Farsighted (Farsighted Series) (23 page)

“Sleep tight,” Dad says from the other side of the room. The door clicks shut, and I fall asleep within a couple minutes.

***

Someone taps on my door, waking me with a start. Who could it be? Mom and Dad hardly ever knock. My stomach grumbles in agitation. I press my watch to get the time. Just after four.

“Rrrmggh,” I say, which is the closest to “come in” I can manage.

Whoever it was must have understood what I meant, because the door creaks open. The comforting perfume of coconut and almond wisps into the room. My heart rate speeds up and my stomach ties in knots.

“I heard you weren’t well,” Simmi says, tiptoeing over to my bedside.

I force myself into a sitting position.

Simmi clucks her tongue. “Alex, you look horrible.”

Why is Simmi here? And why isn’t my brain working right?

Simmi must read the confusion that registers on my face. “You missed school. I brought you some notes. Like the old days.” She chuckles.

“Thanks, you can put them on my nightstand. Um, give me a quick sec?” I amble out of bed and into the bathroom. Letting the faucet run, I splash cold water onto my face several times in an attempt to regain clarity. The water clears my foggy brain, reminding me of the tough decision I made last night and the absolute need to see it through.

Oh, boy, here goes.

“Are you feeling better?” Simmi asks as I come back into my room. She’s sitting on my bed.

“No,” I answer, standing in front of her with my arms crossed.

“No? Aw, I’m sorry.” She stands and gives me a hug. My skin tingles. She’s trying to influence me again.

I rip away from her.

“What? What did I do?”

“I don’t want to see you anymore,” I spit. My voice sounds angry though my heart is pulsing with pain.

“Okay,” she says with caution. “I’ll come back with tomorrow’s notes. Unless you’re all better, then I’ll see you in school.” She picks up her backpack from the floor and makes to leave.

“That’s not what I mean,” I snarl—I’m calling on all of my meanest, most animal-sounding voices for this task. It’s the only way I can convince her.

“What
do
you mean?” She sets her backpack down and stands straight in front of me.

“I don’t want to see you anymore. Not here. Not at school or Miss Teak’s. Not ever.”

“Alex, don’t be silly. You’re just not well today.” She reaches for my hand, attempting to apply her gifts. I rip away from her again. I need to see this through.

“I mean it. I’m sick of you and your games. I don’t want to be around you anymore.”

Simmi sinks down onto my bed, the springs squealing under her. For a microsecond, I want to call the whole thing off and comfort her, but then I focus on how I’m hurting her a little bit now so she won’t hurt a lot in the future.

“You think you’re the queen of the world,” I say it fast to make this moment go by as quickly as possible. “You lead me on, making me feel something for you, when you don’t feel anything for me. It’s not cool. You’re always all touchy-touchy, but say I’m your brother. What if I didn’t want to be your brother? What if I wanted more?”

“Alex, I didn’t know you felt this way. I wasn’t trying to lead you on. Actually, I also li—”

I wince. Can’t let her finish that sentence. It’ll make this even harder. “It doesn’t matter anymore,” I say. “I’m over you, and now that I’m not all caught up in my feelings or whatever they were, I can recognize you for what you are. You’re a user, and I don’t want to have anything to do with you.”

Simmi doesn’t say anything, but I can hear the bed frame vibrating. She’s shivering. Maybe crying. I need to finish this, to say whatever it takes to send her storming out of here, so I don’t need to watch her fall apart any longer.

“And don’t worry about using schoolwork as an excuse to come around here. Shapri will take care of everything for me. You should try to be more like Shapri. Actually sweet, kind, honest—not just pretending.
She
wants what’s best for me.
She
cares. That’s why she’s my girlfriend, and you’re just some girl I used to know.”

Chapter 18

The traveler’s wounds of sacrifice will be healed by a new beginning. The women in his life will prove more important than ever in helping him continue toward his destination.

After Simmi leaves, anxiety and guilt weigh heavily on my brain. I decide to sleep it off, but since nightmares will only make matters worse, I’m going to need another one of those pills Dad gave me. He took the bottle away after giving me the dose, so I need to hunt it down. I start with the medicine cabinet, taking out all the bottles, twisting off the tops, and holding a tablet from each in my hand. Whenever I find one that is the right shape, I lick it to see if the taste matches up.

When I don’t find the one I need in the bathroom, I comb through the rest of the house, searching for my medicinal relief. Eventually, I find it in the second to the top drawer of Dad’s dresser. I swallow a tablet without using any water to wash it down and place the bottle where it was before I disturbed it. Feeling comforted, I return to bed and don’t wake up until the next morning when my alarm clock starts screeching. Almost twenty-four hours of straight rest, but, man, did I need it. Those pills are the best thing that has happened to me in quite some time, which is pretty sad, considering what it says about the rest of my life.

I take a cold shower to wake myself up the rest of the way, and eat a box of Ritz crackers in the van on the way to school. I’ve got to find Shapri before Simmi does, but I’ve never paid enough attention to know her schedule beyond lunch and Dr. Brown’s class. Before heading to first-hour English, I stop by the main office to see if the secretary will tell me which class Shapri has now. This is another one of those instances when my blindness comes in handy. I can make people feel very uncomfortable about denying me what I want.

“Hi, Ms. Robbins,” I croon as I approach the front desk. “You’re looking lovely today.” Okay, that might’ve been a step too far, but she doesn’t seem to get the irony, so I continue. “Was wondering if you could help me with something real quick. I’ve got a message for a student, Shapri Teak. You see, my dad and her mom are friends, and I guess there’s something she needs to know about getting picked up after school. Could you tell me what class she has first hour?”

“No problem, dearie,” Ms. Robbins’ high-pitched voice warbles. “Give me a moment here.” She clacks at her keyboard, saying the letters in Shapri’s name aloud as she searches. I provide the correct spelling when she tries to type in T-e-e-k. “Ah, here it is. Shapri Teak. She has art first period. Can I take over the message for you, or can you get there yourself?”

“Thanks so much,” I answer. “I know exactly where that is.” I head out of the office before Ms. Robbins has time to start her habit of small talk. Swinging my cane, I make my way up to the second floor of the school

I’ve never taken art, but I do know where the room is. There are only three classes in the whole building with their own distinct smells—home ec, chem, and art. The chemical paints and singed smell of the kiln really make it stand out. I arrive at the art studio just as the bell rings and walk into the class, trying to give off the air of official office business.

“Hi,” I say as I step into the doorway. “The office sent me. I’ve got a message for, uh, Shapri Teak.”

“Alex? What are you doing here?” Shapri says, pushing out her stool with a horrible screech across the linoleum floor. “Where’s the message?” She must have noticed my empty hands; usually office messages come on a carbon copy form, not via blind kid.

“It’s a verbal message. Can I talk to you outside for a sec?”

“Go on,” the teacher prompts. She’s got a slight European accent and sounds really old. “But hurry back or you’ll miss the start of our decoupage exercise.”

Shapri puts her hand on my back and we walk out to the hall together. “What is it?” She asks with urgency. Oh, crap, I’ve worried her.

“Listen, this is going to sound weird, but I need you to be my girlfriend.”

“Why would that sound weird?” she asks, leaning her side up against the brick hall wall.

“I know we’re not super close or anything, and this must seem like it’s coming out of nowhere, but I really hope you’ll agree,” I stutter.

“Okay,” Shapri answers after a beat. “I can be your girlfriend. Some of the romance from V-day last week stuck around, huh?”

“Yes, Valentine’s Day. Perfect! If Simmi asks, we fell in love on Valentine’s Day. We need to make this believable, okay? Just make up a story to tell her at lunch, and I’ll go along with it. Ah, you’re the best,” I say, locking my arms around her and squeezing tight. I lift her into the air a couple of feet. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. I know you don’t believe in all of this psychic stuff, but trust me on this one, you’re helping to save Simmi’s life.”

I place Shapri back onto her feet and wait for an argument about whether gifts are real or imagined, but she doesn’t provide one.

“Better get back to class. Don’t want to miss the lesson on decoupage. See you at lunch. Boyfriend.”

***

“C’mere, baby,” I try to say seductively as Shapri approaches our cafeteria table. Simmi and I are already there, sitting across from each other—I’m completely ignoring her, but she’s not going away. Shapri is always the last to arrive and normally sits with Simmi, but today she comes to sit by me. I sling my arm around her like a rabid teddy bear. “How was the first part of your day?”

“Good,” she says, stiffening under my grip and moving to unpack her lunch bag.

“Ha, you’re so cute,” I say with a laugh. Shapri isn’t meeting me partway here. It takes two to fake a relationship. Guess this means I’ve got to go overboard with it. What do people do when they’re in love? Having absolutely no idea, I decide to act with Shapri how I wish I could act with Simmi. I focus on the Almond Joy bar sitting across the table and block out Shapri’s grassy odor.

One arm continues to hold her body the other reaches across to hold her hand.

“And how are you going to eat your lunch, lover boy?” Shapri asks in a slow tempo. She’s not a very good actress, if even this small performance is giving her stage fright.

“I don’t need lunch,” I answer, deepening my voice to sound manly. “I’m full of love.” Wow, I’m full of lame today, too.

Simmi coughs and clears her throat. Now’s my chance to get rid of her.

“Stalker much?” I growl as my heart breaks into a million pieces. I want Simmi on the receiving end of my cuddle, not my hostility. I clear my throat. “How about giving us some privacy, huh? Nobody wants you here anyway.”

Shapri inhales. I can tell she’s about to say something, but I tighten my grip around her to signal for her to stop. She actually listens to me for once.

“Fine,” Simmi answers. “If that’s the way you want it.” She slaps the lid onto her Tupperware container, grabs her lunch sack, and stands with a huff.

“Bye,” Shapri says a bit too nicely.

“Forever,” I add as she storms off. Just in case I can actually make things happen by voicing them aloud, I cross my fingers behind Shapri’s back. I hope “forever” doesn’t last too much longer, because I miss Simmi desperately already.

Neither Shapri nor I say anything. I continue to hold her in case Simmi is watching. After a few minutes pass, Shapri breaks the silence.

“She’s not looking anymore. She went to sit at the empty end of the nerdy freshmen table. Poor thing. Why’d you have to be so mean to her? Why do we need to…to pretend? I don’t get it.”

“Can you meet me after school? I’ll explain everything on the walk over to your mom’s shop.” I let go of her hand and begin eating. My other arm stays wrapped around her.

“I don’t want to go to my mom’s after school. That’s your and Simmi’s place. I hang out with my dad instead.”

“Ah, of course,” I mumble sarcastically. Shapri doesn’t catch the words. “Can you meet your dad later tonight and come with me in the afternoon?”

“If I do, do you promise to explain everything? I won’t keep pretending unless you’ve got a really good reason for it.” Shapri completely returns to her normal self—fast-talking, demanding respect.

“Believe me. I’ve got a good reason, but you’re going to have to keep an open mind. Now let’s talk about something else. I don’t want to risk having Simmi or Brady or anybody else overhearing us talk about anything that matters.”

As if on cue, Brady comes up behind us and clasps a hand on each of our shoulders, squeezing Shapri and I together. “Finally got one of them to like you, eh, Kosmitoras?” He guffaws. “She’s not even that bad looking. Well, not that you would know, you no-eyed freak. So tell me the truth, did you sell your soul to the devil? Because that’s the only way I can see any girl falling for you.” His buddies laugh from the next table over.

“Go to hell,” Shapri says, slapping Brady’s hand away.

Brady throws a string of insults our way as his figure retreats. I wonder if Simmi had anything to do with that.

***

We meet at the flagpole after school and head over to Miss Teak’s shop. Shapri and I have only ever taken this walk together once, on my birthday. The day I almost kissed Simmi at this same flagpole, the day she said I was like a brother.