Witness: See Series (Volume 1)(7)

“Hey,” I said nervously as I reached the table.

He nodded for me to take a seat. I looked out the window – to the parked Aston Martin that was now just a few feet away – then slid into the booth with Evan.

“I didn’t know you were back. Does Draven know?” I asked as I slouched a little in the seat, hoping that I wouldn’t be recognized through the slightly tinted windows.

Evan looked out the window, then back at me. He reached for his steaming cup of coffee. “I’ve been home for a few weeks,” he said just as he took a sip of coffee.

“What?” I said, sitting up. I was confused. Why would Draven not tell me?

Evan tilted his head and smiled faintly. “I didn’t think you knew – I haven’t seen you around. Kara said you haven’t left the house in a while.”

“I’ve been locked in my studio – you know how it is,” I said, letting my eyes fall to the table. I guess it had been a while since I left the house.

“I do,” Evan said as he folded his paper and leaned forward. “Any breakthroughs?”

“Nah…not what I’m looking for, anyway. Why didn’t Draven tell me that you were back?” I asked, looking up at him.

A waitress came to the table at that moment and set a cup of coffee and a bagel in front of me. I nodded to tell her thank you.

“I think that’s the way you like it – with all those added flavors and such,” Evan said, nodding to the coffee.

“Yeah, thanks. I was...I was gonna take some coffee to your house...to Draven.”

A relieved smile came to the corners of Evan’s lips. “I’m sure he would like that.”

“I wasn’t sure if he’d want coffee this early after getting in so late. I figured it was worth the try.”

“I wasn’t talking about the coffee,” Evan said, pushing the bagel closer to me. “I meant he would like seeing you...that...he needs to see you.”

As Evan spoke, my dream with my father came rushing back to me. A sick feeling came over me, and eating was last thing I wanted to do. I pushed the bagel into center of the table and leaned forward. I glanced out the window to the Aston Martin, then back at Evan.

“You sound like my father,” I whispered.

Evan nodded and started to move his fingers across the table the way Draven does when he’s trying to figure something out. “What did your dad say?” he asked quietly.

“Not to let Draven push me away – that he needs me.”

Evan nodded along as I spoke. “Charlie is a wise man; you should listen to him.”

We stared at each other in silence for a few seconds. As I tried to concentrate on him – to try and see him – images finally came to life before my eyes. I could see him boarding a plane with two young guys and a girl. The boys had long, dark hair swooshed to the side; their skin was pale, but their eyes and hair were as dark as night. I assumed one was older – brothers perhaps. The girl was younger than them, maybe even younger than me, and she was overly gothic. Her dark hair was long and straight, and she wore a dark purple hoop in her nose that matched the color of her lipstick. Her eyeliner was so heavy that it was hard to make out where her eyes began. They all seemed placid – emotionless, but harmless. I assumed these were the people Evan had found that could see like we could.

As I peered through these images, I saw these people meet Draven, Aden, and Madison (I was furious that no one had told me about them), then I focused my eyes and made the images disappear. I shook my head, questioning if I was just imagining all of that or if it had really happened.

“Seeing is coming back to you,” Evan said as he tilted his head.

“How did you know I was seeing? I don’t even know if I was seeing,” I said trying not to let the embarrassment I felt flush in my cheeks.

“Your eyes…when you see, your pupils expand to the width of your eyes…all of you do that – well, everyone who sees like you.”

“All of who? Does the girl with the purple lipstick have expanding pupils, too?”I asked sarcastically.

“Hard to tell with all that makeup,” Evan said as he tried not to grin. “If I could see her pupils, I would guess they didn’t expand; instead, a darkness comes from the outside to the center.”

As he spoke, my memory brought back images of Draven’s eyes…his breathtaking eyes looked as if they were intended to be black, but beautiful lines of green raced through them – at times…times when I knew he was trying to see me, they would turn black – black as coal. I could almost see what Evan was talking about, how it could be perceived as the black flooding from the outside to the center. Honestly, Draven could ‘see’ so well and so quickly that at times I barely noticed the change in color at all.

I tried to remember if I had ever seen Madison or Aden’s eyes change or their pupils expand…I guess I just never noticed because it was so common to me. It was odd to have Evan point it out…I wondered if it was that obvious to everyone. I also wondered why Draven’s or that girl’s eyes would turn dark differently…what was Evan trying to say?

“I guess I did ‘see’ you,” I mumbled. “How come I didn’t know they were here?”

Evan shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t think it’s a secret. Maybe you didn’t ask.”