AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I felt like a complete idiot.
Too many coincidences.
Luke was in Dean’s pocket.
“Why all the questions about nightmares and your sleep?” Lori snipped. She agreed her boyfriend misled her, but that didn’t mean she had to act happy about it. She paced the kitchen with sharp movements, her anger rising with each revelation.
“He thinks I can predict the future. He may want to exploit that. Well, he definitely wants to exploit that. I’m sure of it now.”
Lori stopped dead in her tracks and pivoted her body to face mine. She had tears on her cheeks and my heart panged with guilt. “Dean’s not an idiot.”
“No,” I confirmed. “He’s slightly misled, but far from an idiot.”
She took a few cautious steps toward me, pointing her finger in my direction. “Slightly, Rowan? You cannot be slightly psychic. That’s like being slightly pregnant. You are or you aren’t. Which is it?”
I stilled myself and looked to the floor, remembering I was inching closer to eight weeks. I couldn’t face her. I trusted Lori, but I struggled to say the words out loud. I hated the thought of hurting her more by keeping this secret.
“Funny you should say that,” I replied. There was no point in keeping it to myself any longer. I was furious about Sam’s lie by omission, but I played the same game with her. I needed her support.
“Funny?” Lori raised her hands in the air and slapped them back down on her sides. I opened my mouth to speak, but she raised her hand to silence me. “Just give me a moment.” She moved her head from side to side, then marched over to a thin cabinet in the corner. She lowered herself to the ground, reaching her arm inside, shoulder deep. She yanked out a thin bottle of Kentucky bourbon and rose to her feet.
“I only have a few of these if that tells you anything about the severity of my panic attack right now.” Two glasses clinked on the table as she opened the bottle.
“None for me,” I said, and pushed the glass to the side.
“Beggars can’t be choosers. This is good stuff and we could use it.” Lori gave herself two fingers of bourbon in the remaining glass.
“I love bourbon, but I haven’t had a period in two months. Sam and I haven’t been careful. I don’t need to add fetal alcohol syndrome to this ever-rising pile of shit.”
Lori’s mouth went slack. “Oh my God, Row.” She shot the drink back in one pull and poured another. She poured a small amount into the second glass and slid it over. “It won’t do shit. I had a pitcher of margaritas with each kid and didn’t even know it. You need it.” She sipped on her second glass.
“Also, I am a little psychic,” I added.
“Just a little?” she murmured into the glass.
“Like maybe mediocre at best. The kind of psychic where you dream about the future but the premonitions don’t make any sense until it’s happening, and you’re already fucked.”
“Right, so did you dream that the man I’m fucking is a complete waste of a human and a total piece of lying shit?”
“No, that one escaped me.”
We both took a pull. “I’m so sorry about that, Lori. I know you care for Luke.”
“Be more sorry you are only a mediocre psychic. You could have seen this coming if you were expert-level. You could tell me if we’ll survive this mess.” She twirled the glass in her hands, staring at the brown liquid.
“You believe me? You don’t think I’m crazy?” I asked her.
“I thought Dean’s obsession with you was crazy. He always cared about rising in the ranks more than anything else, so the thought of him being in love with someone and sacrificing for them was crazy. This makes more sense. Fits with his narcissistic persona.”
“Right,” I nodded. “And because I know you want to ask, my dreams right now aren’t clear. There’s a fire that I’ve seen a few times. I dreamed last night Sam was running into it and I’m scared, Lori. They always come true. I can’t lose him again.”
She poured her third drink and walked the bottle back to the cabinet. I swirled a small amount of the burning liquid in my mouth and swallowed. Guilt followed, but a taste wouldn’t hurt.
Lori made her way back and held her last drink to her chest. “What about the boys?”
“They don’t know. I’m doing a shit job of protecting them, but I’ve kept this from most everyone.”
Lori waved her glass in front of me. “No, that’s not what I meant. What about their dreams?”
“Oh, they don’t have the premonitions.”
Lori set her glass down and placed her hands on my shoulders. “Rowan, the boys have been talking about BeLew’s dreams for weeks. They have been dreaming about fire too. You didn’t know? They keep having the same nightmare. Black smoke everywhere and a fire on the deck of the ship.”
I dropped my glass, and it shattered onto the floor between us. Lori’s grip on my shoulders tightened. She gave me a small shake.
“Did they tell you about the shore with the broken wood? Did you dream that too?”
