Sam took my hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to the tips of my fingers. I guess I can’t be sure. But so far everything else she told me has been true. I guess this Mindbond/bleeding thing will be something that we figure out together.
I liked that.
He smiled then turned away, but I pulled him back.
You feel that much anticipation at seeing China?
Anticipation to remove the threat she poses to you.
Stay.
I’ll be back.
I’ll miss you.
He tapped my forehead with his finger and smiled. We can still talk.
I’m the only one that you can do this with?
His grin was quick and devastating. The one and only.
I could get use to this Mindbond stuff.
If you need me…
You’ll know.
“Yeah,” he whispered and pulled me close for a quick kiss. Then he disappeared out my window.
You forgot your shirt! I told him, wanting to see if it really worked when he wasn’t in the same room.
Keep it.
I picked it up from where it lay on the floor and raised it to my nose. It smelled just like him, spicy and masculine. After hugging the cotton to my chest I tucked it beneath my pillow. With any luck the scent of him would still be there later when I wore his shirt to bed.
Sunlight filtered in from every window downstairs. As I walked through the living room my eyes stung more and more until they watered. I hurried over to my book bag and found my sunglasses. Thankfully the dark lenses gave me a semblance of relief. Grandma was in the kitchen, moving around. I could smell fresh coffee and muffins. The big windows next to the table were uncovered with sun streaming through them, and I had to squint when I entered the kitchen. I bolted for the coffee pot, turning my back on the sun to pour the brew into a giant white mug.
“Good morning!” Grandma called. “Did you sleep well?”
Taking a breath I turned around, leaning against the counter.
“What’s the matter?” she gasped, looking at my glasses.
“I have a headache,” I murmured, taking a sip of coffee. Which really wasn’t a lie, the sun was so bright it was starting to hurt my head.
She hurried over to a cabinet and pulled out a bottle to shake two pills out into her hand. “Here, this will help.”
I took the pills and swallowed them with my coffee. “Thank you.” On my way to the table, I snagged a banana muffin and then sat with my back to the window. I blinked a couple of times trying to clear my vision, which was slightly blurry.
You doing okay? Sam’s raspy voice floated through my head.
I’m fine. The light still hurts, though.
I’ll be there soon.
Okay. I really wanted to tell him to hurry and that I missed him terribly but he already felt an extreme obligation to protect me, why make it worse? Besides shouldn’t I deal with my own problems myself?
“I spoke to the insurance company; the car was destroyed completely from the fire but is completely covered. I should receive a check very soon to buy a new one.”
“That’s great. I’m so sorry about the accident.”
“Hush, I know it was an accident. I’m glad you weren’t hurt.”
If only she knew.
I concentrated on my muffin. It was good, and I found myself wishing that it was somehow magical and healed whatever was wrong with my eyes. Grandma ‘tsked’ at my silence and walked over to the window above the sink. “I’ll lower the blinds, maybe it will help your headache.”
“Thank you.” The room darkened just slightly when the shade was down because the windows at my back were the biggest. Still the little change in light seemed to make my eyes worse. It seemed like my eyes were trying awfully hard to adjust to their surroundings, and the slightest bit of variation in light made them work even harder. I stared hard at Grandma as she refilled her coffee mug; she was so blurry I could hardly make her out. I squeezed my eyes shut hard and took a deep breath. When I looked up she was watching me, frowning.
“Here let me get the other shades.” She jolted forward, and her burst of movement caused something in my brain to snap.
Intense, bright color exploded around me.
I have to get out.
I have to get out.
The mantra pounded through me. Something was so wrong with me. My head pounded and even though my eyes were closed, blindingly bright color swam in front of me. I worked really hard not to show my alarm. After several long seconds during which I only tried to breathe, I managed to thank her for lowering the shades. She didn’t seem to notice that I was suddenly overwhelmed, and for that I was thankful.
“You should take it easy today. Yesterday took a lot out of you.”
“I plan on it,” I answered. Should I open my eyes? Would everything be normal, or worse? My stomach twisted in panic as I fretted about what to do. What if I opened my eyes and I couldn’t see anything? What if I could see, but everything was so blurry I couldn’t make my way out of the kitchen without bumping into everything?
There was a knock on the door, and I heard Grandma open it. “Sam,” she said.
“I thought I would come and see how Heven was feeling after the accident.”
I fought not to slump with relief. Something’s wrong.
I know. Breathe.
“Well come on in. Let me get you a muffin and some coffee.”
“Thank you.”
I felt him drawing closer. His scent reached me, and I wanted to cry. From right before me he spoke, “Hey, Hev. How are you feeling today?”
“Except for this headache, I’m good.” Bright colors are everywhere.
Close your eyes.
They are closed!
“I like those glasses.” I knew he was smiling for the benefit of Gran. Except I felt robbed of his smile. I wanted to see it too. Oh God, what if I couldn’t see his beautiful face?
Open your eyes; focus on me.
I opened my eyes. For a few seconds bright blotches of color obscured my vision, and I panicked, reaching out to grasp Sam’s hand. But then, slowly the blotches faded away and my vision became clear. Sam was squatting before me, staring hard, worry on his face.
You’re so beautiful. I couldn’t help but think.
He smiled but not enough for the worry in his eyes to disappear. Does the light hurt your eyes?
Not too bad. It was actually better than before.
“Here you go.” Gran set a plate and mug next to him on the table. I looked up at her and gasped, jumping in my chair.
“What!?” she exclaimed.
I shook my head, “Sorry, you startled me.” It was a pathetic lie.
“My goodness, you about gave me a heart attack.” I stared at her even when she moved away.
What’s going on?
There’s a huge ring of color around her. It keeps changing.
Are there colors around me?
No.
Anything else?
No.
Sam glanced at Grandma and moved to sit at the table next to me. “I brought some movies with me. I thought maybe you might like to watch them today, if you don’t have plans, that is.”
“No plans,” I said and then turned to Grandma, who sat down across from us. “Would it be okay if Sam hung out for a while?”
“That’s fine dear. A movie day is just what you need. And I won’t feel guilty for leaving you alone to go to the store.”
Sam palmed a few movies that I hadn’t even noticed and stood, pushing in his chair. “Thank you for the muffin and coffee, Mrs. Montgomery.”
“You’re welcome, Sam.”
I stared at Grandma as the colors around her shifted some more.
Come on, Heven.
I stood, grabbing my coffee. I felt sluggish and tired. Sam took the mug from me and led me into the family room where the TV and DVD player were. He went about sliding a movie into the player, and I settled on the couch, pulli
ng a blanket over me. When he turned around I slid the sunglasses up over my head. What’s happening?
Looks like we just discovered the supernatural ability that Airis gave you.
We did?
You can see people’s auras.
Did that even count as some sort of supernatural ability? It wasn’t particularly exciting. And it wasn’t that useful. Sam settled down on the sofa next to me, and my first thought was to curl up in his lap and lay my head on his chest. But then Grandma banged a pan in the kitchen and put an end to those tempting thoughts. With a sigh I settled for scooting a little closer and laying my head on his shoulder. With one hand he pressed some buttons on the remote, and the movie flashed on the screen. I didn’t notice what he put in because his other hand was busy slipping beneath the blanket to slide his fingers through mine. I closed my eyes and sighed, thinking that maybe if I went to sleep, when I woke up my headache would be gone and there wouldn’t be a ring of colors surrounding my grandma. Except I couldn’t sleep. As exhausted as I felt, my mind wouldn’t shut off and leave me alone. It was annoying.
Questions plagued me. If I really could see auras then why didn’t Sam have a ring of color around him? Would I be able to see colors around everyone that I looked at? That was going to be extremely distracting. How was I supposed to walk around school and not let on that everyone was glowing? I felt like such a freak; first the hideous scar and now this. At least this was something that no one else had to know about. And how was I going to explain at school tomorrow where my scar went? I couldn’t possibly tell the truth.
And what about my eye sensitivity? When would that go away? Wearing sunglasses 24/7 just wasn’t an option. I guess I could–
Stop.
Sam’s demand brought me out of my swirling mind. What?
Stop worrying. We’ll figure it out.
I can’t, I have too many questions.
Then let’s get some answers.
How?
He hit the pause button on the remote, and I looked over at the TV, noticing the movie for the first time. How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days?
He shrugged, “You’ve seen it?”
“Sure. Have you?”
He shook his head. “It looked like a girly movie, and I thought it would make you happy.”
I smiled. “You’d sit through a girly movie just for me?”
“Yes, although, I actually think it’s kind of funny.”
“Let’s finish watching it.”
He shook his head. “Later. We have something to do.”
“We do?”
“Go offer to go to the store for your grandma. I’ll drive you.”
“I don’t know if I want to go out…”
“Wouldn’t you rather learn about what you’re seeing today at the grocery store with me instead of at school tomorrow?”
“Totally.” I tossed the blanket to the side and tugged his hand as I stood.
We went into the kitchen where my grandma was reading the newspaper. I stood there a minute trying to get a handle on the colors that circled around her. The brightest, most dominant color was blue. I watched in fascination as other clouds of color in green and purple floated around her. Sam squeezed my hand, and I cleared my throat. “Grandma, if you give me your list I would be happy to go to the store for you.”
She looked up from her paper. “I thought you had a headache.”
“The pain reliever you gave me really helped.”
“Well, good. But I still think you should rest.”
“I really feel fine, and you do so much for me. I really don’t mind. Getting out for a while might be nice.”
“You’ll drive her, Sam?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“All right then.” When she walked across the room the colors went with her. She pulled out a list and some cash. “Here you are. Make sure that you pick up something for dinner tonight. Sam, you are welcome to join us.”
I leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Grandma. I love you.”
She smiled and the colors around her flared a shade of pink. Somewhere inside me a voice told me that the color of pink stood for love. “Love you too. Don’t stay out too long.”
Sam waited downstairs as I went to change out of my PJs. As I dressed I couldn’t help but feel the irony. Just last week I would have been thrilled to go out in public without my gross scars, and now that I could, I was too nervous to enjoy it. I was afraid that Sam was right and that I really would see everyone’s aura. It made me feel like I was still a freak, just in a different way.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Heven
The parking lot at the grocery store wasn’t crowded. I was incredibly relieved because I was already shaking. From the minute we’d turned onto the busy street I was assaulted with too many bright colors. Everywhere I looked there were people exploding with different hues, so much so that my head began to pound all over again. It was sensory overload to the tenth degree.
Sam parked the truck and turned off the ignition, but made no move to get out, instead turning to look at me.
“How am I supposed to process all of this at once?”
“You don’t have to.”
I snorted. “Are you kidding? I don’t have a choice.”
“Yes, you do.” The raspy quality of his voice soothed me. “It’s like going to the mall. There are dozens of stores all with different colors, lights, music. There are different scents from all the different food places, there’s a lot going on. But you don’t really notice it, you know? Sure you know it’s there, but you aren’t really thinking about it all at once.”
The idea made sense. “Just because I can see the colors doesn’t mean I have to pay attention to them?”
“Exactly. Unless you want to.”
I nodded. “I guess I could try it.”
I took Sam’s hand and let him lead me through the parking lot, keeping my head down and my sunglasses on. The light was still a little too bright for my eyes. Once inside I took a breath and looked up. I couldn’t help but notice every person that was near. Each one of them had colorful rings of color around them. All of the colors varied in shade and intensity. It overwhelmed me, and my chest began to feel tight.
Don’t pay any attention to them. Look at me.
It wasn’t hard to lose focus of everyone else and concentrate only on Sam. I did it all the time. He was gorgeous and if that wasn’t enough, now I had another reason why he took my breath away. He was the only person I looked at that wasn’t surrounded by color. He made me feel like things were normal.
He laughed out loud, drawing a few stares. I make you feel normal?
Stop listening to every thought I have.
He had the grace to look chagrinned. Sorry.
I pulled Gran’s list from my pocket. “Come on.”
Thankfully, I didn’t see anyone that I knew. At first it was hard to concentrate on the list because seeing a rainbow of color at every turn wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped. Sam was super gracious leading me from aisle to aisle, only stopping in front of the things I needed to get. When we finally made it over to the dairy aisle (the last aisle that we needed to go), I was relieved and a little more relaxed. I somehow managed to get through the store and no one seemed to notice that I stared at everyone and everything. I reached into the large cooler for a gallon of milk and stepped back when a man brushed by me. I gasped, dropping the gallon at my feet where milk exploded everywhere. I pressed my back against the cooler door and stared at the man who glared at me before stalking away.
Sam stepped in between me and the view of the man. “What’s the matter?”
That man is so ugly.
He glanced over his shoulder. He isn’t that scary looking.
I shook my head. Ugly on the inside. Angry too. The colors around him are icky and brown. I shuddered.
Block it out, Hev.
“Guess I’ll get someone to clean up this mess I made.”
“I’ll go.” He turned
just as someone was coming out of the stockroom. The man looked at the mess and told Sam he’d come back with a mop. When he returned I smiled. “I’m really sorry about the mess.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Can I help?”
“Nah, it’s okay.” The colors around him were mostly blue, and it felt like he wasn’t angry at all, and it made me feel better. After the milk was mopped he reached into the cooler and grabbed me another gallon. “Here you go.”
“Thank you,” I accepted the milk and added it to the cart.
After we paid for the groceries, we loaded them in the truck and were walking back from the cart return when Sam pointed to the ice cream shop next to the grocery store.
“Can we get it to go?” I asked.
“Sure.”
The place was packed, and I panicked. Quickly I slid the sunglasses over my eyes to help keep out some light and hide my expressions. Sam put a palm to my lower back, and I concentrated on the feeling it gave me. I managed to make it through the line to order (strawberry in a cone for me, a to-go cup of butter pecan for Grandma and a double scoop of chocolate for Sam) and navigate through the crowd. Outside on the sidewalk I took a deep breath of the spring air and enjoyed a taste of ice cream. It was silly to feel proud of myself, but I did. I managed to get through the menagerie of colors without losing it in front of everyone.
Then I looked up.
Kimber and Cole were coming through the parking lot toward us with Kimber waving at me fanatically. I checked my watch. Yep, school let out just twenty minutes ago. I looked back up at my friends. Colors of bright shades in yellow, orange, red and most dominantly – turquoise – shot out around her, almost like flames. Her aura was so bold that it practically fought for space with Cole’s. His was bright too, but the colors were not as frantic; they didn’t burst around him like they might attack me. They were much more soothing to my eyes in green and blues. There was also a dominant magenta shade, a mix of purple and pink that surrounded his head. It was the first time I had seen a color like this. Sure, I have seen pinks and purples, but they were always temporary bursts, they never stayed like this color, and the purple and pink never mixed together to create a new shade. It was different, but it seemed to fit him perfectly somehow.
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