***
Sunday, a day of rest. And for me, a day of reflection. Everything was happening so fast that I needed to organize the events in my head. I had moved to Houston after Thanksgiving. In just two weeks, I had discovered I was living my final life, life number nine. I had seen visions of a red desert where I had died in each of my prior lives. My parents revealed that they were ancient energy beings known as Transhumans, and that they were Pures protecting me from the Tainted. I had the hottest guy living under my roof, a Pure known as a Walker assigned to protect me. And then there was Trent, also hot, and so normal. There was less than one week left before winter break. Infiniti planned a party while I planned to stay alive. Or at least, stay out of the red desert.
Mom and Dad had wanted to pull me out of school, but I wouldn’t let them. Going to school was my only route to college, and college was my way back home to Elk Rapids. I couldn’t let them take that away from me. Then they suggested I cut off ties with my new friends. Although I only had one friend, not counting Trent, again I resisted. After giving it some thought, Mom and Dad agreed to do things, as much as possible, my way. I was shocked but relieved.
And so I went back to school on Monday. It was easy enough to get up in the morning, especially since I had stayed up all night. I grabbed my favorite old jeans, pulled on a long-sleeved undershirt, and layered that with a thick red sweater. When I started fixing my hair, I heard a loud rumbling muffler. I recognized the sound right away. I looked out my window. Sure enough, I saw Trent’s old black Camaro, and then heard the doorbell. My heart skipped a beat.
"Dominique," Dad called. "You have a visitor."
"I’ll be down in a minute."
I threw my hair in a half bun, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and slipped my feet into my favorite brown boots. When I got downstairs, I found Trent in the foyer, holding a brown paper lunch sack.
"Hey, good morning," he said.
"Good morning," I said, eyeing his bag.
He held it up. "Breakfast tacos! My grandmother wanted me to bring them. Hope that’s okay."
"Yeah, that’s great, thank you." I took the bag, and it warmed my hands. "Ooh, nice and fresh." I gave a whiff and my mouth watered. "They smell delicious."
"Yep, I think you’re gonna like them," he said. Before I could invite him in, he made his exit. "Well, I gotta go. See you at school."
It bummed me out that he didn’t want to stay, but I couldn’t blame him. I mean, I hadn’t exactly responded to his advances, especially when we were on his bed.
I took the tacos and went to the kitchen. Dad sat at the table pouring over some notes. He sipped his usual caramel-flavored coffee before eyeing me and the bag in my hand.
"These are breakfast tacos from my friend's grandmother." I put the tacos on the table and got some plates.
The house was silent save for the crackling from the fireplace. Dad put his papers down and gave me his full attention. "Dominique, I'm sorry about everything that's happening."
I had always been daddy's girl—always. We used to fish together every weekend at Elk Lake and work on puzzles almost every night. But things started changing when I was about twelve. He started working more and more until I hardly saw him. I remember being hurt and then angry about his absence. Now it all made sense. "It's okay, Dad."
Mom and Farrell walked in and noticed the weirdness right away. I could see it on their faces. Luckily, a loud honking broke the mood. Infiniti—time for school.
She cranked the heater and the music, and hollered over the songs while we drove to school. From the corner of my eye, I could see Farrell in the back seat, staring out the window. He was the one who really didn’t want me to go to school, saying it wasn’t safe. I actually agreed, but couldn't say it out loud. I was willing to risk a lot to feel normal, even for just a little while.
"Can you guys freakin’ believe we only have one more week of school left before the holidays!" Infiniti said, driving with one hand while putting on mascara with the other. "Damn, I’m soooo ready for a break."
Even while putting on her makeup, she drove us safely into the parking lot and parked in our regular spot. Before I could even glance over my shoulder, Farrell hopped out of the car and opened my door.
"Whoa, what’s this?" Infiniti asked, all smiles. "Are you guys…" She pointed back and forth between us.
"We’re dating," Farrell said. "Dominique didn’t tell you?"
I spun around and faced him, mouth open. Why would he say such a thing? I narrowed my eyes and glared at him because I knew exactly why. He needed to stay close to protect me, and this was his solution.
Not my solution. "Uh, we’re not dating," I said more to him and less to Infiniti.
Infiniti laughed and started walking ahead of us. "Hey, it’s cool. You guys actually look really good together. Come on, it’s freezing."
Arms crossed, and one step ahead of Farrell, I walked to the building. What was he doing? And what about Trent? I wanted to turn around and go back home. Or maybe that was Farrell’s plan, his way of getting me to leave here.
Well, it wasn’t going to work.
When I got to homeroom, I resisted the urge to see if Veronica sat at the back, though I’m sure she was. After a minute or so, Trent came in, flashed me a smile, and sat right next to me. Ms. Ryken followed and handed me a slip of paper. Oh, yeah. She still wanted to meet after school to talk about college. I crammed the paper in my bag, not sure if I would show or not, when Veronica came strolling up to my desk.
She placed her long red fingernails on my desk. "So congratulations on your new boyfriend. Must be very convenient for you to have him right under your roof. Dominique and Farrell. Has a nice ring to it."
My cheeks flushed. What a bitch. She sauntered back to her seat. I looked at Trent. His smile erased, his bright eyes dimmed. "It’s not like that," I said.
He turned away. "It’s cool. You don’t have to explain anything to me."
My heart sank.
I spent the rest of the day doing my best to avoid all human interaction, even though Farrell did remain close, making it look like we were together. At the final bell, Infiniti met me at my locker and approached cautiously.
"Hey," she said. "I heard about what Veronica said in homeroom."
"Oh, yeah?" I threw my books in my locker. "And how exactly did she even hear that rumor, huh?"
"Well, I kinda mentioned it to Billy when I saw him in the in the hall before homeroom, but I had no idea he'd text Veronica and tell her, I swear."
Veronica's red nails on my desk and the look on Trent's face played over and over in my head as I yanked things out of my locker.
"Did Trent say anything to you about it?" I asked, avoiding eye contact.
She bit her bottom lip. "Well, yeah. He found me at lunch. Asked me if it was true."
My hands trembled. "And what did you say?"
"I told him I didn’t know, because, well, I don’t know."
My life couldn’t get any worse. I slammed my locker shut, and started walking away from Infiniti. "I gotta go see Ms. Ryken."
"Um, okay," she said with a fake cheerful voice. "I’ll be in the library. Come get me when you’re finished."
I walked down the hall and back to Ms. Ryken’s classroom. When I entered, I glanced at Trent’s empty desk. He had to hate me.
"Hello there, Miss Wells," Ms. Ryken said. She wore the same thing the first time I met her: dark pants, tall black boots, a white camisole, and a long-sleeved black jacket.
I took the seat closest to her desk and tried my best to put on a friendly face.
"So are you ready to discuss your future?" she asked.
Future? I choked up because I didn't even know if I had a future. My hands continued shaking. I clasped them together at my lap.
"Dominique, are you okay?" She backed away from her desk and sat next to me.
I couldn’t say anything. If I did, I’d lose it. Instead, I shook my head, letting her
know I was definitely not okay. Ms. Ryken sat silent for a while and gave me time to pull it together.
"It’s a tough thing, going away," she said. "You’ll be leaving behind family and friends, but gaining so much more: new friends, tremendous knowledge, a sense of independence."
Again, I said nothing because she had no idea why I was so upset. It wasn’t college at all, it was me. My life. My identity. Dying in a red desert. Wanting to be a normal girl with a normal guy.
"Dominique, would you prefer to meet later? Maybe after the holidays?"
"Sure," I said. "Later sounds good." Little did she know I might not be alive after the holidays.
"And Miss Wells, I have something I think you might need." She went to her desk, opened her top drawer, and pulled out a long, beautiful white feather. I gave a small gasp, my thoughts taking me to the white feather I had seen in my vision and later at Jan’s.
"What…is this?" I asked.
"It’s a funny story. I like to take walks in the woods. One day, I got a little lost and started to worry, especially since the day started to turn dark. I couldn’t tell which path to follow, but then I spotted this feather. When I picked it up, calmness came over me, and I immediately knew where to go. It was like the feather pointed me in the right direction."
She held the feather out to me. "Here, take it."
"Ms. Ryken, I, uh, can’t."
She extended the feather closer to me. "Sure you can."
"Well, okay." When I touched the feather, a tingle of energy connected at my fingertips. I flinched, closed my eyes, and held my breath, waiting for heat and dust to fill my senses, but it never came. Instead, a warm and soft breeze caressed my face, followed by the smell of sand. I opened my eyes to find myself standing on the shore of Elk Rapids beach.
The blue water filled with tiny ripples from the gentle wind. Way out in the horizon the water blended in with the cloudless sky. But how could I be here? How was it possible?
"You need to think of this place when you’re scared." I spun around and saw Farrell sitting on a nearby cluster of rocks. "You’re comfortable here."
Home, where I longed to be. Of course I wasn’t afraid here. I sat beside him and scooped up the sand with both hands, letting it sift through my fingers. "This isn’t real," I said. I looked around and didn’t see anyone else. On a day like this, the beach would've been crowded.
"Yes and no. Yes, it’s real, but only to us. We’re the only ones occupying this space right now." His eyes glued on mine and his head tilted to the side, as if waiting for me to remember something.
"I’m afraid of dying," I said. "Not so much the death part, but the not living part." I scooped up another handful of sand and held it tight, the gritty granules hardening into a ball. "There’s so much I still wanna do, ya know?"
"I know," he said. "But there’s always hope. The end is not yet written." He looked up and I followed his gaze. That’s when I noticed that the deep blue sky had filled with stars—millions of them. The day has suddenly turned to night. He stood and brushed off his jeans. "You ready to go back?"
No, I wasn’t ready, not at all. This place was home to me, a place of safety.
He held out his hand. "Come on, it’s time to go."
My eyes went back to the stars that now streaked across the heavens. The beauty of the night took my breath away. Farrell came by my side. I wrapped my fingers around his. In a flash, I was back in Ms. Ryken’s room, the feather resting in the hand that Farrell had just grasped.
I took a deep breath, as if I had just come up for air after a long swim. "Dominique," Ms. Ryken said. "Are you okay?"
"I’m fine." My eyes darted around, making sure I was really back in the classroom. I blinked a few more times, but nothing happened. I looked back at the feather that now rested on the palm of my hand.
Ms. Ryken followed my gaze. "You need this more than me." She wrapped my fingers around it. "Just remember to follow the path."
"The path…" I repeated.
"Yes," she said. "Everyone has a destiny to fulfill. I call it the path. Sometimes the path is unknown to us—sometimes the path changes. Still, other times, we must forge our path. Either way, nothing happens until we are ready. Understand?"
“Yes, I think I understand.” Up until now, things were happening to me. It was like I had no control over my destiny. But forging a path meant taking deliberate steps, calculated action. I didn’t know what or how, but I was definitely ready to move forward and create my own path; ready to do things my way.