Everything went quiet, except for some whispers.
“Oh my God,” someone said.
Rachel squeezed by Jamie and turned into the room.
Her mouth fell open.
Dad was sitting upright in bed as best he could, considering his cast. He was hunched over and coughing, aftereffects from removing the breathing tube. The bruises, cuts, and black eyes were completely gone.
A nurse was helping Mom sit up as she rubbed her nose.
They were both fine.
Rachel forced her way inside. Everyone was too stunned to try to stop her.
She ran between both beds and embraced her parents, her arms shaking as she held on to them. They said nothing for some time. The doctors and nurses simply watched, stunned.
“Would someone get this cast off my leg?” Dad asked. “It's pissing me off.”
Rachel and her parents laughed together.
Something touched her jeans.
She looked down to see Mom's leg, gently hanging off the side of the bed, absentmindedly moving it back and forth.
“Mom.”
Mom saw what she was doing, and willed her leg to stop.
She curled the other one up, bringing her knee to her chest.
She looked back and forth from her husband to her daughter. No one watching had anything to say except for one doctor.
“That's impossible. The muscles would have atrophied. There's no way-”
Mom hadn't moved a muscle below her waist in ten years.
She stood up from bed, and turned in a circle, taking small steps around the room.
“I'm walking,” she said, over and over. “I can walk.”
Rachel stood up and hugged her mother. They cried together, getting tears all over each other. For a moment, she thought she was dreaming again. Her father cried as he watched from his bed. Even some of the nurses, including Jamie, shed some tears as they watched the miracle before them.
Rachel opened her eyes, facing the window.
Her gaze fell on a familiar figure walking across the parking lot toward the street.
She recognized the backpack and muscular build. He picked up his pace to catch the bus as it stopped and opened its doors.
She smiled.
Chapter 13
Kevin sat at the same lunch table he did every day. He took a drink of delicious cafeteria chocolate milk and a bite of his steak sub. A football game must have been scheduled for after school. The players and cheerleaders both wore their uniforms, although the cheerleading outfit was significantly smaller. He gave polite waves to the cheerleaders as they strutted past him.
It was Friday. Rachel hadn't shown up to school all week. The news of the miracle in the hospital had already spread across town. It even made the front page of the paper.
Kristin simply shook her head at him when she read the news, but didn't bring it up past that.
He looked up to see Rachel walking toward him, and nearly choked on his sub. She must have come in late, as she wasn't in literature class.
He missed her terribly all week.
He went to stand up to hug her, but she sat across from him before he could move. She brushed hair out of her eyes.
She looked great.
“Hi,” he said. “You want a bite of my sub?”
“I know it was you.”
“Yeah,” he said, frowning. “I saw the article on the website. I guess one of my customers got himself in trouble? Gave up my post office box?”
“I'm not talking about the research papers. I mean at the hospital.”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“It's funny,” she said, almost ignoring him. “I know what you did to me in first grade. But I told myself it couldn't be real, and I started to believe that. But it's true. You healed me then, and you healed my parents.”
He offered a sheepish smile. “Rachel, what are you rambling about? I'm not a doctor.”
“My mom has...had multiple sclerosis. My dad had asthma. It's all gone now. Even the cuts on his face are gone from the accident. My mom was in a wheelchair since I was eight. Now she's running around the house, dancing with my dad.”
Kevin swallowed hard. He didn't know about her parents' medical problems.
Apparently, his water could heal anything.
“No physical therapy or anything? Wow. Well, that's a good thing, right?”
She looked at him. “It's the most wonderful thing in the world. I just want to hear you say it, Kevin. Be honest.”
He laughed. “Honest? Yeah, you're real good at honest.”
She closed her eyes. “About the website-”
“I heal people with water,” he said. “I take ordinary water, touch it, and it'll heal whoever drinks it.”
The words almost sounded strange coming from him, even though it was the truth.
It was the first time Kevin ever admitted what he could do.
He didn't feel any different.
“How is this possible?”
He ignored her. “No one will believe you if you say anything. If you try to write a story about it, everyone will think you're crazy.”
Her mouth hung open for a moment.
“You think I'm gonna say something? You think I want to write about it?”
He shrugged. “You tattled on me before.”
The lunch bell rang. Students threw away their trash and filed out of the cafeteria.
She shook her head. “If you would listen for one second-”
“Lunch is over. I have to get to class,” he said as he stood up and walked away.
Rachel didn't bother chasing after him.
The conversation didn't go like she planned.
It was her fault. It was a terrible idea to corner him in the school cafeteria.
She smiled, gazing at him as he left.
She wasn't done with him yet.
*****
Rachel was surprised when Kristin answered the door to their apartment. Their car was gone from the parking lot, but she assumed it was Kristin that was out.
She fought off that stab of jealousy that popped up whenever she was in the presence of Kevin's beautiful sister.
“Hey,” Kristin greeted. “Kevin's out right now. He borrowed the car to go to the store.”
Rachel was suddenly aware of how ridiculous she looked. She stood there awkwardly, holding the same vase of roses Kevin left for her as the hospital.
“Uh, okay. Do you know when he'll be back?”
Kristin looked at the time on the DVD player. “Six minutes, thirty-two seconds. No, I don't know when he'll be back. You want to come in and wait for him?”
“Yeah, thank you.”
Rachel closed the door behind her. She laughed as Kristin did a weird little dance before jumping on the couch, grabbing the remote, and flipping through the channels.
“You're in a good mood.”
“I've been getting me some sex lately.”
Rachel sat next to her on the couch and set the vase on the edge of the coffee table.
“What's with the roses?”
“It's a little joke between me and Kevin. He'll know when he sees them.”
Kristin shook her head. “You're trying to impress my brother with some roses and clothes an Eskimo would wear.”
“I am not trying to impress Kevin.” She looked down at herself. “And what's wrong with my clothes?”
“You've always had your eye on my brother, even if he's too stupid to notice.”
She struggled to find words. No one had ever been so forthright before.
“He's one of the few people who's never said anything bad to me, never made fun of me. But now all the girls in school are after him, and I look like this.”
“Kevin already likes you. You're all he talks about. But do you really want to get him? Make him stutter?”
Rachel laughed. “I've never seen Kevin lose his cool.”
“Come with me.”
Kristin led Rachel do
wn the hall to her bedroom, and closed the door in case Kevin walked in.
Rachel caught a glimpse of herself in the full length mirror on the back of the door. It was not a good self-esteem day for her. Hair in her face, baggy jeans, loose, sloppy shirt.
She turned away.
“Yuck.”
Kristin smacked her on the back of the head. “Shut up. Just relax, and trust me. And don't sit on the sleeping kitten on the bed.”
Kristin circled around Rachel, studying everything. Kristin knew she wasn't a style queen, but she could make some improvements.
“You never show your legs. Why?”
Rachel shrugged. “They're ugly.”
She rolled her eyes. Every question would probably be answered in a similar way.
She grabbed a pair of scissors on her dresser and knelt in front of Rachel.
“What are you doing?”
Rachel fought for a second, before Kristin smacked her hand.
Rachel put her hands to her face as Kristin cut into her jeans. She circled all the way around and cut along the length to remove the scraps.
“These are my favorite jeans.”
“Oh, stop. I know you're rich.”
She caught a glance at her bare leg in the mirror, and turned her head.
“It's too short.”
“It's mid-thigh. Now shut up.”
Kristin cut away her other pants leg, and looked at her feet. Her socks were a hideous green and bunched up around her ankles.
“It looks like someone wrapped two Christmas scarves around your feet.”
Rachel laughed.
“Socks and shoes. Off.”
She sat on the bed next to Oscar and did as she was told. Kristin searched through her closet.
“Hmm. My sandals won't fit you.” She produced a pair of tiny white socks. “You have nice legs. Stop hiding them. Put these on. Get yourself a pair of sandals, but these will do for now.”
Rachel turned red as she slipped the socks on, then her shoes. She felt so exposed, not wearing shorts enough to be used to the sight of her own legs.
Kristin pushed Rachel's hair back with her hands and slipped a hairband across her head.
“You have perfect skin. You bitch,” Kristin said.
“I'm as white as a ghost.”
“Kevin doesn't like beach bunnies.”
Rachel smiled and ran her hand along Oscar's back.
“Ah, here we go.” Kristin turned around with a white shirt. “Take that tent off you got on.”
“Kristin, I don't know about this.”
“You'll look great. Just trust me.”
Kristin shook her head as Rachel removed her shirt.
“Great legs. Great body. I don't know why you're hiding everything.”
“Because I hate the way I look.”
She gestured to the mirror after Rachel slipped on the new shirt.
“We'll worry about makeup another day. But what do you think?”
Rachel stood in front of the mirror, not believing it was her.
She knew she didn't look as good as Melissa Johnson, or Tessa Hayes, or any of the other girls in school that wanted Kevin's attention.
But she certainly didn't look bad.
They heard the front door close and a voice from the living room.
“Kristin, I'm back. I see a Mustang outside. We have company?”
Rachel's hands started shaking. She felt foolish as doubt attacked her, like it did most days of her life. “Do I look okay? I'm not hideous?”
Kristin put her hands on Rachel's shoulders. “You look great. Now look, a few things. Kevin and I...we talk all the time. He tells me pretty much everything. He told me what happened at the hospital, and the talk you had today.”
Rachel nodded and lowered her head. “We kind of got in a little fight.”
“That's okay. He really likes you, and you'll get through it. You know he's the most special person in the world?”
She smiled. “Yeah.”
“Good. Whatever happens with you two, you can't tell anyone what he can do. That's why he's always stayed to himself. Until you.”
“I was trying to tell him at school. I never will. I promise.”
“One last thing. I like you, Rachel. I think you're cool. But don't break my brother's heart. Okay?”
She nodded.
“Yeah, Rachel's here,” Kristin called as they left the bedroom. “We were having girl talk.”
Kevin was putting milk away in the refrigerator.
“Well, let Oscar out of there. You were probably torturing the poor guy...whoa.”
He turned to see Rachel. His mouth fell open, and he didn't have the willpower to close it.
Her hair was pulled back with a hairband, and he could actually see most of her face. Her legs were shapely and toned. He recognized his sister's shirt, and it fit her very well. Only the collar was a little too big, giving him a view of her pale shoulders.
“Holy hell.”
Rachel smiled, and Kevin felt his face turning red, his cheeks matching her own.
“Wow, I, uh...”
Kristin cringed behind Rachel, afraid something stupid might fly out of Kevin's mouth.
He took a breath.
“You are the most beautiful girl I've ever seen.”
Rachel shyly looked at the floor, crossing her hands in front of her. Kevin nearly melted. Everything she did was sexy.
Kristin flashed a thumbs-up.
“Okay, guys,” she said. “I have to go do something. Out in the world. With the car. For about an hour. So, I will see you both later.”
She grabbed the keys and left.
“Your sister is crazy.” Rachel said, gesturing to her clothes. “This was her idea.”
He looked her up and down one more time. “You've always been gorgeous, Rachel,” he said with a smile.
“Listen,” she said before she could turn red again. “We have to talk.”
He nodded. “Me first.”
They sat on the couch. Rachel crossed her legs and rested her hands on her thighs. She stared at Kevin's shoulders as he adjusted his shirt.
“I am so sorry,” he said. “You needed me over the weekend, and I wasn't there for you. I was worried about that stupid article.”
“I wanted to talk to you about that. I had to write something. I thought I had another week before they put it up. I tried to write it in a way that you didn't get in trouble. I even distorted and blurred the pictures.”
“You did great. Don't worry about any of that. Your parents almost died. You shouldn't have to worry about me being stupid.”
“They might have, if it weren't for you. Thank you so much.”
“Anytime. I didn't know your mom had multiple sclerosis. You could have told me. Is that why you've never invited me over your house?”
She nodded. “Yeah. I saw how people teased you and Kristin since we were kids. I don't care about me, but didn't want anyone finding out about my mom, and giving her a hard time.”
“Hey, you don't have to worry about that from me.”
“I know,” she said. “You could have told me about you and your gift for healing.”
He smiled and grabbed her by the hand. Any excuse there was to touch her, he would take it.
He led her into the kitchen, then turned the faucet on and held his finger under the water.
Rachel gasped as the water turned blue.
“How are you doing that?”
He shrugged. That was a question he stopped asking a long time ago.
“I don't know. I just touch water, think about making someone feel better, and it turns blue. It works on animals, too. Just ask our kitten.”
She laughed. That should have been obvious.
Kevin dried his hands and clasped them together.
“Do you forgive me?”
“As long as you forgive me for ruining your job.”
He dismissed her concern with a wave. “No big deal. It's about time I got a r
eal job.”
“I quit the media team. Maybe you could apply there.”
“What? Are you joking? But you're so good at writing,” he said with a smile. “A lot better than I am.”
“I couldn't do it anymore. Kevin, when I refused to write a true news article and started messing with the pictures, I knew I wasn't cut out to write for the school.” She looked him in the eye. “You're more important to me than a school website.”
Kevin blushed. He looked away for a moment, watching Oscar cross the floor and jump on the dining room table.
“Okay, so, we're both forgiven? We're still friends?”
She shook her head. Images of Tessa Hayes and Melissa Johnson floated through her mind. She shoved them aside. It was time for her to finally be brave.
“I don't think friends is gonna work for me.”
“What do you mean?”
Rachel struggled to find words. “I'm not good at this. This is all new to me. When I hang out with you...I mean...Do you feel just friends about me?”
“No.”
She talked as she closed the space between them. “God, I was hoping you'd say that.”
She barely got the last word out before she was on top of him. He fell against the sink as she kissed him. Kevin was startled for a moment, but feeling Rachel's arms around his neck and her body pressed against his pushed everything else from his mind.
They were both inexperienced with kissing. It only took ten seconds to move past that awkwardness.
Rachel's tongue found Kevin's. She was so excited she had trouble breathing. They let their hands travel along each other. Kevin was very careful with where he touched. He held onto her shoulders and caressed her back.
She sighed into his mouth when he touched her neck.
“I probably stink at this,” she whispered in his ear. “Sorry.”
Her soft whisper sent shivers up his spine.
“I, uh, don't have any blood left in my brain. You're doing fine.”
She tensed up and let out a breath as he touched the back of her leg. This was all new to her. She never realized her legs were so sensitive.
“Kevin, you're gonna have to stop touching me.”
“Am I doing something wrong?”
“No, you're just driving me crazy.”
He smiled, pleased with himself.
Grabbing her hips, he gave her one last deep kiss. She squealed and dug her fingers into his biceps.
A Witch to Live Page 11
