Watch Me: Teen Paranormal Romance (A Touched Trilogy Book 3) (7 page)

“What are you doing here?” she asked as we headed into the locker room.

I shrugged. “I may have dropped the squad, but I still love it.”

“If you miss it so much then you should talk to Ms. Mendez about getting back on. You saw Mia. There’s no way she’s ready to be a base yet. She’s only a freshman and is way too small. Game days have been totally tragic. We're only doing basic routines, because we can’t depend on her.”

The waspish words seemed so unlike Nadine I almost did a double take.

“I can’t,” I said, wondering if she was going to go off on me.

“Whatever.”

If I didn’t know her better, I’d swear she just rolled her eyes. I shook my head. She was probably just PMSing.

“You never come to any of our practices. So why come today?”

“Phoebe spoiled my appetite.”

No other explanation was needed. I waited as she showered and changed.

“You’re coming over on Friday, right?” she asked. The nasty face she’d been wearing had washed away and she was back to her typical happy self. “We have to plan the New Year’s party. I’m thinking there needs to be a theme this year.”

“What are you thinking?”

“I don’t know. The eighties thing is too predictable. Besides the clothes from that decade are so gross. Other than Nicki Minaj, who wears hot pink and lime green spandex?” She pulled her hair back into high messy bun. “And lately, even she’s realized how nasty it looks.”

“Phoebe might,” I suggested. “Although, probably not anywhere someone would actually see her.”

“See? That proves my point. The eighties are out. That’s why I need you to come and help me pick. My dad said I need to give a list of supplies to his secretary by Monday so she can order everything.”

Nadine’s dad regularly funded her parties, or rather his company did. That meant whatever we planned had to pass as a party for rich elderly people ready to sign their life savings over to him for a chance to own a share in some obscenely profitable company.

“We should do something fun, like celebrity couples,” I suggested as we headed to class.

“No way, though it would be worth it just to see someone dressed as Kimye.”

The mention of Kimye brought us to an almost complete stop and, despite the fact we were already five minutes late, we couldn’t pass up the chance to dish about celebrity gossip. Sometimes the latest news on the Kardashians was more important than furthering our education.

Yet even Hollywood gossip wasn’t enough to clear my mind of Phoebe and Micah’s words accusing me of not really trying to change the future. The rest of the day, they kept popping back into my head. Maybe I had half-assed it, but not because I didn’t want to face the idea that the future wasn’t as certain as I thought.

At the end of the day, I headed to Lily’s locker. Dad still hadn’t reinstated her driving privileges. Even though she’d stopped passing out after healing people, the episodes were recent enough that Dad hesitated at the idea of her behind the wheel.

“You almost ready to go, shorty?” I asked, coming up behind her as she alphabetized textbooks in her locker.

“Are you taking tips on being annoying from Phoebe?” She closed the door and gave me a look that showed just how unimpressed she was with my teasing.

“Sorry. You ready?”

“We have to wait for Owen. He borrowed my math textbook and I need it for tonight’s homework.”

I let myself open to her future, just enough to see what I needed to.

“You won’t need it. Mr.
Arnold won’t collect it anyways.”

She shook her head. “Well, if you already know he won’t collect my homework, then you know I’m going to do it anyways, right?”

She had me there.

We were still waiting a few minutes later when I saw Bastian coming towards us. He was talking with some girl I recognized as a junior. There was only a slight haze around him, so faint I might have missed it if I hadn’t been looking for it. I needed to check it one more time, just to be sure but they turned the corner before he got close enough.

“I’m gonna go buy a water,” I said, interrupting Lily. I took off up the hall. The building was shaped like a giant digital eight, and Bastian and his friend were heading down the middle. I could cut them off at the top if I hurried.

I sprinted through the hall and around first one corner then the second and slammed right into the girl he was with. Both of us flew backward, and while she stayed on her feet, I fell back on my ass.

“I’m so sorry,” I said, getting to my feet.

“No problem.” She gave a smile and moved to go around me.

Bastian made a weird face at me and, as I stood there thinking about how he was kind of like an annoying brother, I almost missed my chance. At the last second, I shifted a step closer and fell into the view I had of his future. It was the same as this morning. Nothing threw red flags up or indicated the lives of my friends would be cut short.

“You know,” Bastian was saying as I reentered the present, “when you look at me like that I wonder if it’s the stalker face you were talking about this morning.”

“Whatever.” I stomped off, refusing to be embarrassed that he’d noticed something was off about me.

I circled back around to Lily’s locker and found her talking with Owen. I’d always considered him a little weird, but compared to Bastian, Owen was downright normal.

I nodded a greeting to Owen then turned to Lily. “You ready?”

“Yeah. I told Owen you wouldn’t mind dropping him off at Town Center on the way.”

“All right.”

“Are you sure? I could walk,” he said.

“Not a problem. Besides it’s pissing rain and it wouldn’t be nice of me to let the guy dating my best friend get soaking wet. You might get sick and miss Javier’s party. I’d never hear the end of it from Nadine.”

Owen shrugged. “I’m not going to the party.”

Well, that kind of explained why it was so easy for Nadine and Andrew to mess around privately.

“Why not?”

“I’m not into parties,” he mumbled, his head dipping forward so his shaggy curls covered his eyes. On most people, I’d read the action as a clue they were shy. With Owen, though, I knew he did it because it was what he did.

The car ride was dead silent. It was a strange feeling. I didn’t dislike Owen, but I neither did I have anything to say to him. Even though he was dating Nadine, I never socialized with the guy and Lily didn’t help the awkwardness by being her typical quiet self.

“You should tell him,” Lily said, breaking the silence after we’d dropped him off.

“Tell who what?”

“You should tell Owen about Andrew and Nadine.” She stared out the window, her forehead pressed to the glass.

“Yeah, I’m not so sure he’d believe me, Lils.”

“He knows about our gifts. He believes in my ability and Phoebe’s. Why wouldn’t he believe in yours?”

“It won’t change anything. Why do you care anyways?” Kind of a silly question to ask Lily. For Phoebe, it was a valid one, but Lily cared about everyone.

“Owen is a good friend. He was there for me through everything that happened with Micah. I don’t want him to get hurt.”

I thought of the future I’d seen for him.

“He’ll be fine. Trust me.” He would, eventually.

Lily turned her eyes to me. “This isn’t about whether or not I trust you, Chloe.”

My lips thinned into a tight smile at the implication that she didn’t trust my gift. Owen might be hurt a little at first, but who wouldn’t be? The thing was, he liked Nadine, but he didn’t love her.

“He’ll be fine.”

“And you?”

“And me.” Maybe.

Chapter 8

“Hey Dad,” I said, flopping onto the couch next to where he sat in his recliner.

“How was school?”

“Fine. I aced the bio quiz.”

“Scores back so soon? I thought the test was today,” he said. I arched my brow and he shook his head. “Alright, well how are things with Andrew?”

I shrugged.

“That bad, huh?” He muted the television and shifted so he could face me. “Want to tell what’s bothering you?”

“Not really.” A sigh heaved my shoulders. Talking to Dad about my love life was not at the top of my list of favorite things to do and judging by the look on his face it was about the last thing he wanted to talk about.

“Should I keep asking questions until I find the right one, or would you like to get it over with?” he asked.

“Do you believe me when I tell you about the future?”

He didn’t answer right away and I started regretting asking. Finally he spoke. “Well, I believe that
you
believe you see the future.”

“Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence, Dad.” I tried to keep the hurt from my voice.

“Sweetheart, I don’t doubt your gift of prophecy, but honestly I don’t like the idea that the future is predestined. I’m not sure many people in this world would.” He pulled his reading glasses off and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees.

“Why not?” How could he not find comfort in knowing everything was under control?

He was slow to answer.

“It implies that our choices mean nothing, that the decisions we make won’t alter the outcome of our lives or the lives around us. If I accepted that, what purpose would there be in doing the right thing? If I know that regardless of the actions I took, I would die from swallowing a tack, what motivation would I have to drive safely or not endanger myself in other ways?”

He paused, his favorite way of giving time for his words to sink in. After a minute he continued.

“While I believe morals and a sense of personal responsibility would keep most people from acting rashly, consequences are a huge factor in how people make the choices they do.”

“If you’d known Mom would die giving birth, would you still have had us?”

“Without a moment’s hesitation. You and your sisters are the greatest accomplishments your mother and I could achieve.”

“But she’d still be alive.”

He smiled and reached over to pat my knee. “Your mom wouldn’t have changed anything. She dreamed of having a little girl for years, and with her medical condition, we understood the risks of her having a baby. When she became pregnant, she felt at peace with her life.”

They tried for years to get pregnant until finally she and dad did in vitro fertilization. Without it, she never would have had one of us, let alone all three.

“You say if she had changed her mind about having you girls, she wouldn’t have died, yet you saw her death. If the future you see truly is predestined, why even question the choices we made?”

What he said made sense. While I didn’t have memories from being a baby, I did have the vision of my mother’s death imprinted on my mind. It had always been there, so clear I knew it wasn’t just a memory.

“Sometimes you need to take things on faith. Your gift of prophecy has let you avoid faith.”

“I have faith.”

“You have belief in God without having faith. You rely on what you’ve seen to guide your life. Hasn’t there been a time when you wanted to do something, or make a different choice, yet you didn’t simply because you know the outcome?”

It was a hard question to face, mainly because he was right.

He watched me for a few moments and then turned the television back on to a rerun of his favorite FBI crime show and I let the sounds fade into the background.

I would test my visions again, with planning, so Phoebe couldn’t accuse me of not trying again. Which, of course, gave me an idea. I headed downstairs and went straight to Phoebe’s room.

Throwing open her door, I stomping into her room and fell across her bed. She looked up from the book she held to glare at me.

“Ever heard of knocking?”

I lifted my hips, pulled out a bundle of clothes and tossed them into an already massive pile in the corner. “Ever heard of hanging up your clothes?”

“Ever heard of feel free?”

“Ever heard of doing laundry?”

“Ever heard of you wash it if you want it?”

“Enough,” I said, rolling my eyes. The ‘ever heard of’ battle was one we hadn’t played in a long time, and I remembered now why. It was annoying as hell.

“Yet again, you concede,” Phoebe preened.

“A temporary cease fire.”

“Sure. So, why are you here, if not to criticize my lack of organization?”

“Tomorrow, Tonya is going to skip third period to go to the mall with Bianca.”

“Yeah, that’s kinda already been planned.” She looked at me expectantly.

“Well, she’ll miss a pop quiz which will drop her to an F. She’ll have to take the class again next semester and won’t graduate on time.”

“And you’re telling me this, why? To torment me? So you can torment Tonya through me?”

“No. So we can see if the future can be changed.”

Phoebe tipped the chair back and lifted her booted feet to rest on the edge of the bed. “Seriously? This is your grand idea? I can’t believe you’re still crapping out on this.”

“What do you mean? I’m planning this. Telling you so you can help me do everything we can to change Tonya’s future. Please explain how that is crappy out?”

“It’s crapping out because you’re not the one making the choice. You want me to tell Tonya something, so she can make a choice to do or not do something. Why should I do your job for you?” She angled her legs to the side and shoved with her feet, sending her chair swirling in circles.

“Because Tonya’s your friend?”

“Well, this is your gift. Nanna always said we were gifted our abilities for a purpose. Remember when you tried to test my gift? It didn’t work because I wasn’t doing the work. If you really wanted to test this, then you need to do it to yourself.”

Ugh. I hated when Phoebe made a good point. Now if I followed her advice and it worked, I’d never hear the end of it. “What do you suggest I do then?”

Her feet dropped to the ground and she stopped spinning. “Take something you’ve known for a long time about your future, something you’ve already seen is going to happen, and do everything in your power to change it.”

“What if there isn’t one I want to change?”

“I highly doubt you’re excited at the idea of Andrew cheating on you with Nadine.”

I sat straight up, shock radiating through me. “What the hell are you talking about? How did you…?”

“You really should hide your diary better,” she answered with a devious smile.

“Are you kidding me?” I stood, fury tightening every muscle in my body. I thought of all the things I’d written in there. My feelings, my experiences, my visions. Things no one other than me should know. The anger vanished and a sense of betrayal overwhelmed me. “You read my journal? How could you do that to me?”

“Chill, Chloe.” She held up a hand. “I didn’t read your journal.”

“Then how would you know about Andrew and Nadine?”

“I found the thing when I was looking for your new purple sweater. Hiding it under your bed is a little after school special, don’t you think?”

“Why would you be looking under my bed for a sweater?”

She gave me a look that said it should be obvious. “That’s where I’d put it.”

“So you were snooping in my room and just happened to open my journal and read it?”

“It was an accident, well, maybe I not so accidentally opened it. I only read a couple pages.”

“Gee, it’s so comforting to know you only partially invaded my privacy.”

“As if you looking into my future isn’t a constant invasion of privacy.” She stood, placing her hands on her hips.

“It’s not like I always have a choice.”

“Yeah, but you don’t have to lord it over me when you know I’m gonna get in trouble. Have you told Lily about this?”

“No.”

“Liar.”

“That’s beside the point. You had no right to look. I didn’t tell you because you have a big mouth and probably blab about it to everyone. Unlike you, Lily can keep things to herself.”

She pointed her finger at me. “You’re using this to avoid the real issue.”

“Which is what? That you’re nosy?”

“No, that you’re scared to try changing your own future, because if this works you won’t have the illusion of control over your own life and the lives of everyone around you. You’d actually have to make a choice for yourself and not rely on a preordained future.”

That stung. It was a bitter pill to swallow, but it was the same one Nanna, Lily, and Dad had tried to give me. I sank back down to the bed.

“What am I supposed to do then, Phoebs? I’ve tried before. What if I try with Andrew, get my hopes up, and it fails?”

“What if it doesn’t?”

I had no idea and the thought terrified me. I’d never not known what would be. Being able to change things meant all of my visions could be wrong, that life didn’t work out the way I’d seen for anyone.

“Are you done moping now?” she asked. “Because if you are, then maybe I’d be willing to help you figure out a plan.”

“Maybe you’d help?”

“Well, it’s only fair that if I help you, you help me in exchange.”

“You mean, me lending you my notes when you skip isn’t enough? Or when I covered for you with Dad last weekend when you got home after curfew?”

“Exactly, except we hadn’t established that those were on the bargaining table when you did them, so I suggest a new deal. I’ll help if you clean my room.”

I scanned her room. It wasn’t dirty, but it was a mess. At least she didn’t eat in here. Still, no way was I going to clean her room, especially when I had no idea what kind of assistance she’d give me in return. “I don’t think so. Not without a guarantee that you’ll actually help.”

“Please, the fact that by helping you I’ll be proving you wrong should be guarantee enough.”

She had a point.

“Fine. Then what’s the plan?”

“I don’t know.”

I rolled my eyes. “Great. Some help you are.”

She snatched up a towel from the floor beside her to toss at me. “Give me a minute. You know I don’t plot evil intent well under pressure.”

That was an accurate statement. Phoebe was impulsive, and her random spur of the moment deeds tended to get her in the most trouble. So, I kept my mouth shut and waited as she returned to spinning around in the chair.

Finally, she let herself drift to a stop. “When does the whole thing with Andrew and Nadine go down?”

“At Javier’s party.”

“Holy crap, they do it while you’re in the same house?”

“No. I’m not going.”

Her face scrunched in confusion. “Why not? Everyone’s going.”

Why not seemed like such a simple question to answer, but the more I thought about it the harder it was to justify. I wasn’t going, because in my vision I wasn’t there.

Instead of answering, I shrugged a shoulder.

“Fine, then obviously you have to go,” she said.

“That’s it? I go to the party and it’s supposed to stop them from betraying me?”

“Betraying you? You’re so dramatic,” she said flippantly.

“How would you react if Nathan and Vivian hooked up behind your back? Or Nathan and Tonya?”

Her blue eyes narrowed. “The bitch would go down.”

“What about him?”

“As I said the bitch would go down. Any guy who cheats deserves to be called bitch. Okay, so I get your point. So, when you see this vision, what happens after?”

“There’s a pretty big chain reaction,” I answered.

“Details, Chloe, details.”

“Andrew and I break up, Owen dumps Nadine-”

“Wait, they’re dating again?” she interrupted.

“Yeah, but he’ll dump her and date Bianca later in the year.”

“Okay, I totally saw that hook up coming. I mean Nadine is nice and all, well except for the whole planning to screw your boyfriend thing, but her and Owen are just not right. Her and Andrew…” She shook her head. “What else happens?”

“Andrew will meet some girl in college, get married, and have a kid. Nadine will be a dental assistant and have a family.”

“And you?”

“Nothing amazing. I end up teaching English at a university.”

Phoebe groaned and her head dropped backwards. “Please don’t tell me you’re gonna adopt a bunch of cats.”

“I happen to like cats. They’re cute and considering the number of cat memes on your Facebook page, I’m pretty sure you’re the cat person in the family.” As defenses go, I admit it was a bit weak, but still, I thought it worth mentioning.