The Awakener (29 page)

After twenty minutes of waiting idly, Eden jumped into her
Jeep. The wind pushed against her vehicle as she drove to the grocery store. A summer monsoon was on its way. In a few hours, the pewter sky would bring a downpour. She had just parked when her phone rang. She fumbled to answer it.

“So?” she asked, knowing it was Jessie.

“You were right. He wants to go out.” Her tone sounded ticked.

Eden tried to ignore it.
“I told you he did!”

“So why didn’t
he
call
me?
I knew he was just a flirt. I’m only doing this for you. I don’t even think I like him anymore actually.”

“Thanks, Jessie, I really owe you.
What are you going to do?”

“Dinner and a movie. He’s getting me in a couple hours.”

“Cool.” She was thrilled it’d worked and hoped Jessie just sounded more put off than she felt.
She seemed to like Trent at the pool party.

“So
why do you want me to go out with Trent all of sudden? It’s not like you haven’t listened to me mope over him for the past few months,” Jessie stated.

Jessie’s right.
Why didn’t I? I’ve been completely selfish.
“I’m sorry, Jess, I should’ve done this sooner, but I wasn’t sure how he felt.” Chagrined with herself, she added, “But I’m sure now and I’m so excited for you!”

There was a pause,
and then Jessie said, “Well, I still think Trent’s a player but like I said, you’re my friend. So I’ll suffer through it.”

“Thanks
, Jessie,” she repeated. Redirecting back, she asked, “So what are you going to do until then?” They both had a couple hours to burn.

“Are you kidding?
I hope I have enough time to get ready! Do you know how long it takes to flat iron this hair?”

Eden laughed.
For all her complaining, she could tell Jessie was excited about the date still. A few minutes later, they hung up.

Mm, what to do for the next few hours?
She grabbed some snacks at the store for tomorrow’s long ride and opted not to go home, having a better idea. Making her way onto the Turnpike, she headed for the building that used to be her best friend, the library. Fifteen minutes later, she was sitting cross-legged in a chair, tucked behind bookshelves, with a copy of
The Importance of Being Ernest
. She’d read it multiple times, but thought it might keep her mind busy, which it did.

She was shocked when she heard a woman walking by tell her son, “It’s almost five o’clock
. We need to leave soon.”

Really?
She pulled out her cell phone.
Time to go
.

Driving back to
Micah’s, she said repeatedly, “Please don’t let Damon be there. Please don’t Damon be there.”

Approaching Micah’s home, she felt a rush of adrenaline
. The driveway was empty.

So this is it,
she thought, as she pulled her Jeep in. Turning the key, she took a deep breath and tried to remember what her plan was. No words came to mind. Before she could chicken out, she threw the driver’s door open. The first few large raindrops hit her face as she hopped up the porch steps and knocked firmly on the door.

Mrs. Hawkins face appeared in the doorway.
“Eden, how are you dear?”

“I’m good, thanks.”

“Come on in.” Eden was about to ask if Micah was home, but she beat her to it. “Micah’s up in his room packing. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you. Why don’t you go on up?”

Perfect,
she thought while she said, “Thanks.”

She jogged up the stairs, her heart banging against her rib cage.
Her stomach was rolling with nerves, and her fingers were ice cold. Micah’s door was open a crack, and she could hear music coming out. Taking a deep breath, she hit her knuckles against the door, pushing it open further.

“You don’t have to knock,” Micah called out.

She stepped inside, her eyes adjusting to the dimness, since the light was off. Micah, who’d been sprawled on his bed with his hands behind his head, saw her, and immediately bolted up. His suitcase lay open and empty next to him.

“Hey, Eden.”
He sounded surprised.

“Hi, Micah. Your mom said to come up.”

Panic flickered in his eyes, and his smile looked forced. Stomach sinking to her toes, she asked, “So are you all packed, ready for tomorrow?”

She knew her answer was painfully obvious as his bag was empty, but she couldn’t think of anything else to say at the moment.

He gazed at his bag. “No, and no.” Glancing back at her, he asked, “How about you?”

“Yeah, I packed a few things.
Not much. We aren’t going to be gone long.”

Wondering why Micah had failed to invite her in, she forced her legs to enter the room
. His eyes followed her like she might have the plague. Not prepared for his reaction, she shuffled to the recliner, plopping down before she lost her nerve completely.

Not talking about the elephant in the room’s going to be harder than I thought
. She didn’t want to think about what tomorrow meant. She wasn’t entirely sure why she was even here.

She stared at his stereo. “I love this song.”

“Yeah, me too.”
After a moment of listening, he added, “You know, I never noticed before how many songs are about God and life.”

“Yeah, especially country
.” She glanced at him. “Is that what you’re thinking about?”

Micah pulled his knees up and rested his elbows on them. “It’s never far from my mind.”
His eyes locked on hers, and she was slightly confused by his expression.

“So speaking of which, any new visions?” she asked, hoping he’d found the solution to their problem.

He gazed back at her. “Nope.”

They both fell silent.
The awkward pause was interrupted by a clap of thunder and the tapping on the window grew steady. She walked to the window. The rain was finally here; she loved the pounding on the roof, the dampness in the air, and the clean smell it left behind.

The glass felt cool against her palms.

“You just missed Trent. He’s going to go out with Jessie tonight.”

“Oh really?
That’s good,” she said nonchalantly.

“Trent said you gave Jessie his number.”

She leaned her back against the window and faced him. “Trent’s so tense lately. I thought it’d be good for him to have a night of fun. Sorry, is that ok?”

Micah strolled toward her.
“Yes, it’s a great idea actually. He didn’t want to go, but I told him he’s no good to me here just moping around.” Micah gave her a crooked grin.

Her pulse was aware of his close proximity. “Didn’t he
want
to go? I thought he liked her.”
Poor Jessie! She’s going to kill me!

“No, he does.
It’s not that.”

Uh oh, the elephant’s here again.
“He just didn’t want to leave your side, right?”

Micah nodded, staring out the window, and then he reached by her face.
Her breath caught, but he was only unlatching the window behind her. She moved over as he hefted it up a few inches. The drumming of the rain intensified.

She inhaled deeply.
“I love rain.” She placed her hands on the sill, the drops splattering on her skin.

He placed his hand next to hers and glanced over.
“Did you hear from Andrew again?”

Her mouth went dry. “No. As far as I
know, he’s still not back.”

Listening to the rain pelting the glass, she wished she could freeze time.
Make this moment with Micah last forever.

She cleared her throat. “
So, are we just actors after all? Or do we make our own destiny?”

His blue eyes registered surprise.
He smiled, and she was relieved to see it was warm. “What do
you
think?”

“Maybe a little bit of both,” she
said, noting his interest. “Maybe we make our own decisions. Sometimes good, and sometimes bad, but if we’re trying, doing the best we can, maybe our choices land us right into the role that was written for us.”

Micah’s eyebrows came up as he considered her words.

“Maybe we misread things.
Sometimes not everything is what it appears to be,” she added.

“So in other
words, you’re saying maybe I misread my vision?”

She swallowed.
Now that depends on which one we’re discussing
. She was about to admit to overhearing his private conversation with Trent, about her marrying Andrew.

“I wish that were it,” he admitted.
“I really do. But sometimes what we want is just not for us to have. Maybe I need to learn to just accept whatever is supposed to happen, as is.”

Feeling panicked by what that implied, she was surprised when a Sunday school lesson came to mind.
It was from one of the random churches her family had attended a few months ago.

“If a child asked for some
bread, would you give him a stone instead?” she blurted.

Micah stared at her. “Say what?”

“Or if your child asked for fish, would you give him a serpent?”

“I didn’t know you quoted the Bible.”

“Me either.
Not sure why I just thought of that. But, it’s still true. If we know how to give good gifts, why wouldn’t God know how to give even better ones?”

Micah’s eyes danced. “I’m impressed.”

“You aren’t the only one who knows how to read the Bible.” She grinned at him and then asked, “Don’t you think God wants you to be happy too?”

“You sort of sound like Trent now
.” He sighed.

“Well, not everything out of his mouth’s completely crazy.”

He chuckled and then was quiet. Listening to the rain, she was aware of how close they were now. Facing the window, his arm kept brushing hers, making her stomach flutter with butterflies.

Then the thought of the weekend awaiting sickened her.

“Micah, tell me what you saw. What’s going to happen to you in Illinois?”

He turned, bringing them face to face.
He hesitated and then said, “I get hurt, pretty bad.”

“Can’t you avoid it? Since you see how and where,
can’t you just not go?”

“I have to go.
I need to do something that only I can do. Eden, remember my vision?” he asked, when she sputtered in protest. “Everyone’s going to die in that fire if I don’t complete my mission. This is bigger than me and what I want.”

“But you’re the Seer!
How can you complete your mission if you’re dead?”

“Maybe I just have to get you all to that point
. Maybe that’s all I have to do…”

“What are you talking about?”

He shut his mouth. “I probably shouldn’t say more.”

Her mouth fell open. Anger was giving way to tears and her reflex to run from the room overcame her.
Nothing she could say would change his mind. He seemed bent on carrying through with this.

Tears were rolling down her face as she hustled from the room.

Micah was behind her though, taking her shoulder, and turning her around to face him. “Wait, where are you going now?”

She was embarrassed to cry in front of him.
She stared at the carpet, her vision blurring.

“I can’t watch you die, Micah,” she whispered.

His hand was under her chin, making her look up and face him.

“Caitlyn told you to talk to
Andrew, right? That it’d all work out as it should?” he asked.

“How did you
—”

“I just know.”

He sees way more than I thought
. “Yes, she told me that. Why?”

“And you did what you felt in your heart was right?”