Visions: The Mystical Encounter Series (The Mystical Encounter Series Book 1) (8 page)

“Oh…‌Don’t worry,” Nicole quickly added, realizing by my expression that I was anything but pleased. As much as I tried remaining as stoic as possible, the anger must have shown because she suddenly became nervous. “I wasn’t going to tell anyone because Barry warned you wouldn’t want people knowing yet. What you can do is incredible, believe me, and I do hope you’ll be able to find out what happened to Johnny. I just think you should get the police involved.”

It took all of my willpower to sit there and listen to her ramble on about the police and Johnny. I wanted to get up and walk away, but in her defense, the fault wasn’t hers. No…‌the fault belonged to Barry. I bit my bottom lip to prevent blurting out words that I might regret later and let her ramble. When I had enough, I replied very slow and very precise, “We can’t involve the police until there’s more to go on. Right now I don’t have enough adequate information to contribute anything useful.”

“But…”

“Besides,” I rudely interrupted, not caring in the least what she was about to say. “It’s hard convincing them about what I can do. First, they have to halfway believe in clairvoyance before they’ll listen. It isn’t easy.”

“We can get them to listen. My uncle was lead detective on Johnny’s case. He’ll understand, I’m sure of it,” she replied rather suddenly. My anger wavered at the enthusiasm embodying her voice. But then she lowered her gaze as her face fell. In a voice just above a whisper, she added, “Just promise me when the time is right, you’ll go. I hope Johnny’s disappearance can be solved, but what I really want is his murderer behind bars.” Her eyes began to glisten making me wonder what her connection to him had been. Obviously she must have been close to him, which I guessed was the reason Barry told her.

With my anger subsiding towards Nicole, I softened my tone, replying, “I’d like that, too.”

A gentle smile broke across her lips as she blinked away her tears. At that moment, Caleb joined us while dropping his tray down beside me.

“What’s with you?” he asked, directing his question toward Nicole.

“Nothing…‌We’re just having a heart–to–heart discussion. You know,
girl
stuff,” she replied with a half–smile, composing herself rather quickly. As she straightened in her seat, she un–wrapped her sandwich as if we hadn’t just had one of the most intense conversations of my life.

“Women.” He shook his head as Barry and couple more friends piled in around us. “I’ll never understand them.”

When Barry smiled as he sat down across from me, I somehow managed a weak smile back, but I couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes. Still upset, I didn’t want to be anywhere close to him. With my gaze dropping down to my lunch, I studied it as if it was the most intriguing macaroni and cheese I’d ever seen. Though my appetite disappeared, I didn’t want to chance him noticing my expression. It would take him one minute to figure out how upset I was. Not wanting to risk him asking in front of everyone, I sat there toying with my food. I was miserable, knowing the bonds of trust between us were shattered, and I would never consider him trustworthy. It was a horrible resolution. I knew he’d hurt me one day, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon.

As the group’s discussion turned to last night’s baseball game on television, I tuned everyone out. It was a habit to which I was accustomed, making it easy for me to fall back into my old tendencies.

What clouded my mind was the fact another person besides Barry knew about my abilities. It was pretty naive of me to believe nobody would find out. I mean, eventually it would come out. It’s just…‌I wasn’t ready for anyone to be aware yet. I certainly didn’t expect Barry to go blab the first chance he got, either. I thought he understood my need for secrecy.

His betrayal upset me the most. Having somebody else know my secret was painful enough, but telling Nicole behind my back, that hurt. Not only was the knife plunged deep into my back, but as the seconds passed, he slowly twisted the handle, sinking it deeper. Sitting across from him was torturous.

All through lunch, the minutes ticked excruciatingly slow. I was pretty sure Barry kept glancing my way because the weight of his stare descended upon me heavily. I refused to give him any interaction as I blocked him, and everyone else, out. The need to escape was almost overwhelming. I wanted to run as far away as possible and be alone. At least when I was by myself, nobody could hurt me. Debating whether I should leave that instant or remain seated, I decided to stay. Leaving now would cause people to ask questions I didn’t want to answer yet. So I sat there, feeling numb, while waiting for the bell to release me from my private hell.

After a grueling twenty minutes, lunch ended. I let out the breath I seemed to be holding as everyone started leaving. Nicole rose, and I noticed her slight hesitation before she made the correct choice and left. With no attempt to acknowledge her existence, I remained seated as she scurried off. But I wasn’t alone. Barry didn’t make an effort to move, either. As soon as everyone was out of hearing range, he leaned across the table and asked, “Are you mad at me?”

Extremely
, I wanted to shout. Still not willing to glance his way, I stared at my uneaten lunch. As calmly as possible, I said, “I’m fine.”

“Heather, don’t play games with me. Something’s bothering you, I can tell.”

My eyes snapped up, boring directly into his as my voice came across icier than intended. “I have to get to class.”

As I started to walk away, he raced to the end of the table grabbing my arm and said, “Heather…‌ Wait.”

I halted, turned my head toward him, and just glared. He dropped his hand quickly, as an understanding crossed his face before stating, “Nicole said something to you, didn’t she?”

“How could you tell her?” I whispered.

“Heather, I…”

“Save it.” I put my hands out to stop him from coming closer. “This is my fault. I should have known better.” Pausing for a second, I shook my head then smirked. “I’m such an idiot. You know, I started believing you were different…‌that you understood where I came from. But it’s a joke with me being the punch line. Well, I guess I was wrong about you after all. You’re just like everyone else I’ve ever known‌—‌a huge disappointment.”

As those words hung in the air, I turned and briskly walked away, trying to will away the image of his hurt stunned expression out of my head. It took all of my willpower to keep from running; I wanted to get away so bad. Without any detours, I headed straight toward my locker.

A little dazed, I stood in front of my locker, unable to open it.
What the hell’s wrong with me?
I’d memorized the combination my first day here, but my fingers kept fumbling with the dial, messing it up. I needed to calm down. The background noise buzzed around me, replacing the normal banter that usually filled the hallways. When number thirty–five rolled into position, clicking the lock open, I gathered my belongings in a rush before heading to my car. Home was my only option because attending my afternoon classes wasn’t happening. I was far too upset to even attempt to retain anything.

Upon reaching the car, I tossed my bag aside, slid behind the driver seat, and slammed my hands down on top of the steering wheel. With my eyes closed, I leaned my head backwards against the headrest and wondered why.
Why did he tell somebody, and why did he do it right when I finally started trusting him? Why couldn’t he at least have warned me first?

After a couple of minutes of sitting there, I tried to make sense of what just happened, but being that outraged, I couldn’t think clearly. My mind was hazed over as if a thick fog filled my head where my brain once occupied. After a few minutes, when my mind became clearer, the anger faded. When I thought about how I treated Barry, I was embarrassed. After all he’d done for me, I couldn’t believe I accused him of being like everyone else back in Clayton‌—‌or worse yet, calling him a disappointment. He didn’t even come close to acting like them. Although he was wrong to tell Nicole about my ability, it wasn’t fair of me to treat him that harshly. I guess being on my own for this long made me forget how to treat people. I don’t know.

Disgusted and embarrassed with myself, I went home. The front curtain moved as I pulled into the driveway, reminding me that Mom was there. I totally forgot about her not working today.
How did I forget since I borrowed her car?
Shifting the gear into park, an audible groan escaped my mouth. Dealing with her was the last thing I wanted to endure. As I stepped out, I thought I’d better face her now and get it over.

“What are you doing home so early?” she asked as I walked through the door.

Before walking up to the house, I debated whether to make up an excuse, but I decided to tell the truth since she’d find out anyway. Besides, I wasn’t in the mood to fabricate a story. After explaining to Mom about Barry, Nicole, and the way I handled it, the sympathy she expressed was more than I could bear. Although she drives me crazy, I hated being the reason behind her pain, and I kept doing it over and over.

“Sweetie,” Mom stated as delicately as possible. “After all you’ve been through; I understand why you would be so guarded. It hasn’t been easy for you, but ask yourself if you were fair to Barry.” I groaned as she continued. “I agree, he shouldn’t have told her without letting you know first, but, sweetie, he hasn’t alienated you like every other person we’ve known. I’m sure he had his reasons. You need to at least listen to him, you owe him that much.”

“I know you’re right, Mom. Ugh! I probably blew any chance of having a real friendship,” I yelled while throwing my hands up in the air.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. I have a feeling he’ll be back around, so don’t worry too much about it. Okay?”

“Thanks, Mom.” I turned and headed toward my room.

Once nestled on top of my bed, I contemplated about what I was going to say to Barry the next time I saw him. Although part of me felt he should see things my way, I needed to apologize. I just wasn’t quite sure how. As I closed my eyes, I feared tomorrow would come all too soon.

~9~

Appearances

The chimes of the doorbell rang throughout the house, pulling me from my slumber. Having had dozed off, it took a moment to wake up. After a few seconds I remembered coming home early because of an argument with Barry. Dread started to creep in as I wondered how badly I messed things up between us. When my eyes focused on the red digital numbers displayed on the alarm clock, I sat straight up as my brain registered the time. Not being able to contain the smile breaking across my face, I realized Barry must be here. School had let out twenty minutes ago, leaving no doubt in my mind who was here. Nobody else but Barry dared to visit.

Barry.

He’s here.
Now
?

My heart began beating at a higher rate just from the idea of talking to him. I leapt out of bed, racing over to the dresser mirror. Displeased by my reflection, I grabbed my brush in a desperate attempt to tame the flyaway strands. Mom answered the door, which bought me a few extra minutes, but that was probably not good. It seemed to be causing further distress as reasons for his visit flitted through my head.
Did he come here to apologize, or say we’re done? Or, worse yet, he wants to part ways after finishing what we started with Johnny.
My stomach became nauseous at the possibility of not being able to reconcile
.

Mom came to my room, ending my internal conflict by announcing Barry’s arrival. Regardless of his reasoning, I had to face him. A hair tie, lying to the side, made me abandon the idea of taming my frizzies. Without giving it any thought, I picked up the elastic band and placed my hair into a loose ponytail. With another glance in the mirror, I couldn’t procrastinate any further. With a deep breath I thought, the sooner I faced the consequences of my behavior, the sooner I’d feel better.

As I walked toward the living room, Mom scurried off toward the kitchen to give us privacy. The idea of facing him had my stomach twisted in knots. As I rounded the corner, our eyes fell upon each other, stopping my forward motion. Speechless. Unable to move, he was tantalizing, standing there waiting for me. That sudden urge to reach out and touch him came at me strong, but I didn’t dare. There wasn’t any way he would want me to touch him. The concern etched on his face caused a slight relief, forcing me out of my stupor.

“Hey,” I whispered, barely finding my voice.

“Hey,” he responded shakily.

The nervousness in his voice triggered my conscience. Even though I was embarrassed by the way I’d treated him, the tiny consolation from his lack of anger gave me hope.

“Let’s go for a walk,” I suggested, wanting nothing more than to be alone to talk privately. Mom wouldn’t be hanging by the door listening, but I didn’t want her quarantined to the kitchen either.

As we headed outside, we automatically turned and walked toward the woods. I wasn’t sure what decided that course‌—‌the easier path would’ve been the sidewalk‌—‌but we gravitated toward it naturally. As we walked, it was clear, by the continuing silence, that neither one of us knew how to initiate the conversation. I should’ve been formulating a speech instead of falling asleep earlier. Now that he was beside me, that awkwardness hung above as we continued trekking deeper into the wooded area.

Much to my relief, Barry spoke first, breaking through the uncomfortable silence hovering overhead. “Heather, I need to apologize. I shouldn’t have told Nicole without your permission which I realized too late. It’s just…‌I got caught up in the possibility of finding out what happened to Johnny, I couldn’t wait to share the news with her.”

An unexpected twinge of jealousy zipped through me, wondering how close they’d been. Since I was a newcomer to town, their history was a mystery, and I mentally questioned whether they’d been a couple.
Was that why I got so upset?
She’s beautiful, after all, it wouldn’t be surprising. Long, blond hair with a perfect figure placed her in a higher, desirable playing field than me.
What if he still has lingering feelings?
As he continued talking, I forced myself to listen, dispelling any thoughts of them being together.