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Unspeakable
  • Текст добавлен: 9 октября 2016, 04:32

Текст книги "Unspeakable"


Автор книги: Michelle K. Pickett



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Текущая страница: 20 (всего у книги 21 страниц)

Chapter One: The Pool

That night, I dreamt of demons.

They chased me. No matter how fast or where I ran, they chased me.

Brown, curling horns protruded from their heads. They looked like wood with the bark whittled away. Some demons had two horns—one next to each pointed ear—and some had just one in the center of their forehead. Their gray skin was covered with a layer of dark ash that curled behind them as they ran, bringing with it the smell of sulfur and rotting flesh. Their eyes were black orbs. They were dull, dead eyes.

I screamed for my parents.

“Don’t fight it, Milayna. This is your destiny,” my dad told me.

I ran to Muriel’s house. My best friend—surely, she’d help. She waited for me at her door.

“Help me,” I screamed and reached for her.

She smiled, and horror filled me. Her jaw protruded and her mouth filled with long, yellow teeth, which were pointed like daggers. She grabbed my arms and held me for the demons.

“Muriel, help me,” I gasped, trying to pull free.

“I am helping you. You’ll see. You’ll be so much happier with us,” she hissed through her fangs.

I struggled against the demons. Their black nails bit into my arms, drawing blood. They pulled me to their leader, who stood silently watching, adjusting the sleeves of his black robe as if he were bored.

He looked like the devil. His skin was ruddy, and his eyes glowed amber. Jet-black hair, slicked back on his head, hung to his shoulders. But the demons didn’t call him Devil, Satan, or even Lucifer. They called him—

Azazel.

****

The sun beat down on my back. It felt good after swimming in the pool’s cool water. I looked at the trees surrounding the park while I squeezed water from my hair. The leaves looked like someone had dripped orange and yellow paint on them. I loved autumn in Michigan, but it meant the end of swimming outdoors, which I preferred to the tiled, sterile pool at school.

The water sparkled a silvery blue. I watched the children play, splashing and giggling as their mothers sat poolside, no doubt gossiping about the latest scandal in the neighborhood.

A young girl, maybe six or seven years old, caught my eye. I watched her strawberry-blonde curls float around her in the water. She was cute, at least as far as kids go. They just weren’t my thing. A whiny younger brother was all I needed. I didn’t even babysit, except when my mother needed help. But my gaze was drawn to the girl.

What is it about her? I can’t stop looking at her.

I felt like I had a knot in the pit of my stomach. It grew like a growth, moving into my throat. It was hard to pull in a breath. The strange feeling wasn’t directed toward the girl, although she was part of it. It was more a feeling that something wasn’t right. I could feel the cold fingers of evil slide up my spine.

I sucked in a breath, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I dropped my towel and focused on the girl.

She climbed out of the pool. Her mother was still deep in conversation with another woman. The redheaded girl yelled to her mom, but she waved her off, never looking away from the woman talking animatedly beside her.

It must be juicy gossip.

Happy, the young girl—why was I fixated on her?—scampered off to the playground next to the pool. She plopped down on a swing and pumped her legs back and forth until she swung high. Leaning back, she stretched her legs out, her chubby face to the sky, and smiled.

And then I saw him.

He stood just inside the trees at the edge of the playground. Watching. Waiting.

I don’t think he cared which kid it was. She just happened to be there. Either way, his stance changed. His face became animated. An ugly grin slid across his mouth as he waited next to a towering pine tree. He knew his chance was coming soon, and his gaze followed the girl. His prey had just entered his line of sight.

The knot lodged in my stomach twisted, as if someone were tying my insides together like they would their shoelaces. I sucked in a breath through my teeth and tensed against the pain.

Without thought, seemingly without my conscious control, I rose from my seat and circled the pool. I continued into the parking lot, where the sharp, small stones embedded themselves in the bottom of my feet, but I hardly noticed. I was on a mission. Why, or what I was going to do, I wasn’t sure.

It’s her mother’s responsibility to watch over her. Well, that’s not exactly true. We should—no, we’re required to watch over each other. At least, that’s what Mom and Dad pound into my brain every chance they get, usually right before they ask me to babysit Ben.

I continued through the gravel parking lot to the hill on the edge of the tree line. Glad to feel the cool grass under my burning feet, I picked up speed. He wasn’t hard to spot when I entered the trees. The sorry son-of-a-bitch stood watching her with his hand down his pants.

Eww and ick.

He was so engrossed that he didn’t hear me behind him. I picked up a fallen tree branch about the size of a baseball bat. It felt heavy in my hands, and the bark scraped against my fingers. With visions of his hands on the little girl running through my mind, I swung the limb as hard as I could. It cracked against the back of the man’s balding head.

I had no emotion as I watched him crumple to the ground. I stood over him, images of him with the girl mingled with images of him with other children. As I watched his blood trickle through the grass, I realized what I’d done. My hands started to tremble, and the branch slipped from my fingers and landed on top of him. My heartbeat was frenzied in my chest, and I turned and ran from his scrawny body.

Thoughts scrolled through my mind at triple speed. What caused the unstoppable desire to save the kid? I would’ve never let him touch her. But normally, I’d tell her mother that she’d wandered too far or call the police and alert them to the possibility of a child predator roaming the park. I never would have stepped in myself, but I wasn’t able to stop. Drawn to the girl, to her safety, I couldn’t walk away.

I went back to gather my things at the edge of the pool, looking over my shoulder to check on the girl. Her red curls bounced as she swung in the sunlight. Her mother was still unaware of where she was or how close she’d come to losing her childhood innocence.

Before climbing into my beat-up Chevy, I stopped at a pay phone near the restrooms, shaking my head with a smile.

I can’t believe I found one. Everyone uses cell phones. I thought these things were only in museums. It’s gotta be older than me.

Using my wet towel, I picked up the receiver, dialed 911, and reported the man—and I used the term man very, very loosely.

“You’ll find a man unconscious just inside the trees. Hurry before he hurts another child.”

“What’s your name?” the nasally dispatcher asked.

I dropped the receiver, letting the cord hang limp, and walked away.

Let them trace the call. There’s nothing pointing to me. I don’t want anyone finding out I was here. What do I say? I had a funny feeling and… what? I had a vision of him doing stuff with kids so I bashed his head in? Yeah, right. No, they just need a valid trace so they can get here and catch the pervert before he wakes up.

As I drove away, I was struck by two things. First, what drew me to the girl? My eyes weren’t drawn to any other. In fact, I couldn’t remember the face of any other kid at the pool. My eyes wanted only her… searched her out. I knew I needed to watch her, knew that something was wrong.

And second, how did I know?

Chapter Two: More

Eight weeks, one day until my eighteenth birthday.

“What’d you do yesterday? I called you.” Muriel twirled her pen in circles on the dirty Formica table.

“Nothing exciting. Just laps at the pool,” I lied. I hadn’t stopped thinking about what happened at the park. I couldn’t get my mind wrapped around how I knew the man was going to hurt that girl.

She slapped her hand on the pen to stop it and looked at me. A perfect, jet-black eyebrow arched over her almond-shaped eye. “Gee, ever think of asking your best friend and swim teammate to go along?”

I cringed. “Sorry, it was a last-minute decision.”

She pointed at me. “Don’t let it happen again,” she said through clenched teeth. Her black, stick-straight hair fell over her shoulder. I burst out laughing. She dropped her finger and shoved my shoulder, laughing with me.

Our calculus teacher marched into class like one of the British Royal Army’s soldiers in a parade with those red uniforms and the knee-high marching steps—arms full of books and files.

I wonder what Muriel would’ve thought about the guy in the trees—what she would’ve done.

Halfway through class, Muriel texted me. I reached for my cell phone and looked to make sure the teacher wasn’t watching before I read the message. That was when I saw him.

His body angled in his seat, and his head turned slightly toward me. The corner of his mouth twitched slightly, like he’d started to smile but decided against it just before it materialized.

I’d noticed him before—it was hard not to. Talk about easy on the eyes. We had English together. I knew him, but we didn’t travel in the same circles. In fact, as far as I could tell, he didn’t travel in any particular circle. He kept to himself and seemed to prefer it that way.

I looked away quickly, feeling my cheeks warm.

Great, I’m blushing. Nice look. Red cheeks and red, curly hair—just like Bozo the Clown. Homecoming queen material. No need to vote; I’ll just take my crown. Yeah, sure.

When my eyes darted back in his direction, he’d turned and faced forward. I felt a small pang of disappointment. Looking down, I read Muriel’s text.

Muriel: Go to the mall after school?

Me: Sure.

Muriel: I’ll drive.

Me: K.

Muriel: What was that look?

Me: What look?

Muriel: Between you and the hottie.

I grinned when I read her text. There wasn’t a look, I typed back.

Then why are your cheeks red? Muriel puffed her cheeks out at me.

Shut up! I typed and dropped my phone in my bag.

She laughed out loud, earning a glare from our calculus teacher.

****

I sighed when I turned the corner to my English class. He was waiting for me outside the door. Joe. I guess he had a crush on me. He always walked with me when our classes were near each other, and he parked his car conveniently next to mine, or Muriel’s if I rode with her, so he could walk into school with me. And he taped little drawings on my locker door. He was a great artist, but still.

Then there was the thing. The thing I dreaded, but happened every week. My hands started sweating and my stomach roiled when I looked at him—I knew it was coming. I hated it because I hated what I had to do. I didn’t want to hurt Joe’s feelings. He was a really nice guy, but I didn’t find him the least bit attractive or interesting with his mousy-brown hair, too-big glasses, and his constant prattle about the AV club.

“Hey, Milayna.” Joe smiled when he saw me, pushing his glasses up with his middle finger. I smiled back and stifled a groan.

“Hi, Joe.” I tried to blend in with a group of students walking into class and brush past him before he asked me the inevitable question.

“Hey, wait up,” he called.

I stopped just inside the doorway, sighed, and then walked back to where he stood, with his shoulder leaned against the lockers lining the wall. “What’s up?” I twisted my pencil in my fingers.

“You look pretty today. I like it when you wear your hair down and all… all… red and curly.”

“Um, thanks.” I shifted and adjusted the strap of my bag on my shoulder.

That’s good since my hair is red and curly.

“I was wondering…”

Oh no, here comes the thing. Please don’t ask me again. I squeezed the strap of my messenger bag so tightly my fingers ached. There’s only so many ways I can say no without being mean.

“…if you wanted to go out to a movie this weekend?” Joe reached out and put his warm, sweaty hand on my arm.

And there it is.

I sighed and moved my arm to push my hair behind my ear, so he had to pull his hand away. “Joe—” I started when movement caught my attention.

The hottie from calculus walked up beside me. “Hey, there you are.” He stood beside me, at least a head taller, his muscles flexing under his white T-shirt, which clung to him in just the right way as to hint at what lay beneath. His arm brushed against mine, and the unintentional touch was enough to send my nerves crackling. “I saved you a seat.” He winked.

What is he talking about?

“Thanks.” I turned back to Joe. “Uh, Joe, I can’t this weekend. Sorry,” I told him, my voice soft.

“Maybe another time?” He gave me a tight smile before looking the hottie up and down with narrowed eyes.

The so-hot-he-could-be-an-underwear-model guy from calculus gave Joe a friendly slap on the back. “I don’t think so, buddy.”

“Oh. Okay.” Joe looked between me and the tall, dark-haired guy, blowing out a breath. “See ya around, Milayna.” Joe turned and was swallowed up by the current of people rushing from one class to the next.

“‘Bye.” I turned, looking at the guy who saved me from Joe, and was sucked in by his marbled, blue-green eyes. “Thank you.”

“No problem. I’m tired of watching you try to turn him down without hurting his feelings. Better just to be done with it.” He turned away, and I fumbled for something to say to keep him from leaving.

“I’m Milayna. You’re Chay, right?”

He nodded once. “Be careful. They’re here for you,” he murmured over his shoulder before he slipped into the classroom.

“Wait! What are you talking about?”

What the hell kind of freaky thing to say and then just walk away.

I watched the clock tick the seconds off one by one. As soon as the bell rang, I was going to tackle him. My body wanted to tackle him for a totally different reason than my mind, but my mind won out—I wanted information.

When the bell rang, Chay swiped his books off his desk and slipped out of the door. I ran out of the classroom to catch him, but he’d already disappeared into the hoard of students.

****

“Where do you want to go first?” Muriel asked as we drove to the mall after school, looking over at me from the driver’s seat of her car.

“I dunno.” I typed out a quick text to my mom, letting her know I was going to the mall.

“Food court?”

“Yeah, I could go for a soft pretzel.” As if on cue, my stomach growled.

“Food court it is,” Muriel said and pushed up her sunglasses. “Guess what I heard about…”

Muriel’s words were shoved away and pain, swift and sharp, took their place. My stomach scraped together like someone punched through my gut and scrubbed my insides with sandpaper. My breathing became ragged and shallow, my head pounding in rhythm with my heart.

The sights and sounds around me moved in slow motion. Muriel spoke, but I couldn’t understand her, her voice too deep and slow. It sounded like she was underwater. What’s going on? What’s happening to me?

I gripped the armrest on the car with one hand and wrapped my other arm around my stomach. It felt as though someone were drilling holes inside me. I ground my teeth together against the pain.

Muriel continued her story, maneuvering her car down the street toward an intersection. The light was green, and we inched toward it.

I knew something was going to happen—the same feeling I’d had at the park rolled in the pit of my stomach. Licking my lips, I tipped my head forward so my hair created a curtain between Muriel and me. I didn’t want her to see my eyes darting back and forth and the sweat beading on my upper lip.

A yellow car was on our right. The driver talked on her cell phone, and a baby slept in a car seat behind her, its thumb dangling from its lips. A blue minivan merged into the left turn lane on our left. We all sped closer and closer to the intersection.

A red car. The stoplight.

I saw it. Not with my eyes, but in my mind. I saw what was going to happen. My breath rushed out of my lungs, and time sped up around me.

“Muriel, watch out for the red car!”

“What red car?” Muriel looked to the side.

“It’s gonna run the stoplight.” I pointed to the left.

Just as I said it, the red car came into view. Muriel slammed on the brakes. We lurched forward before the seatbelts snapped us back against our seats. The car whizzed in front of us, narrowly missing the yellow car.

I covered my mouth with a shaky hand and watched the car as it sped out of sight. A shiver ran down my spine.

We could have died! What the hell…?

“Whoa! That was way too close.” Muriel let out a shaky breath and looked at me. “How did you see that car?”

I’d like an answer to that question too. What the freaky hell is going on?

“Where are the police when you need them, huh?” I puffed out my cheeks and blew out a breath.

It was the second time in as many days that I had a vision, or premonition. Whatever they were, they scared the crap outta me.

My fingers squeezed together so tightly that they turned white and began to throb in time to my heartbeat. Sucking in a deep breath through my nose like my mom’s meditation DVD instructed, I forced each finger to relax and straighten. I counted to ten as I let the breath out through slightly parted lips so I didn’t draw Muriel’s attention. I repeated the breathing exercise—deep breath in and deep breath out. My insides that felt as though they’d slid out of place slowly righted themselves, and I stopped shaking.

“Milayna?” Muriel grabbed my arm. “How’d you know that car was going to run the red light?”

Should I tell her and how? I don’t even know what’s happening to me! Oh, by the way, Muriel, I can see the future. That’s how I knew about the car. Yeah, she’d think I was crazy for sure. I already feel like I need a padded cell. I don’t need her to confirm it.

“Um—he was coming too fast to stop.”

Muriel narrowed her eyes at me. “I’m just glad you saw him because I sure didn’t.”

“You were just focused on the road, that’s all.” I bit the inside of my cheek and hoped she’d just drop the subject.

Muriel nodded and turned to look out of the windshield.

****

“What do you know about Chay?” I looked at Muriel across the table in the mall’s food court. Pieces of pretzel dropped to the paper wrapper below as I ripped it apart.

Muriel shoved a bite of pretzel in her mouth, mustard dribbling down her fingers. “Not much. Why?” she asked around the blob.

“He saved me from Joe this afternoon before English class.” I scooted my chair over to make room for a lady pushing a stroller to pass by.

“Poor Joe.” She frowned. I immediately tuned her out and focused on the oldies music piped through the speakers that were spread through the court and hidden behind plants. “He’s such a nice guy, Milayna. You really should—”

With a sigh, I finally interrupted Muriel’s list of reasons I should date Joe. “He is nice, Muriel, but there’s nothing there. About Chay?”

“You like him?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know him. Just curious.”

“Why’d he care about Joe?” Muriel took a sip of her Coke.

“Said he was tired of watching me try to turn him down without hurting his feelings. Then he said something really weird.”

She leaned closer to me. “Yeah? What?”

“He told me to be careful. That they were here for me, or something like that.” I dropped what was left of my pretzel, brushing off my hands.

A strange look crossed Muriel’s face. “Huh. That is weird. Kinda creepy.” She looked away.

Raising my arms over my head, I arched my back and stretched the muscles that were tired from sitting all day. I looked around the food court, and my eyes landed on his blue-and-gold jersey—oh, and his body. Couldn’t leave that out. “Hey, look who’s here!” I flicked my eyes toward Jake, who was standing in line at Little Caesars. My heart did a little tap dance inside my chest, just looking at him.

“Yeah, and look at who’s with him. Too much PDA.” Muriel rolled her eyes.

“Heidi, ugh. She’s so close to him that she looks like she’s been Krazy Glued to his side. Someone needs to explain to her that Jake and I are meant to be together. I mean, she’s dating my future husband.” I never took my eyes off him. “Geez, he’s like a blond-haired, blue-eyed, muscled package of perfection.”

Muriel laughed. “Are you ready? I think we need to leave before you start drooling.”

“Yeah, yeah.” I crumpled up the pretzel wrapping and threw it in the trash. “Let’s go.”

The rest of the afternoon, we combed the mall for deals on the hottest trends. Muriel was good at window-shopping. She would try on all the cute outfits and look at all the cool shoes and accessories, but she rarely bought anything. I hadn’t mastered the art of window-shopping, though, and spent what little money I had on some wicked new boots, a messenger bag to match, and two kinds of lip stain because I was looking for the perfect shade—not too pink, but not too peach. As it turned out, that color was more elusive than the Loch Ness monster.

As we walked along the hall, passing Old Navy and a group of teenagers drinking slushies, I glanced at Muriel and sighed. “I hate that you can do that.”

“What?” Muriel looked over at me, her eyebrows pulled down.

“Look at everything and buy nothing,” I said.

“Eh, I didn’t really see anything I had to have.”

“Me either, but I’m still carrying bags while your hands are empty.” I hefted up the bags I was lugging around and rattled them in the air.

She smiled and arched a brow. “You just need a little more self-control, that’s all.”

“Yeah, easy for you to say. Oh, ma’am,” I called to a lady walking toward us. Her toddler bounced along in front of her in one of those baby harnesses. “Ma’am? The latch on that harness is going to break. You don’t want him to get loose and run into the crowd.”

The mother knelt to look at the clasp. “It’s almost bent in half. Thank you!” She glanced up and smiled at me. “I guess I’ll have to buy a new one.”

“No problem.” I turned to Muriel and pointed down the hall. “Onward to Abercrombie. Where I can’t afford to buy anything, but I’m still going to try on the clothes and pretend.”

“How’d you see that?” Muriel asked as we continued walking.

Crap. How did I know? I didn’t even look at the clasp. The words just blurted out of my mouth. I didn’t even have any weird feelings like before.

I let out a breath to stay calm. “I saw the clasp bending. I didn’t want the kid to start running around getting in the way—hey! Here’s Victoria’s Secret. Want to go in?” Muriel kept walking. I took one last look at the store and jogged a few steps to catch up to her. “Okay, we don’t want to know Victoria’s secrets today,” I muttered.

“You couldn’t have seen the clasp, Milayna,” she said as I caught up to her. “We weren’t even close to the woman when you called out to her the first time. There’s no way you saw it.” Muriel shook her head. Her strides were long and quick, and her glossy black hair shimmered as it swung with each step.

I stopped in the middle of the aisle. People moved around me—some knocked into my sides, others gave me a wide berth, and a few even tried to walk through me by barreling right into me. But I stood there anyway. At five foot nine, Muriel was taller than I was, and her stride was longer than mine, too. She also ran track, so she had the stamina to power walk the mall all night if she wanted.

“I’m not chasing you, Muriel,” I yelled over the din of voices. I walked to the benches in the center of the hall, leaned a knee on top of one, and waited. Muriel turned around, walked to me, and stood with her hands on her hips.

“You’re losing it. I was standing right next to her when I told her. I happened to look over, saw the bent clasp, and told her to watch it. Otherwise, that kid would be running around, touching people with booger-smeared hands.” I shuddered.

Muriel looked at the floor and shook her head. “Something’s wrong. What’s going on?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” My voice came out at a higher pitch than normal, and I blew out a frustrated breath. How do I get her to drop this? “Come on, I need to get home for dinner. Abercrombie will have to wait for next time. I’ve done enough damage to my bank account—”

I glanced up, and the same blue-green eyes from calculus pulled me in. He sat a few benches away and watched us. I stared back at him until Muriel grabbed my arm and broke my gaze. I was too far away to say hello, so I gave him a small smile and a finger wave. He barely nodded his head in answer before he looked away.

****

Muriel drove us to my house. Thankfully, I didn’t have any more weird visions or whatever they were. I didn’t think I’d be able to explain away another one. Muriel was already suspicious. When we parked in my driveway, I grabbed my bags from the backseat and walked with Muriel to the front door where my mom waited. Her blonde hair, usually pinned up for work, hung loose in the same soft waves I had. Dressed in distressed jeans and an old Rolling Stones T-shirt, she looked like a teenager, not a mom of two.

“Hi, Aunt Rachael,” Muriel said to my mom as she stepped inside.

“Hi, Muriel. Have a good time at the mall?”

“Yeah. Milayna bought the place out again.”

My mom smiled, shaking her head at the bags I hauled inside. Then she looked at Muriel. “Do you want to stay over for dinner?”

“Yeah, stay and we can work on our calculus together.” I jerked the last bag inside and stood up, brushing a stray curl out of my eyes.

Muriel and I did everything together, especially since we were both on our school’s swim team and softball team. She was my best friend, too, and my cousin. That was why I had to be extra careful when she was around. I wasn’t ready to tell her about my visions, if that was what they were. I didn’t know if I’d ever tell anyone, but I knew I wouldn’t until I understood what was happening to me.

We were lying across my bed doing homework when she brought it up again. “What happened with you today?”

“What do you mean?” I shook my mechanical pencil, trying to get some lead out.

Just drop it already, Muriel. Geez, you’re like Ben and his annoying “but why” questions.

Muriel blew out a frustrated breath. “The car? The kid?”

“I already told you—” I was looking inside the hole of my pencil when Muriel swiped it out of my hand and dropped it on the bed.

“There was no way you saw that car, Milayna. It wasn’t there.”

“Yes it was! I saw it start to run the red light and yelled to you.” I reached for my pencil, but she covered it with a pillow. Tossing her own pencil onto her calculus book, she rolled over and glared at me.

“No, you said you saw it was coming too fast to stop, not that you saw it at the light.”

“What difference does it make? We’d have been toast if I hadn’t told you that it was coming. Who cares where it was when I saw it?” I flipped the page in my book and looked for another pencil in my bag.

“And what about the kid’s leash thingy?”

I sighed and dropped my head against the textbook.

I want to get the Duct Tape craft kit Grams got me and tape her mouth shut.

“What about it? We walked by, I saw the latch, and I turned to tell her it was breaking. It’s no big deal.”

“You didn’t turn.”

I raised my head and looked at her. “Huh?”

“You didn’t turn around and tell her. You called to her as we walked toward her. Milayna.” She paused and looked at me. Her big, hazel eyes were filled with emotion. “If there was something wrong, you’d tell me, right?”

“Yes.” I nodded and poked her side to get her to laugh. “But nothing’s wrong.”

Nothing much. Just that I’ve turned into a freak of nature.

“Okay,” Muriel said between giggles when I poked her again. “Just checking.”

“Can we finish our calculus now?” I pointed at my book.

“Yup.” She grabbed my pencil from where she held it hostage under the pillow and tossed it to me.

An hour later, Muriel had gone home. After I’d slipped into my favorite PJ bottoms and a soft hoodie, I went outside and sat on the swing on the back deck. With one leg curled under me, the toe on the other gently pushed the swing. I leaned my head back and looked at the expanse of the velvet sky and the twinkling dots spread across it. It made me feel small. Small and confused. The visions scared me. And I was scared to tell anyone about them. I didn’t want them to think I was a freak. Maybe I was. That scared me, too.

****

It was Thursday, two days after my last vision at the mall, and Muriel and I were at swim practice, getting ready for a big meet against a rival school. Everyone was there, even the boys’ team. Usually the girls’ and boys’ teams practiced on different days, but that day was different—and so was my vision.

I saw three boys walking behind Miranda. She was stuffing her hair into one of the horrendously ugly swim caps the school made us wear, and the boys were snickering about something, and then their thoughts slammed into me. Two of the boys were daring the third to reach out and undo the clasp on Miranda’s swimsuit. It wouldn’t have done much good since the swimsuit had another strap holding it in place, but just the thought of what he wanted to do, what he wanted to happen, made me angry and the feeling took over. It was almost like I was in a trance, but I was aware of what was happening. I just couldn’t stop it.

Do it, one boy urged, bumping his friend’s arm toward Miranda.

Are you a chicken shit? the second boy taunted.

I jumped. I was too far away to hear them whispering, so why could I hear them when Miranda couldn’t? It was like the way I’d just seen what was about to happen. Now I was hearing them, too. Great.

Walking faster, I passed the boy just as he reached out. I rammed my body into his before he was able to touch Miranda.

“What the heck!” he yelled. He started to get up, his hand slipped on a puddle of water, and he hit the floor a second time. His face turned tomato red. A thick vein pulsed down the side of his neck.

Miranda swung around, looking at the boy who was still on the floor.

I shrugged. “Sorry, I slipped.”

“Dude, she totally body checked you,” one of the stupid idiots said.

Darn straight I did. Just be thankful I didn’t break out and go all Tae Kwon Do on your ass.

Smiling, I glanced across the room. Muriel was watching me with an odd expression. Knowing she saw everything, I turned away quickly, hoping if I ignored it, she would too.


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