Branded (The Branded Series) (12 page)

I managed a
wink as I held back my own tears. I hadn't exactly healed her, but at least she
wasn't dead.

Several minutes later
I found Anna
and the others huddled together by an ambulance. Eric and Tyler were now with
them, safe and accounted for.

“Jake!” Anna
shouted as she ran to meet me. She looked pale and frightened. I held her in my
arms and kissed her forehead.

“How is she?”
I asked as I pulled away from Anna and nodded toward Monica who was wrapped in
a blanket and surrounded by friends.

“She's been
better. She's really shook up. They took Lexie to the hospital. We were just
waiting for you so we could all follow together,” Anna said. She looked down at
my blood-covered hands and gasped, “What happened to you? Where were you?”

“I . . . I was
trying to help someone . . .” my voice trailed off as I caught sight of Liam
and his mother being carried out of the lodge on a stretcher.

Anna followed
my gaze and asked, “Is she okay?”

“I hope so.”

Rachel and
Noah joined us and we watched as they loaded the pair into an ambulance.

“She'll be
okay,” Rachel whispered.

“And the kid?”
I felt for this little boy. For this child who had seen way more than his
little eyes should have.

“You helped
him, Jake. You helped him get through the worst minutes of his life. And in
doing that, you helped to heal his mind,” Rachel said as she tried her hand at
comforting me. It worked a little.

“I just wish I
could have done better.” I looked back toward our group of friends who were
still deep in conversation.

“Lexie will be
fine too. You're new at this, Jake. You need practice. You need training.”

I knew she was
right, but I couldn't help but feel guilty for not being able to help Lexie. If
she died, I would never be able to forgive myself.

A sound
intruded my thoughts—my cell phone. Anna handed it back to me.

“It's my mom,”
I announced as I read the caller ID. “Mom?”

“Jacob? Jacob!
Where are you? Are you okay?” Mom had heard the news.

“Mom, I'm
fine,” I confirmed. “We weren’t here when it happened, but we turned around and
came back as soon as we heard.”

“Oh, thank
God!”

“But Lexie was
here, Mom. She’s been shot. We're going to the hospital now.”

Mom gasped,
“Alexis Stevens? Little Lexie?”

“Yes, that Lexie.
I'm not sure of her condition. She’s on her way to the hospital in an ambulance
now, but will you do me a favour and take a drive over to her house to let her
mother know what’s going on?”

“Yes, darling.
I'll do that. And I'll see you when you get home. I love you, Jake.”

“I love you
too, Mom.”

I hung up the
phone and looked over at Anna who had been listening. I felt like kissing the
smile on her face. Then I thought—
why not?
Several seconds went by with
my lips pressed to hers as I thanked God for sparing her life. My life.

Even though the
early morning
traffic was light, the drive to the hospital with Noah, Rachel and Anna seemed
much longer than I remembered it to be.

“Has anyone
heard how she’s doing today?” Rachel asked, breaking the silence.

“I talked to
her mother this morning,” Anna answered. “She’s doing better, but hasn’t said
anything since . . . the accident. Her mom heard her sleep talking last night
though. The doctor said it’s normal for someone to be mute after experiencing
something traumatic like this.” Anna looked out the window when her voice
started to quiver. I reached across and held her fidgeting hand. We continued
our journey in silence.

“Anna,” Ms. Stevens
called down
the hall when we got off the elevator. Lexie’s mother was pacing the hall
outside of Lexie’s room.

Anna ran and
greeted her with a hug and they both consoled each other. Ms. Stevens looked up
at the rest of us and tried to smile as she composed herself.

I pursed my
lips and smiled slightly, nodding. “How is she?”

Ms. Stevens
dried her eyes with her worn-out tissue before answering. “She’s awake. Doctor
said her shoulder will be just fine. Maybe you can talk to her. She won’t talk
to me. She only stares out the window. And whenever anyone talks around her,
she covers her ears and just cries silently.” Ms. Stevens fought back more
tears. “She doesn’t want anyone talking to her.”

Anna went
straight into the room without another word, followed by Noah. I hesitated.
What
if she looked at me and said her first words: “You failed me.”? That’s
ridiculous
, I thought.
As far as she knows, I’m normal. No normal person
could’ve done anything to help her.

“Are you okay,
Jake?” Rachel asked as she reached out to touch my arm, making me realize that
I was pacing the floor and that we were now alone.

“Where’s
Lexie’s mom?”

“In the room.”
Rachel took my hand. “It’s not too late you know.”

“For what?” I 
asked. “You heard Ms. Stevens. She’s going to be fine. She doesn’t need a
healer anymore.”

“But she
does,” Rachel said. “Her body may be healing on its own, but her mind still
needs help.”

I looked at
her.
Go on?

“You helped
heal that kid’s mind at the ski lodge. You can do it, Jake. I know you can.”

“How can you
be so sure?” I pulled away from her grasp. “I can’t fail again.”

“I saw it,”
Rachel said, looking down at the floor. “I didn’t want to have to tell you
that. But I had a vision you healed her mind. I know you can do it. Come on.”
Rachel pulled me into the room where everything felt cold and barren.

“Anything?” I
asked Anna hopefully.

Anna was
sitting next to Lexie, holding her hand as Lexie stared out the window. Noah
was standing at the foot of the bed with his hands in his pockets, looking
uncomfortable.

“Nothing,”
Anna answered. Lexie rolled over and pulled the pillow to her ear.

I backed up to
the door and motioned for Ms. Stevens to follow. Then I whispered, “When she
was sleep talking, what did she say?”

Ms. Stevens
answered, “She screamed and then covered her ears and said, ‘My ears! My ears!’
But the doctors have checked her hearing and it’s fine,” Ms. Stevens said.

“I’m sure
she’ll start talking soon. This is probably a normal part of the healing process,”
I said, sounding way beyond my years.

“I know, Jake.
I know. Thank you.”

When we
returned to Lexie’s side, Rachel was suggesting to Anna that she take Ms. Stevens
downstairs for something to eat. Anna stroked a piece of Lexie’s hair from her
forehead and then carefully let go of her hand. Lexie looked at Anna for a
split second, then returned her gaze to the window.

“I’ll be right
back,” Anna whispered to her.

Once they
left, Rachel motioned for me to take a position up by Lexie’s head. Noah gave
me a questioning look, and I shrugged in response. I placed my hands over
Lexie’s ears and began thinking healing thoughts.

“What are you
doing?” Noah asked quietly, but with every syllable he spoke, loud, thundering
gunfire split the air. I threw my hands up and jumped back, crashing into a machine.

“What the
hell, Jake?” Noah said, coming over to straighten the equipment.

I stared down
at Lexie, who had begun crying again. I placed my hands over her ears again and
said her name: “Lex?” And again, the sound of gunfire split through my voice,
and she flinched.

“Guys! I think
she hears gunfire whenever anyone speaks,” I whispered, eyes wide on Lexie.

I put my hands
back over her ears and imagined myself catching the bullets with every word
that I spoke. “Heal . . . her . . . mind. . . . Erase . . . her . . . fears.”

When I took my
hands away, Lexie’s eyes were closed and calm.

“Lexie?”
Rachel whispered. Nothing.

“Is she
asleep?” Noah asked.

“I think so,”
I confirmed.

We watched her
rest for a few minutes until Anna and Ms. Stevens returned with a sandwich.

“She’s
asleep?” Ms. Stevens asked, surprised.

“Yeah, Rachel has
that effect on people,” I teased.

Rachel curled
her lip at me and said, “Hopefully she’ll feel better when she wakes.”

Ms. Stevens
wiped the tears from her daughter’s cheeks. Lexie’s eyes slowly opened and she
reached for her mother’s hand. “Mom?”

Ms. Stevens
dropped her sandwich and grabbed both of her daughter’s hands in hers. “Lexie!”
Ms. Stevens laughed and cried simultaneously. “She talked! She said my name!
Did you hear that?”

I couldn’t
help the smile that crept across my face from ear to ear. “I heard her,” I
said. And I couldn’t help but notice Lexie didn’t flinch when we spoke.

Lexie’s eyes
scanned the room as she slowly sat up, favouring her arm as she did. “Thanks
for coming, guys.”

“We’re so glad
you’re feeling better,” Anna said, relieved.

“Me too,”
Lexie said with a bit of a laugh.

“Well, we
should probably head back to school and let everyone know how she’s doing,”
Rachel said after a moment of hugs and silence.

“Anna, we’ll
be out in the hallway waiting,” I said as I kissed her forehead, leaving her
with Ms. Stevens and Lexie.

“Good job,
man,” Noah said once we were out of earshot.

“Thanks. I was
kind of nervous, but Rachel told me she had a vision of me healing Lexie, so
that helped to get me in there.”

“Oh yeah? You
had a vision?” Noah asked, turning his attention to Rachel.

“Well, kind
of,” Rachel answered.

“What do you
mean—kind of?” I pressed.

“I may have
just told you that so you would have more faith in yourself,” she looked at me
guiltily. “If you think you can do something, Jake, you can.”

I smiled. “Okay,
so that may have worked this time, but don’t lie to me again, okay?”

She answered
with a smile.

“But thanks
anyway.” I looked toward Lexie’s door as Anna emerged. A bounty of conversation
flowed through the halls as Lexie and her mother reconnected.

We arrived at
school in
time for recess, and were swarmed by friends looking for the update on Lexie’s
recovery. We reported to all that she was doing much better and should be out
in a couple of days.

Tyler and
Monica were sitting on our usual bench alongside the school when we approached.

“Hey,” I said
with a nod. “How are you both doing?”

“Better,
thanks.” Monica smiled slightly as Tyler held her close.

“Good to hear.
Lexie is doing better. She should be back in a few days.”

“I still can't
believe she dodged that bullet,” Monica said, shaking her head in disbelief.

“What do you
mean?” I pried.

“You didn't
hear the story?” Monica looked at me. “Lexie should be dead right now. That
shooter had the gun aimed point-blank at her head. Then, just as he pulled the
trigger, he slipped or tripped or something and the bullet went through her
shoulder instead.”

“No, I didn't
know that.” I looked to Anna who appeared just as shocked as me.

“And it was
lucky that he slipped because it gave me the chance to hide behind that Pepsi
machine.” Monica’s voice became distant as she recounted the frightening memory.

“Definitely
had luck on your side,” Noah said.

“But you’re doing
okay?” Anna asked, sitting next to her friend, genuinely concerned.

“I am,” she
nodded. “Just so thankful to hear Lexie’s going to be okay. It’s such a miracle
she’s still alive.”

“Well, maybe
not a miracle,” Rachel added, with a touch of cynicism, “but I agree that it’s
pretty amazing.”

It was at
the beginning
of biology class when Ms. Peters arrived at the door and excused Noah and me to
help her with a “special project.” We followed her down the corridor and out
the front doors.

“Let’s go for
a little walk,” Ms. Peters said as we headed around the building. “Fresh air
and sunshine is always good.”

Something
wasn’t right. Why would she take us outside for a walk unless . . . unless she
had some bad news? Her smile immediately calmed my troubled thoughts—her gift
had worked on me again.

“What’s going
on?” Noah asked.

“I just wanted
to give you boys a heads-up that there is a training camp happening this
weekend in Toronto.”