IN THE BACKGROUND, I CAN hear muffled voices. I’m not ready to wake up yet. My brain is awake, but my body refuses to fully wake up. I sigh and snuggle deeper in the bed.
“Ugh, I’m so stiff. I can’t believe we all fell asleep in here,” Liam mutters, sleepily. I hear the sound of something being moved across leather. “You look happy,” he adds, quietly chuckling.
“Shut up.” My bed shakes. That doesn’t make sense, where am I? I am pretty comfy, so I decide not to open my eyes yet. Slowly, I fall back asleep. Then, I start drifting. I’m not quite asleep, but I’m not awake yet either. I can hear people talking around me, but I can’t get my body to become functional yet.
“It’s weird. Usually she wakes up pretty early,” I hear Logan say. “I’m not surprised that Emma is still asleep.”
“Let her be. Today is going to be a long day. For all us, but especially her,” Liam says.
“If something actually happens to her… I can’t…” Colton’s voice cracks. I’m sure if I could see him, his torment would be written all over his face.
“We all care about her, Colton. She’s family,” says David. “We just have to make sure to stay around her at all times today.” I exhale and pull my knees up, closer to my chest. For the first time, I realize that I’m lying at an odd angle. I’m not sitting straight up, but I’m not lying down either. I blink quickly before slamming my eyes shut again. It’s very bright in the room.
Slowly opening them this time, I’m able to see. I sit up groggily and rub my eyes, trying to get rid of the exhaustion. I close my eyes again, and roll my neck counterclockwise, trying to get out the kinks. When I open my eyes, I realize that I am still in the entertainment room. Why did we sleep in here? I turn and see that I am sitting very close, practically on top of Colton. I blush and glance around the room, seeing everyone is in the same position they were last night. They all laugh at my confused expression.
“Morning, sleeping beauty.” Logan is smiling at me, clearly amused.
I arch my back, trying to awaken my stiff muscles, and turn toward Colton. “You should have pushed me off of you or something. I’m sure that wasn’t very comfortable.” Liam snorts. I am too tired to try and determine what he means with that. I scoot back a little, giving Colton some room to move.
“What time is it?”
“It’s a little after 9:00. Tom thinks that people will start arriving at noon,” Colton says while sitting up. I sit back against the couch, and close my eyes again. I can’t fall back asleep. With a sigh, I open my eyes, and get off the couch.
Standing up, I step over Colton’s legs, and start walking toward the door. “Okay, well, I’m going to go take a shower.”
Colton jumps off the couch and faces me. “Not alone.”
I just stare at him. His eyes widen when he realizes what he just said. I know that he meant that I wasn’t going to walk to my room alone, but I don’t let him know that. “I-I I mean…not like that…I meant to say…” His face is turning red. He’s adorable when he’s embarrassed.
I giggle as I watch him try to fix his statement. “Colton, would you please walk me to my room?” I ask, saving him from further embarrassment. He follows me out of the room. Running his hands through his hair, he keeps opening his mouth and then suddenly shutting it. I know that he wants to say something, but I don’t want to push him.
When I enter my bedroom, I turn and thank him. As I’m closing the door, I smile and say, “You know, you’re pretty cute when you’re flustered.” I close the door, leaving him standing there shocked.
Fifteen minutes later, I get out of the shower, and wrap a towel around me. I find Emma rummaging through her clothes. She drops an outfit on the bed and turns to me. “So, what did you say to Colton?”
“What do you mean?”
“When he came back into the entertainment room, he was rubbing the back of his neck, you know like this.” She demonstrates what he did. “And he was trying, not so successfully I might add, to hide his smile. So, what did you say to him to cause him to react like that?”
“Nothing really. I just said he was cute when he was embarrassed.” I grab my clothes, and go to the bathroom to change and finish getting ready.
Once finished, I walk back into the room. Emma is sitting on the bed waiting for me. “That’s all you said? He’s got it bad.”
“Not likely. I mean, I just saw him kissing Natasha a couple days ago. I’m sure it was something else.” I start packing the small duffel bag I have of things that I absolutely want to keep. I grab the picture of mom off the nightstand, throw in my notebook, a couple items of clothing, and zip the bag up. I don’t have a lot of personal items that I cherish. With Emma packed, we grab our bags and go downstairs, dropping the bags on the couch where the guys had put their things.
Laughing, we link arms, and walk into the kitchen. Stopping dead in my tracks, I turn and see at least thirty people examining me. I’m surprised I didn’t hear the thoughts sooner. The sudden onslaught of voices is too much for me to handle. I collapse to the ground, knocking Emma down with me. I don’t pass out like I thought I would, but I can’t think or move. They’re too strong. Tom rushes over to me and picks me up, carrying me out of the room. I hear some others rush after us.
“I’m so sorry I didn’t get to warn you. Try to block their thoughts. I know it’s a little overwhelming.” Gritting my teeth, I close my eyes, and grab my head. It’s pounding. There are so many people in the room. I need to get a handle on this before more people show up. It takes more time to push the thoughts back, but when I am finally in control, I look up at everyone and nod. Tom is sitting in front of me, looking upset and guilty.
“I’m fine. I just wasn’t prepared for that. I’m ready now.”
“Are you sure? You don’t need another minute to ready yourself?” I shake my head at him and get up.
“Time to be like a fat polar bear,” I say as I walk past him.
“What the heck does that even mean?” Emma asks.
“I’m gonna break the ice,” I say as I walk into the kitchen, and smile at everyone. Tom clamps an arm down on my shoulder. “Everyone, this is Ryanne. I told you about her on the phone.” I smile and wave at those in the room. I see a mixture of disbelief, boredom, awe, and curiosity on their faces.
“I know. I know. You expected me to be taller, right?” It seems to work. Many people crack a smile, and some even laugh.
“Don’t put her size past her. She was able to beat all these guys behind me during sparring sessions.” He points over his shoulder where Colton, Liam, David, Logan, and Bragden are all standing. I see a couple more awed reactions.
“So, what was with the collapsing earlier?” someone from the back of the room asks.
Looking in the general vicinity of the voice, I decide to take control of the situation. I want these people to like me. It would be difficult to get people to help fight with me if they think I’m some weak girl.
“I don’t know if Tom mentioned it to you all, but I’m able to read minds. I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of all your thoughts. I was taken a little off-guard. Don’t worry; I’ve closed off the bridge. There’s no traffic coming in here.” I point to my head. “It was an excellent first impression, right? Me collapsing on the ground?” I beam at everyone, hoping that my nervousness isn’t too obvious.
An hour later, I’m socializing with the crowd. I’m introduced to everyone, but after the first couple of names, I have no idea who is who. That will have to wait ‘til another time. Most people are asking me about my powers, and how training is coming. I politely answer their questions, and then ask them about theirs.
“No way. That’s totally awesome.” That power would come in handy. I narrow my eyes at the guy I’m talking to. I’m not sure if I believe him.
“Yeah, I can basically control people’s minds,” he says. I watch him for a few moments, trying to determine if he’s serious.
“So, you could rule the world if you wan
ted to?”
“No, my power only works on one person at a time. It would be very difficult to control billions of people.” As if sensing my disbelief, his eyes narrow on me, concentration etches onto his face. What is he doing? My body starts moving without my permission toward the man in front of me. Stopping less than a foot away, I stand on my tiptoes and kiss his cheek. Then, I am back in control of my body.
“Did you do that? That was freaky. I couldn’t do anything to stop it!”
He laughs at my excitement. “Yes, I did do that. However, now I feel like I shouldn’t have. Your boyfriends don’t look too happy.” He looks at something behind me. Boyfriends? I turn around. If looks could kill…
He leaves to go talk to someone else, and I walk toward Liam and Colton. “I’m supposed to try and get everyone here to like me. I can’t do that if you scare all of them off.”
“Why did you kiss him?” asks Colton.
“I didn’t believe that he had the power of persuasion, so he demonstrated it for me. It was harmless, quit worrying.” I cross my arms across my chest, and look around the room. People are still glancing at me. I turn and whisper to Liam and Colton, but keep my eyes scanning the room. I don’t want it to seem like I am unapproachable. “Do you think they’re disappointed in me? I know I’m not really what they were expecting. I think it’s going well, but people are able to fake exterior emotions and expressions, and I’m too afraid to read their minds.”
Colton places his hand on my shoulder, and starts to talk. I face him, waiting to hear his response, but it never comes. His body tenses, his eyes roll into the back of his head, and he starts to slump forward. Liam jumps to try and catch him, but it catches both of us off guard. Colton crashes into me, and we both tumble to the hard linoleum floor. Liam jumps into action, and rolls Colton off of me. A couple of seconds later, he gasps, and jumps up looking around. I’m still sitting on the ground, shocked at what just happened. Tom runs over and helps me get up. “What happened? Colton, are you alright?”
I recognize the look on Colton’s face. “Oh my gosh, how? You just had a vision!”
“I think you transferred a vision to me.” A small smile plays on his lips.
“How is that possible? I didn’t see anything. What was the vision about?” I’m really curious. I had no idea that I could cause others to see visions.
He looks at me for a second, his eyes searching. Cryptically, he says, “Maybe you weren’t supposed to see it. Not yet anyway.” He blinks rapidly. “I understand why you collapse every time you see a vision. That’s very disorienting. Did I fall?” Now I know how everyone felt after I had the vision about David and Emma, and didn’t say anything.
“Yeah,” says Liam. “Right into Ryanne. Knocking her to the ground with you.”
“I’m sorry! You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?” He turns me so I’m facing him.
“I’m fine. I would have tried to catch you, but one,” I hold up my index finger. “You caught me completely off guard, and two, I’m not strong enough.” He puts an arm across my shoulder and pulls me against him. He seems rather chipper. Now I really want to know what that vision was about.
Tom sighs at us, and then addresses the room. “Sorry about that. Nothing to worry about here.” He pulls Colton out of the room while I stay back with Liam. They’re whispering to each other, but I can’t hear what they are saying. Turning toward Liam, I ask him, “Do you have any idea what that was about?” He shakes his head. He’s just as clueless as I am.
As the day goes on, I become more anxious and nervous. The anticipation is starting to get to me as my thoughts start racing a mile a minute. Most people understand what’s going on with me, so they leave me alone. I smile at those who come up to me, but can’t keep up a conversation. Everyone is starting to get changed and doing any and all last minute preparations for tonight. Tom sticks our bags into the car and hides it in the woods. As more people arrive, it takes a lot more concentration to keep the mental block intact. During the day, most guests remain in the kitchen. It has large windows and the back door, so everyone can be ready in an instant. I’m pacing in the living room alone, trying to think about other things.
Bragden comes up behind me and grabs my arms, gently halting my movements. “What’s wrong, Ryanne? We can all tell that something’s up.” He points behind him. My group is standing in the doorway of the kitchen, keeping a wary eye on me.
“Nothing’s really wrong, per say. I’m just thinking too much about all the things that could go wrong today…”
A voice sounds to my right. “Ryanne.” I scream and jump into the Bragden. Bragden steadies me and then turns to face the man who scared me. My scream alerts everyone else, and the house goes silent. Tensing, Bragden is prepared to fight. I pat him on the chest, and turn toward Larkin.
“He’s fine, Bragden.” Facing Larkin, I say, “Geez, you’ve got to stop doing that. You scared the tar out of me.”
“I don’t know why there was tar in you to begin with, but whatever.” I roll my eyes at him. “I just thought I would tell you that Dravin knows of your location, and knows you are prepared to fight him. He’s planning on attacking in an hour.”
With that he blinks out the room. I’m frozen, just staring at where he was just standing. An hour? Everything seems to stop. I can’t hear anyone talking to me though I know they are. My world starts spinning, and my ears are ringing. Dravin is coming. The time has come. There is nothing we can do now but go into this battle headfirst. I feel myself being moved—a strong grip on my arm. This is actually happening. I wish there was a way that I could relive last night, sitting in the entertainment room with my friends laughing—purposely forgetting that everything could be changed tomorrow. I don’t know if I’ll have another chance to do that again. Ever.
It feels like my body is vibrating. So many different scenarios play out in front of me. I’m imagining the worst things happening: getting stabbed, the house blowing up, Colton getting hurt by Adam, David not being able to protect Emma, Logan not being able to heal me.
“Ryanne.” More shaking. “RYANNE.” I’m trembling. “Logan!” Someone is yelling, but the voice sounds muffled. I feel like I’m underwater with no way to get to the surface, struggling with no resolve. My heartbeat is increasing. I’m experiencing shortness of breath—my lungs are protesting with the limited oxygen. I feel someone grab my shoulders, and all the symptoms start dissipating.
Oxygen rushes into my lungs, and I am able to breathe again. I blink and find Logan crouching down in front of me, his arms on my shoulder. I am sitting on the floor with my back pressed against the wall. Liam, David, and Emma are standing behind him, and Colton and Bragden are on either side of me. Resting my head on my knees, so I can’t see anyone, I apologize.
“What happened to her?” Bragden asks.
“She was having a panic attack. I stopped it before it reached its peak.”
“Thank you,” I tell Logan. “I don’t…I…” I don’t know what to say. I’d never had a panic attack before. Logan reaches out, palms facing up, and nods at me. Grabbing his hands, I let him help me up. “Did everyone see that?” I look toward the kitchen where most people are.
“No one saw it but us. I’m sure they know that something happened though. Claire and Tom are in there trying to distract them while we help you.” Logan still hasn’t let go of my hands. I notice that I’m still trembling a little. I close my eyes and deeply breathe in and out, trying to calm my body down the rest of the way. When I finally feel stable, I try to apologize again.
“I don’t know why that happened. When I heard Larkin say we had an hour…I kind of freaked. I kept seeing all of this horrible stuff happening, and it scared me. I don’t want anything to happen to you guys because one stupid guy wants to find me.” Logan pulls me close to him, and wraps his large arms around me.
I hug him fiercely. I don’t know if I’ll get another chance to. This man has saved my life on numerous occasions, and I don’t think
there will ever be a way to fully repay him for what he’s done. I step out of his arms and collect myself. Standing straighter, I square my shoulders, and hold my head high, prepared and determined. Without looking at anyone, I walk past them and into the kitchen.