Watch Me: Teen Paranormal Romance (A Touched Trilogy Book 3) (23 page)

“Maybe. But my future isn’t just my own. For a while it will be, and things will be good.”

“And what then?”

“Then it could be perfect. Or not.”

When I exited Bastian’s room a few minutes later he was struggling to keep his eyes open. His mom sat on a rounded bench encircling a large fake potted plant. Beside her were Phoebe and Lily. I thanked his mom and then we left.

Lily held my hand and I was nearly overwhelmed by the flood of positivity she was transferring to me. She was obviously struggling to stay focused and pushing everything into me in order to avoid the pain and suffering of the patients and their families we passed by.

In the car, Lily and I sat in the back seat while Phoebe drove, mumbling about being a chauffeur. I leaned my head against the glass and stared out at the rain pouring down.

“What you did for Bastian…thank you,” I said to Lily.

“You don’t have to thank me, Chloe. What he did was so brave. Without him, we would have lost so much.”

“Did you know what would happen to him?” Phoebe asked, glancing back at me in the rearview mirror.

Fear of love takes all as fear of loss brings love.

“No. I knew he would make the choice and that everything depended on what he chose to fear.”

“What does that mean?”

I didn’t answer her.

“What will happen to him? What’s his future?” she asked when I stayed silent.

“I don’t know exactly, except I think he’ll be happy.”

“What about you?” Lily asked.

I gave them both a smile.

“I’ll be happy, too.”

Epilogue

I had seen this day so many times over the past few years it felt as if I were simply playing a part. I refused to do anything other than act on the motions I knew I was supposed to. For everything Lily went through, I would give her perfection.

There was little I had to do. As soon as Lily and Micah made their announcement last year, Phoebe took over the organization of every detail right down to the pin she was attempting to shove back into Lily’s hair.

“Ow!” Lily cried out, jerking her head away from the offending pin.

“Oops, sorry. You know, if you’d straightened your hair like I told you to, this wouldn’t be a problem. But no, instead you go for a braid. A wild, curly, messy braid. With wildflowers. This is too…romantic. I wanted sophisticated.”

“I’ll straighten my hair when it’s your wedding day.”

The look on Phoebe’s face had Lily and me cracking up. Ever since Phoebe discovered her hidden passion for event coordination, she’d sworn off marriage. It was mostly due to the first few bridezillas she worked with who nearly drove her insane.

I wondered what she would say if I told her about the future where she has that sophisticated wedding of her dreams. As tempting as it was, I didn’t. Her life wasn’t decided yet. She hadn’t decided.

For Lily and Micah, theirs had been a certain future. They were meant to be. There had never been a doubt in either of their minds that they would be together. It would be a long and happy life, filled with love and laughter, and a redheaded little sister for Hannah.

Phoebe, on the other hand, could never make up her mind. At least, not about her love life. She and Nathan were perpetually on again off again. Typically, it depended on whether she was working a wedding. Right now, they were off, but I knew he’d be here today. Since Phoebe’s “work” officially ended when she and I preceded Lily down the aisle, they would be hooking up again tonight.

I wanted them to work out. Of all the futures I saw for Phoebe, she was most happy when she ended up with Nathan. I also knew though that if she chose a different path then she would still be satisfied with the life she led.

I slipped on my shoes and watched her fiddle with Lily’s hair. So many wonderful things would happen today, things that would open up amazing futures. I had been looking forward to this day since I first saw it.

The first time was the day after the shooting. I cried and Lily held me. I never told her what I saw. I didn’t need to. Seeing the future was for those who still had choices to make, she made hers long before that day.

Lily did everything she planned. She took a year off after graduating and worked for a small bookstore in town before enrolling in an art history program at San Diego State. She finished her undergraduate degree last month and was going back to do her masters. Micah went into education and would get an offer for a high school English position next week.

I never worried for Lily. She was happy with him, and would love the job she’d eventually take at a San Diego art gallery. Her life was set.

Phoebe’s future was less certain. She loved her career and she was good at it. Great actually. Tonya joined her a few months ago as a partner. How the two of them managed to organize anything was beyond me. Maybe it was because after leaving her position at the bookstore, Lily took on the temporary job of secretary for them and organized them to the point Phoebe probably had an appointment scheduled to brush her teeth every morning.

There was a knock on the door and I opened it a crack to reveal Bianca.

“Are you girls ready yet? My sister is about to bust her fingers open with the amount of playing she’s doing, and I’m about to tear the violin for her perfect little hands.”

“Almost.” I peeked around her then opened the door enough for her to sneak in.

“Do you think anyone would notice if I took my shoes off?” she asked as she sat on the window bench. “I remember now why I refuse to dress up.”

Of all of us, Bianca seemed the most unchanged since high school. She still rebelled against her parents by opting for less traditional hairstyles and colors. This month, her naturally black hair gradually transitioned into a bright blue at the tips. It suited her and her job at an edgy hair salon. She just started as the receptionist, but was planning to become a stylist.

She’d change her mind before she followed through and after a couple more years of challenging every parental expectation, she’d give up and go to college for graphic design. That is of course only if the future where she travels to Australia to pick grapes in a vineyard didn’t happen.

“Can I have this?” Hannah asked, holding up a giant piece of melting chocolate.

“No!” Phoebe and I cried out in unison.

I took the chocolate while Phoebe held Hannah’s hands out and away from her pale pink dress. I grabbed a tissue and dampened it in the sink before wiping Hannah’s hands. The little girl looked devastated.

“Only a few more minutes until the ceremony and picture, then you can stuff your face with chocolate and smear it all over your pretty little dress, okay?” Phoebe said, her head nodding encouragingly.

Hannah gave her a doubtful look. “Why would I want to get chocolate on my dress?”

“She’s teasing, Hannah,” Lily said, reaching over to give the little girl a tickle.

“I think I’m ready,” Phoebe said.

“Great, but how about the bride?” I replied.

Lily turned and I finally took in the whole picture. She looked more beautiful than any vision I had. She wore our mother's antique lace wedding dress, though with some alterations. Lily had removed the sleeves, around the waist, she added a sash and then shortened the train so it whispered along the floor.

Her hair spilled over one shoulder in a loose braid that allowed her wild curls to spring forth and she wore a crown of wildflowers. She looked so at peace and I knew she was taking in all of the happiness around her.

“I’m ready, too.” She took a deep breath and then let it out with a slight laugh. “Is it crazy that I’m nervous?”

“No,” Phoebe said just as I said, “Yes.”

“It’s not crazy.” Phoebe stuck her tongue out at me. “This is the biggest moment of her life. Every woman should be nervous on her wedding day.”

“It’s crazy because she and Micah were meant to be. Do you really think I’d let her marry him if I knew something bad would happen?”

“You let me date Nathan when you knew we’d break up again.”

“If I’d told you, it would have only made you more determined to do it.”

“Guess who’s here,” Bianca interrupted, successfully distracting both of us with the absolutely certainty that whoever it was would be juicy.

“Who?” Phoebe asked.

“You haven’t even guessed.”

Phoebe and I groaned in unison.

“Owen?”

“Too obvious,” Phoebe said. “He lives down the street from Micah and Lily and he’s my fake date.”

“Fake date? Never mind, I don’t even want to try to understand that.” I thought for a moment. “Andrew?”

“Shush!” she commanded. We all paused straining to hear what she heard. The music had changed. “This is it! Bianca, get out of here!”

Things moved quickly then, one minute I was listening to Phoebe give Dad orders and the next I was walking down the aisle behind her and Hannah. I scanned the crowd trying to figure out who Bianca’s surprise guest was. About halfway I spotted Andrew.

He didn’t look much different from the last time I saw him a few years ago. His hair was cut and he’d put on a bit of weight, though it suited him. Beside him was the girl he would marry. For a moment, I wondered if they would still divorce later on, but so many things had changed. I couldn’t say for sure if this Andrew made those same choices.

I stepped up to my mark and watched Dad and Lily walk toward us. He was trying not to cry. Lily was his baby. Not because she was the youngest, but because she’d always been the one who seemed the most fragile. She’d clung to Dad for years when she was little. It wasn’t until she met Micah that I’d learned she’d done it not to use his strength but to give it to him.

Micah stepped forward and took Lily’s hand. Dad kissed her cheek and then sat in the open spot reserved for him. Beside him sat Gabriella, our new stepmom. It was still weird to think of her that way.

When the ceremony ended, there were photographs and then we went home for the reception. Having the reception at the house had been a huge arguing point between Phoebe and Lily, but Phoebe caved with a quick touch on the shoulder from Lily.

I went down to my old bedroom and slipped off my pumps, exchanging them for a pair of comfy slippers. I made my way back up to the party and into the kitchen. I poured myself a glass of water and then turned to lean against the count. That’s when I saw Bastian.

He looked…like Sebastian, except completely different. His hair had grown longer and his lanky frame had filled out into one even more familiar to me.

My heart raced. This was my moment. My life-changing, never going back, everything will be different moment. Our eyes met and every piece of my future fell into place. Sebastian was my future.

I knew it the day of the shooting and when I held his hand at the hospital. I saw so many images of our future together I’d struggled to contain them, knowing the only way for us to have that future was to not be with him right then.

Both of us needed these years to grow and figure out who we were and what we wanted out of life. I needed the time to live and experience change, so I could decide if a future with him was better than all of the other possible lives I could have. He needed it to decide if a life without love was what he wanted.

“You’re looking slightly stalker-ish,” he said.

“Is that still hyphenated?” I asked, unable to hold back my smile.

“Of course.” He cleared his throat nervously. “I’m preparing a new experiment.”

“Really? Does it have anything to do with my ability to see the future?”

“The possibility is there. I was actually hoping you’d be able to help.”

My eyes narrowed. “I’m intrigued and slightly unnerved. You asking for assistance isn’t something I would expect.”

“It should be quick. Less than a minute. In the backyard.”

“And you were unable to find another test subject?” I asked as we made our way out the back door and into the yard. The slight drizzle was keeping everyone else indoors.

“It’s kind of specific to you. Trust me, all you have to do is stand right here and close your eyes.”

“I have to say that the lack of details is a bit concerning.”

“All you need is a little faith in my ability to conduct a valid scientific experiment.”

“All right. I just close my eyes?”

“Yep, that’s it.”

My eyelids drifted shut and I waited. When nothing happened I was tempted to peek, but Bastian was too concerned with following protocol. Opening my eyes would end this before it had a chance to play out.

His fingers skimmed along my cheek, brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. Tingles exploded throughout my body. His lips pressed softly to mine before he pulled back. My eyes flew open.

“You’re negatively impacting the experimental data,” he said.

“I apologize, please continue.”

He kissed him again, properly this time. That’s when the feelings I had waited five years for came back. The absolute rightness of his lips and the butterflies circling my stomach.

“What was the experiment?” I asked when we finally pulled apart.

“I was verifying the validity of your statement that the future is worth waiting for.”

“And?”

“I’ve concluded that you have a sound argument.”

He slid his hand into mine. I loved the rough callous that told me he still had a passion for drawing.

“You asked me what I saw in my future. If it would lead me to the life I dreamed of.”

“And has it?”

The temptation to sneak another peek into my future was there, tugging at me, but I didn’t.

“I don’t know. Someone once told me I needed to take the future one vision at a time.”

“This person sounds extraordinarily wise,” he said with a smirk.

“Wise and annoying. It’s a good thing I know that underneath all of the weird things he says, he’s an amazing person.”

“Amazing, huh?”

I reached up on my tiptoes, leaning forward until my lips were a mere breath away from his. “Amazing enough that he waited for the future to be ready.”

“I didn’t want to.”

“Neither did I, but the future needed us to.”

“You could have changed it.”

I searched for anger in his face, yet found only curiosity. “Sometimes the risk of changing everything is worth it, and sometimes it isn’t.”

“And the possibility of us wasn’t worth it?”

“No. It was. The possibility of us was exactly why I couldn’t risk changing it.”

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