Finding Obscurity (8 page)

“It’s Ryder,
isn’t it?” When I didn’t answer, he grabbed my shoulders and shook them, gently
forcing me to look back up at him. “You can’t tell me that you don’t feel
anything for me when we touch. He isn’t right for you. People like us don’t
mingle with the likes of him.”

“What does
that mean? I don’t know what I want right now! Is that what you wanted to
hear?” I pulled myself away and walked into the living room. “I promised myself
I would never let anyone get close to me, but now I have Sam as a friend, can’t
get Ashton out of my head, and now you’re telling me you feel something for me!
I can’t figure out what is good and what is bad for me anymore. You guys have
my heart in a vise and are slowly squeezing it.”

He
followed me into the next room. “If you would just give me a chance! I can’t
help how I feel about you. The first time I saw you I just knew you were
something special.”

I picked
up my cell phone and sparks burst out of my hand in a bright purple explosion,
zapping my phone. I threw it against the wall in frustration. “Dammit!”

Blake held
his hands out in front of him as a sign of peace, and I saw the hurt in his
silver eyes. “Calm down, Lily. I’m sorry.”

I stared
at the wall where my phone hit and at the scattered pieces that lay below. It
was all so confusing. To be honest, I did like Ashton, against my better
judgment. I also couldn’t deny the connection I had with Blake, either. I took
a few deep breaths and counted to ten before looking back at him. “I had that
phone over a year. Now I have to get another one. They are going to stop
offering the insurance on my new phones all the time.”

He burst
out in laughter. “Well, it looks like your powers are somehow tied to emotions.
We’ll just have to figure out the trigger in your mind that ties to that.”

I glanced
back at the broken pieces of my phone on the floor. “Yeah. Stress, anger, and
sadness can cause things to… short out. That’s how I caused an entire
electronics store to have a power failure.”

“You made
an entire store black out?” He let out another guffaw. “That is great! Maybe I
should take you with me to the cable company when I’m upset about my bill.”

I couldn’t
help but smile. “If I went into the cable company and caused them to have a
blackout, I think a lot of people would hunt me to the ends of the Earth.”

“You don’t
mess with my TV. I am addicted to that and the Internet.”

Shaking my
head, I walked into the kitchen to search through my junk drawer to see if I
had an extra cell phone to use until I got a new one. Nothing. I would just
have to use another phone to call my wireless phone provider. When I turned
around, Blake was standing right next to me, and it caused me to jump. “Good
lord! Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

“Sorry! I
think it may be best that I head home. I have a long day of work ahead of me.”

I raised
an eyebrow. “You have a job?”

Blake
smiled with those little dimples popping up. “Unfortunately. Hey, I
gotta
make a living, even though I don’t need the money
really. Let’s just say I have an inheritance of sorts, but I refuse to touch it
unless I have to.”

Luckily, I
could make up my own hours. As long as I got my contracted work done by the
deadline, my customers didn’t mind if it was midnight or six in the morning.
“I’ll walk you to the door.”

He
followed me towards the door and I opened it for him. “I should have a new
phone tomorrow once I make it to the phone company. Maybe we can figure out how
to keep from shorting out everything I own next time.”

Blake
leaned forward, giving me a light kiss on my cheek. “I can’t wait.”

I closed
the door after he walked down the hall and noticed the time on the clock read
after midnight. I was exhausted from the little exertion to make lightning
shoot from my hands – and from Blake’s advances. I kept telling myself that it
didn’t mean anything when the sparks flew after his lips touched mine.
 

Jinx was
curled up on the bed and stretched lazily when he saw me. I sat down beside him
and started petting him. “Hey, baby. You are one lazy fur ball, aren’t
you?”
 

He
answered with a purr and rolled over for me to scratch under his chin. I put my
head on the pillow and that sweet sound had me asleep before I knew what hit
me.

The air
was thick with smoke and I couldn’t breathe, causing me to choke after taking a
breath. My eyes were full of burning tears. Flames were climbing up the walls,
charring the wood dark black, making it look like a void where they licked up
the walls. It was deathly silent in the house aside from the crackling of the
fire chasing smoke up the walls. I looked around, trying to figure out where I
was, but I couldn’t see anything through the smoke. Acting on instinct, I fell
to the floor and started to crawl my way through to find what had to be the
front door. The inferno continued scorching everything in its path, and the
heat was so intense that I thought my skin would melt right off my bones. I
reached up and screamed from the heat on the doorknob. I knew I had burnt my
hand, but I turned the scorching metal anyway to open the door. I darted out,
across a porch, and onto the front lawn. My body expelled the smoke with a
rough cough and I vomited onto the grass between my hands.

Glancing
back at the house, it was engulfed in flames and the fire licked up the roof,
shooting into the air like it was starving. I looked around at my surroundings
and didn’t recognize anything. I saw a body running through the woods with a
shock of long red hair and shook my head at somebody running away, because they
must not have seen me. Where were the fire trucks? Hadn’t anyone called the
police to report the fire?

Glancing
back up at the cabin, I saw a pale hand beating on a window of the second
floor, trying to break the glass to get free. I had to help them! I stood up
and started running back towards the house when the roof collapsed.

I woke up
with a scream strangled in my throat and sweat was pouring out of my skin. My
sheets were soaked.
What in the hell was that
? It had to be just a
regular nightmare from thinking about my parents dying in a fire, but it just
felt so vivid.

Running my
hand across my face, I grimaced in pain and stared at my palm in horror. There
was a bright red welt in a perfect circle, resembling the doorknob I had
grabbed to escape.

Chapter
Eleven

I shot out of
bed and went straight to the bathroom, running my hand under the cool water. It
felt amazing on the burnt skin. Laying my head on the cool porcelain of the
vanity, I thought back to the dream. I wasn’t so sure it was a premonition of
things to come or not, but reminded myself to not rent any cabins in the woods
any time in the future.

I pulled
my hand out from under the cool water and dried it gingerly with the hand
towel. Inspecting it a little closer, I noticed it started to heal in just the
couple of minutes it had been under the water. The burnt skin was no longer
blistered and was only slightly pink now. I wanted to flip the hell out and go
into a panic, but I had to call Blake first. I ran into the bedroom and
realized my phone was no longer on the charger because I had ruined it last
night.

I
showered, dressed, and headed to the closest wireless retailer to my apartment.
I walked into the store and there was a line, which surprised me on a Tuesday
afternoon. Giving my name to the check-in guy, he let me know there was about a
half hour wait to be assisted. I let him know I would go the boutique next door
and be back.

 
As soon as I opened the door, I saw Paige
flipping through a rack of jeans. “Hey, Paige. How are you today?”

She looked
up at me before pulling a pair of jeans out holding them up against her. “Good.
What’s up?”

“Getting a
new phone and decided to check out the store while I waited. Is there anything
good here?”

Paige
tried to give me a smile but it came out more like a sneer. “Of course. It’s
the best in the city.”

I looked
at a cute sweater and glanced back at her. She didn’t like me, so I couldn’t
help but to ask, “Why don’t you like me?”

She
blinked. “I never said I didn’t like you.”

“I’m not
stupid, Paige. I can read it all over your face.”

She
inhaled sharply, causing her nostrils to flare out a bit. “Maybe I like Blake.
He didn’t have eyes for anyone until you came around. I shouldn’t be that way.
It isn’t your fault if he likes you. Besides, I think you and Ashton make a cute
couple anyway.”

“I’m sorry
you think Blake only has eyes for me. It was never my intention to hurt you,
and if I could change it, I would. If you don’t want to be my friend, then
that’s cool with me. We have mutual friends, and if we can at least be nice
towards each other, it would make things easier for everyone.”

“True. I’m
sorry I’ve been a bitch. It just sucks he doesn’t like me. I know I was just
fooling myself if I thought I had a chance.”

“Listen.
I’m sure there’s somebody out there for you, and when you least expect it, you
will find them.” I tried to pat her on the arm, and she pulled away before I
could touch her.

“That is
what they say anyway.” Paige’s eyes swerved to the door and she straightened
with a scowl.

I turned
to the door to see Carlotta walking in. When she saw me, she headed my way with
a bright smile. “Hey! I was sure you would be in bed for days after all those
glasses of wine!”

“Yep. I
was hurting pretty bad with a killer hangover.” I smiled back at her and we
gave each other a quick hug.

I turned
to Paige, who was still scowling at Carlotta. What was wrong with this girl?
“Paige, this is Carlotta Brown.”

“Hi,” she
said, her face screwing up like she sucked on a lemon.

Carlotta gave
her a strange look before turning her eyes back to me. “What are you doing
today?”

“I have to
get a new phone, and then after that, nothing for an hour or so.”

“Well, I
wanted to know if maybe you wanted to get lunch or something after you were
done?
”

“Sounds
like a plan. Where do you want to meet?” I was looking forward to spending time
with her. I felt like she may eventually become a good friend.

“Meet me
at Flair Bistro in say,” she checked her watch, “an hour? Will that work?”

“Yep. See
you then.” I smiled as she waved and left the store.

“How do
you know her?” Paige asked from behind me.

I turned
to face her and shrugged. “She’s a friend of Ashton’s. Carlotta makes some
pretty good wine if you are ever interested in trying some.”

Paige frowned.
“No thanks.”

This woman
seemed to have insecurity issues, but that was her fault – not mine. I tried to
be nice, I tried to be honest, but I’m washing my hands of trying to be nice to
her today. “See
ya
.”

I walked
back into the wireless store and still had to wait another ten minutes before I
was assisted. Of course, if I wanted to wait two days, I could claim insurance
on my phone, but I couldn’t wait that long. I didn’t have a home phone and
relied on my cell phone to do business.

After
spending a ridiculous amount of money on a new phone, I headed to Flair Bistro.
It was located in a small shopping center on the south side of town and was
known for great coffee and Italian sandwiches. The interior was bright and
cheerful with pictures of different vegetables along the walls. Carlotta was
waiting in one of the red booths and waved me over.

 
I slid into the seat and smiled. “I’m glad I
ran into you today. It’s nice to see you dressed normally and not in some fancy
dress again.”

“I like
dressing up from time to time. It was always the best part of my childhood,
putting on my mother’s dresses and jewelry. What about you?”

“My sister
Sarah and I used to dress up in clothes, but got into big trouble one time when
we spilled Kool-Aid on Mom’s favorite blouse.” I chuckled at the memory. “It
stained it and we had to pull weeds in the garden all summer. After that, we
found other things to do.”

“Does your
sister live close?”

My chest
gave the normal ache when I thought of Sarah.
If only I was able to stop the car before it rounded the curve.
The pain will never heal completely at the loss of my sister, but the memories
I keep inside my heart were what kept me pushing through another day with a
smile. “She died in a car accident ten years ago.”

“My dear,
I’m so sorry to hear that. I can tell it saddens you, so try to think of happy
times with her. It doesn’t make the pain go away completely, but it helps to
ease it.” Carlotta patted my hand.

“That’s
what I tell myself everyday. That day changed my life in more ways than you can
imagine.” I placed my order with the waitress and she did the same before I
continued, “I found out that I was adopted, and my parents hated me for driving
the car that killed her.”

I had
never told anyone about that. It was nice to get it off my chest and feel
comfortable enough to talk to her about things. I don’t know why I didn’t talk
to Sam about them. Maybe because I knew Carlotta knew I was different than
everyone else, and made it easier to tell her things that I normally wouldn’t.
She basically radiated comfort and friendship.

“You can’t
mean that. I’m sure they don’t hate you.”

I gave a
small smile. “Oh, yes I do. When they arrived on the scene, my mother blamed me
for killing her. I was the one driving the car after all. I learned that night
while sitting in an ambulance that I was adopted. They wouldn’t even let me sit
with them at the funeral. I haven’t spoken to them since.”

“That is
despicable. Even if you weren’t their child by blood, they raised you. What a
horrible thing to do a child! Please quit blaming yourself for something you
had no control over.”

“I was
driving, though. It was my fault, Carlotta. I saw it before the accident
happened. There should have been something I could have done to save her.”

“What do you
mean you saw it?”

 
“I had a vision of it a few minutes before it
happened.”

“Do you
normally get these visions?” she said as her hand fluttered at her neck.

“Not all
the time. I used to a lot when I was a kid, but I have somehow either learned
how to control it or am losing them. The only recent ones I’ve had are of
Ashton and of this house fire.” I remembered my hand and showed her my palm
that had a slight pink circle on it. “I even woke up this morning with a burn
from trying to escape.”

Carlotta
ran her index finger over the pink skin. “That is very strange. Have you ever
woken up with any sort of injury before?”

I took a
drink of soda. “Never. This felt so vividly real. It was the weirdest thing I
have ever experienced.”

I relayed
the entire dream about the fire to her. I also explained the premonition with
Ashton, which came true the night at their house. The waitress delivered our
food and she munched on a pickle while she thought about everything.

“So do you
know if the dream of the fire was a forewarning? It just doesn’t feel right.”

“I’m not
sure. Either way I won’t be staying in any cabins anytime in the future. Blake
told me they call us Conjurers. Your husband said something to Ashton that
night. Do you know what I am?”

She
blinked at me. “Of course. Did you talk to Ashton about these things yet?”

“No.” I
shook my head and munched on a potato chip. “I haven’t seen him since that
night. If he tried to call me last night I would have no clue. I… damaged my
phone and had to get a replacement today. That’s why I was in the area today
when you saw me. Are you a Conjurer too? Is that how you know about me?”

Carlotta
wrinkled her nose at me. “No, I’m not. I think you should talk to Ashton first.
It doesn’t feel right talking to you about something that would be unfair to
him.”

What would be unfair to Ashton?
This
conversation had taken a weird turn. The comments her husband had made about
him being with me, and Carlotta dodging the questions made me a little
concerned about starting a relationship with Ashton. I knew they knew what I
was. Was he keeping a secret from the start? I never thought to ask him if he
knew anything about me.

“You said
Blake told you what you were. Did you see him recently?”

“Um… yeah.
He was over last night for a while trying to teach me how to control things I
can do.” I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. “Other than finding out what I
was, there wasn’t much else he showed me, really.”
Other than giving me an
amazing kiss and making
me
confused about it.
She
didn’t need to know about that, though. I didn’t think it would be wise to
confess to Ashton either. Then again, we weren’t in a committed relationship. I
still felt guilty. I was never one to date, let alone two people at the same
time. Sure, Blake was gorgeous, but Ashton was even more alluring with those
blue eyes.

“I’m sure
it will take some time, learning what you’re able to do. When things change
within you, sometimes the hardest part is learning to let go and be yourself.
Just because you may be different than everyone else doesn’t mean you aren’t a
good person deep down inside.”

“You say
that now, but I don’t know. Hell, until a few days ago, I didn’t know anyone
was like me.” I shrugged and took a bite of my sandwich.

We ate in
comfortable silence for a few minutes as I mulled over what she had said. This
woman was one smart cookie and always gave the best advice, which made me
wonder what she had been through in her life. I watched her chew a piece of
sandwich and glance around the restaurant. “Carlotta? Have you been through
something tragic in your life?”

She paused
mid-chew and swallowed. “Why do you think that?”

“Just
that… well, you have some great advice about everything, and I wasn’t sure if
was from your own personal experiences.”

“My life
has been interesting, yes, and one of these days we will talk about it when the
time is right. I just don’t feel comfortable discussing it at the moment.”

I could
tell she was clamming up and found it odd that she wasn’t willing to tell me
anything about her life. Actually, we hadn’t really discussed anything about
her because we were always talking about my experiences. I nodded in
understanding since I was familiar with keeping secrets.
 

After our
meal was finished, we exchanged phone numbers before heading our separate ways.
I was gaining another friend. How my life had changed. Somehow, it wasn’t as
bad as I thought it would be. After ten long years of nobody to talk to, it was
nice to be able to have actual conversations with someone besides my cat.

When I
arrived at my apartment complex, Sam was waiting at my door, sitting on the
floor, playing a game on his cell phone. He stood when he saw me.

“Hey,
sweet
thang
! I tried to call you last night. Where
the heck were you? I was worried when you didn’t answer.”

I grinned
at him and opened the door, letting us both inside. “I broke my phone and had
to get a new one today. It sucked.”

Sam looked
at the pieces of my phone still on the ground. “Did you have a hissy fit or
something? You really taught that phone a lesson.”

I began
picking up the scattered pieces throwing them in the trash. “Or something. It
was already broken before I threw it against the wall, trust me.”

“Did you
and Ashton have a falling out? Did your date not go good?” Sam crossed his arms
across his chest, narrowing his eyes at me.

“No, it
was fine. I actually got a little too drunk and passed out in the limo.”

“You’re
kidding!” He let out a bark of laughter. “I have never seen you drink too much.
I bet you’re a hoot! That is something I really want to see sometime.”

“Do you
like wine?”

“Does
Peter Pan like Wendy? Hell yes! Do you have a stash around here someplace?” Sam
headed into my kitchen like it held the keys to the universe.