At First Sight: Special Edition

by Heather Todd

  “So?” Jessica shrugged again.

  “It’s not a good feeling. If I can accept Dean, then why can’t you accept Freddie?” asked Lola.

  Jessica looked at her friend. “You know I can’t do relationships. They are just a recipe for disaster.”

  “How do you know? Your parents are still together while mine are God knows where doing God knows what,” said Lola, rolling her eyes and popping a grape in her mouth.

  “That doesn’t mean anything. I never see them, so I don’t know the truth about their relationship.” Jessica sighed. “Relationships just don’t last anymore.”

  “What about Lucy and Kevin? They have been together since the eighth grade, apparently. They are in our grade, too.”

  “They are weird. That doesn’t mean anything. They act like an old couple,” said Jessica, scoffing at Lola’s example.

  “Exactly! If they act like an old couple, then you know they will be together forever!” exclaimed Lola. “Just give Freddie a chance. He is supposed to be your soul mate.”

  “I don’t want a soul mate.”

  “Everybody wants a soul mate,” said Lola. “I didn’t think I wanted one.”

  “How are you still sure you want Dean? I know you accepted him, but still.” Jessica looked at her pointedly.

  “I don’t know. I’m just trusting in this,” said Lola, simply shrugging. “You should, too.”

  Freddie walked up the sidewalk later that afternoon, having finished surfing at the beach a few moments ago. He was still in pain and he had crashed into the waves multiple times. It only made the pain worse.

  When he arrived at his house, he stopped when he noticed somebody was waiting on the porch. It wasn’t a stranger, though. It was Jessica.

  “Hey,” said Freddie, propping his surfboard against the porch railing.

  Jessica waved. “Hey. Lola brought me here. She’s supposed to train with Dean or something.”

  Freddie nodded. “Yeah, yeah.” He gestured to the swing. “Let’s sit.”

  Jessica nodded and sat down with him, exhaling slowly as their fingers brushed together. Her pain was going away.

  “Mine is, too.” Freddie looked at her and pointed to his forehead. “I can still read your thoughts.”

  “Oh.” Jessica nodded and rubbed her hands on her legs.

  “I’m glad you came.”

  “This isn’t easy for me, Freddie.” Jessica looked at him. “I’m not a relationship person.”

  “I know.” He smiled at her confused look. “Lola told me a bit about you.”

  Jessica rolled her eyes. “Oh great.”

  Freddie shook his head and held her hand. “No, it’s okay. I won’t judge you for your actions. It’s not my place to judge.”

  “Why?”

  “Soul mates aren’t supposed to judge each other. That’s not what my species is about. We are about love and happiness,” he explained. “We take our role very seriously.”

  “You guys are not even human!” she exclaimed. “How is that even possible?”

  Freddie sighed and shook his head, looking out at the other houses on his block. “Honestly, I don’t know. I was born this way and it even amazes me that we exist. But, we do. I’m grateful for that. We need to act human around strangers, but what we can do is really a blessing. We’re here for a reason.”

  “So, you believe in God?” asked Jessica.

  Freddie laughed at her random question and nodded. “Yeah, we do. We have the same religion. We survive on the same food. We live in regular houses. We are just like humans, except we can produce magic and meet our soul mates with one look.”

  Jessica ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head. “I don’t know how you do it.”

  “I don’t know either, but we are alive. We are doing great,” said Freddie. “I’m not asking you to give in because you feel you have to. I want you to want this. I want you to want me.”

  “I know,” murmured Jessica.

  Dean placed fingerless gloves on Lola’s hands. Dean’s family had their own training room down in the basement. There were throwing knives, exercise equipment, and even a full track above the floor of the basement. Lola was definitely surprised they were able to fit a decent track in their basement. Dean had explained his father was the one who built the house, so he made sure to plan out everything in advance.

  He slapped the Velcro together and smiled at Lola. “We’re going to practice on your hitting and kicking.”

  “No spells or magic?” asked Lola.

  He shook his head and walked over to the punching bag suspended in the middle of the room. He stood behind it and held it. “Nope.”

  “What’s the point of practicing hitting and kicking when we have powers?” asked Lola, awkwardly hitting at the punching bag.

  “You never know what might happen when you’re up against somebody. You could lose your powers—maybe Leo can take yours away. Anything is possible.” He stopped her movements and stood behind her, trying to hold back a smile. “Keep your posture like this.”

  Lola smirked as his hands gripped her waist, slowly positioning her body straight and in the correct form. She watched him go back behind the bag and memorized the quirky smile on his face. “Like this?”

  Dean watched her punch and gripped the bag tighter, nodding. “Good job. Try kicking.”

  She nodded and awkwardly kicked it, but soon understood the correct position. “So, what do you think Leo can do to us?”

  “I’ve heard about some type of charm that touches you. Once it makes contact with your body, your energy and connection with your soul mate slowly fades until you can’t function properly,” he explained. “It can slowly kill you.”

  Lola kicked and then punched the bag again. Sweat was beginning to form on her skin. “Even with my imprint? That power will fade, too?”

  Dean nodded. “Unfortunately.” He paused. “I’ve overheard my dad talking about everything that has been happening with the family. He’s told them and some are worried that it’s only going to get worse. We have the first sight with humans because humans can be our soul mate. Once we have that gift with the human, their blood changes them into a Manifester. There’s no going back.”

  “Unless Leo actually removes the first sight,” grunted Lola, hitting the bag hard.

  Dean shrugged. “I don’t know if he knows how to do it. I know I mentioned the charm, but it’s not common knowledge. I only know of it from my parents. However, I’m not going to let that happen to you.”

  Lola looked at him and stopped hitting the bag. “Are you going to tell me what happened last night?”

  Dean sighed and rubbed his face. “My parents have been keeping a secret from me.”

  “About what?” asked Lola, furrowing her brows.

  Dean proceeded to tell her everything from when he overheard Frankie and Matthew talking to when his dad revealed his mother’s past. When he told Lola that he was being forced to lead their race in a war, the angry tears returned. He continuously rubbed his eyes so she wouldn’t see them.

  Lola held his hands and put them on her waist. She wrapped her arms around him as he shook, releasing his tears. She knew what he was feeling. He was scared to death. He was being forced to do something that could potentially kill him and he wasn’t scared for himself. He was scared for the both of them.

  “I’m sorry,” he murmured in her shoulder.

  “Shhh…” Lola rubbed his back. “It is not your fault. You said you can’t control any of this.”

  “I wish I could control this, but I can’t.” Dean looked at her and sniffled. “I don’t want to leave you by yourself.”

  She knew what he meant by that.

  He didn’t want to die and leave her alone.

  “You aren’t going to die in this war.” She put her hands on his cheeks. “You are strong, okay? We’re training and we are going to get strong because of this war. The Readers won’t win. We have the power.”

  Dean nodded and s
tared at her, looking into her brown eyes. “I want to kiss you.”

  She chewed on her lip and sighed a shaky breath. She wanted to kiss him, too. What if this kiss was unlike a human kiss? “Okay.”

  Lola and Dean leaned toward each other, their lips just inches apart. She could feel his hot breath against her skin and knew this was going to be the best kiss of her life. Suddenly, she immediately felt her hand burning. She collapsed in pain and ripped off her glove and screamed out as her right palm burned with such intensity she literally collapsed on the mat. The pain was unbearable and she screamed in agony. Dean attempted to soothe her to no avail. It was like the pain had a mind of its own as it scorched her skin.

  It ended as abruptly as it began. Lola breathed heavily as she stared at the ceiling. Sweat soaked through her clothes and ran freely down her back and chest. She blinked through the tears and stared at her palm, immediately stifling another scream. She stared at the edges that were all too clear.

  Dean watched as she hid her hand. He brushed a few strands of hair from her face. “What happened, Lola?” He held her closed hand. “Show me your palm. Please.”

  “No.” She cried, clenching her fist so hard her knuckles turned white. She tried to scurry away, but Dean held on to her.

  “Show me.”

  Lola finally opened her hand and shut her eyes, listening as Dean’s breath caught in his throat. He could see it and she knew good and well what she was destined to have. This was what the first sight had intended for her. This was her fate.

  The lightning bolt was her imprint.

  “I don’t want you to worry about the imprint…” started Frankie.

  “How am I supposed to not worry about having the same imprint as Leo? You didn’t see the things that he could do with the imprint. He can kill someone. Not only that, but I can be put to death!” exclaimed Lola, still tearful about the experience she had just had.

  Dean sat next to Lola and rubbed her shoulder, trying to soothe her. “Don’t get hysterical, okay? We’re going to help you.”

  “How?” she asked softly.

  “We’re going to train you. We’re going to teach you how to control it so it doesn’t control you,” said Frankie. “We need to have Matthew help you control it.”

  Lola furrowed her brows. “Why him?”

  “He knows everything there is to know about control. The lightning bolt isn’t the only imprint that can be controlled. It’s all about the mindset,” he explained.

  “Mindset?”

  He nodded. “Yes. It requires focus. You have to focus on the task at hand that you want to happen. Not what the imprint wants to happen.”

  “Sounds difficult,” she murmured, sighing heavily.

  Dean looked at Lola for a moment. “No more stress. Let me take you somewhere.”

  “No way.”

  Dean placed his surfboard in the sand and began taking off his shirt, revealing his hard abs. Lola tried her hardest not to stare, but it was damn hard to resist.

  He smirked at her thoughts. “Come on. It’s just surfing. I promise not to let you drown.”

  “That’s not funny,” said Lola, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Why won’t you just try?” he asked.

  “I nearly drowned when I was five years old. Since then, I have had a big fear of the ocean,” she explained. “I don’t even have a swimsuit on.”

  Dean reached inside the bag he had brought and took out a simple red swimsuit. “I always come prepared.”

  Lola raised her brow curiously. “You always carry a girl’s bathing suit in your bag?”

  “That’s not the point. You should try it. Please?” Dean put his hands together and pouted his lip.

  Lola rolled her eyes and laughed lightly. “I don’t know.”

  “Trust me.” He smiled. “I’ve been surfing since I was six. I won’t let you drown.”

  She hesitated for a moment. “Promise?”

  “I promise.”

  He grabbed his surfboard and held her hand after she changed into her bathing suit, wearing it over her underwear to contain her modesty. He set his surfboard down in the water and carefully let her take her time as she sat down behind him. She winced at the contact as the water reached her legs.

  “Oh my gosh,” she murmured, hugging his waist.

  Dean smiled and slowly began to push out into the water. “It’s okay.”

  Lola shut her eyes as the water sloshed against her legs as they went out more. As she held on to Dean, she began to feel more comfortable. She didn’t know if it was because of their gift or it was because she believed in his protection.

  She felt good.

  “Here comes a wave. You ready?” asked Dean.

  Lola’s grip tightened. “What do you want me to do?”

  “Just hold on to me!” he shouted over the sound of the wave building.

  Dean turned the surfboard around and began to stand up. Lola stood up with him, squealing as she struggled to keep her balance. She kept her arms around his waist as he began to ride the wave expertly, laughing along with her as water sprayed against their bodies.

  Lola was having too much fun that she nearly missed the glow next to her. She stared at it and was in a trance as it kept glowing brighter and brighter. She blinked and was suddenly thrust into another world.

  She was standing in the sand, the sunlight shining down on her skin. There were people laughing and playing on the beach as if nothing was out of the ordinary. She looked around and stopped when she spotted two familiar people that she never thought she would see again.

  Her parents.

  They were lounging against their beach chairs, completely ignoring each other as they flipped through magazines. She had a memory of this moment for some reason, but she couldn’t quite recall the missing pieces.

  Where was she?

  Suddenly, she heard shouting and turned around to face the ocean. There was a lifeguard swimming out into the middle of the ocean, attempting to rescue someone. He hauled a small girl out of the water and raced toward shore, setting her down on the sand and performing CPR. People were crowding around him as he continued the life saving procedure.

  As Lola got closer, she realized that nobody was paying attention to her. It was as if she didn’t exist. When she got close enough to the lifeguard, she caught a glimpse of the little girl.

  It was her.

  She was reliving her memory of drowning.

  She turned around, breathing heavily. Her parents were watching, clearly having a view of the little girl from their position. Surely they could tell it was the daughter. But, they weren’t doing a damn thing about it.

  Lola raced toward them and stood in front of them. “That’s your own daughter! Do something!”

  They didn’t say anything as they returned to their magazines. It made Lola furious that they cared so little about their own daughter.

  About her.

  She blinked again and was suddenly out of breath. Her eyes began to sting as she stared at the salt water around her. She was staring into the ocean and she suddenly realized she was underwater! She attempted to call out to Dean, but her mouth remained completely immobile. In fact, her whole body was immobile. Chains wrapped her from head to toe. Her hair was surrounding her as she went farther and farther underwater. She was having a hard time holding her breath, but she couldn’t get free. She wondered where Dean was.

  She was going to die. Leo had won.

  Everything warped around her as she shut her eyes, prepared to be enveloped in the darkness that would take her away from her soul mate forever. She could hear a loud roaring in her ears as she began to feel lighter and lighter.

  Instead, she started coughing erratically as a pair of arms held her and a deep voice spoke to her. She breathed heavily as she looked around. She was on the sand, water spilling around her cheeks as she continued to cough.

  Dean looked at her fearfully as he frantically smoothed her hair back. “Lola, what happene
d? You were holding on to me and then you were gone!”

  Lola tried to catch her breath, refusing to meet his eyes. “I was underwater. I couldn’t breathe or move. It felt so real. I thought I was going to die.”

  “Lola, it was real!” He paused, staring at her. “Wait a minute. It was another illusion?” He groaned in frustration. “Damn it.”

  “I saw my parents,” she murmured, sitting up on her elbows.

  Dean looked at her in surprise. “You did? What was going on?”

  “I was there. The day I had nearly drowned? I was there. I shouted at them to save their child, but they completely ignored me. They ignored their own child,” explained Lola, shaking her head.

  Lola suddenly felt completely vulnerable. She stared back at Dean and saw a world that she could never fit into. She saw a person that could never understand her. She saw a love that she didn’t deserve.

  “I can’t,” she whispered.

  Dean furrowed his brows. “What?”

  Lola quickly sat up and put her clothes back on over her suit. “I can’t do this. I can’t… be a Manifester.”

  Dean quickly held her hands, causing her to stop her movements. “What are you talking about? Lola, did I do something? We don’t have to go in the water again.”

  “It’s not you. It’s me,” she said, refusing to meet his gaze.

  Dean let go of her hands and scoffed lightly. “Really? You’re using that excuse?”

  “It’s not an excuse!” she shouted. “It’s true! I’m not for you. I don’t care what the gift thinks. I’m not right for you. I am way too complicated.”

  “Lola, you can’t do this.” He paused. “We’re meant for each other.”

  She shook her head, tears filling her eyes. “No. I just don’t belong in your world.”

  Dean pressed his lips together and looked away. “Fine.”

  Lola watched him carefully.

  “I won’t make you stay,” he muttered under his breath.

  Lola began to back away slowly, surprisingly feeling her heart break. “I’m sorry.”

  He didn’t say anything as she left him alone on the beach.