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The door opens and a brunette woman appears. Her blue eyes look so familiar, but I know I’ve never seen her before. Her thoughts are silent. I’m not surprised by it, but I am relieved.
“Daniel, it’s so good to see you.” The woman gives my father a side hug before turning her attention to me. “And you must be Henley. I’ve heard so much about you. You’re far more beautiful than I imagined.”
My cheeks grow warm.
“Come inside.” She steps back, opening the door wider.
Dad walks inside first and I follow him. Before we make it very far, a little girl jumps out in front of me. I flinch as she seems to appear out of nowhere.
“Hi. You smell really good.” She leans closer and sniffs me.
I stand very still, not knowing what to make of the kid.
“Lucy,” the woman scolds. “Why don’t you go tell your brother that Henley is here?”
The girl goes quiet, looking at her mom. After a brief moment, she nods and runs up the stairs.
How does she know which brother her mom wants her to get? There were two boys playing outside and she’s going up the stairs. It looked like the two of them were having a conversation in their minds. But is that possible?
I guess anything is possible. I’m the girl who can read minds. Who am I to say something is impossible?
Dad clears his throat. “Do I smell gumbo?”
The woman grins. “Yes. It’s your grandmother’s recipe. Though, it’s not quite as good as hers.”
“Nobody could beat Gran’s cooking.” Dad frowns but quickly shakes it off. He smiles, but I can tell it’s forced.
Before anything else can be said, I hear footsteps on the stairs. I glance up and my heart races when I see who is coming down.
“Parker?”
Dad looks at me, his eyebrows drawn together.
“Hey, Henley.” He nods at my dad. “Mr. Stone.”
“You two know each other.” Dad frowns, looking between the two of us.
“I know Parker from school,” I tell Dad.
Still, he looks between the two of us and eventually turns his gaze on Parker. “You are friends with Henley?”
Parker glances over at me, then at my dad. “Yeah. She ate lunch with my friends and me.”
Dad crosses his arms over his chest. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”
I look between them, wondering what’s going on.
Parker doesn’t back down. “You want her to sit with normal people? With my friends is the safest place for her.”
I take a step closer. “Uh, Dad?”
He backs up. “You’re probably right.”
After that, Parker’s mom leads my dad into another room. I stay by Parker’s side.
“That was strange,” I say, looking off to where they left.
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” he declares.
