by Heather Todd
But, she didn’t feel sick. Her body just ached, like it craved for something.
She collapsed on the couch and groaned, covering her face with her hands. It was obvious she wasn’t asleep. She had pinched herself multiple times while driving home until it had hurt so much that she squealed. So, what was this new pain? Why did she hurt so much?
What if Dean was right about everything? Could this pain be from her rejection? She rejected the gift that had occurred between them and now she was being punished for it.
“That’s completely unfair,” she murmured to herself.
She slowly got up, wincing at the ache. She walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottled water from the fridge. Even lifting the bottle to her lips was painful.
She shouldn’t be punished for making her own choices. Who would want to be like that anyway? Who would want to have freakish powers and a soul mate before you even graduate high school? It wasn’t natural. She was supposed to leave Los Angeles as soon as she graduated and start a new life away from her past. She wasn’t meant to be stuck with some guy she barely even knew.
She wanted love, but not like this. She wanted to meet somebody and slowly get to know them over the course of two or three months while going on simple dates. Then, after a year, she would fall in love and decide she wants to spend the rest of her life with this person.
Meeting somebody because of some odd gift?
That wasn’t how she wanted her life to play out.
She dragged her body into the bedroom and slowly snuggled herself under the covers, trying her hardest to ignore the pain shooting through her at lightning speed. She wasn’t going to give into this pain. She wouldn’t allow herself to sink that low.
After all, she didn’t give in to her parents.
Dean walked into the kitchen that evening to find his parents talking over a cup of tea. The walk back home was a complete struggle. Lola had rejected him and, because of that, he was in complete pain. His body ached all over and he could definitely feel what Lola was feeling at her home. He wished he could be there to stop it, but it would only stop if she accepted what was meant to be.
Katherine looked up first, sensing there was something wrong with her son. “Dean, what happened?”
“I met her,” he murmured, sitting down and wincing as his bottom met the hard seat.
She gasped as her husband, Frankie, stood up in surprise. “Oh my gosh!”
Frankie grinned, but then let it fall when he saw his son’s distress. “What’s wrong? You should be happy.”
“She rejected me.”
They both gasped softly, knowing exactly what it meant when the gift was rejected. They had seen, sadly, too many people go through the rejection and they had always prayed that their sons wouldn’t go through it. It broke their hearts to see that their prayers had been ignored.
Dean put his head in his hands and groaned, wishing he could be in some other universe where pain didn’t exist. “Dad, can’t you make this go away?”
“I wish I could, but you know we can’t use our own powers to work against each other on contact,” he explained softly.
He had to talk to her. He needed her to understand that this wasn’t something bad. It was a good thing that could hold a great impact on both of their lives. He didn’t have her number so he did the next best thing.
“Lola, please.”
It took a few moments, but he finally heard her. He could definitely hear the pain in her voice. “Dean, I’m trying to sleep.”
“I need you to understand, please. I know you are in pain.”
There was a pause. “So?”
“I don’t want you to be in pain. I’m in pain, too. I know what it feels like, but we shouldn’t have to feel like this. I need you to accept what we have between us.”
“You can’t make me do anything, Dean. I won’t let you.”
The pain of her words only made his physical pain even worse. A tear slid down his cheek as his parents watched the anguish on his face. “Please.”
“Stay out of my mind.”
He didn’t hear anything else. It was like she had literally slammed the door in his face. He didn’t look at or say anything to his parents. He simply trudged upstairs and shut his door before crashing on his bed. He buried his face in his pillow and groaned out loud.
He wanted to fix this so badly, but there was nothing more he could do except pray that Lola changed her mind.
Everything felt slim to none at this point, though.
“What’s your problem?”
Dean groaned in annoyance. He didn’t have time for Freddie’s presence. “Go away.”
“I overheard you guys downstairs. You met her?” He could hear the anger in his brother’s voice. “I can’t believe this.”
“You can’t believe it? Well, I’m in pain. She rejected me so it’s obviously real,” explained Dean, turning on to his back and glaring at Freddie.
Freddie glared back at his younger brother. “No, I can believe that it’s back. I just can’t believe that you had to be the one to bring it back. It’s bullshit.”
“How? You know I can’t control any of it. Nobody can! So, why are you acting so pissy about it?” Dean reclined on his elbows.
He pointed an angry finger at Dean. “You’re the favorite, Dean. Everybody in the entire world is counting on you because they know what you can do.”
“What do you mean?” asked Dean, confused. He was just a Manifester in America. People around the world counted on him?
Freddie shook his head and rolled his eyes. “It doesn’t matter anymore. You brought back the gift and now things are going to change when we go back to Paris. Big time.”
Dean watched him walk away, replaying his words over and over in his mind. How was the entire world counting him? What did Freddie know that he didn’t?
Right now, as his body convulsed in pain, he knew that he had more important things to worry about.
What about Lola?
“It’s back.”
Matthew Baywood looked up from his paperwork that evening, the Eiffel Tower illuminating outside his office window. He had been busy all day trying to figure out the next meeting among other things that had been weighing on his mind.
He stared at the man before him curiously. “What is?”
The man’s look was emotionless. “The gift. She’s a human.”
Matthew stood up slowly, a smile spreading on his face. “A human, you say? Who is the soul mate?”
There was a pause before a small sneer spread on the man’s face. “Dean Baker.”
Matthew’s smile dropped. “Dean?” A pause. “Oh my.”
“You know what this means, right?” asked the man.
He nodded, turning to look out the window. He stared as the light at the top of the tower flew across his face, continuing its circular motion across Paris.
“Yes, brother. I do.”
5
Lola felt the same.
She’d been at work for a whole two hours and she just felt the same as last night. Weak. She had a slight headache, her stomach hurt, her muscles ached, and she felt like she wanted to fall asleep against the candy counter. It was worse than having her period.
She thought about Dean and knew he was going through the same thing. It didn’t bring her joy that he was hurting, but what was she supposed to do? She wasn’t the type of person to give into things like this. It wasn’t natural for people to have powers. Sure, Dean was handsome and he was sweet. Hell, he had rescued her from Dale’s gross body. But, that didn’t mean she should automatically be his.
“Excuse me? Can I get some service, please?” demanded a gruff voice.
Lola looked up to see a man with a bushy beard covering half of his face, a ratty top hat, and a long coat covered with moth balls. She scrunched up her nose at the smell. “Yes. What can I get you?”
The man had a slight sneer on his face. “Just get me a popcorn. No butter.”
She quickly
prepped his popcorn and accepted his payment on the counter. Just as she handed his popcorn to him, their skin made contact. His eyes went wide as the popcorn dropped from his hands and spilled on to the ground. She furrowed her brows as he suddenly grabbed her wrist, exposing her palm.
“What are you doing!” she exclaimed, her heart starting to beat fast.
“Lola, what’s going on?”
She didn’t even register Dean’s thought. The man began to mumble something incoherent as he held on to her wrist, staring at her palm. It sounded like he was speaking Latin. Before she could even think about what he might be saying, she gasped in pain as a deep cut began to appear straight across her palm. It began to bleed profusely and, before she could grab napkins to clean up her hand, he beat her to the punch. Right after the napkin touched her skin, he ran off.
Lola grabbed more napkins and held them to her palm as blood spilled on the counter. She trembled at the pain and shock of what had happened.
She ran to the bathroom, bypassing the curious and annoyed people she pushed through. Hissing from the contact, she ran her hand under the water in the sink.
She stared at her hand. It was still bleeding, running down the drain. She suddenly envisioned herself from the movie Carrie and grimaced at the blood. She grabbed a few paper towels and dabbed at the cut.
She sunk down to the floor, feeling completely violated. She was confused. Had she been a target? Had that man been looking for her? Was he just crazy?
She looked at her cut, seeing it was still bleeding and decided she had better alert her manager of what happened. As she left the bathroom, she wondered if things could get any worse.
Her manager had immediately called security when Lola told him what happened, but the man had been long gone. He helped bandage her hand up and let her go home for the rest of the evening, making sure that one of the girls could cover her shift.
Lola’s body was still aching all over, so she was ready to go home and sleep for the rest of the day. Her hand stung, but not as much as it had earlier. She had a white strip of bandage wrapped around her palm. She made a mental note to go by the urgent care to get it further checked out.
As soon as she arrived home, she spotted a large black truck in her driveway. She parked next to it and furrowed her brows. The windows were tinted so she couldn’t see if anybody was inside. She got out of her little car and knocked on the window.
“Excuse me? Can I help…” She paused when she watched the window rolled down, revealing Dean. “...you?”
“Hi,” he murmured softly.
“How did you find me?” asked Lola, growing furious. How dare he find her house like this!
“I know some people from your school. One of them told me where you live,” he explained.
“Well, you can go away now. Don’t come back.” Lola turned and walked toward her front door, angrily getting out her house key.
Dean quickly got out of his truck and followed her, stopping her from opening the door. “Wait. Please, hear me out.”
“Why should I?!” shouted Lola.
They both stared at each other for a moment, noticing something different. Though the ache was still there, it was more bearable. It was as if being closer to each other was making everything better.
“You feel that?” whispered Dean.
Lola nodded, but she wasn’t allowing him to change the subject. “What do you want, Dean?”
“I just…” He stopped when he noticed the bandage on her hand. “What happened to your hand?”
Lola hesitated. Should she tell him about the man? “I...cut my hand while trying to open a package. You know, one of those things you use to cut tape on a box.”
Dean cocked a brow, not completely believing her. “Are you sure?”
“I think I’d know how I cut myself, Dean.” She rolled her eyes. “Now, quit changing the subject. What do you want?
He sighed and put his hands in his pockets. “Will you walk with me? We can go down to the beach and talk.”
Lola knew she shouldn’t. “Dean…”
“Please? Then, if you choose to, you can stop talking to me for good. I’m sure the gift will go away in a few days,” he pleaded.
She sighed and opened her front door. “Let me change first and then we can go.”
Dean looked over at Lola as they walked together, their arms brushing against each other. He watched her as she looked at the setting sun. He thought she looked so beautiful in this moment. Her hair was down and blowing in the breeze. She kept her hands clasped in front of her as the colors of the sunset reflected in her eyes.
“Your thoughts are really loud.”
Dean blushed. “Sorry. How are you feeling?”
She knew he was referring to her aches. “They are off and on, but I feel fine. How about you?”
“Same.”
It suddenly felt awkward. He had to get everything out there. It was the time to make it or break it.
“Lola, I know I bombarded you with everything and I didn’t want to scare you. I couldn’t really stop what happened, though. I mean, when it’s meant to happen it just happens.” He paused. “I wouldn’t take it back, though.”
Lola glanced at him as they continued to walk, but stayed silent.
“My parents, along with every other Manifester, have dreamed of the gift coming back into our world. My mom always asked me if I found my soul mate and it would just frustrate me because I know I let her down and I let the entire family line down.” He paused and looked down at the sand. “I know everything I am saying sounds superficial because it’s about my family, but you play a major role, too. Having the gift isn’t just about growing our family. It’s about love. Its about finding that one person that you were destined to meet and spend a lifetime together.”
“I’m not meant for that,” said Lola, shaking her head. “I’m meant to go to Harvard after high school, start a new life, and see what I can make of myself. All of that would just stop me.”
Dean stopped in front of her. He held her hands loosely. “You think I would stop you from achieving your dreams? Being a part of the family is all about making dreams come true. The person you’re meant to be with helps you achieve your goals and vice versa. I would never stop you from getting what you want, Lola.”
“But, it’s not supposed to be like this. There is no such thing as a soul mate,” said Lola, removing her hands from his grasp.
“What do you call two people that are happily married then?” asked Dean.
Lola barely spoke up. “I wouldn’t know.”
Dean sighed. “When you say it, it sounds really heavy. But, it’s the same thing as love. Whether you want to believe it or not, we are meant to be together. We just found each other in a different way.”
“I don’t deserve love. My parents never loved me. Why should anybody else?”
Dean looked down for a moment, gathering Lola’s thoughts in his head. He looked up, his blue eyes glazed with unshed tears. “Lola, I’m sorry that your parents left you. You don’t even have to tell me the whole story. But, I don’t want you to think that you deserve to be alone or that you should be alone.”
Lola looked away from his gaze.
“Are you mad?” asked Dean cautiously.
“Why would I be mad?” She looked back at him.
“You aren’t really talking,” he said softly. “The last thing I want to do is drive you away.”
Dean hesitated for a moment before speaking again. “Can I at least take you on a first date?”
Lola chewed on her lip. “A… date? We don’t even know each other.”
He quirked up a small smile. “Yeah, I know. It doesn’t have to be a real date if you don’t want it to be. But, why not give it a shot? If I completely scare you off, then we can never see each other again.”
She sighed. “I don’t know. Where would we go?”
“I’ll plan something.” He smiled at her.
“Hey! Lovebirds!”
&nb
sp; Dean looked up to see three men in black clothes that covered lean muscles. “Can we help you?”
“Yeah,” started the middle guy with a military cut. “You can help us by getting off our beach.”
Lola furrowed her brows. “The beach is a public place.”
Dean pulled Lola closer to him, making sure to shield her from the guys. “Don’t antagonize them.”
“Oh,” chuckled the guy on the right. “This girl has a mouth on her.”
“Maybe somebody should teach her how to use it properly,” said the guy on the left, walking toward her.
Dean glared at them, shaking his head. “You stay the hell away from her.”
The middle guy laughed and balled his hands into fists. “Louis. Nathan. Get her.”
Lola gasped as one of them attempted to grab her arm and pull her away from Dean. He was held back by one of the guys and grunted, trying to get away and rescue Lola. He watched as they shoved her to the ground, one of them landing on top of her.
Something inside of him blew up. He felt an incredible amount of energy inside his body as he grew angrier. He was feeling protective of Lola and he was feeling angry at the people trying to hurt her. He could only think of one thing to do and he knew it would completely freak her out. But, he had to save her.
Dean began murmuring under his breath. The guy that was holding him suddenly jumped back, shouting out in pain. Dean’s body felt hot as he glowed a bright green. His hands shot out at the other guy, knocking him off of his feet. He then grabbed the other guy’s shirt, tossing him off of Lola. She was staring right at him in shock. He had expected that, but he had no choice.
“His eyes are glowing,” muttered the guy with the military cut.
They all put their hands up in defense, backing away slowly. “Alright, man. Alright.”
“Get out of here,” seethed Dean, his voice taking on a much darker tone as he continued to glow in front of them.
As Dean glowed brighter, the three guys ran off. He then sighed heavily and closed his eyes, returning back to normal. He felt sluggish and turned to face Lola.
