Love Left Behind (57 page)

“What
are you changing into, a ball gown? You look fine, Sarah! This isn’t dinner at
the White House. It’s friends schlepping over for a Friday night celebratory
dinner for making it through the week.”

“Ha!”
exclaimed Sarah. “My motto is always dress to impress, no matter what the
occasion. Besides, Grant is bringing his cousin with him tonight. He
transferred from Yale and he's staying with Marcus and Grant while he figures
out his housing. If Grant is any indication, his cousin is going to be a
hottie.” She wiggled her eyebrows for emphasis.

I
laughed as I wiped my hands on a dishcloth. “I fear for the safety of Grant’s
cousin’s heart. Or chastity.” I pressed my lips together and cocked my head. “I
wonder why he transferred here from Yale. I mean, we’re not exactly in the Ivy
League tier.”

Maxwell
University was a small prestigious college known for its arts and music school
but it was nowhere near the leagues of Yale. I had decided to attend Maxwell
University because of the scholarship that covered most of my school cost. The
rest I paid with loans and a part time job at a local cafe.

“Grant
said his cousin and his father were always at odds with what he wanted to do
and I guess transferring here is his way of rebelling,” Sarah revealed. She
looked down at my outfit. “You should change too. What if you and his cousin
hit it off, and then you guys get married and Grant and I get married? Then
we’d be related!” Sarah squealed and jumped up and down.

I
laughed indulgently, looking down at my outfit. My jeans and blue t-shirt with
Oscar the Grouch wasn’t going to win me any beauty pageants, but the last thing
I wanted to do was impress a guy. Men were distractions that I didn’t want
during college. It was enough to have friends who I cared about. Besides,
dating turned into relationships which was an intimacy that I wasn’t ready for.
I couldn’t imagine having to explain to a boyfriend why I was crazy and had
visions.

“You
know I have no interest in dating right now. It’s enough keeping up with
everyone else's love life. Besides, I thought our plan was to meet twin
brothers in our late twenties and then get married.”

“Oh
well,” Sarah shrugged. “We can always move up the timeline. And you’d impress
in any outfit, so I guess it doesn’t matter.”

I
rolled my eyes as I stirred the meat sauce. Sarah was always on me about
so-and-so being interested in me and how I should take notice. It’s not that I
was completely oblivious and I knew I was attractive enough. My Korean mother
and Norwegian father had given me an exotic look that somehow also seemed girl
next door. My long black hair and thin figure was from my mother, but my large
brown eyes and pale complexion were compliments of my father. At five feet and
five inches, I was neither tall nor short. Average. I figured myself pretty
average in most respects and I was okay with that, especially since I wasn’t
average in the one area that I desperately wanted to be.

Sarah
went to her room to change and I walked into the living room to close the
window that I had opened to air out Sarah’s latest culinary disaster. As I
gripped the bottom sill of the window to push it closed, I shivered as a sudden
chill went through my body as my gaze was suddenly transfixed on my reflection
in the window. My heart started pumping faster as I felt an unnatural
stillness. I stared into the reflection of my eyes, feeling as if I was in a
trance.

“Hey,”
yelled Sarah down the hall. “Can I borrow your perfume? I'm all out."

Sarah’s
voice broke through the trance and I shook my head. I must be just feeling the
effects of the cold night air drafting in through the window.

“Sure,”
I replied as I closed the window, but I was unable to completely dismiss the
feeling of foreboding.

**********

By
the time Sarah had changed and come back out, I had mixed the spaghetti with
the Bolognese sauce in a big bowl. I placed it on our small breakfast table
that was in the corner of our living room, along with garlic bread and the
salad Sarah had prepared.

“It
smells great!” Sarah exclaimed. “Especially my salad,” she said with a wink.

“Of
course,” I smirked “You cut some mean lettuce.”

Our
doorbell rang and Sarah rushed over to the door to open it, revealing Jenny.
She was clutching a bottle of wine as she walked in, bringing a gust of cold
air in with her.

"Hey
Jenny," greeted Sarah. "Right on time."

Jenny
shuffled in, taking her coat off and laying it on the back of the couch. Jenny
was a frequent visitor to our apartment so she made herself at home, plopping
down on the couch.

"I
will never get over these winters," grumbled Jenny. "This kind of
cold is not normal."

Jenny
was a native of Florida and even though this was her fourth winter at Maxwell
University, she still faced every chilling day as an affront to humanity.

"Well,
your refreshments will help us warm up," I said as she handed me the
bottle of wine. "Do you want to start with a glass?"

"Absolutely,"
Jenny sighed, leaning back on the couch. "I had a killer day today. I
think I totally failed my physics exam."

I
laughed as I walked into the kitchen. "That's what you always say and you
ace every exam," I scoffed, pouring out three glasses of wine.

"When
are the boys getting here?" asked Jenny.

"They
should be here any minute," replied Sarah. "Let me use the
intercom."

With
that, she stomped the floor with her foot. "That should do it."

I
grinned. "Ah, the wonders of technology." I passed out the glasses of
wine. "I'm not sure if I can take Marcus making moon faces at you all
night, Jenny. Can't you cut the guy some slack and just go out with him
already?"

Jenny
spluttered from taking a sip of her wine. "He hasn't even asked me out!
How can I go out with him if he's never asked me out?"

Sarah
leaned on the arm of the couch. "Marcus is too afraid of rejection,"
she said. "He sees all the guys you go out with and doesn't want to be one
of the masses."

"Geez,
she's not a revolving door," I said. "One of these days he's going to
have to suck it up and take a chance. Either that or stop staring at her
non-stop. If I didn't like Marcus so much, he'd creep me out."

"He's
not the only one making moon faces around here," Jenny said slyly, looking
at Sarah out of the corner of her eye.

"Hey!"
Sarah exclaimed. "Don't compare me to Marcus. At least I make my
moves."

"Okay,
children," I said clapping my hands, bringing everyone to order.
"There will be no mooning today by anyone. Let's just have a nice relaxing
dinner."

There
was a knock at the door, breaking up the conversation. Sarah opened the door to
reveal Marcus with his trademark shy smile.

"Hi
Marcus," Sarah said. "Where's Grant?"

Jenny
groaned, rolling her eyes as Sarah shot her a killer look.

"He'll
be right up. He was just moving some stuff around for his cousin, but I didn't
want to be late so I came up ahead."

Marcus
sat down next to Jenny, but you could have fit an elephant in the space he left
between them on the couch. "Hi Jenny," he said with a smile.

"Hey
Marcus," she replied brightly. "How was your day?"

As
Marcus, Jenny and Sarah started talking about classes and exams and all the
other things that had happened that day, I walked back into the kitchen, taking
a deep breath. I had made an effort to seem relaxed when joking in the living
room, but I was feeling off. It was as if I was feeling extra sensitized to
everything. I could feel my heart beating rapidly in my chest, the sound of the
material of my shirt rubbing against itself as I put my hand to my forehead. I
thought twice about the glass of wine in my hand and put it down. Ever since I
had gotten that weird sensation at the window, I felt as though I couldn't take
a full breath.

Get yourself together,
I thought to myself.
It's Friday night, you're going to have fun with your friends. You will
not be weird, you will not freak out. You will be a normal girl if it kills
you.

After
my less than effective pep talk, I grabbed some plates from the cupboard as I
heard a pounding on the front door, much louder than the polite knock Marcus
had given.

"It's
me, let me in," me yelled. Me was Grant.

As I
heard the door open and introductions to Grant's cousin being passed around, I
took a deep breath and steeled myself. I had worked hard to give myself a
normal social life in the past three and a half years and had almost convinced
myself that I could be like everyone else. Just because I had had a few visions
didn't mean I was going to go back to being afflicted with them every night.

With
that thought in mind, I walked out of the kitchen and into the living room to
greet our newly arrived guests. Grant was standing by the couch talking to
Sarah, who was leaning in closely to him. A guy, his cousin I suppose, had his
back to me and was talking to Marcus and Jenny sitting on the couch. He was
much taller than Grant. I would guess about six one, but he was more leanly
muscled opposed to Grant's bulky physique.

"Hi
Grant," I called out as I placed the stack of plates on the table.
"Glad to see you finally made it considering how far you had to
travel," I joked.

Grant
smiled widely at me. "I had to pretty myself up for you girls. Caitlin,
meet my cousin, Simon."

His
cousin turned around and my heart started to thud loudly in my chest. I heard a
buzzing in my ears and a disconnected part of me wondered what it would feel
like to faint. This couldn't be happening. The person I had watched die in my
vision couldn't be Grant's cousin. But there was no mistaking his dark brown
hair and brilliant blue eyes. I had seen those blue eyes glazed over with agony
and fear.

I
involuntarily took a step back as I shook my head. I vaguely realized that
Simon was saying something to me but it sounded muffled and everything seemed
to be happening in slow motion, including his words.

Get a grip,
I
hissed to myself in my head.
Not
now...not..now.

I
took a deep breath and mentally put the walls up and forced myself to focus.
Everyone was looking at me oddly and Sarah tilted her head, narrowing her gaze
on me.

I
laughed weakly. "Sorry, I think I breathed in too much smoke from the
garlic bread we burned earlier." I took a step forward towards Grant's
cousin. "Hi Simon, nice to meet you."

Simon
came closer, holding out his hand. "Hi Caitlin, nice to meet you too.
Thanks for having me over."

I
hesitated and then clasped his hand in mine. "Sure. Any cousin of Grant's
is a cousin of mine." I tried my best to smile at my half-hearted joke but
I couldn't stop staring at Simon. He was very good looking, a
"hottie" as Sarah would say. But I was staring at him for a totally
different reason.

Simon
smiled wider as he glanced down at our hands that were still clasped.

"Oh,"
I started and tried to tug my hand away but Simon held on more firmly.

"I
don't think I want to think of you as a cousin," he smirked.

Great,
at least maybe his arrogance would diminish my anxiety over having seen him in
my vision.

I
pulled my hand harder, succeeding this time in freeing my hand from his grasp.
"Anyways, now that everyone's here we can get started. Sarah, can you get
the guys some drinks? Everyone can help themselves. I just need to run to the
bathroom."

I
made a quick escape down the hall and closed the bathroom door behind me,
turning on the faucet. I ran my wrists under the cold water, willing my pulse
to slow down. I looked at myself in the mirror, grimacing at how pale my face
was and how large and terrified my brown eyes looked.

"Calm
down, Caitlin," I whispered to myself. "Just calm down. So what.
You've seen him in a vision. It doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean
anything."

I
turned off the water, dried my wrists, and took a deep breath as I walked out
of the bathroom with a smile pasted on my face. Everyone was milling around the
table of food, heaping piles of spaghetti and salad onto their plates,
chattering amongst themselves.

"Hey,"
Sarah whispered, pulling me aside into the kitchen, away from everyone else.
She looked concerned and pulled me close. "Are you okay? You looked like
you were going to keel over in there."

"Oh,
I'm fine," I lied, trying to smile. "I really do think I just inhaled
too much smoke earlier. That's what I get for living with Smokey the
Bear."

"Ha,
ha," Sarah said, rolling her eyes. Then her face lit up. "Oh my God,
how cute is Simon! He is so hot. He's a senior too and he's looking for his own
apartment to rent but who knows how long that'll take. So he'll probably be
staying downstairs for a while.
And
did you see the way he looked at you?" She grabbed my hand and crooked my
pinky with hers. "We're gonna be related, I tell you!"