Against the Current, page 11
My bike was in Gabriel’s trunk of his SVU and I was leaned back in his passenger seat. The sun was setting, with orange and pinks painting every inch of the sky. My hair was in a messy bun and my sunglasses were poking out on the top of my head in front of my hair. I could feel salt over every inch of my skin. Gabriel dragged me into the water a few times. Gabriel claimed he couldn’t just sit there all day. We went in the water a few times then walked up and down the shore.
Glancing over at Gabriel, he had a grin on his face as his thumbs were drumming to the beat of the music against his steering wheel. I rested my arm on the side of the door and smiled. Moving in the seat, the wet suit was a little uncomfortable. Spinning my finger around the moisture was pulled away from my suit to a small ball in front of me. With a flick of my finger, everything flew out the open window, taken away. Looking over at Gabriel I did the same. He looked down at his lap then over at me. Gabriel’s eyes widen at the small moving water in the air.
“Gabriel, look out!” I snapped.
He gripped the steering wheel and jerked us back into our lane as a horn blared.
“Sorry I wasn’t expecting to see floating water in my car.” His voice was high-pitched.
“Sorry I probably should’ve warned you, but isn’t it nice to not have a wet butt?”
I flicked his water out of the window.
“It is, but next time Blair, warn me.”
“Fair enough.”
I scooched a little lower in my seat. My eyes drifted shut.
“Are you going to fall asleep before I get you home? I don’t want to have to explain anything to your dad.”
I chuckled. “Something tells me that you’re the type of guy who is going to sit there with his hands high in the air yelling, ‘see my hands!’”
“You make that sound like a bad thing,” Gabriel muttered dryly.
I glanced over at him. “Don’t worry if you were a jerk, I wouldn’t keep you around as company.”
Gabriel pulled into my parent’s driveway.
“Do you want to come in for a little bit? My parents usually have some leftovers.”
He put his car in park.
“Are you sure?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
Gabriel turned the car off and hopped out. I opened the door and grabbed my beach backpack. Gabriel was pulling my bike from behind his SUV. He wheeled it up to the garage. I keyed in the password and saw that both vehicles were home. I took the bike from him and wheeled it to my spot. We climbed the garage steps and went through the laundry room. The house was quiet. I glanced around then saw through the glass back doors my mom sitting at the back deck.
“Come on, they’re outside.”
We went through the living room which had dolls scattered everywhere.
“Watch out for the landmines.”
I opened the door to see my mom sitting at the picnic table on the deck. My dad was flipping burgers at the grill. Persephone and Winnie were in the grass blowing bubbles. My mom turned to look at us and a wide grin grew on her face.
“Hey! Are you joining us for dinner?” My mom asked.
“It looks like Dad is cooking which means there’s enough for an army to eat. So, you should stay.” I answered for him.
Gabriel smiled. “Let me text my dad to let him know.”
Gabriel took his phone out of his pocket, and I slid onto the bench across from my mom.
“What are we having?” I arched my neck.
“We are having hamburgers, grilled asparagus, and his version of mac and cheese.”
I looked over at Gabriel.
“Like I said, enough to feed an army.”
“Have you seen you and your sisters in public? You all are a mini army.” My dad chuckled as he pointed his spatula at me.
“You raised us, so what does that say about you?”
“That comment is a living breathing DNA test proving that you’re mine.”
I laughed.
“Were there really any doubts?” my mom inquired an eyebrow raised.
My dad shook his head. “This is a good time for me to keep my mouth shut.”
“Do you want anything to drink?” my mom asked as she turned her attention back to us beaming.
“Just water would be fine,” Gabriel responded as he sat down next to me.
“I’ll go get some as I go check on his side.”
“Don’t burn it!” my dad called out. “She hates when I make spicy mac and cheese.”
“And you make it anyway.”
“If I have to suffer through that boxed crap, you all make me eat, you will eat the real stuff from time to time.”
Gabriel sucked in his lips. I grinned.
“You can laugh at that. I’ve learned to make jokes when I’m the only male in the house.”
“Yes sir. My house is the opposite. My sister is the only female with my dad and me. I’m pretty sure she still rules the house.”
Winnie came waddling up the stairs as her hand grabbed onto each pillar on the stairs. In her other hand was a small bottle of bubbles. The liquid was being sloshed out with each step.
“Winnie, bubbles are only for the grass.” My dad told her.
Winnie looked at him then she stuck the bottle out towards me.
“Bubbles,” Winnie said.
“Come on.” I scooped Winnie up and the bubbles touched my skin.
Carrying her down the steps. A wet smile spread across her face.
“Bee”
Winnie kissed my cheek. I placed her down on the grass and sat next to her. I nearly jumped when I saw Gabriel next to me. I took the bottle from Winnie and dunk the wand into the liquid. Pulling it out I blew slowly. A couple of bubbles the size of grapes floated out. Winnie clapped her hands. Her hands reached out for the bubbles. The rainbow shine caught in what little light we had. The bubbles popped in her face. Winnie turned around to face us.
“More!”
I blew some more. Gabriel was next to me and had his hand out for the bottle. He dipped the wand in again and blew at it. Several bubbles came out. Persephone stopped with her bubbles and came over.
“How are you getting so many to come out?”
“I’m full of hot air.”
I laughed. “You’re full of something that’s for sure.”
Gabriel turned towards me and blew some bubbles in my direction. “Try saying bubbles without a smile. I dare you.”
I laughed.
“Dinner is just about ready. Go inside and wash your hands.” My dad turned around from the grill to look at us.
Gabriel put the top on the bubbles, and I scooped Winnie up.
“More bubbles!” Winnie yelled out.
Winnie stretched out from behind my shoulder to reach for Gabriel. He handed the bubbles to her. Winnie cried.
“Winnie, Bee is hungry, so we need to clean up. She is so hungry she could eat you.”
I tickled her stomach.
“Bubbles!” she cried out between squeals.
Walking into the house I placed Winnie on the kitchen counter. I squirted some soap on her hands then mine. Turning the water on I scrubbed my hands under the water.
“The amount of bubble soap on her hands you probably didn’t need to add more,” Gabriel commented.
The sink in the bathroom down the hall was on. Persephone was washing her hands in the other room. Gabriel leaned between Winnie and me to squirt some of the soap on his hands. He put a little water on them then started to rub his hands fast. Winnie watched. Gabriel then started to blow around his hands creating a bubble on his hand.
“You’re as bad as they are!”
He laughed and washed his hands in the sink. I dried my hands off then picked Winnie up again. We walked out and Mom had the pasta in addition to the waters out. My mom took Winnie from me and placed her in the booster on the chair. Persephone ran past us to take a seat. She grabbed one of the plates and a hamburger off the platter. I sat down and Gabriel sat next to me. He handed me a plate. Everyone was taking pieces of everything. Then silence filled the air. Glancing over Gabriel was eating a burger among my family. It was a little odd to see an outsider in our world, but his smile and energy seemed to explain that he was comfortable, that he belonged in a way.
16
Blair
My chemistry teacher was going on about some equation that she wanted us to take notes on. My teacher started to hop around. She wrote up a few problems on the board and told us to work on them. A rumble outside rolled lightly into the room. Glancing over my shoulder dark clouds stretched across the sky. Thick ominous clouds filled the windows. The soft pitter-patter of raindrops began to dance on the roof. I was probably going to have to bum a ride off Gabriel or my mom on the way home. A bolt of lightning zigzagged down to the ground. I propped my head up with my hand. What I wouldn’t give to be home reading a good book in my pajamas. A crackle echoed through the room and a bolt lit up the sky. My eyes narrowed as the design stuck out to me. Two bolts domed out from the clouds with five different lengths of lines raking the ground. I sat up, if I wasn’t mistaken, it looked like a hand. A hand on my shoulder jolted me.
“Are you okay?” Gabriel whispered.
I looked at him then back to the window. The hand was gone.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
My stomach on the other hand twisted. It was just lightning. I’ve seen lightning before, why did this one send a chill down my spine.
“You might want to finish those problems. She tends randomly collecting the practice in class.”
Rolling my eyes, I turned my attention back to the paper in front of me. The numbers seemed to be swimming all around the page. I gripped my head with both hands. My pencil poked out of my right hand.
“Five more minutes.” My teacher informed us as she leaned forward to look at the clock on her wall.
The clock was about six minutes fast. If I didn’t want to take my phone out in class, I had to do math just to figure out the time. Taking a deep breath, I looked at the problems again. I scribbled my pencil across the page. For the most part, I thought I had done what Ms. Paff had done on the board.
“Okay everyone please pass forward the work. Make sure that your names are on them, remember I don’t grade anything that doesn’t have your name on it. So many didn’t have them last time.”
I scribbled my name at the top. Passing the work to the kid in front of me he took it. Glancing back, I didn’t see any more lightning, but the rain was coming down harder. Ms. Paff went down the front line collecting the papers.
“For the rest of the class, I want you to pull out the textbooks and read the next chapter as a preview for what we will be covering tomorrow.”
A few groans entered the room. I just leaned over and pulled my textbook from the basket under the seat of my chair. Flipping through the pages for the next chapter. Propping my head up with my right hand I started to read to myself. The room was quiet except for the lullaby of the rain. The tiny words were read, but nothing was really sticking to my brain. I was going to end up having to reread everything that I was reading.
The rain had died off around lunchtime. Gabriel had to go to work because someone had called out sick. I decided to take my chances with riding home from school on my bike. The sky was still dark. The trees rustled along my path. Despite the warm temperature a chill still ran down my spine. I peddled my way as my music played in my ears. I weaved around puddles on the sidewalk. The water was brown I didn’t need that on my skin.
The blare of a horn and screeching tires caused me to turn my head quickly. I slammed onto my breaks causing me to drive up onto the grass and fall over to my side. Two cars had driven up onto the curb, all the way to the sidewalk. One car had rear-ended the other car. Steam was rising out of the one car’s hood. My heart was racing, and my eyes were wide open. The driver’s airbags were inflated. The two drivers stumbled out of their cars.
“Are you okay?” Mr. McArthur called running out of his house.
Mr. McArthur had his cellphone already up to his ear.
“Yeah,” I mumbled, suddenly feeling dizzy.
The cars were just feet away from me. They were mere inches from where I had been with my bike. The two drivers were talking, their voices were rising. One that had been in the front was holding onto her head. My heart felt like it was in my throat. Glancing down at my hands they were shaking. Mr. McArthur got off the phone and placed a hand on my shoulder.
“You’re pale. How about you go sit on my front porch?” Mr. McArthur spoke softly.
I nodded my head and made my way slowly to his front porch. Gripping the railing I climbed each step one at a time. Once I was on the porch, I sat in one of his front porch chairs. Leaning over I held my head. My stomach twisted.
It wasn’t an accident.
Lifting my head, I glanced around for the female voice. Yet, no one was near me. Mr. McArthur was down by the street with the two drivers. Mr. Gregor was sitting on his porch glaring at the scene as he rocked back and forth. There weren’t any women near me. Where did the voice come from?
That wasn’t an accident. Get away, you aren’t safe!
My face scrunched.
“Who is talking?”
Mr. Gregor looked over at me.
“Who the hell are you talking to?”
My face warmed. “No one.”
Get up and leave.
Standing up I started to bounce down the stairs. The police and ambulances were pulling up. I started to pick up my bike.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Mr. McArthur leaped over to me.
“I need to get home.”
He shook his head. “I think you should get checked out first then you can go.”
The cops were parking and were climbing out.
“Look officers can I speak to you first so I can leave?”
My fingers were twitching by my sides. The two cops looked at each other. One went to the two drivers that were still yelling at each other. The older man police officer came over to me with a notepad.
“Sorry I can only say so much. I was riding my bike when I heard the car horn behind me and barely got out of the way. Can I go home now?”
He finished scribbling down something on his notepad.
“I guess so. Can I have your name in case we need more information?”
I bit back an eye-roll as my legs started to wobble. Would I even be able to pedal my bike?
“Blair Mathews.”
He nodded his head then looked up. “Thank you.”
Picking up my bike I climbed on, and my bike weaved for a block before I was able to get somewhat stable.
You’re in danger.
The voice came back. The words haunted me for the rest of the ride.
The dirt was fresh over the spot Ian was laid to rest. I was in the distance overlooking his spot. My body was torn between feeling nothing at all and as if there was a gaping hole in my middle. The dirt was speckled with flowers. Stones of his ancestors were lined up around him. My face was wet. My knees under my dress were pressed to my chest as I sat on the hill. My heart was aching at the loss of Ian. I should’ve married him when he had asked. Then I would have made him happy for a bit or maybe this wouldn’t have happened.
The wind around me was picking up. The waves in the distance were crashing rapidly. Raising one hand I wiped my cheek with the sleeve of my dress. The sky darkened. The sun hasn’t even made itself known since that creature came. I hadn’t seen it since. Nor had I felt its presence. Every other person that had abilities, I’ve always been able to sense them. I could always tell what their power was and the level, but that being, nothing. What was he? He was able to beat Ian and me together combined. He had to be strong. If he came back, what would we do? What would it take to defeat him? Could he even be defeated? I wanted to destroy him from the inside out. If I ever saw him again, I was going to make sure that he never saw another day. The wind around me picked up, dark clouds drew inland from the sea.
17
Blair
I was slumped over my lunch, picking of the bread off my turkey sandwich. My head rested against the palm of my right hand. My eyelids felt heavy.
“Man, it looks like your lunch is about to become a pillow.”
I looked up, as Gabriel slid in across from me.
“Sorry I had trouble sleeping last night.”
He took a bite of his lunch and raised an eyebrow at me.
“Any reason why?” Gabriel asked after he swallowed a mouthful of food.
“I kept thinking last night and I couldn’t fully relax.”
“What about?”
I lifted my head out of my hand and glanced around.
“Promise not to tell anyone?” I leaned in and whispered.
“You’re seriously asking me that?”
I rolled my eyes and sighed.
“Since I’ve gained my new skill, I’ve been having these dreams. I’m usually this Celtic woman from like I don’t know how long ago. The difference is in the dream I’m able to manipulate wind instead of water.”
“That’s weird, I wonder why.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “Me and this guy we fought this.” I paused, scrunching my face, and shook my head. “I don’t know, I guess powerful guy and he killed the guy I was with. Last night’s dream there was something weird about the emotions that were swirling around. That’s not even the weird part.”
“I doubt that.”
“You know about that car crash in front of McArthur’s house yesterday?”
He nodded and took another bite.
“I was there when it happened. Where the cars collided was where my bike had been mere seconds before. Mr. McArthur got me to sit down and,” I paused and looked into Gabriel’s eyes, “a voice kept telling me to get out of there, that I was in danger.”
“Was the voice Mr. McArthur’s?”
I shook my head. “No, it was a woman and the only person that I was near was Mr. Gregor. The woman’s voice was in my head.”
“That’s creepy.”
I nodded my head.
