Page 33 of Beasts

“How does that work?” I ask, crossing my arms and looking him over.

“Hm?”

“Your psychic powers. Like do you know everything? Some things?”

“I know a lot of things. They happen in visions usually while I’m sleeping or when I’m concentrating on a particular person.”

“So, you like, see it in your head?”

“It’s more like being told the plot of a movie, which is why I’m still thoroughly entertained when I see things unfold.”

“Who is telling you the plot?”

“Just the voices in my head.” He smirks, turning away and heading towards the kitchen. I hear a few of the others in there as well, but before I can head in to join them, my phone vibrates. Mom sent me a text message. ‘Hey baby girl. I got an advance on my new signing, so I wanted to splurge on you a little bit. I put some money in your account dedicated towards a new wardrobe to show off to your friends. Make sure to send me pictures of your new outfits as well. Xox.’ Whenever my mother says she wants to splurge on something, it usually means a lot of money. I go to my bank app and I can see that a large sum has in fact been deposited. I'm not sure if it's even possible to spend this much money on clothes, but I suppose it would be fun to try. I walk into the dining room where some of the guys chatting, my goofy grin catching their attention. Byron and Hunter are here, and they seem to be playing a card game, but I don't think they'd be interested in what I'm about to offer.

“Seth, Kane, Hendrik, are you guys busy today? I'm blowing classes.” Seth pulls his keys out of his pockets.

“Nope, ready when you are.” Of course, the psychic would know exactly what I was going to say. Hendrik and Kane look at each other with a bit of confusion, but I think it's Hendrik’s brothers that are a little bit more confused. Regardless, they both stand up and come towards me. We all follow Seth outside towards his car.

“Wait, where are we going?” Kane questions.

“Mom put some money in my account to get new clothes. I assume she expects me to go with some friends and I'd like to go with you guys.”

“Really-not like Nolan or something? I thought you guys were friends.”

“We are, but I have a funny feeling that you three might be a little bit more interested in clothes shopping then he would be.”

Hendrik tilts his head, probably a little bit concerned that I'm about to spill his secret, but I guess he can't see what I can see. “Why would you assume that?” He asks. Seth pats them both on the back as he gestures towards his car.

“Come on guys, what secret might we all be hiding that nobody in the house would know, but we would still have in common?” Both Hendrik and Kane’s faces start to glow a bright red. “Let's go.” Seth Chuckles getting into the car.

“Shotgun!” I exclaim, jumping into the front seat.

I haven't been to the mall yet, but I'm excited to be here. With Seth at the wheel, we were able to find a car park almost immediately, despite how full it was. It must be nice knowing exactly where to stop and how long to wait for. I'm not much of a shopping type girl, but I do enjoy the occasional time spent out with friends. At least I'm sure I would if I had any friends before now. With the air around the guys that they no longer had a secret they had to hide, they were much more open to hanging out and even starting to address each other differently. I could totally see Kane and Seth as a cute couple.

“So what kind of clothes are you looking for today?” Kane questions.

“I'm not sure, I didn't pack too much for summer since we're supposed to be going into winter, but it's been strangely warm recently. So perhaps just some nice dresses? And lunch is totally on me.”

“That's all I needed to hear.” He offers me an arm to grab onto as we navigate our way around the mall. Even while I'm trying on the clothes, the guys break away to get me some ice cream. When I first moved here, I assumed I'd be joining a sorority where I would make some friends that would go shopping with me like this. I'm so happy and I'm so pleased that I didn't stay there. If I had, I never would have met these guys and I think I would have been much sadder. I'm much better for knowing them.

“Hey.” Seth whispers to me as Kane and Hendrik argue over a particular color. “Don't try on the blue dress. Otherwise Hendrik will notice the bruises.” From the quantity of mirrors around me, I can tell that my face is glowing a bright crimson.

“I thought you didn't give away the future that you just sat back and watched as it unfolded?”

“Hey, I gotta look out for my cousin, right?” I give him a sideways smirk and he chuckles. My phone buzzes again and it's my mom sending me a message reminding me to send her photos when I have purchased my clothes. It's as if she had a radar in her brain that told her when I was going shopping. Seth leans over my shoulder, as does Hendrik.

“You and your mom don't look much alike.” Hendrik comments. It's absolutely true. Mom is a gorgeous blonde with bright blue eyes and immaculate chiselled cheekbones. I don't question how he's able to tell that from such a tiny photo, given that he is part cat. “Guess you take after your dad?”

“Maybe my personality, but not my looks.”

“Oh?” It's not something I like to repeat often, but I suppose I'm going to have to eventually.

“They are my parents, but my mother didn't give birth to me. Neither of them ended up being able to have kids.”

“Oh, I'm sorry I didn't know.”

“Don't be, I had the best upbringing I could have had. They were always very protective of me, and they made sure that I had everything I needed. I don't have to be their blood for me to be their family.”

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