I feel like I can see everything more clearly now. The rain looks like a waterfall. The sun shines brighter than it ever has before. Even the dirt beneath my feet looks pure.
"Autumn? You coming?" Casper says to me. I turn to him and smile, remembering what he is.
"He told you, didn't he?" He looks betrayed.
"How do you know?" I ask.
"I can feel that you know. You're not the only one with "magical powers."" He says. I laugh and pull him into a hug.
"I love ya, kiddo." Casper says quietly. I nod, not knowing what to say, and pull back.
"Thank you." I say. He smiles and puts his arm around my shoulders. As we walk into the school, I get judgmental stares as always, but this time I don't care.
"Have fun in English." Casper says to me before walking into his first hour class.
I walk faster, wanting to see Riley. I can't help but feel like he's going to vanish on me again. When I walk through the door, I relax. He's in his desk right next to mine. He smiles. The flutter in my chest assures me he isn't a hallucination. I rush over to my desk, throwing my stuff down as I sit.
"You didn't leave." I whisper to him.
"I told you I wouldn't." He whispers back. I nod and turn to the front of the room.
"Autumn, here's your ACT results." Mrs. Ralphs interrupts my thoughts. I don't even remember making them up. Everyone else took them when I was with Jamie in the hospital. I take the envelope from her, accidentally brushing her fingers.
An image passes in front of my eyes. Mrs. Ralphs and her husbands best friend are burying her husband. In the woods. At night. There's a red streak across his face. The only thing that it could be is blood.
They killed him.
I stand up quickly, causing everyone to look at me.
"How could you?!" I whisper harshly at her. She looks at me, and I know that she knows I know. I keep my head low as I storm out of the room. I thought that the affair was wrong, but this takes it to a whole new level.
I almost make it to the doors. Almost.
"Autumn! Hey, slow down." Riley says to me. He pulls my arm, forcing me to stop.
"Why does this keep happening?" I whisper, my voice hitching.
"Tell me. I can help you." He cups his hands around my cheeks and looks me in the eyes.
"The...visions." I point to my eyes. He smiles reassuringly, pushing me to go on. "And the occasional voices." I swallow, feeling crazy. His back straightens and he grabs my hand. He starts pulling me out of the school.
"Where are we going?" I ask. He doesn't answer me until we get into his car.
"The visions, that's normal. It's just people's sins. Because of what you are, you see them."
"I don't want them." I whisper.
"I know, and I'll help you shut them off. But, tell me more about the voices." He seems scared. His fingers are tight around the wheel, making his knuckles turn white.
"They mostly talk about me. I just assumed that I was..reading people's minds or something." I shrug.
"That means the darkness is getting closer. It's coming, Autumn. Tell me, how long have you heard these voices?"
"Since the rave." I say quietly. He stiffens and his features fill with fear. When he looks at me, he covers it up.
"I'll help you turn it off."
________________________________________________________________
"Why can't I see anything anymore when I touch you?" I ask Riley. We're in his tree house. He's trying to teach me how to turn the visions and voices off.
"I didn't turn mine off until I realized you could see them. People don't touch me really. Before you, I was the ignored one." He doesn't seem bothered by it. "Anyway, focus. Feel skin on yours, no visions." I take a deep breath and place my hand on Riley's. Instead of visions, which he turned back on for this, I see nothing. I wait a few seconds before breaking out in a huge smile.
"Did I do it?" I ask. Riley nods and smiles. I get so excited I lean in and kiss him. What started out as a quick peck, became more passionate by the second. When he pulls away, his eyes are filled with an emotion I can't pinpoint.
"I love you." He whispers. My heart swells. Ever since he said those three words last night, I couldn't stop thinking about them.
"I love you too." I whisper back. We sit in silence for a few minutes, the only sound our breathing.
"Can we just stay here forever?" I ask.
" I wish we could, it would keep you safe." He leans back so he can look at me.
"About that, can you explain more of this...darkness that's after me? What does it want with me?" I ask.
"Like I said last night, it's evil. It took the form of a human but I don't know if it's a demon or something bigger. We, I, don't know who it is. The only thing I know is that it went after Jamie. And if it kills you too, it will be the most powerful creature in the world."
"What is Jamie?" I ask quietly. It still hurts to talk about him. Every single mention of his name stings.
"I'm not allowed to tell you that either." He sighs. I nod, understanding.
"So, Jamie's death wasn't a suicide?" I say after a few minutes of silence. Riley nods, his eyes apologetic.
"That's why I gave him my mom's number. So she could hopefully help him escape it." We sit in silence for another few minutes. Why is it never awkward?
"Is she actually your mom?" I ask. "I mean, angels are created not born, right?"
"Yes. When we're created, we get assigned a parent. It's like adoption. But my father got taken away when God left. God left, saying he had a great mission to accomplish, and took my dad with him when he went. Now, no one knows who God is."
"That's why you don't know where God is?"
"I don't know who he is either. I honestly don't know if they're even alive." He smiles at me, telling me he's okay. My heart melts for him. It's hard to imagine this began from hate. Now I am completely in love with him.
"Can I meet your mom?" I ask suddenly. He takes a moment to think about it before he nods. I smile and stand up.
"Let's go." I say, reaching my hand out to him.
"Pushy much?" He smiles.
"Shut up."
