Accordance (32 page)

“I don’t think I can just will it like the other things-” I explained but Ecstasy cut me off.

“What other things? What do you mean ‘will it’?”

I decided to show her. I sent my thought to turn the light out above us. I also thought about how it felt when Bish pushed Caleb. The light went out with a low keening hum and we were submerged in darkness. All I could hear was her breathing.

“Um…ok, I get it,” she said and I heard her annoyance.

“You asked.”

“I hate the dark, please turn it back on,” she said evenly but she was serious. The dark scared her.

So I repeated my process and turned it back on. Bish was looking at me a little wild eyed. I sighed and gave him a look.

“Are you really surprised?” I asked.

“Yes. You just keep coming up with all these things you can do.”

“I don’t come up with them,” I muttered but he was still going.

“Why do Peter and Rachel-“

“No, Bish, stop.” He looked at me funny. “Ecstasy doesn’t know
everything
.”

“What do you...oh. Well, you kinda just let the cat out of the bag, sister.”

“No I didn’t! She doesn’t know-”

“Ok, ok,” Caleb crooned and rubbed my neck. “She knows something is up but she doesn’t know what. Let’s keep it that way.”

“Yeah,” I reiterated. “That’s what I was getting at.”

Bish rolled his eyes at me but smiled in tolerance.

“Anyway,” I accentuated. “I’m different apparently.”

“She’s special,” Caleb said and ran his fingers down the mark on my neck that Bish couldn’t see. “She’s pretty much royalty for us.”

“Really,” Bish said in awe as I fought to not roll my eyes, “Hmm.”

“Ok. Let’s get back to this and get it over with. I’m ready for bed,” I insisted.

“Ok.”

We tried again and again for the next half hour and nothing happened still. I’d had it. I was tired and in a foul mood from too much channeling of bad thoughts and feelings, trying to force a reaction. I no longer wanted to try anymore.

“That’s it. I’m done. I’m going to bed.”

I started to get up and go, without waiting for anyone but Caleb grabbed my arm to halt me. I had a seconds thought, a moment of weakness, where I thought about zapping him in my annoyance but stopped it immediately and felt guilty. Caleb heard my thought and released my arm quickly.

“I’m sorry,” I told him. “It’s just thinking about all these bad things…”

“I know,” he said but didn’t make a move to touch me again. “Let’s go, Ecstasy, you can sleep on the couch. Come inside and I’ll get you set up in the living room.”

I turned back to leave but Jen was there. She grabbed my hand to say something about trying another day but that was it. That was all it took for some reason. I was smacked with another vision but this time in was Jen’s. It was her future not her past, and there was blood everywhere.

I gasped and pulled my hand away in reflex but the vision kept coming. I vaguely felt Caleb’s arm around me from behind. He was shaking as he watched the vision with me. Jen and Bish were standing together later on in the future, not tonight. It was dark. I couldn’t see their surroundings but they were…touching, murmuring into each other’s ear and in their minds in an embrace. Jen laughed and as she leaned her head back in her glee, Bish took that opportunity to kiss her neck. Then there were gunshots, Bish and Jen both looked around and suddenly Jen bent over in with an agonizing scream. Bish followed her but when he took his hand away, it was red with her blood. Then he too, was hit in the shoulder with a bullet…then the stomach. They fell in a heap on the ground and writhed in pain together until they stopped writhing. They were both dead.

I screamed as I watched the so very life like scene play out. Their blood was so red, their eyes so wide and white against the dark, their hands entwined as they knew death was coming. I fell to the floor and Caleb caught me in his arms. We both sank down. When it was over, I turned and sobbed into his shoulder as he tried to keep his emotions in check.

“No, no, no, no,” I heard myself say.

Then I realized I wasn’t the only one chanting those words. I looked over to see Jen on the floor too. She had her arms wrapped around her stomach and she was rocking and chanting, tears running down her face. She had seen the vision too. Then Bish’s voice boomed above everything else going on and called all of our attention.

“What the hell was that?”

“What…you saw that?” I squeaked.

“Yes, I saw it.”

“Did you see it?” I asked Ecstasy and she just shook her head and looked at us.

“What was it?” he asked and balled up his fist to stop the shaking.

“A vision, I…Bish…”

“A vision. You’re saying that what we saw is going to happen... to us?”

“Yes, I guess. I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know!” he bellowed and Ecstasy flinched.

“I don’t know!” I yelled back. “I’m new at this, the visions just come and I can’t control them.”

Bish looked down at Jen and she looked up at him. For a split second I saw their look of longing. They were going to imprint. Bish’s breathing was ragged as he bent down and started to touch her hand. She jerked back and slid backwards on the floor in a hasty frightful attempt to escape him. He looked shocked.

“Don’t touch me,” she begged, “I have a daughter and I have to think of her. Please, don’t touch me.”
In her mind she was sorrowful. Finally, she had confirmation that she was going to imprint and now, that was all taken away. She couldn’t let him touch her because then she’d imprint and the vision would come true. She’d leave Maria motherless. Otherwise, she thought the trade off was worth it. To have your significant, to know real love and be completely happy, even if for a short time, was so worth it to her. But that dream was shattered now in her thoughts. She
was
going to die…just old and alone.

“Jen,” I soothed and scooted to her, pulling her into a rough hug. “I’m so sorry.”

“Wait,” I heard Bish mutter behind us. “You’re saying that Jenna and I…we’re going to…imprint?”

“In the vision you were imprinted,” I said softly.

“Bish,” Jen said softly looking at him unabashedly. Her tears ran down her face but her eyes spelled her feelings for him. “I’m sorry. I can’t. I want it, like nothing I’ve ever wanted before but I can’t leave my daughter without a mother. If I never touch you, then we won’t imprint, and if we don’t imprint, then the vision won’t come true, right, Maggie?”

“I don’t know, Jen. I’ve been able to stop them before so I guess so.”

“How did you stop them?” Bish asked.

“Well…there was a girl at the club we went to. I told her not to go home because her apartment was going to be broken into. She was going to beaten almost to death.”

“But how do you know that she didn’t go home?” Jen reasoned. “Or that she wasn’t hurt in some other way that night? Maybe you see what’s supposed to happen and you can’t stop it.”

“Well, I can’t be sure. I never saw her again.”

“How do you now that I’m not going to be kidnapped tonight,” Ecstasy asked. “Maybe that’s why you couldn’t see my future. Because I don’t have one. Maybe I’m supposed to die and even though you told me about it, something’s still going to happen, like that movie ‘Final Destination’.”

“This isn’t a movie,” Bish growled.

“I’m just saying.”

“Well, don’t. Jenna-“

“Bish, please don’t. I’m going to bed.”

Caleb helped her up and then me. She and Caleb hugged each other fiercely, almost like they were saying goodbye but neither of their minds wanted to voice it. She sniffed and smiled sadly at me. We stood and watched her go. Bish started to follow but I stopped him.

“Bish no, she’ll freak. She needs some time to think.”

“I won’t touch her. I just want to make sure she’s ok.”

“It’s hard on her, Bish. She’s wanted to imprint every since she was a little girl. She’s known about it her whole life and thought she never would. Now she found out that she could, but she’ll die. Just don’t, not tonight.”

He exhaled and I felt the pain from it through him to me.

“It’s probably just as well. She’s too good for me.” His mind reeled past a lot of stuff I’d seen before, of his childhood, how he thought he was worthless, but he spoke again before I could protest. “Is that why I’ve felt so weird around her?” He looked at us. He looked at Caleb’s hand locked in mine as he spoke. “Why I felt so protective and fuzzy around her?”

“You feel some of that stuff before the imprint,” Caleb explained. “You always feel something for the person.”

Bish nodded and slumped into the chair Jen had vacated in defeat.

I turned to Ecstasy.

“OK, let’s get you situated on the couch.”

“It’s not like I can sleep anyway. I’m just going to stay awake and wait to see if you stopped the vision or not. See if someone’s going to sneak in and grab me.”

“We’ll keep a watch out,” Caleb assured her. “I’ll make sure the alarm is set before we go to bed.”

“Well, I’m not thrilled to be the guinea pig to see if you can stop a vision but I guess I don’t have much choice. You got any booze to lighten the mood?”

“How old are you?” Bish asked, leaning his elbows on his knees.

“Eighteen.”

“Then, no, we don’t have any booze.”

“Nark,” she muttered as she made her way through the door to the kitchen.

We followed her but I turned to look at Bish.

“Are you coming?”

“In a minute.”

I nodded and we went to make up the living room couch for Ecstasy. Caleb explained to her where everything was and that he and I were right in the next room. She nodded and sat down numbly on the couch. She was trying to put up a big front but in her mind, she was scared.

“It’ll be ok,” I told her. “I’ll get you some clothes.” I brought her some jammies and some clothes for in the morning. “Alright, our door will be open if you need anything.”

“Ok.” Caleb started to turn the lamp off as we went by. “Please leave it on,” she pleaded.

“Ok.”

I didn’t even speak to Caleb. Just threw on one of his t-shirts and climbed in bed. He pulled the lamp string and climbed in with me after changing and I latched myself to him, begging for sleep to find me quickly.

I woke several times during the night and so did Caleb. I felt like a mother hen watching over Ecstasy, who conked out so deeply that she never even cracked an eye at us as we kept getting up to check on her. Even after she spouted that she’d get absolutely no sleep.

In the morning, I woke with a start. I ran into the next room to find the couch ruffled and empty. Caleb ran in too and went to the door to check the alarm but then I heard her singing in her head, in the shower.

She was singing the words to Sesame Street which made me chuckle. Caleb said he needed to go for a quick swim to clear his head for the day so I went to greet Rachel and everyone else in the kitchen. Bella was lounging at Dad’s feet, chewing on some bacon.

The coffee smelled heavenly and Rachel had made honey buns today. I smiled in thanks to her. Then, for some unknown reason I hugged her and kissed her cheek.

She smiled brightly and kissed mine back.

“Thank you, honey.”

I scratched Bella’s head as I passed and went to sit by Dad and Bish. Bish still looked grim but everyone else was oblivious to what we had seen last night. I laid my head on Bish’s shoulder and nibbled my honey bun. We had to figure this out. I couldn’t loose Bish.