Soul Seers Complete Set (12 page)

“So, did you find out her name?”
my dad asked, bringing me out of my thoughts and back to the present.

“Ahh, no.
 
Not yet anyway.
 
But, I’m determined to find out soon
enough.”
 
Then I remembered what
happened with Jay and thought I should ask for my dad’s advice.
 
“Um, Dad?
 
Jay was there when Delphina and her daughter showed up.
 
Let’s just say, I didn’t handle it
well.
 
He saw the raw reaction I
had and demanded to know what was up.
 
I’ve never really told him about… her.
 
He knows I dream of purple eyes on an occasion, but he never
knew the extent of it.
 
So, when I
clearly wore my heart on my sleeve, I told him to go home and look at the
drawing from the other night.
 
I
think he’s a bit freaked out now.”

At that bit of information, my dad
let out a roaring laugh and grabbed his belly as he chuckled.
 
“I bet he is freaked!
 
You pretty much just told him you
dreamed, in detail, about a girl that you have never met until today.
 
He is probably packing his things right
now!”

“Damn it.
 
Don’t say that,” I said with a
sigh.
 
“You don’t think a slip like
that would get me in trouble, do you?”

“You know that boy would never
leave you over something like this.
 
I was just joking, Jonah.
 
But, you need to explain to him to keep a lid on this.
 
You do not need to go into detail about
your abilities, especially since you cannot prove them at the moment.
 
But, at least explain you would like
the dreams to stay quiet, especially with your increase in recognition within
the art world.
 
Do not mention any
of our hierarchy and laws.
 
Play
the dumb card.”

“You’re right.
 
I didn’t even think of that.
 
He’s visiting with his parents tonight,
but he’ll be back tomorrow morning.
 
I’ll talk to him then.”

My dad just nodded and I could
tell how tired he really was.
 
I
told him he should get some rest and that I would check in with him
tomorrow.
 
He also surprised me with
the fact that my mom bought me two new pillows, already cased and waiting on my
bed at the apartment.
 
I realized
then I hadn’t been home since leaving my mom with the feathery mess the day
before.

That night, in my apartment, I
framed and hung the drawing of my love.
 
At the bottom, I wrote the only word I could think of.
 
The name I gave my studio in her
honor.
 
Lavendine.

We were out for a joy ride.
 
Of course, Jonah looked breathtakingly handsome while
driving his sexy Charger.
 
Wind
blew our hair wildly as we sped through the winding roads of the mountains.
 
I’ve never been to the mountains
before, but it was like Jonah was completing my thoughts and imaginations of
what I believed it would be like.

He didn’t speak.
 
During the silence, I took the time to stare at him with reverence and
admiration.
 
His silky dark hair
was a raging mess as the wind from the sunroof blew through the strands.
 
His glittering green eyes held promises
I was only too willing to discover.
 
His lips pursed slightly as he concentrated on the road, then split into
a full-on cheesy smile when he caught me staring.
 
I didn’t bother to look away.
 
I wasn’t embarrassed of my admiration for this man.

My first vision of the West Coast was perfect.
 
The sun was setting over the Pacific
Ocean causing the sky to swirl with the most beautiful pinks, oranges, and
yellows my eyes had ever seen.
 
Streaks of tiny, puffy clouds broke the gradient of colors, causing an
abstract pattern across the afternoon sky.

Jonah reached over and grabbed my hand, lacing his fingers
through mine, and bathing me with goose bumps all over my skin.
 
His hand was warm.
 
Tender, yet strong.
 
I wanted his hands all over me,
exploring every inch of my body and making me writhe with excitement.
 
Just the mere thought of his hands
touching my tender skin caused the blood to whoosh through my ears with every
beat of my heart.

I suddenly wished the center console of this car was
nonexistent so I could sit closer to the man who took my breath away.

Brazenly going where I had never gone before, I leaned over
and ran my hand up his leg, slowly tracing the hard muscles from his knee all
the way to his groin.

A sharp hiss was all I heard as he sucked in a ragged
breath, obviously affected by my forward advances.
 
I leaned further, practically stretching out of my seat
belt, and gave him a light peck on the cheek.
 
I continued my assault by trailing my lips across the light
scruff on his jaw.
 
Making my way
to his ear, I used my tongue to let him know how divine he tasted.

Deciding to excite him even more, I lightly nibbled on his
earlobe with my teeth, grazing ever so slightly and sucking the soft tissue
into my mouth.
 
My advances were
rewarded with a low grumble of pleasure as he brought his hand up to grab the
back of my head in an attempt to keep me steady.
 
He was enjoying this.

Still, he said nothing as he stealthily navigated the
mountainous roads ahead of us.
 
But, I didn’t need words to know I was driving him wild.
 
His reaction alone told me I affected
him just as much as he did me.

Out of nowhere, a dog limped in front of the car, causing
Jonah to swerve frantically in every attempt to avoid hitting the poor
mutt.
 
He tried to gain control of
the car, but ended up fishtailing.
 
You would think I’d be able to hear the screeching of the tires, the rev
of the engine, or the sound of my screams as we plummeted over the side of the
cliff.
 
Yet, there was no
sound—only devastating horror as we watched each other die.

My lungs gasped for air as I
sprang up from my pillow, grabbing my chest in a desperate attempt to close the
gaping hole in my heart.
 
Sobs
began pouring out of my throat, causing tears to splash unforgivingly onto my
quilt.

Reality set in once more, as it
did every time I woke up from one of my nightmares.
 
Part of me wished it could be real, if only for the fact it
would mean Jonah was also real.

God, I wish he were real.
 
I don’t know how I planned to live my
life without knowing whether he truly existed or if he was just a figment of my
sad, pathetic imagination.

I looked out the window to see it
was still dark.
 
The clock glowing
through my darkened room told me it was only five-thirty in the morning.
 
My mind was telling me to go back to
sleep.
 
My heart was saying how
absurd that idea was as it pounded on my chest.

Knowing full well I would never be
able to get back to sleep after the nightmare that plagued me in darkness, I
decided to get up and do some of my stretches to help recover my muscle
flexibility.
 
Atrophied beyond
belief, my legs were still very weak and caused me to struggle constantly with
even the simplest of tasks.

Today, I would challenge
myself.
 
Today, I would go for a
walk.
 
I needed to do something to
gain my strength back.
 
I was way
too independent of a person to be relying on my mother all the time.
 
At least now I could wipe my own ass.

Once it was light out, I decided
to text Jesse just to see what she was up to today.

What are you doin?

About a half hour and a cup of tea
later, I finally got a text back.
 
Wait… make that two texts, back-to-back.

Crushing on some very sexy fictional
characters.

Um, I mean, reading.
 
You?

I began to laugh at her witty
response.

Bored.
 
Couldn’t sleep.

After I sent the text, I realized
just how pathetic it sounded.
 
But,
one thing I’ve learned from Jesse’s mind, she didn’t judge.
 
It was probably her most admirable
quality.

Another nightmare?

Ahh.
 
She knew me too well.
 
I let her in on my nightmare secrets, but not in detail.
 
She doesn’t know anything about the
fact that all my nightmares involve one particularly handsome, green-eyed
god.
 
All she knows is I am plagued
with them and have been ever since I woke up in the hospital a little over a
month ago.

Yeah, but I don’t want to talk about
it.

I felt stupid for even bringing it
up now that I was effectively cutting her off from the subject.
 
I felt a little relieved when the phone
buzzed again.

Want me to come over?
 
We could do breakfast…

Mmm.
 
I loved having breakfast with Jesse.
 
She was a great cook, probably because
her parents left her alone to fend for herself so often.
 
According to my mom, Jesse would come
over for breakfast quite often while I was in the hospital.

I would love that.

She responded saying she would be
over in a few and the idea of a blooming friendship with this girl made me
smile.

Once Jesse came over, we busied
ourselves by making breakfast.
 
Poached eggs, turkey bacon, and mixed fruit were artfully splayed out as
my sleepy mother rounded the corner.

“Good morning, ladies,” she said
with a smile as her eyes sparkled in the morning sunlight.
 
“A girl could get spoiled with such
wonderful meals every morning.
 
You
two are keepers.”

“You know it was all Jesse,
Mom.
 
She’s the cook,” I said as I
poured my mom some tea and pushed the cream and sugar toward her.

“Oh, yeah, right.
 
Don’t let her fool you.
 
What Ella fails to mention is she poached
the eggs this morning.
 
I just put
on the bacon and sliced fruit,” Jesse said as she sat next to me and nudged me
with her shoulder.

“Regardless of who did what, you
two are spoiling me.
 
Keep this up
and I might just have to treat you girls to a ride later this week,” my mom
added with a wink as she bit into a melon, causing juice to dribble down her
chin.

I haven’t ridden Cora or Skip
yet.
 
Well, not really.
 
Unfortunately, the memory of my riding
excursion with Jonah would be way too intense at the moment.
 
But, my mom thought it would be great
muscle therapy to begin riding again.
 
So, we planned to sometime soon.
 
Jesse has never been riding before, so she would likely ride along with
me or my mom.

“I would love to go riding!” Jesse
squealed, clapping her hands together and smiling broadly as she bounced in her
seat.

“Well, okay then!
 
We’ll go tomorrow afternoon,” my mom
said with a wink.

The thought of Jesse being with us
was probably distraction enough to keep my mind somewhat clear of Jonah memories.
 
At least, I hoped.

That day, I decided to go to
Lavendine by myself.
 
It was only a
few blocks from my house and the walk would do me some good.
 
Plus, I haven’t sat at a wheel since I was
fourteen and I wanted to try it alone. No pressure of onlookers… I was really
hoping the studio would be fairly empty today.
 
I thought about inviting Jesse, but I just needed the
solitary hours to myself for now.

My mom and I played around a bit
yesterday, but not on the wheels.
 
We just got our hands dirty making some simple pinch pots and fooling
around a bit.
 
We didn’t even keep
what we made.
 
It was just an
attempt to relax for a while.
 
We
spent great time together and it helped me familiarize myself with the
substance again.
 
I also needed to
refresh my memory with all the tools.
 
They had some community tools at the studio, but I felt the need to get
my own.
 
So, I was thankful to
learn there was a small art store just a block away from the studio.
 
With a little huffing, I successfully
walked the distance and stopped by the local art store on my way to Lavendine.

As soon as I walked in the glass
doors of Lavendine, my stomach flipped and my heart began to race… almost like
I was nervous about something, or someone.
 
My body was reacting to something, turning over like the rev
of a crotch-rocket.
 
But, the only
person around was the studio monitor, Jay.
 
He was nice and all, but he kept staring at me and smiling
like he had some hidden secret.
 
All he kept thinking was,
Wow!
 
Her eyes!
and
Man, the boss flipped over her
.

I thought this was a community-run
studio, so whoever “the boss” was remained a mystery to me.

After introducing myself to Jay
and making some small talk, I decided to dive in headfirst… or, hands first…
and throw myself a small mug or vase.

Jay seemed to hover precariously
close, constantly touching my arms and asking me if I needed help.
 
I really was beginning to feel
uncomfortable around him when he finally received a text message and excused himself.

Thank god!

I gathered some clay and set out
all my new tools, knowing I would need them.
 
It took me quite a while to lay everything out, not because
I was a degenerate or anything, but because I was nervous.
 
My over-organization of the area was my
way of stalling.
 
Finally deciding
to brave it, I straddled the wheel basin and threw a small wad of clay onto the
bat, attempting to get it as close to the center as possible.
 
As I began centering some porcelain and
familiarizing myself with the smooth, buttery feeling between my fingers, I couldn’t
help but shake the feeling I was being watched again.

I could hear Jay’s thoughts and it
seemed he was telling someone I was here.
 
It was odd because his were the only thoughts making a sound in my
brain.
 
Then, his thoughts were
becoming rather graphic with ideas of how he would “take me” as he kept putting
it in his mind.

I rolled my eyes at the idea.
 
Not gonna happen.
 
Not interested one little bit.
 
It’s not that Jay wasn’t cute or
anything, he just definitely wasn’t my type.
 
Most of the time, his thoughts were just a little too
graphic for me to ever like a man like that.
 
Maybe graphic isn’t the right word.
 
Maybe, offensive?

Then, I heard Jay’s thoughts as he
uttered the one word that would surely get my attention…
Jonah
.