Witness: See Series (Volume 1)(69)

My eyes grew wide. “Whoa…I think maybe you need to hold off on the caffeine intake...that’s a wicked dream.”

“One that I have every time I close my eyes – one that’s going to keep us alive if you just get this tattoo,” she argued.

“Fine. I’ll get this – but only to calm you down because I need you to be strong for me. I need you to help me figure out how to get out of here before something really bad happens.”

“To who?” she asked as her skin flushed.

“Draven…Britain,” I said, holding her gaze

“Both of them,” she said in a cracked voice.

I nodded. “I may need you to help Britain – not give your heart away or anything; just help him while I help Draven…if we don’t get out of here before that moment comes.”

“Who told you that?” she asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said as I reached for my phone. I found my mom’s number and texted: ‘did you say I could get a tattoo??????’

“His eyes are made of honey, aren’t they?” Madison said as she crossed her arms.

I blushed as the words left her lips and the haunting memory of Silas flooded my mind. I stood abruptly to get my bag, which was still across the room where my father had tossed it before. “You could say that…how did you know?”

“Dream,” she mumbled.

My phone vibrated, and I looked down to see my mother’s response. ‘After our last conversation you should know how much power I put behind dreams – do whatever you need to do to keep you safe.’

“Wow,” I said as I read the text again. “You must have been really convincing about that dream. How long is this going to take? I want to find Austin – one way or the other.”

“Like an hour. It’s not big or anything.”

“Let’s go,” I said as I turned to race down the steps.

Monroe was still in the kitchen with her tutor, but Kara was nowhere to be seen. I smiled at her as I looked over the paper she was writing. She glanced up at me, then slid a paper out from under hers and handed it to me. I opened the folded paper to see an address written there with a name: Wesley. It took me a second, but I remembered that was the name of the guy Austin had led here; I’d only seen him once at the diner after Draven’s last concert, and that night I didn’t even know who I was, much less comprehend that he was from another dimension. Around the address she had drawn countless Ankhs.

My eyes rose to meet hers. “Thanks,” I said with a smirk.

“Is she almost done? Can she come with me?” I asked her tutor. I was beginning to rely heavily on the insight Monroe always seemed to have.

Monroe shook her head no, then looked down and began writing again. “Well, she could be, but it seems like she’s determined not only to catch up, but work ahead.”

I didn’t bother to argue or beg Monroe to come with me. I trusted her sixth sense. Madison and Kara walked in the kitchen right then. Kara was on her phone; I could tell by how she was silently listening that she was talking to mom.

I reached in my bag and grabbed my keys, then squeezed Monroe’s shoulder. “Call me when you’re done – I’ll come back for you.”

Kara grabbed her purse and keys, too. “Are you riding with us?” I asked.

She shook her head no. I wasn’t really surprised; I was sure she was eager to get back here – that she had some story she was working on.

I slid in my driver seat just as Madison climbed in.

“This is a big commitment on my part,” I said as I backed out of the driveway. “But I know it’s shallow in comparison to asking you to help me with Britain – but you have to know that I really need you to do that.”

She didn’t say anything until we reached the edge of my driveway, where she pointed for me to turn right. “What if I told you I was already helping him…would that make you mad?” she asked.

I was speechless for a second. “Um…no…confused, but not mad,” I finally answered. “How?”

“Just by being around him,” she answered.

“When have you been around him?” I asked, feeling somewhat betrayed. Not that she was with him, but because she was hiding what she was fighting from me....her dreams and how they were starting to come to life.....I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing - if the other guy appeared out of no where, there was no telling what Madison would go through. I just wanted her to trust me enough to help her through what was coming right at her - us.

“Last night,” she quietly answered.

“Really? Like, all night?” I asked, trying to hide the heat in my cheeks. The thought of them together almost embarrassed me – like two worlds that shouldn’t collide were – but at the same time, I wanted them to because that meant that I had more time than I thought. If Britain was distracted, he would try and take my light or whatever it was, and Draven wouldn’t stop it...I was starting to think we could beat this curse.

“No, not all night; most of it…I was with Draven when he went to ask him where you were…Draven left…I stayed…I stayed to understand everything more clearly. I wanted to know why he thought my light matched yours in that realm…why at that moment he seemed more interested in me than he ever has been in you.”