Predestined (Existence Trilogy #2)(16)

This was all she knew. She hadn’t promised them anything. She’d just said she’d give them whatever they wanted. She had no idea she’d given them my soul. I stood up on shaky legs and walked around the table and hugged her. Not because she deserved it but because even though she’d made a grave mistake she’d done it because she loved me.

Chapter Seven

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

I sniffled and looked up at a young boy about my age. His hair was blond and he had friendly blue eyes. I shrugged and wiped my nose on my sleeve. I wanted to be alone and cry. I didn’t want to explain things to some stranger.

“Nothin’,’” I mumbled and stared down at my dirty tennis shoes. I’d just got my pink sparkly tennis shoes last week but now after running through the woods in the mud they were all dirty. Didn’t matter. Mom was upset. I’d scared her. I didn’t mean to. I never meant to. I needed to learn not to say anything.

“Something is bothering you,” the boy said and sank down on the porch step beside me. Who was this kid?

“Just stuff,” I muttered fiddling with my dirty shoe string.

“I’m good at fixing things. I bet if you told me I could help,” he replied.

Was he for real? I just wanted him to leave me alone. Shrugging, I figured the truth would probably send him running away. I lifted my head and stared at him.

“I saw my dead Grandma today. We went to her house because she had a heart attack and died. Everyone put on dresses and went to visit her in her casket at her house and eat food and stuff. I saw her lying there. She looked asleep but she wasn’t breathing. Then I went into the kitchen to find the coloring books she always left for me. And there she was. Smiling like she always did. I was so happy to see she’d woken up. I went to hug her and she was gone.”

I stopped, waiting for the horrified look my mother had given me when I told her this same story to come over his face but it didn’t. Maybe he didn’t understand.

“So, I spun around and there she was again. Standing behind me. She looked sad and she shook her head at me. I was just so happy to see her alive I ran to tell Mom. But when I got back into the room where the casket was my grandma was still lying there like she was asleep. My mother was still crying.”

I stopped again waiting for the boy to jump up and run away from me. But he sat there waiting for me to say more. I’d wanted someone to listen to me today. Instead my mom had told me to stop it and threatened to ground me if I said anymore about this. Then she’d sobbed so loudly I felt sick. I didn’t want to make her sad. I’d only been trying to make her feel better.

“Go on,” the boy said.

“Well, I told my mom to come with me. I pulled her into the kitchen and there was my grandma standing there like I’d left her. She looked sad again and shook her head at me. My mom didn’t see her. Instead she stared down at me and asked me what this was about. I pointed to my grandma and still my mother didn’t see anything. She frowned and looked back down at me and said she needed to get back to the visitors. Then I told her about grandma being there and Mom froze. The look on her face wasn’t a happy one. She looked... really, really scared.”

I didn’t finish. I knew the boy would run away from me now.

“So, you saw the soul of your grandma,” he replied matter of factly.

I nodded, “I guess, if that is like her ghost. Because I think I saw her ghost.”

“Yes, it’s like her ghost.”

I wiped at my eyes. The tears had stopped since the boy had shown up.

“It’s okay to see souls. It’s not a bad thing. But your mom will never understand it. No one will. If you want to keep from upsetting people you need to act like you don’t see them. If you ignore them then they’ll leave you alone. If you let them know you can see them then they’ll follow you around,” he explained.

Frowning, I studied him. He seemed to know a lot about this. Did he see dead people too?

“How’d you know she wasn’t the first one I’ve seen?”

He shrugged, “I guess you’ve been seeing them for about two years now.”

My mouth fell open. How’d he know that?

“Do you see ghosts too?”

He nodded and a crooked grin appeared on his face. He really didn’t think I was crazy.

“Yep, I see them.”

“Can I make myself stop seeing them?”

He frowned and shook his head. He must wish he couldn’t see them too.

“So we’re stuck like this?”

“I’m afraid so,” he replied. “But look at it this way, it makes you special. You can see something no one else can. Think of it as a super power instead of a bad thing.”

Not likely. I wanted to be able to fly or maybe go invisible but I wasn’t interested in seeing dead people.

“Pagan! Pagan! PEGGY ANN!”

My eyes snapped open and Gee hovered over my face.

“You were not supposed to go to sleep while I went to check out things outside and around the house. But what happens? I’m gone for maybe five minutes and you’re asleep and that creep job is in your head.”

I stretched and sat up on the couch. I was losing sleep due to these dreams. I couldn’t help it that the moment I sat down I dozed off. Yawning, I shot Gee an annoyed glare.