Chapter 9

Tranae's angry gaze sliced at her. "That's what I wanted to tell you. My cell phone was minding its business on the side of my desk in English Lit. Next thing I know, two jerks I don't even know decided that they wanted to fight right next to my desk. After the scuffle, I realized my phone wasn't on my desk where I left it. I'm freaking out now. So, I looked on the floor and there it was, all the way across the room against the wall, screen cracked. My freak out amps up several notches now, and I told them that they were going to replace it! Things got a little loud, and we all had to go to the principal's office. During my lunch break, of course," Tranae hissed. "I treasure my personal time, which they ruined. Not to mention my cell is totaled. I was so worked up that they let me out of school early, but you saw that in a vision already, didn't you?"

"I didn't see all of that. I didn't see that you were going to miss lunch today." Cianne twisted her mouth into a smile that said she had a secret. "Which brings me to what happened to me today at Crimpy's."

"What happened?" Tranae was on the bed in a flash, bouncing with excitement.

Cianne shied away, holding her hands up to calm her friend.

"What, tell me?" Tranae begged.

It was uncommon for Cianne to have juicy information so she wanted to relish the feeling of having something interesting to say that had nothing to do with academics. "Well. . ." Cianne dragged out the word. "Tristan sat with me."

"He did what? Where? What did he say?" Tranae asked, with wide eyes. "Tell me dammit!"

"Calm down." Cianne sat up and took a deep breath. She saw Tranae's irritation so she came clean. "He sat with me at Crimpy's. He wanted to know why I've been so salty toward him." Cianne twisted her mouth when Tranae gave her the 'I told you so' look. "I apologized, but then he accused me of liking him." Cianne couldn't hide the horror that was reflected on her face.

"What?" Tranae placed her hands over her mouth to muffle what would have been a loud scream. "Oh my god, what did you say? What did you do?"

"I got up and walked out." Cianne shrugged. She knew that Tranae was expecting more, but there was nothing more.

"Got up and walked out. . .," Tranae repeated slowly then gasped with disappointment. "Why? Tristan is obviously h-h-h-hot for you, Cianne." She squealed as she jumped up and did their version of the happy dance which looked like a foot fight with the carpet. They'd choreographed the dance when they were kids, and it was laughable now, but Tranae still did it from time to time.

"I doubt it." Cianne shook her head as she stifled a giggle. "He was just being nice. It's probably because we're locker neighbors this year. Besides Tristan has a girlfriend."

"Had!" Tranae smacked Cianne's leg.

The sting was secondary to her surprise from Tranae's announcement.

"Not anymore. I hear it's over."

"Yeah, like how it was over that two other times last year. It doesn't matter anyway." Cianne fell back on her pillows. "I can't go out with him. I'm damaged goods."

Not to mention the guy came with his own personal ‘warning whispers' every time she saw him. There was something dark and dangerous about Tristan Bertram. No matter how gorgeous, sexy, or rich he was. He alarmed her in more ways than one.

"Why do you always. . ." Tranae started but stopped, "You know what? I don't even want to get into that right now." She sat beside Cianne on the edge of the bed. "Just tell me again what happened at Crimpy's and don't leave anything out."

. . . . . . . . . .

Cianne squinted at the clock on her nightstand when she heard the front door open. She expected her father home earlier and would have called him, but she lost track of time. Plus, Tranae ended up staying later than usual, wanting Cianne to retell the Tristan story a few more times before she was satisfied that she got all of it.

Cianne placed the book she was reading face down on her lap when her bedroom door slowly opened. The tip of her father's head appeared behind the slightly ajar door.

"You asleep?" he asked.

"Not yet." Cianne dogged-eared the page and closed the book before placing it on the nightstand. "How's Mrs. Pollard doing?"

"As well as can be expected, I imagine she's going through a rough time right now," Joseph said. "Her mother was the one who called and told her that her father died today. That's a big thing to cope with." He stepped inside the room. "You were trying to tell me when I was leaving for work earlier today, weren't you?"

"I saw it on my way home from school today. That was one of the reasons I took so long getting here. Had to run into a bathroom stall in the park." She winced at the memory of the park bathroom she had to retreat into. "It was as if I was standing in his yard with him when he fell, Dad. I could smell the fresh cut grass from the lawnmower he was pushing."

Cianne could tell that her father was attempting to veil his alarm.

"And you met Debra Pollard's father only once?" he asked.

"Yes, at the Christmas party last year."

"Your range is increasing." Joseph rubbed his head slowly from crown to nape. "Debra's father lives over two thousand miles away." He looked down as if trying to work something out in his head. "Are the headaches getting any better?" he asked, concerned.

"Not really, but they're not getting any worse." Cianne winced.

"And the nightmares?" he asked.

"The same." She sighed. "But I can handle them."

"And you still can't see anything that's connected to you?" he asked.

"I saw Tranae's cell phone break today. What I didn't see was that it would make her miss lunch with me. It wouldn't even warn me that I was going to make a fool of myself today."

"Would you like to try a different sleeping pill? Eventually, we'll find one that actually works."

"No." Cianne watched as her father lowered his head and continued to rub it. He looked stressed and tired like he had for months after her mother died. Because of this, she figured that there was no reason to tell him about the weird vision she had earlier today about the Roman numeral. "Goodnight dad."

At first, he seemed confused but then he forced a smile. He closed the distance and kissed Cianne on the head and said, "Good night Buttercup." He closed her door behind him.

Cianne relaxed back, pulled her sheet up over her shoulders, and closed her eyes. Tristan was her last thought before she fell asleep.