Desire in Frost (7 page)

My palms grew clammy, and my pulse quickened. I could hardly breathe as I prepared to face the man who had haunted my dreams for weeks. And then the obvious hit me. I couldn’t just walk up to his door and demand he give me Hope. Why had I even come here? Couldn’t I just call the cops now that I knew where the house was?

No. I knew I couldn’t do that. They would never believe in a psychic vision, and if I could somehow explain how I knew Hope was here, it would look like I was somehow involved.

“Well,” Robin said. “Are you going to go meet your friend?”

My head reeled as I considered the consequences of my actions. What would happen when I went up to that door? How would I help Hope get back home? What was I even doing here? Still, we couldn’t leave now. I wouldn’t be able to explain what was going on to Robin, and I couldn’t possibly abandon Hope.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “I just need a minute, okay?”

“That nervous? Is this an old boyfriend or something?” I wasn’t in the right mindset to place Robin’s tone.

“No,” I answered. “Nothing like that. Just a girl who used to live in my town.”

But is she actually here?
I wondered. The whole time we’d been driving down to Florida, I felt like I was getting closer to Hope, but now sitting in front of the house I was led to, I didn’t feel her presence. And there were a lot of other things that didn’t add up, like how Penny told me to help her sister, Hope, only Teddy said he knew Hope didn’t have a sister, not to mention that I couldn’t make sense of who would bring Hope all the way down to Florida. Could I be misinterpreting everything and headed down the wrong path once again? I shuttered at the possibility.

I needed to know if Hope Ross was in that house one way or another. If it wasn’t Hope Ross, then I needed to know who else needed help and why I was sent here.

I stared at the house in front of me. It looked like a normal house, albeit small. It was a light shade of blue, complete with a small deck attached to the front and a decent sized lawn. Nothing about the house screamed danger. In fact, the house looked like a peaceful place to raise a family, but I knew that something dark lurked behind those walls.

A lump formed in my throat when I thought about knocking on the door. I swallowed to force it back down. My voice quivered when I spoke, but I didn’t take my eyes off the door. “Will you come with me?” I asked Robin because I wasn’t sure I could do this alone.

I knew I had to do it nonetheless. The front door called out to me, taunting me for coming this far but not having the courage to investigate. I had to do this. I had to prove to myself—and to Teddy—that my abilities were leading me down the right path, that they weren't flawed.

“Sure,” Robin agreed, opening his door and stepping out of the car.

I had no choice but to follow him. My hand shook when I reached for the door handle, and I nearly missed it as my extremities came to life in a nervous shutter.

I stepped out of the car into the bright sun. My knees locked in place. Was Hope in there? Was this going to work? Why couldn’t I just see the future and see what would happen if I knocked on that door? All these thoughts kept me from pushing my legs forward.

“Crystal.” Robin’s voice called me to attention.

I looked up at him in a daze.

“Are we going to do this or not?” Robin’s eyes ran over my face, and then he stepped closer and gripped my shoulders in support. I caught a whiff of his scent and almost crumbled into his arms. His eyes were full of seriousness, an emotion I’d rarely seen in him. “Are you okay? You look pale.”

I felt like I was going to hurl, but I took a deep breath instead and pushed all my nerves down my throat until they gathered at the pit of my stomach. “I’m fine,” I assured him. “I’m always pale.” I faked a smile to show him I was okay, but I didn’t think any confidence showed through.

To my surprise, Robin grabbed my hand and led me up the walkway toward the door. I was nervous enough that Robin’s touch hardly had an effect on me. I caught my breath once again as we neared the steps. When we reached the door and Robin released my hand, much of my anxiety fled away.
I can do this
, I thought.
I’m the only one who can do this
.

Robin looked at me expectantly. I raised a hand and knocked on the door. We both listened for footsteps but didn’t hear any. I let out a sigh of relief, but at the same time, a wave of disappointment washed over me. I wasn’t any closer to Hope than I was this morning. We waited another few long seconds. Nothing. I knocked again, louder this time.

“Sorry you came all this way,” Robin said, “but I don’t think your friend is home.”

I wanted to be relieved since this would allow me more time to come up with a plan of attack, but I couldn’t think straight. The thought of losing Hope once again consumed me. Why was I here if there was nothing to find?

“No,” I insisted. “That can’t be right. She has to be here somewhere.”

Someone has to be here. Otherwise, why am I here?
All the nerves drained out of me when I thought this, and suddenly, all I felt was a burning desire to find Hope. I gripped the door knob and twisted. It didn’t budge.

I turned from the door and looked around in exasperation, hoping there would be an answer nearby. There wasn’t much for activity. A few children were playing in a yard nearby, and a maroon car slowed along the street and then continued on its way. Then I noticed an elderly man sitting on a porch swing at the house next to the one I stood at. I started toward him.

“Crystal, what are you doing?” Robin asked.

Without looking back at him, I told him, “To get some answers. Just give me a minute alone, okay?”

“Okay,” he agreed. His footsteps drift away as he headed back toward the car.

A faint sensation washed over me as I made my way over to the man.
Nerves, again
, I told myself.

The man smiled at me when I approached his porch steps. He was slightly plump with gray thinning hair and wrinkles around his eyes and mouth as if he smiled a lot. He was swinging back and forth on his porch swing to the rhythm of the light breeze. The air was cold against my nervous skin, which sent a chill down my spine.

“Can I help you with something?” the man asked.

I couldn’t help but hold onto the porch’s support beam when I made it to the top of the stairs. It was all I could do to not topple over in anticipation of answers.

“Hi,” I greeted him with a smile. “Uh, my name is Crystal, and I’m just wondering if you know when your neighbors will be home. I came a long way to visit them, but they aren’t there.”

He looked over at the blue house. “You’re looking for Lauren? She left this morning, and I haven’t seen her since.”

Lauren?
I thought.
No, I’m not looking for Lauren. I’m looking for Hope.

My stomach twisted at the thought of being wrong once again. How could my visions be so inaccurate? Why would I be here if the abductor didn’t take Hope here? The sickening feeling returned, and I once again felt a stab of anger and frustration when it hit me that I’d made another huge mistake. I thought I had a decent grasp on my abilities, but it turns out I didn’t, and that sent my self-esteem crumbling down.

I took a deep breath anyway to calm myself. I wanted desperately to be right about something. “Does Lauren have a boyfriend or something?” I asked, wondering if the abductor took Hope here at some point. Maybe Lauren was Jeff’s girlfriend and he’d taken her here. Maybe she was a relative of his. “A brother or someone who has been hanging around?” I added.

The man thought about this for a second. “Not as far as I’ve noticed. Just her.”

“What about a child?” I asked desperately. “She doesn’t have a little girl with her?”

“A little girl?” The man seemed taken aback. “No. Not since . . . ” He paused for a second. “No, I haven’t seen a child around lately.”

I thanked the man and walked back to the car. I bit the inside of my lip hard to hold back the tears and mask my utter disappointment in front of Robin.

“What was that all about?” Robin asked once I slid into the passenger seat.

“I was just asking the guy a few questions.”

“What guy?” Robin craned his neck to get a good look at the house I’d just been at.

I didn’t say anything. Instead, I sat there frozen, realizing what his words meant. The man I just spoke with was a ghost, and the nerves I felt when I walked up to his porch were the effects of his presence.

Robin suggested we get something to eat. I couldn’t do anything but agree. I thought it best to have something that would settle my stomach. As we drove back to a commercial part of town to find a restaurant, I once again tried sorting through my thoughts.
Why had Penny led me here? Who was I supposed to find? Why did I find a girl named Lauren instead? Was I supposed to help Lauren in some way?
I wasn’t sure I was capable of taking on another challenge since the ones I was already tackling were kicking my butt.
Why does it seem like every move I make is in the wrong direction?
I wondered.

Robin pulled into the parking lot of a small family diner and managed to find a shaded parking spot behind the building. When we entered the diner, most of the tables were empty. We slid into a booth across from each other and ordered right away.

“So, what do we do now that your friend wasn’t home?” he asked. “Can you text her and see where she is? I hate to have come all this way for nothing.”

Robin leaned forward across the table. His eyes bore into mine in a way I couldn’t describe. It was like he was daring me to look away first. For a few moments, I completely forgot about his question and instead let myself fall into the eyes staring at me from across the table. My breath all but ceased, but my heart sped up until my fingers quivered. Without taking his eyes off me, Robin sipped on his ice water. I bit my tongue ever so slightly without realizing it.

“So?” Robin snapped me back out of my daze.

What was his question again?
“What?” I asked, blinking a few times.

“I said I hate to have come all this way for nothing. Didn’t she know you were coming?”

“Uh, I kind of wanted it to be a surprise.”

“Can you text her, see where she is?”

“Oh, uh, yeah. Can you give me a minute?” I didn’t wait for an answer. I stood up and nearly raced to the bathroom.

Once safely in a stall, I rested my head against the stall wall, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath.
I cannot be thinking about Robin right now
, I scolded myself.
Hope is my main priority. Anything regarding my abilities is my main priority.

I took a few more calming breaths and was thankful when I sank to the ground and the stall was big enough for me to sit cross legged in.

Hope. I need to find Hope.

As I let this desire consume me, I put all the practice Emma and I had been doing to work. I struggled to clear my mind and find something that would tell me where to go next. I only hoped it would lead me to the right place this time. Maybe Teddy was right. Maybe I was embarking on a wild goose chase.

I knew time was passing, but I didn’t know how long I sat there. Gradually, I became completely oblivious to my surroundings. I wasn’t in the bathroom anymore. I was floating in a different realm where I reached out to Hope. I could feel her slightly, and when I did, I pushed harder. She was lonely, but she wasn’t alone. She wasn’t hurt. I knew that much, and that was somewhat comforting to me. But it wasn’t enough. I put every ounce of power I knew I had into connecting with her. I
had
to find her. I wouldn’t accept any other alternative.

I just want to go home,
Hope’s thoughts said in my mind.
I want to go home where I’m with my real mommy. I want my mommy to hug me again, to call me Hope. I just want to go home.

My eyes shot open. I was close. I was really close to Hope, but that’s all I knew. I couldn’t go back to Gail and Wayne’s right now. I had to stick around until I knew more.

I closed my eyes again to get Hope’s location, but nothing came to me. I shook off an odd feeling as I stepped out of the stall, but I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw a man with green eyes staring back at me. My first instinct was to scream because there was a man in the girl’s bathroom, but I recognized those eyes. I quickly regained my composure and swallowed the lump in my throat. My mouth went dry, but I somehow still managed to croak out, “Scott?”

He stared back at me, and I nearly broke down. My gaze locked on his in desperation. “You have to help me! I know I’m close, but I don’t know where Hope is. Why are you here? Can you tell me where she is?”

“I didn’t know,” he said.

Why is he here if he doesn’t know where she is?
I thought.
I need the answer, and being psychic isn’t doing anything for me!

Just as I opened my mouth to speak, a knock rapped on the door. My eyes darted to the door for a second then back to Scott, but he was gone. The door creaked open, and I heard Robin’s voice through the crack.

“Crystal, are you okay in there?”

I couldn’t answer for a moment. I didn’t know how long I’d been gone. I didn’t know if I
was
alright. I looked back toward the spot where Scott had been standing, but I found myself staring into thin air. “Yeah,” I answered. “I’ll be right out.”

When I got back to our table, our food was already there. I was glad because it meant we wouldn’t have to talk. My mind was still racing with questions. What was Scott trying to tell me? What would he have said if Robin hadn’t interrupted?

I was nearing the end of my meal, contemplating these ideas all the way through it, when Scott’s words came back to me and I realized something. I had asked where Hope was. Scott said, “I didn’t know.” Not
I don’t know
. I didn’t know. What could that possibly mean?

As I was finishing up my meal, Robin started speaking. “So, what do you want to do now? Should we go find your friend again?”

The thought scared me. I didn’t actually know where Hope was. We’d gone to the wrong house to begin with, but I knew I was close. What
could
I do now? I couldn’t talk to Robin about this. He’d either think I was crazy, or if he believed me, he’d find some way to criticize how terrible a psychic I was for getting everything about Hope’s abduction wrong. I thought about calling Emma and discussing the situation with her, but I didn’t want to run off from Robin again. He’d know something was up, and he probably suspected something already. But I couldn’t tell
him
. He wouldn’t understand. Unless he was hiding an ability, too.

“I don’t know yet,” I answered. “Can we go somewhere to relax? Like a park or something? I just need to clear my mind.”

He shrugged. “Okay.”

We paid for our food and exited the diner. Robin was telling me a funny story about one of his band members while we walked. I knew he was just trying to cheer me up, and it was almost working. I had just cracked a smile when we rounded the side of the restaurant and I watched Robin’s face fall. I followed his gaze and nearly crumpled to my knees. Robin rushed to the vehicle before I could truly react.

It took me a moment to digest the scene in front of me. I managed to compose myself in a brief instant and chase after him. It was all I could do not to crumble into the pit forming in my stomach.

Robin was frantic. His fingers ran viciously through his hair as he paced beside the car and cursed.

When I reached the car, I let myself finally fall to my knees. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. The tires on Teddy’s car were slashed, the front window was caved in, and the passenger side window was smashed. Scratches ran up and down the side as if someone dug their key into it.

“This can’t be happening,” Robin said in disbelief. “Uncle Teddy is going to kill me.”

It’s not your fault, Robin
, I wanted to say, but I couldn’t move from the ball I was curled into. I stuck my face in my hands.

“What kind of person would do this?” Robin ranted. “It must have been a random hit, but why us? Why now? Why here? Teddy is going to be furious.”

I squeezed my eyes shut in frustration, and then suddenly, I wasn’t in the parking lot at the restaurant anymore. I found myself behind the wheel of another car. I drove along a street in a neighborhood I recognized and slowed the car as I neared a blue house. I almost pulled into the driveway until I noticed two people standing on the deck.

Who are these people, and what are they doing at my house?
I thought.
I can’t let them see me. Not with her.

I sped away.

The scene shifted until a new one played in my mind. All I saw was a baseball bat connecting with the car window. In slow motion, the glass shattered in my mind.

Just like that, I was back in my own body, and I knew without a doubt that this wasn’t a random hit. This was a
warning
.