BrookLyn's Journey (16 page)

“I got it already. All I ever wanted was you
,
BrookLyn.”

Damn.

As
they
sat staring at each other
,
seemingly at a
loss
for words, the doorbell rang.
Gabby
put a hooded sweatshirt on over her t-shirt
and
grabbed her gym shorts
.
“I’ll be right back.”

She left
BrookLyn
with thoughts of
the
magical events that
had
occurred earlier
—in much the same way that
the sounds that swirled from out of a seashell held close to an ear
brought visions of the ocean. She hugged her arms around herself and sighed.

BrookLyn shook herself out of her fantasy and
put
her
clothes back on
then
lay thinking
some more.
The pain from her
beating
was gone
.
She actually
felt good.
In fact, BrookLyn felt as if she
was falling for
Gabby
.
L
ove?
She had nothing to compare it to, she couldn’t be sure, but w
hatever it was
, she didn’t think she
would be able to crawl back out of
it
easily.

What did I do to deserve her?
If you could feel love in every inch of your body, then maybe
she
was in love
, because that is what she felt like
. A
slow
smile spread across
BrookLyn’s
face as
she
realized it.
She
was in love
—in
love with a girl
, yes,
but finally in love with something other than
her
books.
She
never wanted to go back home
.
N
ot even to get
her
clothes.
She
knew
she
had
to
,
but
she
didn’t have to
want
to.

Gabby
made some sounds
down in the kitchen
, it
sounded like
she was preparing
dinner.
The thought of food made BrookLyn’s stomach growl. She was about to go check if Gabby needed any help and in she walked
with a pizza and some soda.
It was BrookLyn’s
favorite pizza.
M
aybe she had been watching
her
like she
’d
said she was
. I
t isn’t everyday someone orders the crazy toppings that
BrookLyn did.

“How’d you know I liked pepperoni, onions, mushrooms, pineapples
,
and ketchup on my pizza?”

She
slanted BrookLyn a sly look and
took a bite of the pizza
.
“I know things.”

So, she is a stalker. I read about those and heard about them on the news
, but those
ones weren’t good people.

“No, I’m not a stalker
.
”

I know she didn’t just snatch a thought out of my head
. “Really?”

“I do that sometimes.”

It’s time to start thinking only about the moon, the stars
,
and the sky.
“That’s not fair. You didn’t tell me anything about being a mind reader.”

“I
can’t read minds all of the time
,
but i
f I listen closely I can hear you.”

“Well, that’s the same thing isn’t it?” BrookLyn thought it was. She felt like Gabby was violating her thoughts, like she was snatching them out of her head as if she had a right to.
I have to think about something else other than her.

Gabby
started laughing.

N
ot having a lock on
her
door was bad
,
but this was a million times worse.
BrookLyn finally
stopped trying to change
her
thoughts because the more
she
tried, the more
Gabby
laughed.

***

They
finished eating
the
pizza.
BrookLyn
was trying so hard not to think anything
that she
didn’t want
Gabby
to know.
She
didn’t want her to overhear the battle between
her
heart and mind.
That wasn’t fair.
Besides she might think
BrookLyn
didn’t care.
She decided conversation was best.
“
So, h
ow do you get to stay alone and I get smothered at my house?”

“Well, my aunt knows that I can take care of myself. Plus, she has her own family.”

“Does your aunt have a name?”

“Her name is Jenna.”

“Aren’t you afraid
to be
here alone
,
without your Aunt Jenna?”

“Not really. Besides sometimes my cousins are here. I’m not always alone. They work and stuff
,
but sometimes they hang out here with their girlfriends or boyfriends. It’s like one big party
.
”

BrookLyn
wished
her
life were as happy as
Gabby
’s
with no adults guiding
her
every
footstep
.
She may
need them
,
but
not every minute of the day.
Her
parents were not good parents. They fed and clothed
her
but that was about it. They beat
their children
just because
they
were there.
Why didn’t anyone keep us safe from them?
People had to know what they were doing to
them
in that house.
Ms. Cora seemed to know.

“I’ll keep you safe from them,” Gabby
said
.

Another thought violation.
BrookLyn
hated that she could read
her
mind.
Maybe she
can’t
help it.
Maybe
she sometimes
did
it on purpose
.

“No, I don’t. I try not to do it. Sometimes I can’t. I have to be really focused for it to happen.”

“Do you read everyone’s thoughts?”

“Only people that I’m close to
,
and it has to be very close
.
”
She leaned in
playfully
.

“
D
id you know that I would be your girlfriend when you asked?”

“Why do you ask
that
?”

“Because I am not stupid.”

She busted out laughing so
BrookLyn
knew the answer.
She
was a little annoyed and embarrassed
,
but laughed
too.

“
Since I was a little kid
,
I was sometimes able to read what people were thinking. Like I said, I don’t do it often but I can.”

“Are you psychic?”

“Not really. Sometimes I just have a way of figuring things out before they’ve even been said.”

“Well, that my friend is
psychic.”

Gabby shrugged her shoulders.
“Let’s
watch TV
.
”

BrookLyn
was happy that
she
could watch videos.
At home she
usually got stuck watching the news with
her
parents
. They said it was
because they thought
she
’d learn something.
She
did.
She
learned that
she
absolutely hated the news.

“So, how are you planning on keeping me safe from the monsters that I live with? I have to go back home to their reality eventually, don’t I?”

“You could stay here with me—I mean, if you want.”

Tha
t
’s a good thought, but what if we don’t like each other anymore
,
or if she stops loving me?
That would mean hiding out. BrookLyn
was fine not seeing her parents ever again,
but
she
want
ed
to see Peyton, Jayde
,
and Ebonee again.
They
d
idn’t
see each other
now
,
but they
were
the only people who kn
ew
the pain
she’s
been through. They’
d
lived the same pain.
The thought of not
see
ing her brother and sisters
ever again
was too much. They had kept her laughing and had given her hope that things would get better. Their relationships existed only by telephone, but at least it existed.

Her father stopped hitting Peyton because he got as big as him. He stopped hitting Jayde and Ebonee because they left. BrookLyn was the smallest in the bunch, the one left alone. He hit her mother sometimes, but as long as one of the children was there
,
he focused on them.

“I love and treasure you...okay?”
She turned her mesmerizing eyes toward BrookLyn again
.
“And I will do my
very best to protect you
.”

It was like getting hypnotized staring at the dancing flame on a
candle
, and
as expected,
she
melted in
Gabby’s
loving arms.

“We won’t
just
be hanging around the house all day. Let’s go out and have some fun.”
Gabby
kissed
BrookLyn
on the forehead.

She
was excited that
they
had no adults watching
them
,
and she
felt
truly
free for the first time in
her
eighteen years of life.
Her
brother and sisters probably
lived and breathed
this feeling. It felt good and
BrookLyn
planned on holding onto it while
she
could.
“Where are we going?”

“I have some friends that I want you to meet
,
so we’re gonna go and do that. I’ve been talking about you for about a year and
they’re
tired of hearing
about you. They want to
meet
you.”

“I’m never around anyone new really
,
so I’m a little nervous.”

“There ain’t anything to be nervous about. You
’
re with me
.
”
Gabby turned around and checked herself out in the mirror.
“My friends are quite interesting. We’ll have a lot of fun.”

“So you say
.
”
BrookLyn
shrugg
ed
her
shoulders
, not convinced.
“
Are they...
different
...like you?”

“
Not everyone is psychic, but i
sn’t everyone a little different? What kind of world would it be if we were all the same?”

BrookLyn
wondered what her mother and father were doing
.
She
was glad
they went away
,
despite the reason
.
Her mind drifted off to some of her friend’s parents. She imagined them being as mean and cruel as hers. Sh
e shuddered
at
the thought
,
and cringed
,
thinking of
a world
where
misery
was
the norm
.
If they knew I was over here, would he beat me to death?
A chill soared down her back. She quickly pushed the frightening thought out of her head. She knew the answer. A slow painful death would be her reward.