by A. L. Martin
“Are you okay, Karsyn?” Braedon reached for my hand across the table. “Don’t pay attention to Blair. She doesn’t want to accept the fact that I am with you.”
“I’m fine. I’m not really worried about her. Thank you for getting rid of her though. I wasn’t in the mood to deal with her today.”
I looked down at our hands. I didn’t want to take the chance of him seeing right through me. I was definitely worried about Blair, and what she could do to me if she found out about my visions. I felt like I was racing against the sands of an hourglass. I knew I had to tell him soon, but now I was faced with the dilemma of when would be the best time to explain things to him.
Who was I kidding? There was never going to be a great time, but the longer I waited, the worse the outcome would be.
“So, what do you want to do after we finish eating?” Braedon asked after he took a drink of his Coke.
“I don’t know. What do you feel like doing?”
“Do you want to go see a movie?”
“I would, but I’m afraid I would fall asleep in the middle of it. I didn’t sleep good last night. Do you want to walk around Downtown for a little bit longer, then we can go for a drive?” I smiled.
“We can do that. Do you want to check on Sophie before we leave?”
I got my phone out of my purse and saw there were six texts, and they were all basically saying the same thing, that she couldn’t believe Alexina betrayed her like that. I sent her a quick text telling her that I was still with Braedon and I would check on her later.
****
We spent a couple of hours either walking around or sitting down at one of the tables. No matter how bad I wanted to with Braedon, my conscience kept telling me that I should go to Sophie’s and see how she was doing. “Would you be upset if we go to Sophie’s to see how she is doing?” I asked, smiling up at Braedon.
“I was wondering how long it was going to take you to ask me when we could go over there.”
Braedon gave me a quick kiss, then we started walking back to the truck. I felt bad for asking to go see Sophie, but I had to make sure she was doing okay. I had no idea what I would do in her situation. Then again, my situation wasn’t much better. We were at Sophie’s about thirty minutes later. She was waiting at the door for us when we pulled up in her driveway. I had texted her right after we left Downtown that we were on the way there. Braedon came around and opened the truck door for me, taking my hand to help me out. That simple gesture added to the other reasons that were keeping me from telling him about my visions. I wished Sophie could have been lucky enough to find someone as wonderful as Braedon. The closer I got to Sophie, I could see her eyes were puffier than when she left my house. I wrapped my arms around her without saying a word. She didn’t need any advice right now.
“Thanks for coming by, Karsyn. You too, Braedon. I know you wanted to spend the day together. It means a lot that you both came over this evening,” Sophie said, turning to go inside her house. She led us into the living room because her dad, stepmom, and little brothers were in the family room watching a movie.
“Are you doing okay? Did you listen to me and stop looking at their texts?” I asked, sitting down next to Sophie on the loveseat.
“I tried, but I ended up looking at the texts about an hour ago.” Sophie hugged me.
“Thanks for coming over here. It means a lot.”
“You are welcome. I just wish there was something I could say or do to cheer you up,” I sighed.
“You are here to see how I am doing.” She smiled.
After about an hour of us sitting and talking, Sophie started not feeling well from being upset since last night. I told her to text me tomorrow because I was going to be at home spending the day with Kurt before he left to go back home Monday. She told me she didn’t want to bother me, especially since Kurt was leaving the next day. I told her if she didn’t text me I would be mad.
“I hope she’s able to get some sleep tonight. She looked so tired,” I sighed, getting up in Braedon’s truck.
“She’s lucky to have you for a friend, Karsyn.” Braedon kissed my hand before closing the door.
He was being so sweet, making it harder for me to tell him the truth. I couldn’t keep pretending to be normal like I had become good at portraying. It wasn’t fair to the people that cared about me, or to myself. I couldn’t keep running from it like my parents wanted to keep doing so that I could be normal for a little while. I knew there were people like Blair that would use it against me, and intentionally make people scared of me. I also knew she was part of the reason why I kept putting off telling Braedon. I was scared the truth would drive him back to her.
****
The next morning, I found that I was the last person in the house to wake up. Usually, I would have gotten harassed about it, but my mom knew I must have needed the extra sleep. I did manage to wake up in time for breakfast though. The minute I opened up my bedroom door, I was welcomed by the smell of hickory bacon. The smell meant Mom had made breakfast for everyone. I walked into the kitchen, yawning as I told everyone good morning. Dad and Kurt were sitting at the kitchen table talking about the games they were planning on watching later.
Emerson was sitting at the island, playing on her phone while she picked at her plate.
“Good morning, I was about to wake you up,” Mom said, handing me a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, homemade hash browns, and a biscuit.
“Thanks, Mom,” I smiled, taking my plate over to the table to sit with Dad and Kurt.
After breakfast, Kurt offered to help me with the dishes. We talked about Friday night’s drama and how Sophie was doing. Then, he asked me when I was going to talk to Braedon about my visions. The glass I was washing slipped out of my hand, splashing down in the sink of water. I closed my eyes, lowering my head as a sigh escaped my mouth.
“Karsyn, you have to tell him soon. The longer you wait, the harder it’s going to be to find the courage to tell him. Then, he may not forgive you for keeping it from him for so long. I can see you really like him, and I don’t think you want to lose him because you were too scared to tell him.” Kurt draped his arm over my shoulders. “The sooner the better.”
I raised my head slightly, glancing up at him. “I know you are right. I want to tell him, but then something happens and I chicken out. For instance, yesterday we ran into this girl named Blair. They went out a couple of times in the past and she absolutely hates me. I am afraid she could make trouble for me Also, I am afraid when I do tell him, it could drive him back to the bitch.”
“That is even more of a reason to tell him. If he does leave you, then he wasn’t the right guy for you, no matter how much you like him.”
I knew he was right, but I had never been this scared before in my life. I wasn’t this scared when people tried to say I had killed my best friend. They couldn’t accept the fact I had visions, so the only rational explanation to them was that I did it.”
We finished the dishes not saying much else, but Kurt knew I was thinking about what all he had just said to me. And I was thinking about it a lot. I went back upstairs to take a shower and get dressed in case Kurt wanted to go do something on his last day here. I walked out of my bedroom and started down the stairs when I saw Mom and Kurt walk out of the kitchen. I said something to them, but it was as if they didn’t hear me. Their mouths were open and eyes wide, stopped in the middle of the hallway staring at one another. I froze on the middle stairs and knew something was wrong. My world here was about to change forever. I stood there for a few minutes before they finally realized I was there.
“Karsyn, we didn’t know you were there,” Mom mumbled, trying to keep her composure.
“Yeah. What’s going on, and don’t lie to me?”
Kurt and Mom turned to look at one another, then both turned to look at me. Kurt walked closer to the stairs. “While you were getting ready, Alexina’s mom came by and asked if by any chance you had seen Alexina. No one has seen her since
yesterday. She thought maybe you had talked to her.”
I fell back on the stair, landing on my butt. Mom and Kurt rushed up to me, but they didn’t know what to do to help me. I sat there, frozen on the stair, staring up toward a plaque on the wall that read Faith. How could one word have so much meaning to it? I desperately needed some faith right now. Kurt helped me up off the stair, and then off in the distance, coming from my room I could hear the faint ring of my phone.
Chapter 10
I ran up the stairs to my room, but, didn’t make it in time. The caller hung up by the time I reached my doorway. I picked up my phone and saw it was Sophie. I clicked on her number, but she had already beat me to it. “Sophie, are you okay?”
“How did you find out?”
“Mom and Kurt told me that Alexina’s mom was here. How did you find out?”
“She stopped by here too. From the way her Mom talked, I don’t think she had any idea that I was furious with Alexina. So I would say she didn’t tell her Mom we were fighting.”
“Did she say anything to you in the text that made it sound like she was getting ready to run away? You never did tell me what the texts were about last night?”
“Basically, a repeat of Friday night. That she was sorry, and that I shouldn’t be mad at Tyler. Nothing about running away or anything like that. She’s probably at one of her other friend’s houses.”
“I don’t think she would just up and not go home. But, I don’t know her as well as you do either.”
“Trust me, she’s done this before. After a few days, they found her at a friend’s house with her boyfriend. She’s probably with Tyler somewhere. I bet you by tomorrow morning, her parents will have found her. I am going to let you go so you can spend time with Kurt. I wouldn’t worry too much, Karsyn. I will see you tomorrow at school. Bye.”
“Bye, Sophie. See you tomorrow.” I clicked end on my phone, then placed it back down on my nightstand.
“Who was on the phone?” Kurt asked as he reached the top of the stairs.
“Um, that was Sophie. She didn’t seem worried at all about Alexina. Do you think I am over-reacting?”
“Well, what did she say on the phone?” Kurt sat down on my bed.
I sat down on my bed, pulling my feet up off the floor, and turned to face Kurt. “She said she done this before. Disappeared without telling anyone where she was going, and after a few days, was found at a friend’s house.”
“She has been friends with Sophie longer, and I can see her doing something that stupid and careless. You know, letting people that love her worry without any remorse for causing them stress. I would be careful of her.”
“You are probably right, Kurt. Enough about them for today. What do you want to do? Want to go for a walk or drive to get out of the house for a little bit?”
“Well, I was going to watch football with Uncle Stephen later, but I think he will understand if I pass to spend time with you. How about we stay up here for a while and talk? We haven’t had much time to talk while I’ve been here.”
“Okay. That is fine with me. I’m kind of glad you didn’t feel like going anywhere either.”
We stayed up in my room for most of the early afternoon, talking, laughing about anything and everything. After the last couple of days, it was nice to laugh and have fun.
“Are you two going to come down for dinner?” Mom asked, through my closed door.
“I’m sorry, Mom. I didn’t realize we had been up here that long.” I said, opening the door.
“Karsyn, I’m not mad at you. I rather enjoyed listening to you laugh and joke around with your cousin. You deserve to have fun and be a normal 18-year-old girl, just like all the other girls out there in the world.”
She turned to go back down to the kitchen. We continued to sit there for a little longer until Mom started yelling again from the bottom of the stairs. This time she used our middle names, which meant we had better be down there within the next few minutes. Dad grilled steaks and chicken while Mom fixed a variety of side dishes. She had baked potatoes, roasted vegetables, and her delicious broccoli cheese casserole. Everything looked and smelled so good. It was the perfect way to end a horrible weekend, sitting around the table eating and laughing with family.
Since Kurt and I did the breakfast dishes, I volunteered Emerson to do the dishes with Mom. I could tell by the frown on her face that she didn’t appreciate me doing that to her, but she needed to start doing her part around the house. She got out of doing most things around the house by either lying that she had a bunch of homework or wasn’t feeling well. Sometimes, she was too good at lying. Kurt and I went back upstairs and left Emerson alone with the dishes.
I knew she would whine enough to the point Mom would get up and help her finish them. Once we got up to my room, Kurt sat up toward the headboard of my bed, while I stretched out toward the foot of the bed. I felt bad for not texting Braedon, so I asked Kurt if he minded that I texted Braedon real quick. He told me to invite Braedon over so he could see him before he left to go back home tomorrow. I hopped off the bed and ran down to the family room to make sure it was okay with Mom and Dad first.
Braedon was there at the house approximately thirty minutes later. I ran out to his truck when I saw him pull into the driveway. He swept me up in his arms, giving me a big hug and kiss. I held onto him after he lowered me down to the ground.
“I take it you missed me?” He tilted his head back, smiling at me.
“I did miss you.” I kissed him, then I took his hand and led him into the house. Kurt was waiting for us in the living room, while Mom, Dad, and Emerson were watching a movie in the family room. We decided to watch a comedy since we were all in desperate need of a good laugh after the weekend. Halfway through the movie, the boys wanted popcorn and snacks. We didn’t have anything other than popcorn, so the three of us took off in Braedon’s truck down the road to the grocery store in search of candy. We were back at the house in a few minutes with tons of candy. Braedon came into the kitchen to help me make popcorn but ended up talking to my parents instead. I started to get mad at him, then he flashed me his gorgeous smile, and I melted instantly. He grabbed the two popcorn bowls, as we went back into the living room. This was the best night of the weekend. I was trying to have fun, but I was sad that Kurt was leaving tomorrow. I wished he was able to stay longer, but I knew he had to get back home.
I didn’t know when I would be able to see him again. I knew one thing for sure, I was going to be blowing up his phone every day with texts.
Kurt being here made me realize that I missed back home more than I was letting on. If we had never moved out here, then I would have never met Braedon, and I was more than grateful to have him in my life right now. I didn’t know how long he would be in my life though. I leaned my head back against Braedon’s shoulder and breathed him in, wanting to remember how he smelled of crisp ocean breeze after my secret was revealed to the world.
****
The next morning, I got up almost two hours early so I could get ready and be able to spend some time with Kurt. I felt bad that I wasn’t able to spend a lot more time with him during his stay. I went downstairs and found Mom finishing up breakfast. Mom was already dressed for work, but she had an apron on to keep from getting food on her clothes. Kurt was sitting at the island dressed in his Levi’s, long sleeved-buttoned down shirt, and Nikes. He was talking to her while she finished cutting up fruit. Mom had made scrambled eggs, sausage links, and toast. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. “Good morning, everyone,” I smiled. “I wish you could stay longer, Kurt. I’m going to miss you.” I walked around the island and sat down beside him.
“I know. I was telling Aunt Jenna that, hopefully, I can come back around Christmas while you are on Christmas break so we can spend time together. I have it already marked on my calendar.”
“Great! You have to come out for Christmas break!”
Mom handed us plates to get our breakfast, while s
he went to yell at Dad and Emerson that breakfast was done. Dad came down right away, while Emerson took her time as usual. I think Emerson liked coming down late so she could make a grand entrance. I looked over at Mom at the table and saw annoyance written all over her face. Again, Mom told Emerson that she wasn’t going to save her any food if she couldn’t come down within a few minutes of being told it was time to eat. Kurt and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes because we knew Mom was never going to let Emerson go without food.
I gave Kurt several long hugs before I grabbed my book bag. I yelled for Emerson to go upstairs and get her things, or I wasn’t going to take her to school. Emerson tried to give me attitude at first, but then I reminded her she could ride the bus to school from now on. I didn’t have to take her to school, and I wasn’t like Mom, who kept tossing empty threats at her either. Mom decided to go into work late so she could spend a little more time with Kurt. I was jealous, but I had to get to school. I was dreading what the day was going to bring later.
“Karsyn, I’m going to be back at Christmas. I promise,” Kurt said, pulling me closer to him to give me a big hug.
I wiped a tear away from my eye. “I know. I didn’t realize how much I have missed you, and now you are leaving again.”
Emerson slammed her bedroom door shut, causing us to jump. She ran down the stairs, nudging me out of the way so she could give Kurt a hug before flying out the door. Emerson didn’t like goodbyes, so after her hug, she would run out the door or back to her room.