Vision of Shadows

by Vincent Morrone

  That was when I felt my foot catch on the stairs, and suddenly I was airborne. My heart lurched as I tumbled forward. Payne quickly shot toward me, and I found myself landing right into his arms. I collided with him, his solid frame gently rescuing me from my flight as I felt his muscular arms embrace me, keeping me from harm.

  “Oh my,” the redhead said. “Are you all right?”

  I took a moment to find my legs and support myself again before reluctantly pushing off Payne and looking toward her. Her beautiful green eyes were filled with concern. Man, she wasn’t making it easy to hate her.

  “Yeah, I’m okay,” I answered, looking the redhead up and down while trying not to appear like I was looking her up and down. “Wasn’t my fault. The stairs are defective.”

  The redhead gave me a cautious smile. “Uh-huh. I think you like making an entrance.”

  “I trip there all the time,” Maggie interjected. “Hi, I’m Maggie.”

  “Hello,” the redhead said. “I’m Hunter. I saw how the two of you stood up to Pricilla. Heard she has an in-school suspension for a week.”

  “Really?” I responded. “Am I supposed to feel bad about that?”

  Hunter shrugged. “I wouldn’t.”

  “I’m sure whatever it was Pricilla did,” Payne offered, “Bristol was only responding accordingly. I would still like to know what it is she said to you.”

  There was an awkward moment of silence as Hunter, Maggie, and I exchanged glances. Hunter patted Payne’s cheek. “Live in blissful ignorance, cousin.”

  “Wait,” I said. “You and Payne are cousins?”

  Payne and Hunter nodded collectively. Hunter folded her arms and cocked an eyebrow in my direction. “Of course. Why do you sound so surprised?”

  “Well, um.” I hesitated, trying to think of a good response. “It’s just that…”

  “Afraid I was the competition?”

  I returned the eyebrow arch. “I don’t plan on competing.”

  This response earned a strange contemplative stare from Hunter. She was clearly evaluating me. I looked toward Payne, who was watching Hunter watch me.

  “I thought someone told me,” I said, “that the McKnights were made up of boys.”

  “For the most part,” Hunter replied. “I guess I’m the exception. I’ve heard the same thing about the Blackburns.”

  “Guess that makes me a bit of a freak,” I said. “We have that in common.”

  “I suppose so,” Hunter said. “I like to think of myself as unique. You don’t think you’re a freak, do you?”

  Without hesitation I said, “Of course not.”

  Hunter frowned. I couldn’t help but feel like I had said something wrong.

  “You know,” Payne said, “Bristol’s been great. She was with me when I found Jared.”

  “How’s your aunt?” I asked. “Is there anything I can do?”

  “I want to say she’s okay,” Payne answered. “But I’d be lying. It’s hitting her hard. My Uncle Heathcliff is with her. I’ll check on her soon.”

  “Please, pass along my sympathies,” I said. “If there is anything I can do to help, just let me know.”

  Hunter looked toward me, that same contemplative stare in her eyes. “You know, Blackburns aren’t supposed to care about McKnights. I think there’s a rule.”

  I sighed. “I don’t care about any idiotic war between our families.”

  Once again, Hunter considered me before responding. When she did, her expression softened considerably. “That’s good to know. I’ve wanted to thank you, Bristol. I’m glad Payne had someone there with him.”

  “It was nothing, really,” I said. “I didn’t do anything special.”

  Something flickered on Hunter’s face. I couldn’t tell what, but once again she was reacting oddly to something I had said.

  Payne quickly put his arm around me. “Bristol has been wonderful. She was very supportive and did everything she could to help.”

  I watched as Hunter looked to Payne, considering his words carefully. It was as if she was trying to decide which of us to believe.

  “Really,” Payne insisted. “Bristol’s shown nothing but compassion for our family.”

  “Payne,” someone shouted.

  We looked up to see the geeky boy who’d been tripped by some of Payne and Hunter’s cousins a few weeks back descending the stairs. His book bag was strapped to his back like he was about to go hiking.

  Payne waved to him. Just as I remembered his name was Ian, I saw him stumble in the exact spot I did. I watched as he went tumbling hard down the stairs. This time, Payne wasn’t fast enough. Ian hit the ground and came rolling to a stop by our feet.

  Payne ran to his side to help him while others around us pointed and laughed. Both Payne and Hunter shot angry glares at the crowd.

  “Ian, you okay?” Payne asked.

  Ian, clearly embarrassed, nodded. “Yeah, I’m used to it. I have… well, let’s just say gravity issues and leave it at that.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I did the same thing. I told you guys it was the stairs.”

  “I’m beginning to believe that,” Hunter said.

  Ian’s eyes darted from Hunter to Maggie, back to Hunter then to me, and then to Hunter again.

  Payne quickly introduced us.

  “I heard about your cousin,” Ian said. “I’m so sorry.”

  Payne and Hunter thanked him.

  “Oh,” Hunter said. “You’re hurt. That must sting.”

  Ian’s pants were torn by his right knee, and there was a trickle of blood. Ian looked surprised.

  “Oh, uh.” Ian’s face took on a greenish hue as he looked away. “I hadn’t noticed. I must have been… uh… distracted.”

  “Does it hurt?” I asked.

  “Not bad,” Ian answered. “It stings now that I realize it’s there. I just, uh…”

  “What’s the matter?” Payne asked.

  Ian looked embarrassed. “I uh… I don’t like the sight of blood.”

  Ian chanced another glance. When his eyes found his knee, he cringed, looking like he might faint.

  “Sorry,” Ian said. “I’m a wimp.”

  I wanted to agree but refrained.

  “Don’t worry,” Hunter said. “I appreciate the honesty. Why don’t we go inside? I’m sure the school nurse can fix that up.”

  After a quick goodbye, Hunter led Ian back into the school, his eyes very much off of his knee and on Hunter. He seemed very happy to have her hold his hand.

  “Well, I’ve got to go,” Maggie announced. “Payne, all the best to your family, and if there’s anything I can do, just ask.”

  With a wave she was off, leaving me alone with Payne. Which was, I was sure, exactly what she intended.

  “Did I say something wrong to Hunter before?” I asked.

  Payne thought about my question, which was annoying.

  “No, I don’t think so,” he said. “Hunter and I are very close. She’s my cousin, but in many ways, she’s more like a sister to me. She knows me better than anyone else.”

  “I see,” I said. “So, did I pass the audition?”

  “You don’t have to prove anything to anybody, Bristol,” Payne said. “I want to talk to you about last night. I can’t imagine what you might have thought happened, but…”

  “Payne, I saw it,” I said. “I saw the argument you had. I saw him walk out of the room. I saw you start to clean up the mess he made, and then I saw him come back in with that shotgun. I saw it!”

  Payne face went pale. “What did you see?”

  “That’s it,” I said. “I was sure you’d been shot. I woke up feeling pain like you had been…”

  Payne grabbed me. “You what?”

  I goggled. There was anger in his eyes but not at me. He was mad at himself.

  Suddenly, he was pulling me away from the front of the school until we were around the side of the building, away from where others could overhear us. We were standing under th
e shade of a big oak tree, the sun on the opposite side of the school building.

  “Does that happen often?” he asked. “Feeling pain like that?”

  “No, not usually,” I answered. “Not from a vision. Usually only when something happens in front of me, when it’s for real. Clearly, you weren’t shot.”

  I watched his eyes burn. There was something he wanted to say, but he didn’t.

  “Payne,” I said, “we need to go talk to my uncle. The next time your father might not miss.”

  “Look,” Payne replied. “My family life is complicated, but it’s nothing. Really.”

  “Nothing?” I said, not believing my ears. “Payne, he had a shotgun. Do I need to wait until he pulls a bazooka on you before I’m allowed to worry?”

  Payne smiled. “I like the fact that you’re worried about me.”

  “Stop it,” I complained. “This is serious. And who said I was worried about you?”

  “You just did,” Payne said.

  “Oh shut up,” I ordered. “Payne, your father could have killed you last night.”

  Payne laughed at the thought. He actually laughed. I so wanted to hit him.

  “Bristol,” Payne said, “I can guarantee, I was in no danger last night. None. I know it must have seemed like that, but I was never in any danger of being hurt by my father.”

  “You can’t be serious?” I responded. “Payne, you can’t defend what he did. Maybe he isn’t as bad when he hasn’t been drinking but…”

  “The last thing I want to do is defend my father,” Payne said. “Bristol, my life is complicated. My family’s different. But my father is incapable of harming me.”

  “Of course you would say that,” I said. “You think you’re invincible. I’ve heard of the reckless things you’ve done. My uncle told me. Skateboarding on the roof of a building? Payne, you’re insane.”

  “No,” Payne said. “I’m not. And I’m okay.”

  “For now,” I said. “Payne, I’m afraid when you go back home, you won’t be so lucky.”

  “Then I won’t go,” Payne said. “I’ll move in permanently with my grandfather. Grandpa even talked about that last night.”

  “You mean that?”

  “It’ll be fun. Hunter lives there, too, ever since her parents died a few years ago. I’ll talk to Grandpa tonight.”

  “If you don’t,” I said, “I will.”

  “You will what?” Payne asked. “You’re going to talk to my grandfather? Most people find him a little intimidating.”

  “You mean scary as hell,” I said. “But I’ll do it.”

  “I believe you would,” Payne said. “You won’t have to. I promise.”

  “And what about the other stuff? The crazy things you do?”

  “That, too,” Payne said. “I won’t be so reckless, okay? I won’t do anything where I can get hurt.”

  “Thank you.”

  Payne smiled and took my hand. “Come with me, I want to show you something.”

  “What?”

  He just grinned. “Trust me.”

  And just like that, I did.

  Payne took my hand and led me on a path through the woods. I had no idea where we were going, and logically I knew this wasn’t bright. I simply didn’t care.

  Before long, we came to a small stream of water flowing through a clearing. I looked around the pretty meadow and admired the small patch of wild flowers that grew past the shade of the woods. The area was open and uncluttered, with only a single weeping willow tree sitting a few feet from the stream, which offered shade to anyone who cared to sit and watch the water ebb by.

  I knew this spot. It was going to be our spot. We would spend many moments under that tree, talking, kissing, exploring.

  I recognized the view from the vision of Payne and I lying naked in each other’s arms. Somehow, I knew when I had that vision, it was of my first time. This would be the place where we would first make love—if he didn’t kill me first.

  “This place is perfect,” I said.

  “It is now,” Payne said. “I’ve been coming here ever since my mom died. She had told me about this place, but I didn’t find it until about six months after the accident. To be honest, it never occurred to me to even look for it until she was gone. She’d mention that path there.” He paused and pointed to a trail that led through the trees. “It leads straight to my grandpa’s house. The one over there,” he now indicated a similar path on the opposite end of the clearing. “That goes toward where you live. After she died, I made sure to find this place. It’s where I can go to feel close to her again.”

  I hugged him. “Thank you for sharing this with me. It’s beautiful.”

  Slowly, we found ourselves sitting underneath the tree with me in his arms, watching the stream pass by.

  “We haven’t talked about your parents much,” Payne said. “Do they…”

  “Drop by to see me? No, they haven’t yet. I don’t know why. My aunt, who I’d never met, came to me just before I arrived at my uncle’s place. But my parents can’t be bothered to say hi, we’ll miss you, we love you. Maybe they never did.”

  “Hey,” Payne said. “Don’t talk like that. Of course they loved you. You just…”

  “Just what?” I asked. “Payne, my parents weren’t like my uncle. I’m not sure how they felt about me. We were never close.”

  “I’m sorry,” Payne said. “I just look at Sheriff Blackburn and figured your parents were like him somehow. It must have been hard on you. Lonely.”

  “It wasn’t too bad,” I said. “I was never really alone. I always had someone with me, telling me to eat my veggies or to help with homework. It’s just that they were all dead.”

  Payne and I sat there a few seconds in silence. Then we both burst out laughing.

  “God, that sounds so insane,” I said. “I never really said any of this out loud to another living person before. Emphasis on living. It feels nice to be able to talk about it.”

  “Have you ever been spooked by a ghost? Are they ever scary?”

  “No, never,” I replied. “I’ve been around ghosts my entire life. At first, when I was younger, they more or less just passed through. As I got older, their presence became stronger. But I’ve never been afraid of them. I know they can’t hurt me.”

  “That makes sense, I suppose.”

  “Not to say I haven’t found them disturbing in other ways,” I added.

  “Such as?”

  “Well,” I said, “hearing how they died. I’ve had people show up that just need to tell the story, I guess. Like they won’t believe it themselves until they say it to someone, and that someone is me.”

  I looked to see if I was freaking Payne out. He seemed okay, so I continued.

  “I really hate the ones that have been eaten,” I said. “I don’t care if they were torn apart by a bear, ripped to shreds by a croc, or chased down by a bobcat. I hate seeing that. I once had someone who was swallowed whole by a shark.” I shuddered.

  Payne laughed. “Yeah, I can see how that can ruin your appetite. But it never scared you?”

  I shook my head. “It wasn’t like I was about to go hug a bear or play with a giant snake. Do you get scared when you hear of a shark attack on TV? It’s not nice, but when I get a visit from someone who got mauled by a grizzly, I don’t go throwing out all my cute little teddy bears.”

  “Teddy bears?” Payne smiled. “I don’t know. I think seeing and hearing things, especially when you were little, must have scared you some.”

  “Well, when I was little the ghosts wouldn’t usually tell me vivid details.”

  “They didn’t?”

  “No, not that I can remember,” I explained. “It would have been very rude, don’t you think?”

  “Of course,” Payne agreed. “Death is never an excuse for rudeness.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “Are you mocking me?”

  “Me? Mock? Perish the thought!” He grinned.

  I gave him a good-natured la
ugh, quickly followed by elbowing him in the gut. Payne gave an exaggerated wince. His stomach was rock hard.

  “But really,” Payne said. “The living do rude and inappropriate things. Surely the dead do as well?”

  “Well, yeah,” I answered. “I’ve had a few wacky ones. One guy who died of heart problems, really overweight. He followed me around watching everything I ate, counting the calories, telling me how I was eating myself into an early grave. I yelled at him, ‘Me having one cookie is not the same as you having twenty an hour!’ He left me alone after that.”

  “I can see how that would be annoying,” Payne said.

  “But most aren’t like that. Most just need a little time to adjust. It’s so unreal that they’ve been hit by a bus, or dropped their hairdryer in the tub with them, or even this one guy who had his head chopped off in a freak accident when he stuck his head in an open elevator door to see where the elevator was. He refused to believe it, even though he was standing there holding his head like a football.”

  “Oh, that must have been pleasant.” Payne winced at the thought, making me giggle. “Can I ask you another question?”

  “Um, yeah.” I wondered how bad the question was going to be. It was all seeming so normal. How long would that last?

  “Okay, so you can see ghosts, right?” I nodded. “And you can talk to them, so you can hear them. Can you also smell them?”

  “Can I smell them?” I repeated. “You want to know if I can smell ghosts? Like if I’m a paranormal blood hound?”

  “No.” Payne laughed. “But dead bodies can smell pretty bad. Burn victims, drowning victims… I was just wondering if it was like a full assault on your senses.”

  “Oh.” It was a valid question. “No, I can’t smell them. I think ghosts are just images of the life force left behind. Sometimes when I see a ghost, they appear fully healthy even if they were killed in a horrible car crash. It’s the way they see themselves. I don’t know. Like I said, there’re no rules.”

  “Tell me something else,” Payne instructed while he continued to hold my hand, his fingers intertwined with mine.

  “Like what?” I asked, wondering what part of my freakiness he would like to explore now. Did he want to know if I could spin my head around in circles? If I slept in a coffin? When I got mad, did I grow horns and puke up split pea soup?