All That She Can See(44)

So, instead of running, Cherry leaned into Chase’s touch and closed her eyes and listened.

Chase hadn’t touched anyone like this before. Relationships had always been a thing of passion but as quickly as a match is struck and fizzles out, so did his love affairs. He had never touched anyone with anything but lust burning in his mind and passion sizzling on his fingertips but this… this was different. Cherry was different – and not in the way people often say they’re different. This wasn’t the eating-dessert-before-dinner different, nor was it the I-sleep-with-my-head-at-the-foot-of-the-bed kind of different. Those people were normal people who did different things out of habit. Habits they’d picked up from other inherently normal people. Cherry herself, her soul and her spirit, were different. It wasn’t just that she didn’t do or see normal things. Cherry also took the bad things she saw and tried to flip them to do good. She had a genuine desire to help people, all people, people she’d never met, and that was what made her different to anyone Chase had ever met. Chase had seen people joyously hating one another, feeding off their love of others’ misfortune. He’d seen happiness where there shouldn’t ever be happiness, but in Cherry it fit like a perfect glove.

His hand moved to the back of her neck and he brought her in closer to him. She gently lifted herself onto tiptoe and their lips, finally, touched. Both Chase and Cherry had had kisses before but this may as well have been their first – it was like no kiss either of them had experienced before. As soon as their lips parted, they could taste the Belonging and Honesty on each other’s tongues and they laughed into each other’s mouths. Chase slipped an arm around Cherry’s pyjamaed waist and pulled her closer to him and held her there.

‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered.

‘For what?’

‘For leaving.’

He pushed her away gently so he could look her in the eyes. ‘So you’ve decided, then?’

‘I can’t think of another way around it,’ Cherry said, tears coming to her eyes.

‘There must be something else we can do!’ Chase said urgently.

‘Live normally?’ she said and shrugged. ‘Try to ignore what we can see and just live with it. Stop helping people.’

‘Would you be content with that?’ he asked and she shrugged again. ‘Then that’s not an option. I’m not having you unhappy.’

‘If I go to the Guild I’ll be… nothing. Unhappy is better than nothing. And then we can stay together.’

‘True, but there has to be a better way. One that won’t make you miserable. We’ll figure this out, I promise.’ And then he pulled her in to taste that concoction of Belonging and Honesty once more.

Cherry’s phone buzzed in her pocket.

‘Mood killer,’ Chase said against her lips.

‘Sorry.’ She pulled the phone out of her pyjama pocket. It was a Facebook notification from the Psychic Sisters page, letting everyone know about their event tomorrow.

‘They don’t hang about, do they?’ Chase laughed. ‘That reminds me… money! You actually asked for money!’ Cherry had almost forgotten about the wad of cash sitting in her other pocket.

‘I was planning to split it between all their clients. The ones most affected, at least. Seems only fair they get something back.’

Chase curled out his bottom lip and nodded approvingly. ‘Nice touch. You definitely should have pushed for more, though. I can’t even begin to fathom how much of this town’s cash has paid for Dani’s acrylic nails. Too much.’

‘Well, at least —’

BANGBANGBANG!

Cherry and Chase both jumped apart at the sound of Sally slapping her open palm against the door. Cherry unlocked the door and beckoned her in.

‘Sally?’ Cherry said, ‘What’s wrong?’

‘Have you seen it?!’ Sally shrieked.

‘Seen what?’ Cherry asked.

‘HAVE YOU SEEN IT?!’ Sally shrieked again.

‘Have I seen what, Sally?’ Cherry said patiently, holding out her arms to calm Sally.

‘The event. Velina. Danior,’ she said between breaths. ‘The event. At their shop. Tomorrow.’

Chase and Cherry shared a look. ‘Yes, I did see, actually.’ Cherry reached behind her for her mug of tea and sipped it, trying to hide her smile.

‘No one can go,’ Sally said, holding Cherry’s gaze. ‘I won’t allow it.’

‘Am I missing something?’ Chase asked.

‘No one can go!’ Sally said louder. ‘I won’t let them!’

‘Why, Sally? Why shouldn’t anyone go?’ Cherry was trying to keep track of what Sally was saying, but it wasn’t making much sense.

‘Because it’s me.’ Sally dropped to her knees and started sobbing. These weren’t the practised crocodile tears they’d seen earlier. Her shoulders heaved up and down and the tears ran in long streams through the gaps between her fingers. ‘It’s me. It’s me, it’s me, it’s me.’

‘Oh, Sally! What’s going on? What’s you?’ Cherry sank to Sally’s side and put her arms around her but Sally pulled away, holding out her trembling hands, fending Cherry off.

‘No, please don’t give me sympathy. I can’t stand it. I don’t deserve it. Least of all from you.’