First Visions: Second Sight Book One

by Heather Topham Wood

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Oh god, they put us at the reject table,” Kate mock whispered to her mother as they arrived at her cousin’s wedding on Saturday evening.

  Her charcoal colored dress was pretty spectacular and Kate lamented over the fact that her date was her mom. It was strapless with a sweetheart neckline and fitted bodice. She swore her boobs never looked so good. Kate wasn’t a big fan of her stomach or butt and loved how the ruching style of the chiffon hid every flaw. The hem lifted to her knee while staying longer in the rear. Although she felt like a goddess in the dress, she couldn’t help but note how her cousin had stuck her in the farthest and darkest corner of the ballroom.

  “Kate, I’m sure the seating was done arbitrarily. It must be extremely difficult to arrange the tables,” her mother said.

  Her mom could see the bright side during Armageddon. Kate was impressed by what a knockout her mother looked like. Maybe finding an older gentleman to sweep her mom off her feet could take Kate’s mind off her own dismal love life. Kate’s mom wore an eggplant colored gown with an empire waist and cap sleeves. They both had gone to the salon earlier for manicures and to have their hair styled. Her mother had settled on a formal updo, while Kate had decided to keep her hair down, but had the stylist add soft waves using large rollers.

  Kate examined each of their tablemates and couldn’t help but think the slight was deliberate. “We’re not even sitting with anyone from our family? I’m guessing this was definitely on purpose.”

  Their dining companions included two preteen boys, a couple whose idea of formal wear consisted of jeans and a collared shirt for the guy and a dress for the girl that looked like a beach cover-up and an elderly couple who looked like they’d rather be anywhere but there.

  Collapsing into her chair, Kate took a swig of the champagne in front of her. Her mother slapped her hand. “You’re not supposed to drink the champagne until the toast.”

  Kate rolled her eyes and noticed one of the boys across from her giving her the stink eye. “What?” she challenged, staring back at him while knitting her eyebrows.

  “You’re the weird girl that my mom says is full of shit.” Both the boys began to snicker as if they were the funniest assholes in the room.

  “Well, my mom says you’re a mouth breather who won’t amount to anything in life,” she retorted.

  Her mother gave her a painful pinch on the leg. “Ow!” she exclaimed as her mom gave her a look that said stop acting like a brat. She turned back to the boy. “Ha-ha, just kidding.” The tension level increased at the table and she knew the rest of the guests were wondering how they ended up at this freak show.

  The happy couple was introduced and Kate could barely manage a slow clap for their entrance. She told her mom it was a bad idea for her to come when she was in such a sour mood. At least she got out of attending the ceremony earlier in the afternoon by claiming she was suffering from a horrible bout of menstrual cramps. Her mom didn’t buy it, but let it slide since she figured no one would notice if Kate wasn’t at the church. The reception had been non-negotiable.

  After she had reconciled with Julie, Kate foolishly thought she could get past everything including her heartbreak. She assumed Jared might try to make further amends and reach out to her again. However, she had not received one single call or text from Jared all week. Dick. Nikki must have threatened to cut off his balls if he had any further communication with her. Put this on top of Cori still being missing and she wanted nothing less than witnessing a wedding, such an ostentatious display of love.

  The only bright spot of the week besides Julie’s visit had been the conversation with her dad last night. He took her up on her offer to spend time together over the Labor Day holiday. His friend owned a property along the shore and he was going to check to see if they could stay there for the weekend. It would be just the two of them. He decided it would be too soon for her to meet his lady friend. Maybe the weekend would give them a chance to sort out a few of their differences.

  After about an hour of toasts and first dances, her mother permitted her to finally finish off the rest of her champagne and request another glass from the waiter. Her mom urged her to go mingle with their family members, but she decided to stick with the good time bunch at her table. Due to the high number of odd looks she had received since their arrival, she could only imagine the comments from her family in regards to her latest media blitz. They would probably accuse her of perpetuating the whole thing to one-up her cousin on her wedding day.

  Although she wanted to lay low, she smiled at her Aunt Lucy when she came over to the table. Her aunt was dressed in a simple black dress with a hem resting an inch below her knees. She was five years her mother’s junior and was by far Kate’s favorite aunt. After a hug to say hello, she inquired, “What are you doing hiding back here? Come out and dance with me! The Cha Cha Slide is bound to come on any minute.”

  “I’m trying to keep a low profile, you know, after the whole news story thing,” Kate replied.

  “You say that, but your dress says otherwise. Let’s get out on the dance floor! I could even act as your wingman and rustle you up a few cute guys,” she said with a wink. Her aunt had a perpetual string of boyfriends and Kate didn’t doubt she would be able to have her hooked up with someone within the hour.

  Kate laughed. “Alright, I should probably go and give my congrats to Jessica and Abe too.”

  Kate tried not to let her paranoia kick in as she walked across the ballroom and felt the stares. Walking up to the head table, she gave a gracious smile to her cousin. Jessica had settled on a princess-style dress which seemed to swallow her tiny figure. It took all her willpower to not let her eyes wander down her dress and check to see if it fit snugly around the tummy area. “Congratulations Jess! I’m so happy for you!”

  “Thank you, glad you could make it,” she said formally and turned back to talk to her newly-minted husband.

  Kate stood there awkwardly for a minute until it was painfully obvious that she was being dismissed. She felt her Aunt Lucy grasp her from behind and steer towards the dance floor. Kate whispered, “Does everyone have to act like I have the plague? Is it that horrendous I’m a psychic helping out on an abduction case? It’s not like I was plastered all over the front page for running a meth lab.”

  “It’ll blow over, hon. Plus, not everyone has a negative reaction. I personally think it’s amazing you have these abilities. You probably don’t feel like getting into it now, but let’s plan lunch sometime soon and you can tell me all about it.”

  Kate nodded and they arrived at the dance floor. Deciding to simply have a good time, she began to dance with her aunt. Her mother joined them a couple of dances later and they had a few belly laughs while displaying their silliest dance moves. By the time dinner was served, Kate found herself in much better spirits. They returned to the table and she began to dig into the roast chicken she had ordered. Her pimply-face friend from across the table said snidely, “Your ringtone is gay, you should change it.”

  Ignoring him, she reached for her purse and pulled out her phone. She had received a text from Jared about twenty minutes earlier. Can I come over? I need to talk to you.

  She sent him a quick message back. No can do, I’m at my cousin’s wedding at Cedar Brooks. What’s going on? She waited for his reply and wondered if anything had happened with Cori. Hopefully, it was good news. She grew annoyed when he did not reply right away. She had no idea why she would be remotely surprised that he would leave her hanging.

  Her mom finished her entrée and headed back out to dance. Kate debated whether to join her, but figured she should maybe wait a few minutes to hear back from Jared in case it was important. After polishing off the rest of her dinner and another glass of champagne, she realized it was unlikely she would be hearing back from Jared anytime soon. Tucking her cell phone away in her purse, she rose to leave. She heard it chime just as she was about to walk away.

  Her
jaw dropped as she read his reply. I’m outside. He was outside? Like outside the wedding? Kate was beyond confused and turned to her favorite prepubescent pest. “Can you tell my mom I had to step out for a couple of minutes?”

  “Blow me, loser,” he said and gave her the middle finger. Kate could see a bright future in juvie stretch before him.

  After wandering out of the ballroom, she exited the double doors of the reception hall. A few random chain smokers stood outside, but no one she recognized. She wondered if she had misconstrued the message. Why would he want to talk to her here of all places? Before she turned to walk in, she noticed a lone figure off to the side of the building standing next to a pillar.

  Kate was surprised she hadn’t spotted him sooner. He looked completely out of place among the formally dressed guests. He was dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a black t-shirt with a random logo printed in the center. His hair had a sexy mussed-up style going for it, but Kate doubted he had purposely styled it that way. His eyes looked troubled as he watched her move towards him. With his hands stuck in his pockets and his shoulders tense, Kate guessed he wasn’t there to convey good news. Dread began to build as she noted the tension coming off him in waves.

  “Hey, what are you doing here? Is Cori ok?” Her voice rose to a panicked pitch as she rushed over to stand in front of him.

  Jared visibly relaxed at her question. “Yes, sorry for scaring you. I want to let you know there has been a new development. We’ve received a ton of tips since releasing your sketch. Most lead to dead ends, but we’ve actually had about half a dozen concentrated in this area of Irvine. We’re thinking it’s not coincidental and he must be from there.”

  Kate nodded at this piece of information. Irvine was about half an hour away and the location fit in with the time frame of how long she suspected Cori was in the trunk. It also had several high-crime areas which were known for heavy drug use and prostitution. One of the worst disses in middle school was saying someone saw your mama working the corner in Irvine.

  “No one in the family recognized the man in the sketch? I just can’t shake this feeling that he’s met them before.”

  Jared shook his head emphatically. “No, I was hoping the same thing. I had Nikki and her parents look at your sketch again and again to see if he appeared familiar to them. They weren’t able to identify him.”

  “At least you have a lead on where he could be living. I haven’t seen anything else, but that doesn’t mean anything. I had a lot on my mind this week and it could have kept me from connecting with her.”

  He didn’t say anything, but continued to stare at her. Even in her heels, he still stood several inches above her and she tried to look past him instead of gazing up into his face. As much as she could fool herself into thinking she could get over him in a short amount of time, glimpsing him in the flesh again confirmed that her emotions had not changed. It also convinced her of his previous sentiment that they could not be friends.

  She grew uncomfortable as the silence stretched on and blurted, “You didn’t have to come out here to tell me that. You could’ve just left a message or sent me a text.”

  “I probably should go,” he said in response and looked away from her. The amount of stubble since the last time she saw him seemed to have doubled on his chin. It looked sexy on him and she was envious at the thought of Nikki getting to feel it against her face as they kissed.

  “Is something else wrong?” she prompted as her patience began to wear thin. Didn’t he know how painful it was for her to stand there with him and not fall apart?

  “No, nothing,” he said and abruptly turned back to her. Looking her up and down he pronounced, “You look amazing.”

  The compliment threw her off balance and she knew her face must have revealed her surprise. “Thanks,” she said primly.

  When he didn’t say anything, she started, “I mean, I’d invite you inside, but I’m pretty much persona non grata as it is with the whole news story thing. My family keeps looking at me as if any minute I’ll set up a table in the back of the room and start charging the guests tenners for a psychic reading.”

  Kate grew more uneasy under his piercing stare and the heady silence. “I’ll probably be missed if I stay out here for too long. So, I’ll just head back in…”

  “Nikki and I are broken up,” he stated flatly without forewarning. His gray eyes probed her and she wasn’t certain what he was searching for. It felt like he was testing her to gauge her reaction to the confession.

  “I’m sorry?” She said it as a question and shrugged her shoulders.

  It seemed to take a strong effort for him to move his eyes away from her face and focus on the ground between them. “It was mutual. We both realized it wasn’t working anymore and we haven’t been in sync for a long time.”

  “Oh?” she said lightly although her heart began hammering in her chest. Folding her arms against her chest, she was able to slow down the trembling that now racked her body.

  Jared looked at her hopefully. “And I guess she knew…that something was happening….between you and me.”

  “Something was happening? That’s news to me,” she said tersely.

  Jared looked surprised and ran a hand anxiously through his hair. His confidence was gone and it seemed to take a lot for him to admit how he was feeling. Yet, Kate knew he would have to be on crack if he thought she was going to make this easy on him. “Oh, sorry, I thought maybe…”

  “You thought what, Jared?” she questioned with bite. “You thought you would come here and tell me you were broken up and I’d still be interested? That I would be your rebound girl?”

  He looked taken aback and shot her a guilty look. His face revealed he likely thought she would launch herself frantically into his arms at the news of him breaking up with Nikki. He started, “I didn’t say…”

  Kate interrupted him. “Do I look that desperate that you figured you’d come here and I’d drop trou for you?” She cast a look at his car parked at the rear of the reception hall. “Or, I don’t know…we would get into your backseat and play tonsil hockey?”

  He raised an eyebrow and butterflies erupted inside of her.