Her beloved son was taken away from her too soon and she swore she would somehow find a way to be with him again…
***
It was bewildering to come out of a vision in this way. The brief time inside of Ally’s brain had Kate’s heart racing and her head spinning. Kate recognized Ally immediately as the abductor from Max’s memories. It was disconcerting to expect to see the cold sterility of a hospital and instead be transported back to her living room with a candle burning and a boy she barely knew staring at her with concern. He went to reach for her, but seemed to think better of it and left his hand at his side.
“It worked,” Kate whispered with reverence.
It seemed impossible to believe that the meditative exercise actually offered her the opportunity to have a vision without being asleep. Her mind had traveled to another place while her body remained in the sanctity of her own living room. Although the vision didn’t let her know Max’s exact location, it did give her the name of the kidnapper. Along with information about her losing a son in a drowning, Kate was certain the police would now be able to locate Ally Seldon.
Blowing out the candle, Kate hopped to her feet and opened the blinds to let more light into the room. Turning to Declan, she quickly relayed what she’d seen during the vision. Declan was pleased with the results of his tutelage and encouraged her to keep practicing in order to have better control over when and where she had the visions.
“What else can you do?” Kate asked. The success of the session made Kate imagine Declan as her wise sensei and she the eager pupil.
Kate didn’t expect the psychic to look shifty after she posed the question. His brown eyes wouldn’t meet hers and his body language became closed off. His lack of reply made her nervous and she had a feeling the other shoe was about to drop. After a long moment, he opened his mouth to reply, but quickly shut it. As the silence echoed through the room, Kate noted the tightening in his jaw.
Edging closer to him, she asked, “Declan, what’s going on? What are you keeping from me?”
“Kate, I think we covered a lot today. I don’t think you’re ready to know everything just yet,” Declan said guiltily.
“That isn’t for you to decide. Just spit it out already,” she commanded crossing her arms in front of her.
“You probably won’t believe me, so it’s kind of pointless for me to mention it,” he said and shrugged. He was chewing on his bottom lip which led Kate to believe he was conflicted. A little pushing and prodding would urge him to reveal whatever secret he was keeping.
If Declan didn’t want her to uncover the truth, he should’ve simply lied and said there was nothing more to show her. Now, Kate planned to relentlessly harass him until he finally confessed. She wasn’t the seventh grade champion debater for nothing.
“Declan, you better tell me or else whatever you want from me, you’re definitely not getting.” She leaned against the chocolate armchair and tried to paint on a patient expression.
“Kate, I never said I wanted anything from you…”
Kate interrupted and shook her head. “Give me a break. You don’t go to all of the trouble to investigate someone if you simply want to show them some parlor tricks.”
His resigned sigh told her she had won and she waited as he seemed to gather his nerve to speak. When he met her eyes again, they seemed to burn through her. It was as if he was trying to will her to believe whatever he was about to tell her. “I’ve had visions of the future.”
“What are you talking about?” she sputtered. Jumping off of her perch on the armchair, she banged her knee into the coffee table. After a mumbled curse, she sank back into the chair and rubbed at the delicate skin.
Declan waited for her to quiet. “It hasn’t happened often. But ever since I worked on strengthening my gifts, I’ve received these glimpses,” he revealed. “Kate, each vision came true,” he added solemnly.
As he spoke, Kate tried to figure out this boy who stood before her. He was as contradictory as she was and it made it difficult to understand his motives. His muscular build and tattooed arms came across as a direct contrast to the Zen Master who sat on the floor across her earlier and lectured her on becoming an empty vessel. Why would he lie about seeing the future? What would he gain from it?
The idea of seeing the future was as foreign a concept to her as people who ordered salads from McDonald’s. After her coma, Kate had accepted her visions would always be of something that happened in the past tense. It negated her of responsibility in a way. Since the events already took place, she was powerless to do anything to stop it. If she could see the future, this would be a complete game changer.
“I know it’s hard to understand and sounds far-fetched. But I would imagine you have the potential to do the same thing.” He launched into a more detailed explanation without waiting for her to respond to his declaration. “I didn’t understand it was a prophecy the first time it happened. While I was sleeping, I saw a vision of my next door neighbor getting run down by a car while riding her bicycle. It happened a few days later and she was hospitalized for weeks from her injuries.”
Kate rose from her chair with care and winced at the pain in her sore knee. Her hazel eyes met his and she replied decidedly, “I don’t believe it.”
“Well, that’s a big surprise,” he said sarcastically and threw out his arms in frustration. Kate hoped he didn’t plan to punch anything—namely her.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re so god damn stubborn! I’m trying to help you and you keep putting up this wall. If you don’t want to learn anything, then we’re done here.”
It was odd to see him livid. Even when she held the pepper spray within inches of his face, Declan had remained cool and collected. He now paced in front of her like a caged tiger that needed only the slightest provocation to pounce. It would’ve been the perfect time for her mother to take a break from her gardening and interrupt them.
“Fine. Then tell me another future vision,” she challenged.
“Okay, you want to know? It was you and me…together,” he sneered.
She shot out a bark of humorless laughter. “Is that some kind of lame psychic pick up line? Because sorry buddy, you’re cute and all, but why would something happen between us when I have a super hot boyfriend?”
His eyes narrowed. “God, you’re the most annoying person I ever met.”
Honestly, it was a relief to hear him say that. Hopefully, he would find her unappealing and get any romantic notions out of his head. Actually, his present expression looked like he was more prone to clobber her than have any desire to kiss her.
Kate sighed. “Look, I’m going to call the police department in Blaine and give them the information from the vision. I think you were right about calling it a day,” she stated flatly. He didn’t answer and she decided to head upstairs to the privacy of her bedroom to put distance between them and make the call.
***
Twenty minutes later as Kate headed back downstairs, she was surprised to hear Declan’s deep laugh carry across the room. She’d been certain he would’ve been long gone by now. It had taken her awhile to reach an available detective at the police department and provide the tip about Ally Seldon being the name of Max’s abductor. The officer she spoke to didn’t seem to put much merit into the description of her vision. This encouraged Kate to leave a message on Farrah’s cell phone. Farrah had a strong faith in psychic phenomenon and Kate knew she would ensure that the authorities would put in an effort to locate the woman from her vision.
She was surprised to see Gage, Julie and her mom yukking it up with Declan. The boys were talking about football which she guessed came about when Declan saw Gage’s Giants jersey. Julie and her mom were discussing different punch recipes Julie could experiment with for her upcoming weekend party. The record scratch was almost audible as Kate walked into the kitchen.
Julie broke the silence first. “Hey! Did you forget we were coming by to borrow
those platters and the pitchers from your mom?”
“I did,” she admitted. “Sorry I’ve had a lot going on this week.”
“That’s okay,” Julie said. Kate didn’t miss Julie’s meaningful glance in Declan’s direction. “But you’re still able to come on Friday, right?”
Julie and Gage had been planning a sort of back to school blowout at his house for a few weeks now. Since it was the couple’s senior year of college, they wanted it to be one of their last hoorays before real life decided to interrupt. Gage lived in a large house off campus with three other guys and a party ready basement. Kate had usually made up a lame excuse to get out of going, but since meeting Jared, she was attempting to stave off her fears of social awkwardness.
“Of course. Jared will be able to make it too,” she said pointedly and purposely kept her eyes averted from Declan. “Let me know if you need help setting up anything.”
Gage turned to Declan and she listened in horror as he nonchalantly said, “You should come too.”
When Declan turned to her, she managed to keep her expression disinterested. As he turned back to Gage, she mouthed a panicked “No!” to Julie. Julie shrugged as if to say it was out of her hands now.
“Sure, I’ll stop by,” Declan agreed and she felt nauseous at the thought of him in the same room as Jared.
Why did he have to ruin a perfectly good psychic friendship with this nonsensical talk about them hooking up in the future? Her future vision was married to Jared, a picket fence and maybe seven or eight kids. She wouldn’t continue spending time with Declan if he threatened their happiness in anyway. No matter how much she wanted better control over her second sight.
Chapter Eight
Jared wasn’t able to make the party. Kate knew her disappointment was clear in her voice as they spoke briefly on the phone a couple of hours before she was set to head to Gage’s house. It wasn’t as if she blamed him for not being able to make it. His job as a detective didn’t always have regular hours and lately his cases had made their time alone scarce. Couldn’t the citizens of Franklin behave themselves so she could have time with her boyfriend?
“You sound like you’re pouting. I really would make it if I could,” Jared said to her over the line as he drove to the station.
“You’re just saying that now because you can’t make it. I’m sure even if you weren’t working, going to a party with a bunch of sweaty college kids in a basement that’s probably brimming with hepatitis doesn’t sound appealing,” she countered.
“Working on a Friday night in a basement with a bunch of sweaty detectives isn’t exactly my idea of fun.”
“Good point.”
“Call me when you leave, so I know you’re getting home safely,” he said softly.
Kate felt a little choked up at his words. She’d been looking forward to tonight for the sole reason of catching up with him. Their conversations had been short and far between over the last few days. Jared only knew that Kate had a vision about Max’s abductor and she hadn’t heard yet if the boy had been located.
Farrah had called her briefly the night of the vision to confirm the woman’s name and discuss any other details Kate could recall. Ally’s mental instability had luckily awarded Kate the opportunity to see into her head. Kate had picked up the phone a dozen times over the past couple of days to call Max’s mother again, but didn’t want to bother the poor woman in case he wasn’t found. She assumed Farrah would call her if there was any news to report.
Kate had used Declan’s meditative techniques again and received another vision from Ally Seldon. This memory went further back to when her son Zachary had still been alive. They were flying kites in the park on a warm summer day. Being inside Ally’s head again permitted Kate to feel the mixture of joy and raw pain over the memory. It almost made the woman sympathetic. She squashed those feelings fast by focusing on the horrifying abduction and treatment of Max. No matter how great the anguish, it gave the woman no right to bring pain to another mother and an innocent child. Max couldn’t be Ally’s replacement after losing Zachary.
Kate was unsure whether or not to confess Declan’s assertion over seeing the future to Jared. It seemed unlikely that there was any truth to it. However, she was convinced Jared wouldn’t feel comfortable if she developed a friendship with someone who had romantic notions about her. Kate specifically hadn’t asked Declan to elaborate about his vision of them “together.” She had no idea what that meant exactly and only hoped it wasn’t a vision of her sleeping with him.
Although Kate was unenthusiastic about spending a lot of time with Declan, she had to admit he had helped her see Max’s abductor. She wanted to know more about their powers, but not at the cost of risking her relationship with Jared. Thankfully, she hadn’t heard from the fellow psychic in days. It gave her time to try to wrap her head around everything he had said.
Jared’s voice broke into her thoughts. “Kate, are you there?”
“Sorry. Of course, I’ll call you…Stay safe too while you solve the case of the murdered hooker,” she replied.
“It’s actually a stolen car case, but I appreciate your concern,” he laughed before she disconnected the call.
In a way Kate was relieved to be off of the phone with him. Any longer and she would start driveling on about how needy she was feeling. Kate imagined that nothing could be more of a turnoff than a new girlfriend begging her boyfriend to make her troubles go away. She was definitely keeping an eye on her alcohol intake tonight. She didn’t want to drunk dial him later and make him consider permanently changing his number.
An hour later, Kate frowned at her reflection in the mirror. Now that Jared wasn’t coming to the party, she wasn’t sure what to wear. In this heat wave, the number of bodies in the basement would make the temperature feel stifling. However, wearing a short skirt without her boyfriend around to shoot anyone who tried to cop a feel might be asking for trouble. She settled on a pair of denim shorts and a tribal printed tank top. It was a party in a basement, so it wasn’t like she could be accused of under-dressing. She decided not to straighten her hair since the humidity would likely end up turning it into a frizzy mess in a couple of hours anyway.
As she drove over to Gage’s house, Kate couldn’t help but feel anxious over thoughts of Declan. While he may have claimed to have had a future vision of them together, she didn’t feel as if that was his true purpose behind seeking her out. A few times she had caught a wolfish look as he watched her. There hadn’t been affection in his eyes, but something different. Kate speculated he had only told her the vision of them together to prevent her from finding out his true motivation behind helping her.
When she walked into Gage’s house, she saw that a swarm of people had already arrived. Kate guessed she wouldn’t know too many of her former Thompson College classmates considering the fact she had been a hermit until last month. She had an uncomfortable date with Gage’s friend Sebastian right before she got together with Jared. However, Julie had assuaged Kate’s dread over running into him by letting her know he wasn’t able to make the party. Social gatherings still gave Kate anxiety, but she decided the best defense against awkward questions about her gift was to play it coy.
Since Julie was a good head taller than Kate, it wasn’t hard to spot her in the kitchen mixing up drinks. Gage was standing behind his girlfriend with his head resting on her shoulder. Gage looked as though he had participated in a few pre-game drinks judging by his red face and unfocused stare.
“Hi,” she chirped to Julie and handed her a tray. “My mother and I baked some cookies for tonight.”
Before Julie could slap his hand away, Gage reached inside and grabbed a handful. “God, these look awesome!” With his mouth filled with food, he questioned, “But where’s the rest? It looks like someone already ate half the tray.”
Kate looked down at her top to see if she had left any residual cookie crumbs. “Sorry I got hungry on the way here. I’m trying to stock up before my fast begins
tomorrow.”
“Kate, you’ve been saying that you’re going to stop eating for weeks now and it’s always after a major food binge. I told you that you didn’t need to lose any weight, you look fabulous,” Julie said. Julie was tall and thin which afforded her the opportunity to be generous with the compliments.
Gage was looking at her with an appraising eye. Only he could make her feel like a calf up for auction. “I wouldn’t go that far, Jul. She could probably stand to lose five to ten pounds.”
“You’re such an animal, Gage,” she hissed and left the kitchen despite Julie’s protests. After a quick loop around the main floor, Kate decided to head downstairs to the basement. There was always the possibility she would recognize someone and not be stuck standing in a corner all alone.
Most of the partygoers were from Thompson College which Julie and Gage still attended. Kate had dropped out her freshman year after contracting meningitis. It hadn’t been really enough time to make any lasting friendships with anyone besides her roommate Julie. Her high school friends were freaked out over the hubbub around her psychic visions and she was no longer in contact with them. If she ran into someone around town, they would exchange small talk for a few minutes. However, after noting their darting glances, Kate guessed they probably wouldn’t want to be caught dead hanging out with the psychic freak.
Kate saw Lauren, a girl she remembered from her freshman English Comp class. Luckily, Lauren recognized her too and she had someone to talk with until she found Julie again. Catching up with her was a nice distraction and actually fooled her into believing she still fit in with other college kids her age. After fifteen minutes, Lauren turned to her. “Do you have a boyfriend?”
“Yes, but he couldn’t make it tonight…” she trailed off and felt the pang of missing Jared once again.
New Revelations: Second Sight Book Two Page 7
