiting by my locker after class. Or, when I told her I had a bad feeling about our gym teacher, and we found out on Monday he had died of a heart attack over the weekend. Finally, she looked at me again. "You know I wouldn't believe a word of this if I hadn't known you for so long."
I nodded. "I don't believe it most of the time myself."
"When you say you 'know' people. What do you know? Like, do you know that guy?" She pointed at the bartender.
I laughed. "No. It's just a sense I get. I can tell you he's an OK guy, but I'm not a mind reader."
She drummed her long nails on the countertop. "So you're psychic?"
"No, I don't think so. I just seem to be able to read people really well."
She leaned toward me and dramatically fanned her fingers like a magician. "And make people suddenly appear!"
"Shhhh!" I looked cautiously around.
Luke, who was waiting nearby, caught my eye and started in our direction.
Adrianne extended her long arm to stop him. "Not so fast, you little eager beaver."
I laughed, and the tension finally started to drain from my shoulders. After a moment, I gripped her arm. "You're not gonna get all freaked out on me now, are you? I haven't told anyone about this since I was old enough to know better."
Her head snapped back with surprise. "Old enough to know better?"
I ran my fingers across the faint scar just above my right eyebrow. "Kids can be pretty cruel when they find out you're different. When I was eight and we still lived in Florida, one of them threw a big rock at me during recess."
She gasped. "That's horrible!"
I nodded. "After that, Mom and Dad decided it would be best to move."
"So they know about what you can do?" she asked.
I shook my head. "Not exactly. Whatever is wrong with me can't be explained by science, so I think it scares them to talk about it. They haven't brought it up once since we moved here." I touched my scar again. "And seven stitches in the face taught me to keep my mouth shut."
She squeezed my hand, her eyes no longer judgmental. "Well, I'm not going to freak out, and I'm not going to tell anyone."
I sighed. "Thank you."
She grinned over the top of her glass. "No one would believe me anyway."
"I know."
Suddenly, she perked up with a wild smile. "What about Brad Pitt?"
I raised my eyebrows. "What about him?"
"Can you get him here?"
I laughed. "That's not the way it works!"
She crossed her arms over her chest. "How do you know?"
I smiled. "Because I've already tried."
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Book 1 - The Soul Summoner
Book 2 - The Siren
Book 3 - The Angel of Death
Book 4 - The Taken