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That’s one thing I’ve never been good at, that’s for sure.
I can’t be fake.
8
“Isaidno!” I stomp my foot to help emphasize the one word this stubborn old bat doesn’t seem to understand, but she merely continues shuffling around the room ignoring me. “Nana! I fucking mean it! We can’t risk your life just to go bowling!”
She’s been yelling at me for the past thirty minutes, telling me off for not bringing the guys in with me to meet her, adding in quite a few choice insults and names directed at me. But when I finally yell back, her aura–for just a moment–opens wide and shows me the hurt and sadness that’s filling her.
My mouth slams closed, tears immediately sparking behind my sunglasses at the fact that she’s been hiding it all from me. She’s feeling so alone, she’s going crazy being cooped up at the care center, even with their amazing gardens and grounds. It doesn’t matter how many amenities the place has, it still leaves her lonely. While there are plenty of days that she’s too confused to care all that much, on the days she’s lucid–like today–she has been suffering.
Which is how I somehow find myself leading her out of the building and to the three men who have battered their way into my life and are currently taking ice picks to the frozen shield surrounding my heart. After Gizmo and Snitch get their obligatory head scratches from Nana, her aura snaps into focus on the three cock-migos
“Guys, Nana. Nana, the guys.” I swing my arm in their direction, my tone sullen and annoyed. How the hell does this woman always get what she wants?
As soon as I softened to her brief glimpse of feelings, she had immediately slammed our connection shut and giggled like a fourteen year old school girl when I finally acquiesced to her leaving. I feel like I seriously got played. Maybe I really should have Ezra help me work on closing my own aura off, or manipulate it to show only what I want. You know…just in case.
“Nana! It’s so nice to finally be able to meet the woman who raised our favorite girl!” Kai immediately floods the area with sugar and charm, moving forward and wrapping his arms around my Nana’s frail form beside me. She, once more, lets out a string of girlish giggles and I cross my arms over my chest, tapping my foot against the pavement beneath me.
“Slice number one! You’re quite the charmer, aren’t you? No wonder you made it into my granddaughter's bed first!”
“Nana!” I admonish, but she ignores me.
Kai sputters–completely lost for words–and jerks back as she pats his cheek far harder than necessary, based on the thwack of skin on skin. She doesn’t let him move away from her though, just pulls him closer and lowers her voice just enough that the other two guys couldn’t possibly hear.
“Just because you could charm the pants off of an Eskimo doesn’t mean you can win her heart, boy. That takes real work. Are you willing to do that?” She isn’t looking for him to actually speak and answer her, and I hang my head back in frustration as she practically aura rapes him on the spot.
I knew this would happen. I fucking knew it. My nana has absolutely no respect for boundaries. This is why she has never, not once, met a guy I dated or had relations of any sort with. Though, I probably should have. It probably could have saved me some suffering in the long run.
“Ah, I see what you’re doing.” Nana murmurs to Kai as he stands frozen in place, his surface aura flashing with fear and awe.
I don’t delve deep like Nana does, unless I feel like I need to or that they deserve it. It takes a lot out of me and the person I’m reading. Especially if they have any sort of mental defenses built around whatever they’re hiding. It’s practically debilitating to root through and try to find out what it is unless they purposely let you in. Last time I was forced to dig that deep to find someone’s well-buried secret, I was stuck in bed for a week.
Being a psychic isn’t all fun and games, it’shard, and unless the person has absolutely no mental fortitude, it can be a bitch to even scratch the surface. Some are easier, some are more difficult, and some are fucking Alcatraz. It’s a common misconception that we can find out anything we want with ease. We can’t. Which is why I can be particularly pushy when speaking to someone while reading them. If I can manipulate them into actively thinking about whatever I want to know, it’s easier to find.
I will always stick to the surface unless I absolutely must dive deep.
I don’t blame Nana for what she’s doing either. She’s damn good at what she does, and she’s pushed herself to get as good as she is. What might send me into a coma, might only make her ready for a twenty minute nap. She’s spent her entire life training to get as adept and strong as she is, and I don’t blame Kai in the slightest for admiring her.
I admire her too.
I know she wants me to be as dedicated as she is to our craft, but I don’t have the love for it as much. I have no idea why. Maybe I’m lazy. Maybe I’m bitter. I really don’t know. But I don’t have that innate drive she has to improve on everything I do. I push just enough to be comfortable. Hell, maybe that’s my biggest flaw: being content with mediocrity.
“Well then.” I realize I missed the rest of Kai’s reading as Nana pats his cheek once more–though far softer and almost lovingly–before letting him go. “Who’s next? Slice number two, I know we met before, but maybe you want to let an old woman in a bit this time so I can get to know you?”
Nana is all honey and sweetness as she speaks to Ezra and I roll my eyes with a sigh.
“Oh hush, girl. Why don’t you use the time to learn how a real psychic works? I won’t be around forever, you know!” She rounds on me with a flair of…something, but when I try to figure out what it is, she kicks me out just as quickly as it surfaced.
“For fuck’s sake! Can we just get on with this so I can eat?” I kick my foot into the pavement, feeling rather like an unruly child with an attitude. What can I say? She just brings it out of me. Probably because I know she’s fucking right, and I hate it.
“Glad you can admit it. Maybe do something about it, yeah?” She chuckles before turning her attention away from me and to Ezra, who has taken an extremely stunned and quiet Kai’s place in front of my Nana.
Based on their vibrations alone, I know he dwarfs her, as he does me. I might only be five foot one but-
“Five foot and two centimeters, girl! Stop lying to yourself!”You crotchety, old, no boundary having crone!
I may only befive feetandtwo centimeterstall, but Nana is still a couple inches shorter than me, so…
