Foretell (20 page)

He breathed slowly and deeply in his sleep. He clearly needed the rest. I felt even worse for not agreeing to spend the night in Seattle.

I walked over to the window, staring out into the brightly lit city, watching the soft rain trickling down the glass like tiny sparkling rivers. “Vancouver,” I whispered in wonder. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Somewhere out there in this huge city was the potential key to my freedom. A warm feeling fluttered inside my stomach, knowing I was so close.

After a long while of gazing, I eventually crept into the bed across from Rex, removing my flats and sliding underneath the covers. Despite my eagerness to find Marcellus, I couldn’t elude sleep for very long. We both slept comfortably, the sound of the pattering rain providing a shelter of sorts.

I didn’t wake until the early morning rays of sunlight flooded in through the crack of the curtains. Sparing a glance at the alarm clock, I discovered it was eight in the morning. I slept only four hours. I probably needed to at least try to get another few hours in, but I was too anxious to fall back asleep.

Today was the day my curse would be broken.

I looked at Rex’s unmoving form. He was turned on his side, still fast asleep. I decided to let him stay like that for a while longer, to make up for yesterday.

I took a long, hot, steamy shower. I scrubbed my skin raw until I felt completely clean. Once I was finished, I pampered myself a little, using the hotel’s perfumed lotion. If there was one thing I didn’t like about life on the road, it was the dirt and grime one picked up along the way. I was incredibly happy to smell like a girl again.

I told myself the extra primping had nothing to do with Rex, or the fact that we were alone together in a quiet hotel room. I simply wanted to smell good. There was nothing wrong with that, any girl would.

I towel-dried my hair, figuring the hairdryer would be too noisy, then quickly dressed into a pair of jeans and a loose fitting tank top. I called for room service, figuring I’d wake Rex to some scrambled eggs and bacon.

I was daydreaming while brushing out my hair when he finally woke up. He mumbled something inaudible as he stared up at me with hazy eyes.

“What did you say?”

“Beautiful,” he repeated himself.

“What’s beautiful?”

“You are,” he replied.

I stopped brushing my hair, caught off guard by the unexpected complement. When my pulse returned to a normal rate, I managed a smile. “Thank you.”

A knock at the door ended the enchanting moment. I jumped up to answer it. “Don’t worry,” I assured Rex, noticing the concern in his expression. “It’s just the food.”

The bellman wheeled in a cart loaded with our breakfasts while I dug around in my purse for the last few dollars I had. I handed over a wad of crinkly bills “I hope you like eggs and bacon.”

“What time is it?” he asked groggily.

“It’s a little after nine. I figured we could eat, and then go downstairs to the Business Center and do some research.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

We ate together quietly. I couldn’t find the words to make small talk with Rex, still entranced by his earlier beautiful comment.

I desperately wanted to be right about this thing between Rex and I. Whatever it was, I was sure it couldn’t just be my imagination.

I hoped he would realize it too-and soon. Because I was beginning to find myself staring at his perfectly sculpted lips, wondering when he would make the first move and finally kiss me. I couldn’t make all the first moves, after all. I did have
some
pride in my femininity.

After breakfast, we headed down to the Business Center, and rented one of the computers for an hour. “Zetta gave me Marcellus’s address,” I told Rex. “We should type it in and see what comes up.”

He took the slip of paper from me, keying in the address. “The Fairmont Estates,” Rex read off the screen. “It’s a hotel. Sounds fancy.”

“It is,” I said, recognizing the name. Last year, Indie had been invited to a premier party hosted there. “It’s extremely exclusive. There’s no way we can just walk right up to Marcellus’s apartment without checking with the doorman first.”

Rex googled Marcellus’s name.
A variety of different things popped up, but one stood out from the rest: T.J. ROGEM’S BIRTHDAY BASH TO BE HELD AT MARCELLUS CONDO IN VANCOUVER.

“That’s tonight,” I said, seeing the date printed on the bottom of the page.

“Who’s T.J. Rogem?” Rex asked me, confused.

“He’s a music producer. He worked with my sister on her last album.”

Thinking of Indie, an interesting idea came to mind. Enthusiastically, I announced, “We’re going to that party.”

Rex eyed me dubiously. “And how exactly are we going to get in?”

I smiled brilliantly. “I’m forming a plan. Now, come along. We have a lot of shopping to do if we’re going to pull this off.”

Rex and I shopped for outfits in downtown Vancouver. He was impressively on point with fashion, selecting a striking black suit. He even helped me sort through dozens of dresses to find the perfect one.

I exited the fitting room, modeling a black, strapless cocktail gown. “What do you think?”

He crooked his head to the side, eyeing me up and down as if he were dissecting me. “What is this for?” he asked, lifting the tulle skirt.

“It’s a skirt,” I replied.

“It looks like a tutu. Are you trying to look like a ballerina?”

“Actually, I was going for popstar chic.”

His eyes lit up when he finally caught on. He grinned slyly. “You’re trying to look like your sister.”

I nodded, confirming his assumption. “Her name will get us into that party.”

“You think they’ll just let you in?” he asked skeptically.

“Not me, but they’d roll out the red carpet for Indie Spencer, mega popstar princess.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, considering the plan. “Do you really think you can pull this off?”

“People mistake me for her all the time. If I exaggerate my makeup and curl my hair, I can pass for her twin.”

“A twin isn’t good enough though,” he countered. “What if someone she personally knows happens to confront you? Like the music producer guy, what if he starts chatting you up, and realizes you’re not who you say you are?”

I dismissed the idea with a wave of my hand. “All we need to worry about is getting in. Once we’ve accomplished that, no one else matters. We’ll head straight for Marcellus.”

He thought about that for a few moments. In what I hoped to be a nod of approval, he eventually said, “You look fine, but I prefer the red dress from the traveler wedding.”

Inwardly, I smiled, secretly thrilled to hear him say that. Indie was so opposite from the red dress in every way, whereas the black dress I wore now was definitely her style. “So do I,” I agreed. “But tonight isn’t about being me.”

“In that case, this dress will do.”

After we bought our costumes, we had some time to kill. Since Rex had been to Vancouver several times before, he showed me different parts of the city while regaling me with Vancouver related trivia. He took the job very seriously. He spoke with his best tourist guide voice, pointing out famous buildings and landmarks. I presumed his vast knowledge of foreign cities was part and parcel with the whole gypsy thing, which he certainly took an immeasurable amount of pride in showing off.

We ate a late lunch by the bay at another of Rex’s secret spots. I had to hand it to him, the food was delicious and the ocean views were incredible. “You really know places,” I remarked appreciatively. “I envy you for that.”

“You know places too,” he returned. “You just don’t remember them.”

I thought about that comment the entire ride back to the hotel. Rex’s words echoed in my mind hundreds of times.
You just don’t remember them
. Why was that one little sentence bothering me so much? I’d gone my whole life ‘not remembering’ my past lives, and not caring one bit. So why should it matter now?

“Are you okay?” Rex asked as we walked into the room.

“Oh, I’m fine.” I lied.

“I hate to be blunt, babe, but I can tell that you’re lying.”

I shrugged. “Maybe I’m just a little worried about tonight.”

“Don’t worry,” he reassured me. “We’ll find the witch. And once we do, you’ll ask him nicely to remove the curse. If he doesn’t cooperate, then it’ll be my turn to ask him. I doubt I’ll ask as politely as you.”

That made me smile. “Are we officially resorting to dirty tactics?”

“Possibly.”

“So be it,” I agreed. “This man has practically ruined my entire existence. I’ll support whatever it takes, dirty tactics not excluded.”

Later that night, after curling my hair and applying Indie’s standard smoky-eye makeup, I looked in the mirror and saw a replica of my sister staring back at me. I stood there for a while, immobile with a feeling I couldn’t name at first. And then I realized something was happening I never thought could happen.

I missed her.

It was the first time I’d really felt it, but it was inevitably true. I almost wanted to talk to my reflection, and would’ve, if I actually believed I’d hear Indie’s silky voice talking back to me.

A knock at the bathroom door interrupted my thoughts. I opened it to find Rex looking just as dashing as he did on the day of the traveler wedding.
Even more so, really.
Probably because my feelings for him only added to his attractiveness, causing me to want him that much more.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked.

I nodded and spun around for him. “So whadya think?”

He regarded me, taking in my new look. “I have to hand it to you, Spence. You look exactly like her.”

“Thanks,” I said, smiling.

He pointed to his watch, tapping the face to let me know we needed to get moving. “The party is starting.”

“Okay. Let’s go.” I paused, overcome with a trembling feeling. “Rex?” I asked, a note of concern filling my voice.

“Yes?”

“Do you think this plan will work?”

He sighed, and I felt him reach for my hand. He gave it a gentle squeeze, trying to comfort me. “We’ll never know unless we try.”

I nodded. All I could do was try. Otherwise, the rest of my life would become filled with a lot of what-ifs.

Not just this life.
Maybe all of them.

It was a breeze getting into T.J. Rogem’s private birthday party, even easier than I’d imagined. I simply flounced up to the doorman in a very Indie-like fashion and announced my presence like I belonged there. The stuttering doorman could barely utter words he was so tongue-tied. He let me in, no questions asked. I don’t even think he’d spared a glance at his guest list. Rex was impressed.

Marcellus owned the penthouse, so we headed to the top floor of the Fairmont Estates. We weren’t speaking; the magnitude of tonight’s events weighed too heavily on our minds. The atmosphere turned thick with tension, as if we were on a mission.

As the elevator reached the top floor, booming speakers vibrated from the other side. With a small
ding
, the doors opened and we were spat out into a colorful array of glamorous partiers. The room practically sparkled with elegance. There were beautiful, stylish people everywhere, talking, laughing, drinking or jumping up and down on the dance floor.

A pang of anxiety hit me hard. My breathing wavered. I needed to get out of there, and quickly.

I bolted for the first door I found.

Rex followed after me, holding up his hands as if to say
What
’s going on with you?

I didn’t know how to find the words to explain to him what was happening to me. I could barely breathe, much less offer an explanation.

He shut the door behind us, inside what looked to be a small linen closet.

Every breath I took was a struggle, coming out in short gasps. He watched me for a moment intently, his brow smoothing out as if he started to understand. He didn’t ask me what was wrong. Instead, he tried to help me calm down by saying nice things.

“Everything will be fine,” he said. “Breathe easy. That’s it. In and out, very slowly.”

He breathed with me as if we were in a
lamaze
class. I would’ve thought it was ridiculously funny, if I weren’t already so freaked out.

“Things are going well so far,” he assured me. “We got in, didn’t we?”

I nodded, trying to steady my breathing. Rex’s eyes remained locked with mine the entire time.

“You sound like Gabe,” I said, between breaths. “Completely calm.”

“That’s because we’ve both been professionally trained at dealing with lunatics and psychotic murderers.”

My eyes widened at that. I held my hand to my chest involuntarily. It felt like my heart was hurting.

“That was just a joke. Come on, babe, lighten up.”

Right. I knew it was a joke.

“Try thinking of something else,” he suggested.