by Amy Reece
“I don’t know, Ally. You were handed a very difficult situation before you were equipped to handle it. I don’t know why. You also need to realize that people have free will. We can try to help, but if they won’t accept, there’s only so much we can do.” She held me and let me cry for a while. It was the first time I had really allowed myself to think about everything since the attack. “There,” she said when I had control of myself once more. “Now I’m going to ask you to do something that will be very difficult for you.”
I looked at her hesitantly.
“I want you to share the details of what happened with your grandmother, your mother, and with Jack. Probably even Tara, too, since you share everything else with her.”
“No.” I started shaking my head. “They do not need to hear all the gory details. Why should I tell them? I’ve told them the basics. That’s all they need.”
“You are not in charge of protecting them, Ally. That’s not what love is all about. You’re holding back from the people that love you the most in this world, and it will damage your relationships. Trust me on that.”
I didn’t want to hurt my relationships with any of them, so I said, “All right, I will, if you think it’s that important.” I had something else I needed to ask her, but I was hesitant. “Cassie, did you see the vision that I…blocked?” I finished in a whisper.
She looked very serious. “I did. Ally, I had no idea you could do that. I feel so bad that I wasn’t here for you.”
“Cassie, what if I hadn’t blocked it? What if I could have—”
“No, Ally. Stop right there. You can’t know what would have happened. I don’t really understand about your future visions, Ally. That’s one of the main reasons I feel you need to see the Council. Seers who can see the future are extremely rare. I don’t know if you see possibilities or concrete events. We need to get you to the Council as soon as possible.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“Proclaim the truth and do not be silent through fear.”
–St. Catherine of Siena
Veronica had been allowed to wake up on Thursday afternoon as her doctors weaned her off the medications that had been keeping her asleep. By Friday, she was moved to a regular room and I was feeling well enough to pay her a short visit. I knocked softly on her door and wasn’t surprised when it was her mother who opened it for me.
“Oh, Ally, come in. She’s been asking for you. She’s awake, but I doubt it will last for long. I’ll give you a few minutes alone to talk with her.” As I moved past her, she grabbed me in a tight hug. “Thank you,” she cried against my hair. “I can’t ever say that enough. You saved her, Ally.”
I hugged her back, this woman I hadn’t spoken to since elementary school. “It’s okay. Veronica actually saved my life, too.” She let me go, sniffing and muttering about needing a tissue.
I approached the hospital bed with a feeling of dread at what she would look like. She turned to look at me, and, wow. She looked really bad. One eye was swelled almost completely shut and the rest of her face was a mass of purple bruises. “Hey, Veronica,” I began lamely. “How are you?”
She shook her head very slightly. “Not too good. How are you doing?”
“Oh, I’m fine. I only needed a few stitches.” I took off the slouch hat I was wearing and turned to show her the gash on the back of my head.
“Oooh.” She winced. “That’s going to make for some interesting hairstyles. Hey, sit down, please? I want to talk to you about what happened.”
“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, Veronica. I know you probably want people to leave you alone.”
“No, I want to tell you what happened. You deserve to know, Ally. You tried so hard to help me for weeks, and I pushed you away. I remember we used to be really good friends. I wish we could be again.”
“Sure. Of course we can. You need to take care of yourself and get better.”
She smiled at me, sadly, it seemed. “I never thought I would be the kind of person to be involved in something like this, Ally. It all got so messed up so fast.”
“Something like what? I haven’t been back to school and Jack hasn’t said much, except that the coach had a bunch of steroids in his office. What’s going on?”
“You haven’t been watching TV? You haven’t seen the news?” she asked incredulously.
“No, nothing. I’ve mostly been sleeping.”
“Oh my God, Ally. You exposed a steroid scandal at Oso Grande High School. Coach Trevino was selling steroids to a bunch of the guys on the football team and the wrestling team, even some basketball players.”
“Wow, Jack said something like that, but I had no idea it was so big. I didn’t do anything. I only tried to keep that asshole from raping you.” This was shocking news to me. Jack had certainly downplayed the whole thing.
“I don’t know how you haven’t heard anything about it. I’ve heard there were drug dogs and searches at school and that they’ve arrested another coach. All the boys have been kicked off the teams. My dad’s talking to our lawyer because I might be in trouble too.”
“Wow. I had no idea.” I stood there, unable to believe what had been going on. I had done a superbly bad job of figuring anything out. Jack had been closer to figuring it out; at least he had called it on the steroids thing. “Veronica, how did you get involved with Coach Trevino? He was seriously terrifying. I’ve never seen anyone that angry before.”
“That’s what steroids can do to you, I guess. It’s so embarrassing to tell you about him. I really thought I loved him, but he changed so much over the last few months as he started using more and more steroids.”
“Wait, you loved him? I thought you were being raped!”
“I was, Ally. But there was a time when he loved me. At least I thought he did.” She started to cry quietly. “I know now he was just using me. I was an easy lay for him. God, I’m pathetic.”
“How did this happen, Veronica?” I couldn’t see how all the pieces fit together.
She sighed and wiped her eyes, being very tender around her injured eye. “I had heard about the steroids from some of the girls on the squad. Their boyfriends had really bulked up over the summer and were suddenly playing so much better. Danny wanted me to find out how they were doing it. Long story short: I found myself in Coach Trevino’s office trying to get him to let my boyfriend into his special inner circle. He did, but not without coming on to me. I bought it all, thinking I was special, that what we had was special. I really thought we were in love. I let him convince me to have sex with him. You’ll probably be shocked to know that I was a virgin until him. Then I got pregnant and he got angry. I was scared and tried to call it off, but he went crazy. That’s the first time he raped me. I didn’t understand that it was rape, because I had said yes in the past. I was so stupid. I let him hit me and use me. I thought I deserved it. To be honest, I’m still having some issues with that last one. I start therapy as soon as I get out of here.” She paused and reached for her styrofoam water cup, but was having trouble reaching it. I got it for her and helped her take a sip from the straw.
“I’m so sorry, Veronica. Nobody should have to go through this.”
She continued, “But I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of the baby. And every time he texted me, I would go to him. And every time, he got angrier and angrier.”
“What was he so angry about?” I still didn’t totally understand; this was so far beyond my experience.
“Everything. Nothing. Sometimes he was mad because I was pregnant; sometimes he was ecstatic, talking about how we would get married and raise the baby together. I never knew which Nick I would be getting: the nice Nick or the crazy one. Lately it was mostly the crazy one.”
“His name was Nick? I thought his first name was Jonathan?” When Tara and I had checked out all the teacher’s first names, the only Nicholas that had shown up was Nicholas Chiszowski.
“It’s his middle name. That’s what he wanted me to call
him so it would be more secret.” I had never even considered that Nick might be a middle name. Suddenly, the impossibility of what I had been trying to do was apparent.
Veronica dissolved into tears at this point. I looked around and found some tissue for her and then sat beside her, patting her hand uselessly until she fell asleep.
I had the answers I had been wanting, but I was more confused than ever.
***
I didn’t go back to school before I left; I rested and packed on Friday afternoon. Tara came over after school and Jack came when he got off work. Mom brought home a Chinese take-out extravaganza for dinner and we celebrated my last night before my trip. After dinner, I sat them down in the living room and told them exactly what had happened, leaving nothing out, including what I had heard from Veronica that afternoon. Mom and Grams had tears running down their faces by the time I was finished. Tara looked pissed. Jack’s jaw kept getting tighter and tighter; at the end of my accounting, he muttered a very bad word, kissed me hard, and wrapped his arms around me, holding me tightly.
“This whole Seer-thing is complete bullshit! Can you tell that Council they can have their damned gift back?”
Tara, Mom, and Grams were trying not to smile. I pulled back to look at him and said, “I don’t think that’s how it works, but I’ll try. Jack, Veronica told me more about the whole steroid scandal at school. I had no idea it was so big! They kicked all those players off the teams? You kind of downplayed that part, you know?”
“Ally, querida, I only wanted you to get a little stronger before you had more to deal with. I really wasn’t trying to keep anything from you.”
“We all thought it would be better for you, Ally-Bear,” Mom apologized. “I’m sorry if we were wrong.”
I moved out of Jack’s arms and into hers. “No, you weren’t wrong, Mom. It was probably for the best. I’m so confused right now. What’s going to happen to Veronica? “
“I don’t know, baby. I don’t know.”
In the long run Cassie was right; telling my mom, grandmother, Tara, and Jack the whole truth about what had happened actually made me feel better—not a lot, but at least I could deal. And stay awake for more than an hour at a time.
***
They all came to see me off at the airport on Saturday, even Megan. She hugged me as she handed me a small, beautifully wrapped Christmas present.
“It’s from me and Jack. We wanted you to have a present to open on Christmas.” I was touched and, predictably, started to get teary-eyed. You would think I wouldn’t have any tears left by now, but I managed to find a few somewhere.
“Hey,” said Jack as he took his turn to hug me. “None of that. You’ll be back in no time. But I will miss you like crazy. I love you, you know.” He gave me the best kiss yet, soft and soulful.
“I know.” I gave them all a last hug and followed Cassie through to security.
***
As I opened the present on Christmas morning, also my 17th birthday, in my hotel room in downtown Galway, I thought about how much I missed all of them. I opened the box to find a silver cheerleading charm to add to my bracelet. I turned it over and read the inscription: Do what you love. It was beautiful and perfect. I could hardly wait to talk to him on Skype later.
Tomorrow I would meet with the Seer Council and perhaps discover what this gift was about. I went to sleep that night both scared and excited to begin this next chapter in my life.
The End
Acknowledgments
There are so many people who have supported me and believed in me as I embarked on this new adventure. First and foremost, I want to thank my family: my wonderful husband, Lyle, who patiently put up with many fend-for-yourself dinners; my beautiful daughters, Cat, Bri, and Lacey, who all told me I could do it; my mom, who has read every word I have written. Thanks also to Sheila, niece-in-law extraordinaire, who believes in book boyfriends. Ginormous thanks to Carol, my BFF since high school and writing buddy/beta reader. Thanks to my students, especially Shella, Nicole, Sam, and Chana, who gave me so much encouragement. You are extraordinary.
Special thanks to the amazing team at Limitless Publishing. Thanks for believing in me. Thanks, Toni, for your awesome editing skills! You guys ROCK!
About the Author
Amy Reece lives in New Mexico with her incredible husband and two ridiculous mutts, Greta and Sodapop. When she’s not writing, she’s teaching high school English and social studies or maybe wandering through a thrift store in search of the next lucky teapot for her vast collection. She is an unrepentant bookaholic and has overflowing bookshelves in nearly every room of her house. Her favorite authors include J.R.R. Tolkien, J.K. Rowling, and C.S. Lewis–must have something to do with initials! She loves to travel and is hoping to need many research trips for future writing projects.
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