Paranormalcy (Paranormalcy 1)

“Late. Early. Sorry. ”

“No, it's okay. You had another dream with Vivian?”

“Yeah. ”

“What did she say?”

“She said I was getting brighter. ” I looked at him, worried and nervous.

“Well, my soul's still completely in place. She's manipulating you. ”

I nodded, even though my quick, nervous checks every day in the shower made me pretty sure she was right. Even Lend had commented the other night that my hands weren't as cold as usual.

“Anything else?”

“She was mad that I haven't told her where I am. She's really sad. She's so lonely. ” I felt horrible remembering the look in her eyes. “She said she'll find me even though I told her I didn't want her to. ”

“She hasn't found you yet. ”

“No, and she seemed really frustrated. That big killing spree she went on, I think it was about me. Finding me. I bet her faeries knew I was working for IPCA. They must have figured sooner or later it'd draw me out. And then when she saw me after she killed the hag--” I paused, thinking about it. “I don't think she'd made up her mind yet. She might have still been trying to kill me when she broke into the Center. But now she wants us to, I don't know, hang out. Kill paranormals together. Family bonding time. ”

“Shouldn't faeries be able to find you really easily?” He looked worried.

I shrugged against the pillow. “I don't know. Maybe it's because I've been carrying around bread like your dad said? Or something your mom's doing? I have no idea why they haven't been able to find me. But I'm really worried--what if she comes here? What if she hurts you? Or Arianna, or Nona, or any of the other paranormals? I'm putting everyone in danger. It would be my fault, and I don't think I'd ever be able to forgive myself. ”

Lend shook his head. “You aren't responsible for anything that she does. And I really think that if she hasn't found you yet, she isn't going to. ”

We kept saying that, and the more times I heard it, the better it sounded, but that didn't settle the nagging worry bubbling in my stomach. Could I really just hang out, hiding in a small Virginian town forever?

I wouldn't mind.

But I still couldn't forget how sad she was. “I never thought I'd be grateful for my childhood, but poor Vivian. I know she's crazy and a killer, but she's never had anyone. Ever. I wish there was some way I could help her, you know?”

“I know. But you've got to remember she was raised by faeries. Everything she tells you is probably a lie. ”

I smiled wanly, but I knew he was wrong. You couldn't fake that kind of pain and loneliness. He didn't understand--he'd always had someone. I wondered what I would be like if I had been raised by faeries. It made me shudder.

“So, umm, were you planning on spending the rest of the night in here?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I narrowed my eyes, trying not to smile. “In your dreams. ”

He laughed. “Well then, let me go to sleep so I can get back to them. ”

Shaking my head, I leaned in and kissed him quickly on the lips, then, already missing him, went back to my room. I wouldn't have minded spending the night in there, but I wanted to take it slow and figured sleeping in the same bed wasn't a really smart idea. After all, I'd seen it time and time again on Easton Heights--when the couples hooked up too soon it never ended well. Plus, I didn't think his dad would like it very much and I wasn't about to push my luck.

It took a long time for me to fall asleep again.

The next morning Lend went to school. I stayed home, like I did most days, to work on my schoolwork and study for the SATs. It was so bizarre I wanted to laugh. While Vivian and her faeries plotted my destruction, I sat at the counter memorizing vocabulary words. Normal was stranger than paranormal sometimes.

“How's it going?” David asked, fixing himself a sandwich for lunch.

“I have a question if you've got a minute. ”

“It's been a long time since I studied for that thing, but I'll try to help. ”

“Oh, no, not about the test. I was just wondering, kind of worrying actually. About faeries. How do they find

you? I mean, like if some of the IPCA faeries were looking for me, would they know where I was?”