I turned and dashed to her mother's side. She was gasping for breath and then suddenly stopped breathing all together. Her face turned blue and then pale white. Several bystanders managed to do some quick-thinking and called for an ambulance while Eric fumbled in his backpack for his own dead cell phone.
A life guard came with one of those electronic defibrillators, but all attempts to revive Jane failed. Before help could even arrive, she was gone.
Jenn held her in her arms and cried out, "Mother, mommy, please don't leave me, please don't."
Eric stood beside me shaking uncontrollably,
"This was all my fault," he cried, "I killed her."
"Yes, you..." I stopped myself short of finishing my words.
Suddenly I found myself stuck in the middle, trying to console both Eric and Jenn.
I was really mad at Eric for being such an idiot, but somehow, I couldn't find it within myself to show it. He was already beating himself up pretty good. Who the hell was I to judge?
Jenn, on the other hand... What to do with Jenn?
I must admit, I was and am the worst at consoling. I never have the right words to say and Jenn was a stranger to me, so things were just that much more difficult. The only thing I could think to do was hug her. Fortunately, she let me.
When the police finally arrived, they pulled Jenn aside and began questioning her. She confirmed it, right there on the beach. At age eighteen, Jenn was an orphan. She knew nothing of her father. She stood solitary on the beach, sobbing as the ambulance took her mother into its belly to transport her to a nearby mortuary. Warned to get her affairs in order, the police clearly weren’t great at consoling people either. Because of her age, a lanky officer with a long, thin nose said the State Child Protection Agency could not take her in. Jobless, and with no income, Jenn would lose everything if she didn’t come up with a plan. That plan was me. And still, I lost her on that Goddamned beach.
The room spun. The music tore at my ear drums. Violet and her ex stared down at me while the bartender leaned over the bar to see what the fuss was about. I couldn’t let it happen again. I needed to know why my ex-girlfriend was haunting me again and what it had to do with Violet. Was she tied to Ethel? Was that why I couldn’t see her fate? Jenn’s hadn’t been the easiest to read either. Still, with her, I knew... And why was Violet’s ex haunting her too?
Earth to James. We aren’t in California anymore. We’re in the Big Apple. Leashed to an idiot determined to get us both killed. Do something. Or don’t. But start with getting up off the floor.
Chapter Six
Violet
James fell on the floor. I was so stupid for using Death Flames on him. I knew it was too much. I couldn’t afford to lose him. “Death Flames extend.”
We couldn’t afford another accident, especially in front Arun. I bent over slightly and held my hand out to James. He knocked it to the side and stood up on his own terms. Arun took my bent over state as an invitation and ran his hand down my lower back and onto my butt.
Just like what James did to me a few moments ago, I turned around and slapped Arun’s hand off me. “You lost the privilege to touch me last year.”
He held his hands up in a sign of surrender. “I told you it was an accident.”
I snorted, not one of my better sounds. “Sure. Your dick accidently got hard. Then you accidently put your hard dick into some other girl...in and out...repeatedly. Then you came, inside her, and got her pregnant. That sure sounds like an accident to me.”
I realized after I said those words, I used the word ‘dick’ and popped my hand over my mouth.
Arun’s eyes looked confused, just like he always did with this argument. He didn’t understand what being in a relationship meant. “It was solstice, that’s what we all do. Besides, you weren’t there to participate.”
I dropped my hand from mouth. I was so tired of this argument, I wasn’t even sure if I was angry anymore. Truth be told, my ex’s baby was really cute. He was meant to have her and we were not meant for each other. “I didn’t want to be pregnant and we were dating. Everything you did that solstice was your choice...not an accident. Now get over it.”
“Guys, I don’t want no trouble,” the bartender hollered to us over the long, shiny bar.
I nodded and looked over to him. “Do you have a private room where he can get cleaned up. We only need a few minutes.” I pointed to James.
The bartender looked over his shoulder to an ‘employees only’ sign. I grabbed James’ hand and pulled him into the room. Before the door shut all the way, I heard Arun, “I have some news for you.”
“Give me a few minutes,” I hollered back to him as I shut the employees only door and locked the deadbolt, silencing the music outside to a heavy bass thud.
As soon as I clicked the lock into place, I turned around to James, who was standing a few feet behind me. “What happened back there?”
“How did you save Ray?” I thought he was going to ask this a few hours ago, but I guessed the shock of Ray and Ethel was just now getting to him.
I wasn’t sure if I should press harder with my original question or let him take control of the conversation. I took a deep breath and chose to let him have control, for now. “You really want to know?”
He took one step forward. “I do.”
Over his shoulder was a bottle opener with a sharp metal point on the end. I reached around him to grab the object.
“What are you doing?” I ignored his question as I grabbed the opener.
“Give me your hand.”
“Can I see your natural eyes?”
My eyes looked up to his. “Why?”
“Your contacts are getting to me. I want to see what your natural eyes look like.”
I was so proud of myself when I didn’t roll my eyes. I didn’t even break eye contact with him as I pinched the contact away from my cornea and flicked the red lenses onto the floor. I was prepared to flinch when he got a good look at my natural color. People gasped and backed away from me. It never failed.
“Purple? Of course, you have purple eyes.” I tilted my head at him. He didn’t back away, instead he held his hand out to me and actually did what I requested from the beginning. “You should go without contacts more often.”
Did he just give me a compliment? He was acting different and I wasn’t sure why.
“Life, that is how I fixed Ray,” I chose to ignore the eye conversation. “This will only hurt for a minute.”
I wrapped one of my hands around James’ wrist and took the sharp point of the can opener and sliced his hand open. I had to give James credit, I sliced him deep enough his blood was spreading to my hand that was holding his wrist. He didn’t flinch. Instead he never once dropped his eye contact from my eyes.
“Did you ever play hide and seek as a kid?”
Not looking away from my eyes, James shook his head side to side in a silent ‘no’ gesture.
Surprised, I asked, “Really?”
With his free hand, he tucked some of my hair behind my ear. “I started seeing death at age eight. I was trying to figure how to avoid seeing how other kids would die, not playing games.”
That makes sense, I thought as I continued explaining how healing worked. “To control your visions, think of blocking them in the best hiding spot in your mind. When you find that spot, build a wall around the vision, and a door that only opens when you are ready to be found.”