by A. L. Martin
“Braedon! Please. Stay.”
“Are you sure? You must be mad at me for this past week. I didn’t let you explain, and that was wrong of me. Blair had no right to call you out like that, and I told her when she showed up at my house over the weekend.”
“Mad at you? For what?” I asked, flipping the clip on my pencil. “I figured you hated me for not telling you. I had every intention of telling you, but I got selfish in how it felt to be normal for once.” I put the pencil down before I broke it.
“Usually when people find out about me, they have a tendency to stay away from me. They will act like I am a complete stranger, or accuse me of murder.” I glanced up at him, waiting for him to go running out of my room and house.
“Murder? You mean people have tried to accuse you of murder because of your visions?” His eyes furrowed together. “So, who did they accuse you of killing?”
I pushed myself off the bed and walked over to my bulletin board, decorated with numerous pictures of family and friends. I slid a picture of Rylee out from in between a section of ribbon, which kept it in place on the board. It was a picture I had taken a few weeks before Rylee went missing. We were out enjoying a beautiful spring day. There were a few clouds in the sky that day and the temperature was warm, but not where you started sweating the minute you walked out the door. Rylee had looked toward the river, and when she turned back around to say something to me, I took her picture. It didn’t matter what she was doing. She never took a bad picture.
I walked over to Braedon, holding the picture close to my heart, running my hand over the back of it. “This was my best friend Rylee Wells,” I stammered as I tried to keep from crying. “I was on trial for her murder almost two years ago.” I laid the picture on my nightstand before the tears could stain the photo.
Braedon picked up the picture. “You were accused of murdering your best friend? Who would accuse you of such a thing? I know I haven’t known you long, but I do know you could never do anything so vicious.”
I looked up at him, my cheeks wet from my tears. “You believe that I didn’t do it?”
“Yes. You could never kill anyone.”
The touch of his finger as he wiped away my tears sent a wave through me, awakening every nerve in my body. I missed his touch, even though it had only been a week.
We went downstairs to the living room to talk for a little bit. He mostly asked me questions about the trial. I told him that I tried to help Rylee, but it was too late. People figured I must have done it since I knew where to find her body. They didn’t want to believe that I had visions of death. It was just easier to believe that I killed her. He asked if I was found not guilty. I told him they didn’t have any evidence against me, so they had to drop the case and let me go.
He sat there not saying much, but I could see by the way he was rubbing the nape of his neck that he was trying to process everything I was telling him.
“So, what is the real reason that you moved here?” He leaned toward me in his chair.
“We tried staying in Evansville after the trial, but there were still people that believed I had done it. If I was out with family somewhere, there would always be someone that would harass us and say awful things to me. My parents wanted me to be able to try and live a normal life, so they decided to move to a place where no one had heard of my trial. I tried to block them out, but it only lasted a few weeks.”
“Can I ask you another question?”
“Yes.”
“When did your visions start up again?”
“They started up at Tyler’s party.” Braedon leaned back, laying the back of his head on the chair. I was waiting for him to get up and bolt out of the house. “I understand if you want to leave now. I wasn’t honest with you from the beginning.”
Chapter 15
Kurt came into the living room a few hours later to make sure everything was still okay. Braedon asked him to stay in there with us for a while and talk. Braedon asked Kurt questions, and he verified everything that I had told him earlier. Kurt also told him that it was too much for my parents to see me so miserable and that they wanted a fresh start for me. He waited a few minutes, then asked Braedon if he was going to treat me any differently now that he knew the truth. I started playing with my hair, watching them talk about me as if I wasn’t even in the room. Braedon assured him that he was not going anywhere. I wanted to believe him, but deep down, I was scared that he was going to disappear before my eyes. Mom came in a few minutes later to let us know that dinner was about done, and invited Braedon to stay. “We’d love to have you,” she winked at me.
Mom started to turn to leave the living room when she caught a glimpse of my face and knew something wasn’t right. I went to look up at her, but darkness was enclosing the room. My body went limp, and I could barely make out my mom’s muffled voice call my name. I opened my eyes and I was back in the meadow again. I was past the knotted tree, but still far away from the guy’s shoe. My feet were hidden from the tall grass as I made my way closer. After a few steps, I turned and glanced over my right shoulder toward the knotted tree. I stopped there in the middle between the woman’s boot and the shoe, staring back and forth between the two. Wherever this meadow was, the woman wasn’t alone. I was the only one that could help her, but at a terrible price.
I wasn’t sure if I was strong enough to deal with the judgmental people that didn’t want to know the truth about me.
I was about to walk closer to the shoe when I heard my mom and Kurt’s faint voices calling my name over and over. I wanted to stay and figure out who the shoe belonged too, but I knew Braedon was probably freaking out. Maybe Kurt was right about me being able to control when my visions happened. I slowly opened my eyes, and I could make out who everyone was, even with them being a little blurry.
“Karsyn, do you need to go upstairs and rest?” Mom asked, looking down at me.
“No. I’m fine,” I said, raising up on my elbows. I learned the hard way to sit up slowly after passing out. I looked around to find Braedon and he was nowhere in the room. An exasperated breath escaped through my parted lips as I sank back down to the floor. I knew him staying around was never going to happen. I had to face the fact I was more than likely going to be alone the rest of my life.
“I got her some juice. I hope that is okay?” Braedon asked, walking in the living room.
“You’re still here?”
“Of course, I’m still here. I told you that I wasn’t going anywhere, Karsyn.” He handed me a glass of apple juice.
“Out of all the juice in the fridge, you grabbed my favorite. How did you know?”
He smiled, taking my hand to help me sit up. “You told me.”
I smiled up at him, even though our happiness wasn’t safe yet. I still had to tell him the truth, that someone was about to die, or was already dead in a meadow.
“I’m going to go check on dinner. You are in good hands here,” Mom smiled.
I reached for Kurt’s hand, but Braedon quickly took my hand before Kurt even had a chance. Kurt glanced down at me, smiling and giving his head a quick tilt toward Braedon. Once he got me on my feet, he placed his arm around my waist and guided me into the kitchen. I was quite capable of walking into the kitchen by myself, but I wasn’t about to argue with him wanting to help me.
****
The next morning, I woke up wondering if last night truly happened or if it was all a dream. I rolled over to my right, facing my nightstand, and stared at my phone for a few minutes. Right as I picked up my phone, it buzzed, making me flinch. I watched as my phone bounced off the edge of my nightstand onto my rug. I looked at the back of my phone for a few seconds before leaning down to pick it up. I slid my finger across the screen to wake it up, and there was a notification that I had a message. I opened the message that read…I will see you outside the cafeteria today. Braedon.
I laid my phone back down on my nightstand and got up to get ready for school. I curled my hair and even put on some
makeup. I grabbed my stuff and walked out of my bedroom, yelling for Emerson to be downstairs in 10 minutes. I wanted to get to school and get the day going so I could see Braedon waiting for me outside the cafeteria.
Braedon was in his normal spot, right outside the cafeteria like he promised. His left shoulder was resting against the wall, while he was looking on his phone. I stood there for a few minutes, staring at him, afraid he was going to vanish into thin air. I started to walk toward him when he happened to glance up, catching my gaze. He gave me one of his brilliant smiles, and for a brief moment, I could believe everything was going to be all right.
“What’s wrong?” Braedon asked, reaching for my hand.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t be waiting for me.”
“Karsyn, I told you last night that I wasn’t going anywhere.” He opened the door for me, then took my hand once we were in the cafeteria. We walked over to see if there was anything he would want for lunch. He took a quick look, wrinkled up his nose, and led me over to the salad bar.
I took a quick glance around the cafeteria and saw Sophie sitting at our usual table with Alexina. I stood there with my mouth open, trying not to stare in case they happened to look over our way. They seemed to be talking without yelling, which was a good sign. Alexina was sitting directly in front of Sophie, so I really couldn’t make out if they were indeed arguing or not. As I was about to turn to follow Braedon, I couldn’t help but think that maybe my visions were wrong this time.
“Looks like they are done being mad at one another,” Braedon said, walking up beside me.
Mom was in the kitchen getting ready to start dinner when Emerson and I got home from school. I asked Mom if I could invite Braedon for dinner before I started in about my day.
“At lunch today, I saw Sophie sitting with Alexina, talking,” I said, getting me a glass from the cabinet.
“Really? Is everything okay between them now?” She asked, getting skillets and pans out for dinner.
“I don’t know. I didn’t go over there. They seemed to be talking instead of screaming at one another.” I sat my drink down on the counter. “I am hoping my visions are wrong this time since Alexina was at school today.”
“I am hoping they are, but we will have to wait and see to make sure,” Mom smiled, getting food out of the refrigerator.
“Look who I found outside in the driveway?” Kurt said, walking into the kitchen.
I turned around and saw Braedon standing behind Kurt. Kurt headed for the family room, while Braedon walked over to give me a hug. I buried my head into his shoulder and breathed him in. I wanted to remember what he smelled like because I knew trouble was lurking around the corner for us. I didn’t know how quickly trouble would be arriving.
We no more than sat down on the loveseat, when the doorbell echoed throughout the house. Kurt got up to go answer the door.
“Karsyn! You got to help me!” Sophie yelled, flying into the kitchen, her mascara and eyeliner streaked down her face. “I know you probably hate me, and you have every right to. I need your help though. Alexina is in trouble, and I thought you might be able to help. I got this text from her about 30 minutes ago.” She handed me her phone after she unlocked the screen.
There on the screen typed in bold letters, were the words…Help me Sophie.
I stared at the words for a few minutes. I had to try and help Sophie find Alexina. I glanced through the numerous texts that followed from Sophie, asking Alexina where she was.
“I saw you both sitting together at school today in the cafeteria. What happened between then and now?” I asked, glancing up at Sophie.
“Karsyn, is she dead?” Sophie asked in between sobs.
I had to be honest with her. “I don’t know, Sophie. I hope not, though. I am going to tell you something, but you’ve got to promise me you won’t freak out on me. I need you to be open-minded if you want me to help you.”
She shook her head yes, wiping the tears away with a tissue from the box my mom handed her a few minutes ago.
“I’ve been having visions on and off for the past couple of weeks. They weren’t consistent there for a while, but they happen two or three times every other day. I don’t know if Alexina is the one in my vision, but I have to do something.”
“Karsyn! No!” my dad yelled, standing in the doorway to the kitchen. “I won’t let you go through that again. What if by some chance Alexina is dead, and you tell them where they can find her? They are going to arrest you and try to convict you of murder. I can’t stand by and watch my daughter go through that again. I’m sorry, Karsyn, but I have to put my foot down this time.”
“Murder?” Sophie whispered, her eye wide. “What is your dad talking about? Who said you murdered anyone?”
“Karsyn was on trial for her best friend’s murder after she tried to help her,” Braedon said, wrapping his arm around me. “She didn’t do it though. That is why they move here a few months ago. People still thought she had something to do with her best friend’s death.”
“Oh, Karsyn! I am so sorry. I wouldn’t let you explain the other day. I know I haven’t known you long, but there is no way you could kill someone.” Sophie reached for my hand.
I watched Sophie’s tears trickle down her already smudged cheeks, and knew I had to help Alexina. I hoped that this time would be different.
“Dad, I have to help them. You can’t protect me forever. What if Alexina is still alive? Yes, there is a chance she could already be gone. She could also be out there fighting for her life, and I am her only chance. I can’t just sit by and let another friend die.” I said, getting up off the couch.
“What if your vision isn’t Alexina?” Dad asked, looking over at me.
“What if it is Alexina and I didn’t help her?”
Braedon stood up, pulling me closer to him as he wrapped his arms around me.
“Braedon, this could take all night. I will text you when I’m done,” I said, looking up into his beautiful blue eyes.
“You honestly don’t think I’m going to let you go alone. I’m going to be there with you. I turned my back on you when you needed me last week at school. That was a real dick move of me, and I’m sorry. I hope you will forgive me one day. I’m not going anywhere. I will be with you every step of the way.” His thumb brushed across my cheek, wiping a tear away.
I turned to walk around the couch and saw my mom turning the knobs of the stove off.
“I will clean this up later when we get home,” Mom said, covering up the pans on the stove. She glanced over at Dad, still standing in the doorway with a look that meant he better go upstairs and get ready to leave in a few minutes.
I knew this look because she used it quite a bit with me and Emerson when we weren’t moving to get ready or clean around the house. Actually, Emerson got the look a lot more here lately.
Dad turned and was up the stairs within a matter of minutes. He knew not to mess with Mom when she gave her looks. By the time we made it to the door, Dad was walking down the stairs to join us.
Braedon opened his truck door for me while Kurt held the back passenger door open for Sophie. Mom and Dad got in Mom’s car and were about to back up when Emerson came flying out the front door toward them. I got out of the truck and walked over to my mom’s car. “Emerson, what are you doing?”
“I’m going with all of you. I don’t want to stay here by myself worrying. Besides, you need all of us right now, Karsyn.” She smiled at me, opening the back door. “Braedon’s waiting on you, and Dad is ready to go too.”
I closed the door for her and went back over to Braedon’s truck. He pulled out of our driveway, then lifted my hand toward his mouth, brushing his warm lips over the back of it.
I glanced over my shoulder at Kurt and he gave me one of his reassuring smiles. I looked back toward the front, then over my other shoulder at Sophie, sitting directly behind me. She was trying to clean up the black smudge marks on her cheeks from her mascara, but not having much luck. I faced t
he front again, and this time a wave of doubt flooded over me. I felt as if someone came up and punched me in my stomach. My stomach began to cramp up, my heart was pounding in my ears. “I can’t do this! I can’t go through all that again. I don’t want to be accused of murder again.”
“Karsyn, we are going to be with you. You won’t have to go through this alone,” Braedon said, kissing my hand again.
He held my hand as he followed my dad through town to the police station. I had no idea where the police station was, but I was about to find out. I knew that over the next few weeks/months, I would be spending a lot of time there. I found myself staring at Braedon, and I couldn’t stop either. I still had this terrible fear that he was going to vanish into thin air before my eyes. He had no idea what lied ahead once I told the policed about my visions.
My parents turned left, and once we made the same turn, I could see the police station at the end of the block. I squeezed Braedon’s hand hard enough that he winced in pain. I eased up a little on my grip, but I tightened it again when he pulled into the parking lot. What made me think I was strong enough to go through this again? And for people, I hadn’t known that long either. I didn’t know if I had the strength to endure all the hatred from people that didn’t know me.
Braedon got out of the truck, walked around the front of it to my side, and opened the door for me. He held his hand out for me to take, but I was too terrified to move out of the truck.
“Karsyn, we are going to be right there with you. If we can’t be in the room with you, then we will be out in the hall waiting for you. We aren’t going anywhere,” Braedon said, smiling.
“Braedon’s right, Karsyn. You know I’m definitely not going anywhere,” Kurt smiled, standing next to Braedon. “I know you are scared, but the longer you sit here in the truck, the less time you could be in there helping find Alexina.”
