Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 90503 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90503 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
I typed a message to her.
Are you awake?
My heart beat fast as I waited for a response. When I didn’t get one after a full minute, it sank in my chest.
Probably not. It’s late here, so it’s even later for you. Even if you were, you probably wouldn’t reply. I don’t blame you.
I closed my eyes, fighting back tears. There was so much I couldn’t say and so little I could.
Anyway, I just wanted to say once more that I’m sorry about what happened. I never meant to hurt you. I promise I won’t contact you again.
I hit send and watched the blue bubble with my bullshit words appear on the screen. They made me so angry, I felt like throwing my phone out the bedroom window just to hear the sound of breaking glass. A moment later, my jaw dropped.
Three gray dots were fading in and out, indicating she was answering my message.
Maren: I’m awake. I can’t sleep.
Me: The nightmare?
It took her a long time to reply, so I was surprised to see only one word appear.
Maren: Yes.
I pictured her in her bed, the bed I’d shared with her less than a week ago. My chest tightened. My arms twitched. I wanted to hold her so badly.
I wanted to tell her I hadn’t lied, I did love her, I always would. I wanted to beg her to forgive me so we could have that second chance. I wanted to tell her that Finn had come to see me and we’d had a really good talk. I wanted to bring her to Portland and ask her to climb Mount Hood with me, snuggle with her in a sleeping bag to keep warm, rise before the sun to make the final ascent, and hold her hand when we made it to the top and took in the view. I wanted to show her my new tattoo and say, This is forever, you and me. I know it.
But in the end, all I had were the same two inadequate words.
Me: I’m sorry.
I waited hours for a reply that never came.
Eighteen
Maren
“Are you sure about this?” Emme eyeballed the sign on Madam Psuka’s door.
MADAM PSUKA: Psychic, Medium, Clairvoyant, Intuitive
Palm Readings, Dream Analysis, Spiritual Channeling, & Numerology
FIRST READING FREE*
*does not include Spiritual Channeling
It was Thursday afternoon, and we were slightly early for my three o’clock appointment. “No, I’m not sure. But I’m desperate. I haven’t gotten a good night’s sleep in forever. I have to do something, and Allegra said this woman is really good.”
Emme shrank back a little and sniffed. “Smells weird in here. Like something’s burning.” She glanced down the stairs we’d just come up like she might make a run for it. We were standing on the second floor landing of an old Victorian building that had two storefronts on the ground level and apartments above. Madam Psuka was in 2A.
“I told you that you didn’t have to come with me,” I said irritably.
“I know, I know. But people are crazy. You shouldn’t go to a stranger’s house alone, and this place feels creepy.” She sighed. “But if you think this will help, I will fully support you.”
“Thank you.” I rapped on the door three times. After a moment, it opened and a woman I presumed was Madam Psuka appeared. She was in her fifties, I guessed, with lots of curly dyed blond hair showing a good solid inch of brown and gray roots. Her face was buried beneath layers of makeup, and her eyebrows had been almost completely plucked but penciled in thick and black. She wore jeans, a brightly colored blouse, and no shoes.
She paused dramatically, drawing herself up. “Velcome.”
“Hello,” I said. “I’m Maren Devine.”
“Yes.” She nodded like she’d known this already. “And this is your sister?”
I glanced at Emme, wondering if the resemblance was so strong it was obvious we were siblings or if this woman was actually psychic. “Uh, yeah. Is it okay if she stays with me for the reading?”
Madam Psuka didn’t answer right away. Instead she looked back and forth between the two of us, like she was trying to figure something out. “You have very different energies.”
“Yes,” I said, tucking my hair behind my ears. “I’m here because—”
“You are restless,” she finished. “You are in chaos. You seek peace and cannot find it.”
Emme and I exchanged a look.
“And you.” The madam looked Emme up and down. “You are in balance. Is unusual for you.”
“Yes,” Emme said, beaming. “I think it’s because—”
“But,” Madam Psuka interrupted, holding up a finger to silence her. “Great change is coming.”
Emme’s smiled grew even bigger. “I’m getting married.”
“No.” Madam Psuka dismissed my sister’s matrimony with a wave of her hand. “Is not that.”
Emme grabbed my arm. “You mean I’m not getting married?”
“Listen,” I said, getting a little nervous. “I’m here to—”
“Yes, you are getting married,” said the madam with a slight roll of her eyes, like it wasn’t that important. “But there is a greater change coming.”