Accordance

by Shelly Crane

  “Stop, please,” I begged her.

  “You can read my mind,” she guessed and leaned forward intrigued. “Can you see my future? I mean…other than what you saw tonight?”

  “I can sometimes but it just comes to me.”

  “What kinda crappy gift is that?”

  “Hey,” Caleb barked.

  “Just saying, have you ever tried?”

  “No,” I answered and knew right where she was going with it. “No, I’m not practicing on you.”

  “Why not, I’m a willing guinea pig!”

  “No.”

  “Maybe you should,” Jen said and turned in her seat. “You can use me too.”

  “What? No. I think we’ve all been through enough tonight.”

  “Maggie, you’re my sister and I love you,” she said and I bit my lip at hearing her say that to me, “but the reason that we had to go through all that tonight was because you haven’t controlled your ability yet. You need to learn,” she told me softly but firmly.

  She was right but it still stung.

  “Jen,” Caleb warned.

  “No, she’s right,” I said. “I need to control this. I can’t be turning things blue and breaking things every time I bump into someone.”

  “Breaking things?” Ecstasy asked.

  “Yeah, when I get upset or mad or…” I drifted off and met Caleb’s eyes in the mirror. He smirked and winked at me. “Anyway, things break; glass, mirrors and light bulbs. Light bulbs are usually the first to go.”

  ~ Twenty ~

  “Wow. So you’re like a superhuman heroine or something? You see these horrific things happen to helpless people in bathrooms and snag them up before it happens and save them,” she said but I heard the condescension.

  “I’m sorry about your dad. He shouldn’t treat you that way.”

  She scoffed and folded her arms over her chest.

  “Whatever, I don’t need him. I’ve been doing fine on my own.”

  “Yeah, well, here’s your chance to start over for real. Not just pretend you’re alright but to actually be alright.”

  She opened her mouth as if to say something but stopped herself and leaned back in her seat, looking out the window. And I was freaking a little bit, sincerely.

  Caleb.

  Yeah?

  I’m scared.

  We’re almost home. Just hold on ok.

  I don’t know if I can. I don’t know if I can do this. Every time this happens I see all these horrible things…

  Baby…I’m sorry.

  He pulled into the driveway. The headlights showed Bish sitting in the swing on the porch. He stood when he saw us and made his way to the Jeep with a large golf umbrella. He looked funny at Ecstasy but opened the door and offered his hand to Jen to help her out. I felt that same tingling anticipation that I felt before and reached quickly to grip his hand instead and climbed out. He quirked a brow at me but smiled.

  “Did you guys have fun?” He crooked his neck. “I see you brought home leftovers.” I punched his stomach making him ‘ooph’ as he laughed.

  “Bish, this is Ecstasy. Ecstasy, this is my brother Bish.” She eyed him appreciatively and then bit her lip, trying to look all cute and seductive. I thought Jen’s eyes were gonna bug from her head so I pressed on. “So Ecstasy came with us because, uh…she uh…”

  “She and Maggie have some girl stuff to talk about,” Caleb rescued me. “They met at the club and clicked.”

  “Ok,” Bish answered and looked at Caleb. He was trying to school his features. “So…how did it go?”

  Caleb blinked in surprise.

  “Fine.”

  “Yeah, I saw that guy pull you on stage. It was hilarious,” Ecstasy chimed.

  “Caleb pulled you on stage?” Bish asked.

  “No. Zeke did,” I answered. “He was trying to be funny.”

  “Did Caleb try to stop him?”

  “Why would he?”

  “Because even I know you’d hate that.”

  “It’s fine, Bish.”

  He looked at Jen.

  “Did you have fun?”

  “Sure,” she said. “It could’ve been better.”

  They looked at each other and smiled slowly and I was getting pretty exasperated with trying to play referee to those two. I sighed loudly, not even trying to stop my annoyance.

  “Jen, can you take Ecstasy inside and get her settled until we come back in,” Caleb asked and took my hand as he stood in front of me. “I need to talk to Maggie.”

  “You guys need to come inside. Maggie doesn’t need to be out in the rain,” Bish insisted.

  “I got his, man,” Caleb said a little harder.

  Bish stopped and turned back to look at us. He gave Jen the umbrella and waved for her to take Ecstasy inside.

  “Dude, you apparently don’t got this if you think it’s ok to keep my baby sister out in the rain. She’ll get sick.”

  “She won’t get sick because I’ll heal her, because only I can heal her.”

  Bish scoffed.

  “So smug.”

  “Oh my gosh, I’m so sick of this!” I said but neither of them looked at me.

  “I’m not doing this with you again, man. I told you before that I’ll take care of Maggie. Right now, I need to talk to her so, please.”

  “So take her inside and talk to her,” Bish growled.

  “We’re gonna sit in the Jeep, Bish. Jeez, chill!” I yelled at him and went to open the car door but he slammed it, taking it right of my hand. “Bish!”

  Caleb pulled me next to him.

  “I’ve always held back,” Caleb started, “because you’re her brother and I didn’t want there to be problems between us but, dude, enough is enough. Maggie is my responsibility. Mine. I don’t know what your problem is with me but, it has nothing to do with her. I think she’s smart enough to decide whether she wants to go inside or not.”

  “Shows what you know, college boy. Maggie’s young and naïve and however you tricked her into joining your little family with…gifts or whatever is one thing but, this isn’t her. Right now, she’s looking pretty stupid to me.”

  I gasped and Caleb pushed me behind him almost out of instinct. It set Bish off. His eyes bulged to half dollars and he stepped forward, pushing his chest to Caleb’s.

  “Don’t call her stupid,” Caleb said easily.

  “Man, you are making this whole not liking you thing so easy,” Bish said and smiled cruelly.

  “I don’t care if you like me.”

  “That’s clear as a bell.”

  “But Maggie is not a little girl anymore.”

  “Is that what you tell yourself so you can screw my sister in good conscience?” he sneered and pushed Caleb’s chest.

  “Bish!” I yelled but Caleb had had enough.

  He pushed Bish’s chest back and I put myself in between them to stop them but Caleb just pulled me back behind him on the other side, so I just circled him. Then Peter and Dad pulled up, thank God.

  “Bish,” I heard Dad yell as he ran over. I saw Ralph and Beck make their way into the house without even looking at us. Kyle seemed to notice the tension and thought it better to go inside ad play Halo. “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing, just having friendly conversation.”

  “Answer me,” my father said in a tone he hadn’t used on Bish since we were kids.

  Bish looked at him and then to me and his face changed.

  “Nothing, I’m going to bed.”

  “After all that,” I yelled. “What was the point in that? What’s the point every time you try to start a fight with Caleb?”

  “If you want to ruin your life, Maggie, go ahead. I’m done. No one just falls in love in five seconds, ok, no one.”

  Dad ran after Bish and Peter and Rachel came to us.

  “Are you ok?” he asked and I heard in his mind he was asking Caleb and not me.

  “Sure,” he said gruffly and looked at me. “Sorry.”

  I shru
gged and saw Bella padding her way down the driveway.

  “He pushed you. What were you supposed to do?” I told him.

  “Come inside,” Peter said started to tow a still stunned Rachel inside.

  “Maggie and I need to talk,” Caleb said and scratched Bella’s head.

  “Can’t you talk inside?”

  “No, Dad, we can’t. Can I please just talk to my significant without everyone jumping on my case about it?”

  Peter looked back in shock. I heard him mutter in his mind that Caleb had never talked to him that way before.

  “Sure, son, I was just trying to-“

  “I know that, Dad,” he said softly. “I know you were trying to protect Maggie and help me and guide us but everyone needs to just calm down a little bit. Maggie is the Visionary or has everyone forgotten that because she’s so lax with the titles.” Peter and Rachel both looked at me a little bashfully. “And she is mine. My significant and everyone is constantly telling me and Maggie what we should do. I know we’re young but the imprint chose us for a reason. Please try to remember that. I got this, Dad,” he said pointedly and firmly but gently. “I got this.”

  Peter nodded his head and rubbed his chin.

  “Ok,” was all he said.

  “Peter,” Rachel said insistently. “He’s just a-”

  “Don’t say it, Rachel,” he said softly and not unkindly. “Come on, Bella.”

  Then he nodded to Caleb and towed his struck mother away. Caleb looked about as bad as I felt.

  He ran his hands through his hair and leaned his back on the wet Jeep and groaned in frustration. I leaned against him and put my head on his chest. His arms, as if attached to my moods themselves, wound around me and he sighed into the top of my head as the light rain continued to come down on us. We were already soaked anyway.

  “I’m sorry,” he repeated.

  “No need, I’m sorry.”

  “No need.”

  “Everything is so screwed up but I’m really proud of you.”

  “What in the world for?” he asked softly like it was so hard to believe.

  “For standing up to Bish and Peter, you never do anything to upset anybody.” I lifted my head to look at him. “Sometimes, you just have to do what needs to be done. People aren’t always going to like it but it’s your life. It’s our life and we both need to start taking responsibility for ourselves.”

  He chuckled and wiped at my cheek.

  “Still amazing,” he muttered as if to himself. We smiled at each other and then he sighed, his smile draining away. “Bish was right though, I should take you inside out of the rain. Are you cold?”

  “I’m fine. If I didn’t want to be out here, I would have said so.”

  “I know. I’m just so tired of everyone telling me how to take care of you. Dad and Mom are always on me about it.”

  “They’re just trying to help,” I said softly and laid my head back down.

  “I know but it’s just like you with the Visionary stuff. You hated it when I was trying to tell you how you should handle it.”

  “Touché,” I muttered and smiled against his shirt. After we sat for a minute in thoughtful silence I broached the subject of the club. “I’m sorry I kissed Kyle.”

  “I already told you I understood.”

  “I know but I feel the need to apologize again.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Things at the club would have been way worse if you hadn’t.”

  “Yeah but I hate that you want to punch Kyle even more now.”

  He outright laughed at that.

  “Yeah, I do, seriously.”

  “Caleb.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I feel like I’m messing everything up.” I looked back up to him. “I feel like I’m not this person I need to be. I can’t do this.” For some reason, everything seemed to just crash down on me at that moment. I started to cry as I croaked out my explanation. “I mean, every time I see a vision or someone’s past comes flying at me it’s always bad, horrible stuff. I don’t wanna see it. I don’t wanna know it. I don’t wanna lose control anymore. I don’t...I don’t…”

  “Don’t what?” he said softly. “Why are you blocking it from me?”

  “I don’t want you to be disappointed in me,” I explained and sniffed.

  “I would never,” he held by face by my chin, “be disappointed in you. What is it, Maggie?”

  “I don’t want to be the Visionary,” I told him in a whisper.

  “Baby, I know that.”

  “You do?” I squeaked.

  “Yes. You’re not exactly a closed book,” he said with a slight smirk.

  “But I thought you’d be angry, like I was rejecting your family and abilities or something.”

  “Maggie.” He chuckled. “I can’t really be mad at you in case you haven’t noticed.”

  “I know, I know. The imprint,” I said begrudged.

  “No, not the imprint. It’s you. You’re so sweet and you care about everybody. You hate it when people are upset with you. You love cream soda. It’s kind of hard to be mad at someone who’s like that.”

  “But right now, I don’t feel that way,” I continued on and didn’t play into his joke. “I was almost angry when that vision hit me tonight. I didn’t want to…help her. I knew I was going to see all those horrible things about her and then I’d have to figure out a way to help her get away and have to use your family’s money to do it and I just…didn’t want to.”

  “I think you’re being a little hard on yourself,” he chided quietly and ran his hand down my wet hair.

  “I think you’re a little biased.”

  “I’m definitely biased,” he said with a smile, “but it’s also true.”

  I looked up to him, my rock star, my sweet guy, my open book significant. He stood up for me with Bish and his dad and Kyle. He always took care of me even though everyone made out like he didn’t.

  “I am so in love with you,” I told him.

  He smiled graciously and pressed his nose and cheek to mine with a hand on my jaw.

  “I’m so in love with you.”

  “I know,” I said happily and smiled through the rain on my cheeks. Maybe there was some tears mixed in too but right then, I didn’t care.

  He bent down the last inch and kissed me. He kissed me, and kissed me, and kissed me until my bones were noodles and my troubles forgotten for the moment. As the rain fell, my spirits lifted. My significant was perfection for my needs.

  ~ Twenty One ~

  By the time we made it back inside, everyone was pretty much packed and getting into bed. I listened for Beck as Caleb went to get us a couple towels but she must have been asleep already because her mind was quiet. Rachel was at the table with Ecstasy who was chowing down on a bowl of ravioli.

  “Hey,” I said to announce us as Caleb handed me my towel and I dried my arms.

  “Are you ok, honey?” Rachel asked me.

  “Yeah.”

  “Caleb. You ok?”

  “Yeah, Mom, I’m fine. I’m sorry about earlier.” She nodded and he sat with a plop in the chair across from Ecstasy. “Ok, so have you thought about where you want to go?” he asked her.

  “Um,” she mumbled. “Not really. It doesn’t really matter, I told you. I don’t know anyone anywhere. I don’t have money. It doesn’t really matter to me.”

  “Well, we’re leaving in the morning so why don’t you just come with us to the airport. We’ll figure it out then.”

  “Whatever.”

  “Ok, kids, I’m going to go to bed.” Rachel came to hug Caleb around his shoulders from behind and he patted her hand. Then she hugged me, long and hard. “It’s all going to be ok, Maggie. You have to know that, right?”

  “Sure, thanks.”

  She pulled back to look at me. She smiled sadly and said her goodnights. Bish and Jen moseyed in through the other door right at that moment. I saw in Jen’s mind that she had taken him for a walk on the beach to calm him.
She looked up embarrassed because it might look to Caleb like she was taking sides.

  Bish and Caleb stared at each other. Neither of them seemed as riled as before but they were far from BFF’s. I did the only thing I could think of to keep the peace and take the focus off them and put it on me.