Shadow of Time (a YA Paranormal Romance novel)

Chapter 10

The trip to Rainbow Bridge and her terrifying visions had prompted Hannah to take a sleeping pill that night. Whenever she took a soporific, she never dreamed.

She never really felt good after a pill-induced sleep, either. With a foggy, still half-sedated head, she stepped into the kitchen the next morning.

"Hey," Ben greeted her, just closing one of his textbooks. "I'm heading out to get some camping gear with Josh. Will you be all right?"

"Yeah, I'm going to grab lunch with Emily." Hannah hesitated. "Say hello to Josh, okay?" she added.

"Will do." Ben put his thumb up. "Have fun with Em. And drop by the police station when you have the time."

Hannah nodded, plodding to the fridge to get some juice. Just when she'd poured herself a glass, she heard her cell phone beep in her room. Still groggy, she walked back and read the text message. 'hi han! can u make it @ 2? nick will b there 2. xoxo em.'

She texted back, feeling a dull headache coming on. It seemed she was left with only two choices – having night terrors or feeling like a wreck all day. Maybe she should cut back on the sleeping pills next time. Half a dose would probably work as well.

Hannah sat down at the table outside, staring out over the lake. A glance at her phone told her it was already quarter to twelve. She actually still needed to drive to Page and contact the police again – after all, she'd promised Ben – but she'd changed her mind about the whole thing. Victim service was there for victims, and nothing had really happened to her. Police Officer Curry was a nice guy, but hopelessly unqualified to deal with strange visions, looming shadows, or dreams about coyotes and murderous Mexicans.

At quarter past one, Hannah packed up to go to Grassroots and meet Emily. She stepped inside and spotted her friend sitting at the same table as before.

"Hey Em! Nick's not here yet?" Hannah pulled out a chair and sat down.

"He's running late. He just texted me."

"Oh, no worries. In fact, we need some private time, my girl. I officially want to blame you for holding out on me. You're the worst BFF ever."

"Huh? Why?" Emily raised her eyebrows.

"Like, couldn't you have told me that Josh has been calling me 'sunbeam' for the past few days?!"

Emily gave her a baffled look. "Oh, I thought he'd tell you himself at some point. Or you'd ask him what it meant. Cute nickname, right?"

"Uh, no. I thought he was calling me his older sister."

"Why the hell would he? Isn't it glaringly obvious that he likes you?"

Hannah stopped short, her face flushing red. "You – you really think so?"

Emily sighed theatrically. "Yes. I really think so. And so do you. Come on, admit it. Even a blindfolded mole can see he's interested in you, you nutcase. I had no idea you'd misunderstood him or I would have told you, of course."

Hannah bit her lip. "Okay, I hope you're right. He was suddenly being so distant yesterday. Weird things have been going down at Rainbow Bridge."

"Oh?" Emily grabbed her hand. "Actually, I've been meaning to ask you. Last night Amber was grilling me about people without auras, and she went all secretive on me and told me I should ask you if I wanted to know more? So here I am, asking you, wanting to know more."

Hannah felt a grin spread across her face. "Hold on, Em. When, exactly, did you meet Amber?"

Emily suddenly turned a bit red herself. "Just, late last night," she mumbled evasively. "After work. I met her – we met at the beach."