Bloodstone Heart (12 page)

A deep gray fog swirled around the image that was trying to come into focus.
 
Like an archeologist blowing the dirt away from a hieroglyph he had just vaguely seen under centuries of dust and debris, the fog dissipated slowly to the left and a scene appeared.
 
It was Josh walking away. His curly disheveled blonde hair shone in the sun like gold. He was clothed in what seemed to be what he had been wearing for the last couple of days: his leather jacket, jeans, and a flannel shirt. He was walking towards the door of a building, as if in slow motion and he turned a 180 and smiled, still walking away, then turned another 180 again, completing his circle and continued to walk towards the door. He turned the knob and went inside. The person watching this scene started to turn away, when the horrific sound started to rumble through the ground.

The scene snapped back to the glass door that had just let in Josh and a small glowing orange ball that had appeared within the building.
 
It was growing in size very fast, but the scene was still in slow motion.
 
The ball was now the size of the entire door and still growing when the rumbling sound turned into a blast of shattering glass. Like diamond shards, the glass shot away from the building in all directions reflecting light and then falling to the ground like rain. Mixed in with the glass were tiny pieces of wood, brick, and other debris.
 
Smoke billowed from all openings of the building and pyres of flames engulfed everything. She could hear a woman's scream. Slowly the words screamed formed a name, "Josh". The slow motion now changed to live speed and the building was an inferno of flames and smoke and tiny explosions from within. Black soot already formed above the doors and windows.
 
The feeling of total devastation and great loss enveloped everything and the constant screaming of the woman's voice was overwhelming among the tears and heaviness of despair.
 
Reality set in and she realized the screaming she was hearing was coming from within her. Melanie sat up straight.
 
She was breathing hard and her face was wet with tears. A premonition.

Melanie jumped off the couch and ran down the hall to the room Josh had retired to earlier that evening.
 
She opened the door and spoke his name, "Josh."

The panic she had felt when she sat up on the couch peaked yet again when he didn't answer. She ran to the bed and shook his shoulders in desperation and yelled his name this time. Josh sat up yanking the ear buds from his ears, "Lanie?"

She couldn't help herself, she was so happy to get a response she practically launched herself on the bed and held him so tight it hurt her arms. She sobbed and hot tears ran down her face and down his back. He realized she was terrified.
 
She was shaking as she cried and held on to him. He wrapped his bare arms around her, getting slightly tangled in the wires of his iPod ear buds for a moment and held her tight to his chest.

"Lanie, what is it? Are you okay?"

She couldn't speak.
 
The tears wouldn't let her.
 
She was going to lose him just like she had lost Jack. She was cursed.
 
She wasn't allowed to love or be loved. She knew that now.
 
She doomed all those who got close to her with death. Her family, Jack, and now Josh.
 
She didn't care that his entire life was downloading into her head. She held him with bare arms and hands, so tightly she was afraid she was bruising him, but she couldn't let go. One of his hands was now on the back of her head stroking her hair and his newly shaven face was soft against her cheek and ear.

"Lanie, please. What's wrong?"

She trembled as his fingers met with the base of her skull through her hair. They were strong and large, but tender and sweet. Then his hands met her shoulders and pulled her away from his chest so he could see her face in the darkness of the room.
 
She wouldn't look him in the eyes and the tears were still flowing heavily down her face. He lifted her chin so she would look at him and said, "What is it?"

She could feel the heat coming off of his body and his warm breath on her face. She was scared to tell him about the premonition.
 
He would think she was a freak, like Jack had thought. Her mouth wouldn't work.
 
She wanted so desperately to speak, but she couldn't. She knew in her heart that Josh was definitely no Jack. Jack was unkind at times, mean even, but she was terrified that with all poor Josh had been through, finding that she had doomed him to death would be the icing on the cake.
 
His eyes would go cold and he would turn away from her, running as fast as he could. She couldn't bear it. She finally said, "I had a horrible dream. Something terrible had happened to you and I woke terrified you were dead.
 
When you didn't answer when I first came into the room, I panicked. I'm so sorry I woke you, I just...I was just so scared."

"I'm sorry I didn't answer, Lanie. I had my iPod on. It was just a dream. I'm fine, see?" He set her ungloved hand on his chest and put his hand over hers so that she could feel his heart and his breathing. It was almost as if he cherished having her hand there, but she knew better. He could never love someone like her – someone that doomed everyone around her to death.
 

"I'm sorry, Josh.
 
I just...I'm sorry, I woke you" she said and pulled her hand away from his chest and stood up.
 
"I'm sorry. It was so stupid to wake you for a dumb dream.
 
You've been so tired and I...I'm sorry, I'll let you get back to sleep."

Josh tried to reach out to her before she turned and left but she was too quick and the words trailed off his lips as she retreated back to the living room, "It's okay, Lanie," but she never heard them. He wanted to get up and go to her, wipe her tears away, hold her and kiss her until her fears faded, but something kept him from moving.
 
Was it fear of rejection? Or was he just stunned by being awakened out of a dead sleep?
 
He wasn't sure what it was, but he regretted it almost instantly. As he lay back down in bed, trying to decipher what had happened, his chest ached as if when leaving the room, Lanie had somehow taken a part of him, ripping it deep from within his chest.

Melanie lay back down on the couch again. The tears just wouldn't stop.
 
She had been shaken to her very bones. Her head throbbed from crying so hard and her eyes burned. The only reason she fell back to sleep several hours later was sheer exhaustion.

The morning came far too soon for Melanie. As the rest of the house started to stir, she opened her aching eyes and could tell they were swollen from crying. Josh, Blake, and Rowan congregated in the kitchen in search of coffee. Rowan asked, "Melanie, are you okay? Your eyes look swollen."

"I'm fine," Melanie answered glancing quickly at Josh then back down at her coffee as she continued, "It must just be allergies. I was wondering if there might be a small department store in town?
 
I would like to get some personal items, if possible, today."

"Sure we can do that.
 
Blake was talking about stopping by the bookstore and picking up a couple of books for Josh to look over. The guys can drop us off and then we can walk back to the bookstore to meet them for lunch.
 
Sally doesn't open the store on Sundays, so she won't be there but we have a key and she’ll be fine with us stopping by."

"Great."

Melanie could feel Josh's eyes on her, but she refused to make eye contact with him for fear he would see right through her.
 
She knew he couldn't read her thoughts, but she felt if she met his eyes she would melt and blurt everything out.

While they had fruit and toast for breakfast, Josh asked Blake a bunch of questions about telepathy. Finally he said, "So, then, why can't I read Lanie? Plus when she's around, I don't hear the voices as much.
 
Why is that?"

Blake said, "You mean Melanie?" And he turned to Melanie and then back at Josh who nodded. "It could be a few things.
 
There are those that have the gift of telepathy that don't know they have it. They don't use it to read people but focus it ONLY to keep people out.
 
They don't even know they do it or have the gift. Usually these people have been through something very traumatic.
 
I'm guessing this is the case with Melanie. I can't read her thoughts either.
 
I only see a wall. It looks somewhat like a castle turret or tower made of grey blue stone.

"This inward focusing is so acute that even those like you, Josh, who are very strong telepathically, can't read her thoughts. I would suppose if she were wounded or weak, it might be more penetrable, but she doesn't even realize she is doing it.
 
I think that is why she is so talented in psychometry.
 
She doesn't even have to think about focusing so strongly on something, so when she picks up something, she automatically focuses on the last impression left on an item."

"You two do realize I am in the room," Melanie said.

"I'm sorry, Melanie, I was just explaining the mechanics of the process."
 

"I was kidding. I understand. It's actually pretty interesting. I never thought of myself as putting up a wall, but yes, if I were to envision one around myself it would be the tower you described." Still she did not look at Josh.
 
"Well, I guess I'll go get dressed."

"Yeah. Me too," Rowan said.

Blake and Josh stayed in the kitchen as Rowan went through Darby's clothes and found something that Melanie could wear. While they were in there and out of earshot of the guys, Rowan asked Melanie, "Are you sure you are all right? You seem very shaken."

"Just had a bad dream.
 
Nothing to worry about."

"It wasn't a premonition, was it?"

Totally shocked, Melanie turned her head with a jerk. "A what? Ummm, no. How? No. It was nothing."

"By the way you are reacting I would say it is SOMETHING but I won't push you.
 
You've been through an awful lot the last few days.
 
Darby told me about Jack and your premonition of his accident. I'm just letting you know that if you want to talk to anyone, you can talk to me. I know I'm not Darby, but if you need me, I'm here. Okay?"

" Okay. Thank you! That is very kind of you. And thank you for the clothes. You and Blake have been a godsend. Thank you!"

"No need for thanks.
 
That's what friends and family do. Darby thought of you like another sister, so as far as I'm concerned, you are."

Melanie smiled for the first time since her dream and hugged Rowan tightly.

Chapter 9