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“But what about the houses that are haunted? Doesn’t that scare you?”
Violet came back to the table and sat down. “I try not to get scared. Most often it’s just a confused spirit who’s causing the disturbance, and when it’s something malicious I get protective of the living and use my powers to throw them out.”
I got chills from talking about it but curiosity made me ask my next question. “Can you see your own future?”
Sadness crept over her face. “I used to think I could, but…” she trailed off. “I’ve always had this clear vision of me and Jake, married and living together in a house with our two daughters.”
“Jake is your brother’s friend, right?”
“Right… but as you know, we’re not together.”
“But in that case isn’t your vision just a dream or a childish fantasy like we all have? I mean, I used to imagine my dad would come and rescue me from my mom, and had very clear images in my head about how that would go down.”
“Maybe,” Violet said.
“Then how do you know thatallyour visions aren’t just your imagination?”
“I trust my abilities, and most often the visions come true.”
“Except when they don’t,” I challenged.
She tilted her head and smiled. “Let’s hope for you that they do come true, because I had a good vision about your future.”
Gabriel was the first thing that popped into my mind, but I didn’t ask if he was involved in her vision. “What did you see?” I asked.
“I see money around you. I can’t tell if it comes from your art or if you win the lottery, but very soon you’ll be rich.”
I took a sip of my water and suppressed a laugh. “I like that vision. It’s what I dream of.”When I’m not dreaming about Gabriel.
“If you want I could give you a reading,” Violet offered.
“No thanks, I’m good.” I told her politely and when she raised a brow I continued. “No, seriously, I’m in a good place right now; my art is selling, I have a couch to live on thanks to you, and I haven’t touched any pills since before I got arrested.”
“And Gabriel?” she asked quietly.
“I don’t want to talk about him.”
And so we didn’t.
CHAPTER 23
Alki Beach
Gabriel
Eight weeks later.
Alki Beach was crowded and there was no place to park. With a quick look at the clock I cursed low. I was already late and the girl I was meeting had texted me four times.
I took another round and thanked my lucky stars when, finally, a car blinked to signal they were leaving.
After parking my car, I walked at a fast pace to meet up with Caroline, a young nurse that my friend Nate had set me up with.
For ten weeks I had moaned about Cia disappearing on me without as much as a goodbye, and I was still angry at her for not even giving me a chance to talk things through. To say I hated how we had ended our relationship would be an understatement.
After I had called Daniel, Darren, Violet, and Bruce, who all promised to tell her I wanted to speak to her, I still heard nothing, and in the end I gave up.
If she didn’t want me, there wasn’t much more I could do about it except lick my wounds and try to move on.
