Supernatural

After Hayden and Bryson had left, I made my way up to my bedroom to contemplate sleep. On one hand, I was exhausted. Sleeping would also probably make my whole sick story a lot more believable to my family. On the other hand, all my previous premonitions had occured while I had been sleeping, and with things looking the way they were, I wasn't exactly thrilled to get another one anytime soon.

I flopped down on my bed, pulling out my phone and going through the contacts. Bryson's number was still there, but it had taken long enough to get him to leave me alone the first time. Opening that door again didn't sound like any more fun than my sleeping delimma.

Outside my window, I heard gravel crunching in our driveway and I didn't bother to look at who it was. John was home and I quickly stuffed my phone in my pocket before diving under the covers. I turned on my side just as I heard John unlock the door downstairs. My eyes darted to the window for one last glimpse of light before I pretended to sleep, but they froze on what I saw there.

A pair of goat's eyes met mine for half a second before disappearing. I held in a scream as John opened the door behind me and I forced my eyes shut.

I focused on keeping my breathing even and shallow, praying he'd leave so I could go vomit. I even hoped Garrison might pop up and calm me down, but I knew he'd have no idea about the demon lurking outside my window.

Finally, my door shut quietly behind me and I waited until I was sure John was down in the kitchen before letting out a scream into my sheets. Blindly, I fumbled for my phone in my pocket, punching in a speed dial and waiting for Joe to pick up. After the fourth ring, I could hear voices in the background and didn't give him the chance to say anything before I began to speak.

"There's a demon and it was just outside my window and I don't know what to do, so I need you to calm me down," I rattled off in one breath, my eyes darting around my room for anywhere else the demon could be hiding.

"Heather?"

My breath caught in my throat as I slowly pulled the phone from my ear to check the number I had dialed. I had definitely called Joe's phone, but it was Nick's voice on the other end of the line.

"Heather?" he repeated, and I dug my fingernails into my skin as I tried to think of an excuse to get out of this one. Claiming to have mistaken a squirrel for a demon sounded extremely lame, even to me. Plus, Nick already knew about the first time I'd seen the demon. He wasn't going to buy it and he'd be even more angry if I tried to lie to him about it.

"Heather," he said again, and this time I could hear the irritation overtaking the worry in his voice. I was in trouble and I knew it.

"Uh... hey," I replied, cringing at the hysteria I still heard in my own voice.

I heard him sigh on the other end of the line, something he did often when he was upset with me and trying to control his emotions. He'd been ticked at me many times before, but this time I could feel the difference.

"Could you please explain to me why you've just seen a demon and your first reaction was to call my brother instead of me?"

The irritation was still the most prominent tone in his voice, but underneath it I could hear the hurt. I bit the inside of my cheek as I contemplated my answer. This time I could tell he was a little more than upset with me and the fact that I trusted him with so little. He'd always known I'd been apprehensive to tell him most things, but he never really suspected that I'd be fine telling them to Joe.

"Well?" he asked, and I was reminded that I was supposed to be speaking to him.

"Well, uh," I stuttered off, unsure of how he would handle this answer. "Joe is usually, sometimes better at handling things like... this than you," I replied timidly, my statement coming out more like a question.

I waited for his reply in silence, simultaneously realizing the voices in the background were gone. He must have gone somewhere more private so as to not be overheard, but I had almost no time to process this before he began yelling.

"Of course Joe is going to handle it better, he think's you're some kind of superhero!" he spat.

I bit my lip, cringing at the sharpness of his voice. I'd never heard him so angry before.

"The amount of faith he puts in you is ridiculous," he went on. "You think you can do all of t his on your own, but you can't. If you could do this on your own, you wouldn't be calling him right now. You wouldn't sound so scared."

His voice softened toward the end and I realized I had begun to cry. God, what was wrong with me? The last time I'd cried was when Nick was in the hospital, and in kindergarten before that.

"You're saying you don't believe in me?" I asked. My breathing was uneven and as much as I wished I could be strong around this kid for once in my life, I knew he could tell I was crying.

"Heather, you know I would never say that. I'm saying that Joe doesn't see you the way I do. He sees the girl who resurrects the dead and insists she's afraid of nothing. But I see the girl who was terrified after seeing a demon for the first time, the girl who sat beside me on the beach watching the sunset and wishing away all the bad stuff in her life. I see the girl who spent all night at my bedside while I was in the hospital, talking for hours about how much you wish your life was normal."

I held in a sob, realizing Nick knew me better than I knew myself. I never let anyone close enough to meet that side of me, the side he was describing.

"The girl I see isn't as strong as she likes everyone to think she is."

I wiped away a tear that had found its way down my cheek as I laid down in my bed, staring at my ceiling. More than anything, I wished he was there beside me.

He was right, of course, about everything. I needed him more than anything else, but I thought I had done a decent job of hiding it. The thing about Nick was that I was always underestimating how much he saw, and I was the lesser person for that. I kept things from him because that's what I was used to, but I never stopped to think that it might not be what's best for him. I'd just assumed it was what was best for everyone.

"I don't want you to worry about me," I whispered, sure he could hear me. He let out a breath he'd been holding in and I relaxed at the chuckle I heard afterward.

"I lost Cayenne, and I have you in my life for three seconds before you start seeing demons. Heather, I'd worry about you if you were locked in a padded room with no windows. There's nothing you can do about that," he replied. I smiled.

"I have to go now, but I'll call you tonight. I have to go get changed for the show and Joe's been impatiently waiting for his phone for more than three minutes now. If I make him wait any longer, his head may implode."

I propped myself up in bed, glancing out the window at the blue skies, hoping his world was just as sunny as mine was. Leave it to Nick to take me from hysterical to emotional in a ten minute phone call. Forget about the demon, this kid was going to be my downfall.

"I love you," he said, and my breath caught in my throat the way it always did when he said it to me.

"I love you, too," I replied quietly. I could almost feel his smile on the other end of the line.

"Hey wait," I told him before he hung up.

"Yeah?"

"I still need to talk to Joe for a second. Can you hand the phone to him?"

"Sure," he replied, doing his best to hide the skepticism in his voice before the phone was passed to his brother.

"Yes, darling?" came Joe's voice.

I took a deep breath, convincing myself that no matter what had just happened or would happen in the future between myself and Nick, what I was about to tell Joe was what was right. I knew now that I could tell Nick anything, but his life was on the line and his knowledge of it was only going to make things worse.

"This doesn't change anything. Don't tell him about the visions," I instructed.

"Are you sure?" Joe asked.

I nodded although I knew he couldn't see me.

"Positive."

[&itssupernatural]

My day passed uneventfully after the call with Nick. Neither Garrison or Hayden showed up again and I was avoiding having to contact Bryson.

I sat on my bed, flipping my phone in my hand as I watched the sunset, wishing Nick could see it, too.

I still had absolutely no regrets about my decision for Nick. Protecting him was the most important thing and I knew he wouldn't give me time to figure out how if he knew. If anything, he'd aid the murdurer's process. No, it was much safer if Nick was in the dark.

A slight knock on my door interrupted my reverie and I turned to see my mom's head poking through the door. She smiled at me, glad I was awake, and continued to make her way to my bedside.

"How are you feeling?" she asked softly as she sat down on the edge of my bed. I turned my body to face her, taking in her features.

"Still feeling sick," I replied, eyeing her.

My mom was a total knockout and there was never any debate on this fact. Her make-up was always minimal, her hair thrown up carelessly in a bun that somehow still managed to look perfect.

Today, however, her hair was down, reaching just above her shoulders in a cascade of waves. She wore no make-up and I was surprised at the wrinkles I found burying within the depths of her normally flawless skin. Just by looking at her, I could tell how worried she had been.

"Legitimate sick or the other kind of sick?" she asked, and I knew what she was referring to.

"The other kind," I replied, truthfully anticipating her reaction. She cringed at me and I bit back a smile.

"Does this have anything to do with the boy they found in the woods today?" she asked. I shrugged and she let out a sigh.

"Would you please do your best to stay out of trouble, Heather? They're saying on the news that boy was killed and it would be nice if you didn't end up the same."

This time it was me who let out the sigh. She was right, I needed to be careful. It was just the target of all of this she had wrong.

"It's not me they're coming after next, mom," I explained, burying my head in my pillow as I fell back into it. I heard her hesitate before calculating her next question.

"Explain what's going on," she demanded.

I sat up, taken aback. My mom had specifically told me that when it came to the supernatural, she didn't want to know. It was hard for her to comprehend in the first place, let alone if she knew about all the behind the scenes voodoo. Things like that tend to worry a mother and mine was already getting along in age. I didn't want to give the poor woman a heart attack.

"Are you sure mom?" I asked. I knew she wouldn't have demanded it from me unless she was serious, yet I couldn't believe what she was asking me. How was I supposed to explain all of this without her freaking out on me?

"Tell me," she repeated.

I bit my lip in response, trying to think of a crafty way to tell her the truth. Call me paranoid, but I honestly believe this woman has a supernatural power of her own, which is knowing when she's being lied to.

She waited impatiently as I tried to think of a way to respond. I decided to go with a question that would make me look more innocent.

"If you knew something bad was going to happen and that you had the power to prevent it, would you?"

Her eyes narrowed, sensing a trap. I widened my own eyes, attempting to look as innocent as possible, crossing my legs Indian-style for good measure.

"How do you know something bad is going to happen?" she asked, skeptically. I groaned in exhasperation. I'd basically set myself up for that question.

"I see it in my sleep, now would you answer my question?" I replied quickly. Apparently, it wasn't fast enough.

"You what in your sleep?"

"Mom, answer my question."

"Yes, okay. Yeah, I would try."

"Well that is my situation. I know something bad is going to happen, so I'm going to try to prevent it," I stated simply, shrugging for good measure. The more nonchalant I looked, the better.

"When did you start seeing the future?" she asked. I glared at my socks.

"Last night," I admitted.

"How do you know it's not just a dream?" my mom demanded.

"Because I saw them finding Dustin in the woods before I woke up, and then when I woke up they were digging him out of the brush. This feels more real than a dream ever does."

I watched her as she ran a hand through her hair. She was exhausted and I could tell, even without her shaking hands.

"Why sould you randomly start seeing the future?" she asked, more to herself than to me. I answered her anyway.

"Garrison thinks it has something to do with the carbon monoxide leak," I explained. She raised an eyebrow.

"Who is Garrison?"

"Don't worry about it, mom. He's dead."

This answer brought about the reaction I had been hoping for. She closed her eyes as if willing herself back in time, before she made the decision to want to hear about all this.

Slowly, she turned around, letting her feet hit the floor. She made her way to the door, pausing as she put her hand to the doorknowb.

"Just be careful, Heather," she sighed. I nodded, even though she was facing away from me.

"Good chat, mom. Good talk," I told her. She waved a hand at me and I laughed.

Good riddance more like it. Why was no one trusting me anymore? I've been doing this for years. I'm practically a pro.

I ran a hand through my own hair, grabbing my phone from where I'd left it on the bed beside me. Without allowing myself to think about it, I dialed Bryson's number, cringing as I hit the send button. He answered on the third ring.

"Hello?" he asked. I rolled my eyes, annoyed, It didn't take a genius to figure out he'd deleted my number from his contacts and had no idea who it was.

"Hey, Bryson. This is Heather. I was just wondering if you're available for lunch on Saturday?" I asked, putting on my nicest voice.

"Uh... I'm kind of seing someone right now..." he trailed off. I glared at the ceiling, biting back my irritation.

"Me too. No, I wanted to catch up. I haven't talked to you in a while and I thought it would be nice."

"Uh... Okay. Yeah, that'd be cool," he replied.

"Awesome, so I'll see you then," I said.

"Yeah, see you."

I hung up before he did to enforce that I had no romantic interest in him. He may have been seing someone, but he still sounded a heck of a lot sadder when I told him I was seeing someone, too.

At least I had that out of the way now. I wouldn't have to dread it any longer and it brought me one step closer to saving Nick.

It was slightly annoying to have to keep this victory to myself. If I could just tell Nick or my mom, maybe they'd finally realize that Joe was right.

I'm practically a superhero.