A Vision of Green (Florence Vaine #2) (4 page)

“
Is that all you're having Flo?” Caroline asks, eyeing the cracker I'm currently taking a bite out of.

“
Oh y-yeah, I forgot to grab my wallet when I was leaving this morning,” I tell her.

“
That's happened to me a few times too, so annoying,” she replies.

Frank pushes his tray between the two of us. “You can share with me,” he whispers in my ear, his warm breath trickling over my skin and doing strange things to my insides.

“
Thanks,” I reply quietly, giving him a small private smile as he pulls his chair closer to mine and rests his hand on my thigh. Suddenly my entire body is alight with memories of that one night we slept in the same bed together in the guest room at his house.

I pick up one half of his sandwich and begin eating it. After I've taken a few bites he lifts up his bottle of water, takes a sip and then hands it to me. His eyes are blazing down on mine, seeming even bluer than usual as I drink from his bottle.

In an effort to escape the intensity of his stare, I turn my attention to Caroline. “By the way, w-what w-was that note you wrote to Alex in class earlier?”

Caroline and Alex both eye each other and laugh.

“
Nothing gets past you does it Flo? The quiet ones are always the most observant.” Alex grins.

“
I just told him to quit picking on poor Joshy about his new hairdo,” Caroline explains, “since he probably feels less manly without his bleached locks, you know like when dogs come home from the vet after being neutered. I might have also mentioned that he probably had to get it cut because that skank Ingrid gave him nits. Upstairs and down.”

I sputter a few drops of water from my mouth, laughing. “I didn't know you h-had the inside scoop on the intimate relations of the in crowd, Caroline.”

“
Oh yeah, I'm just fascinated by their STD exchanging activities.”

Alex snickers, watching Caroline with amusement. Perhaps he's finally realising what an interesting and funny person she is. She might not be exotically beautiful like Layla, but she has a cute kind of appeal, with her short auburn hair and dark eyes. The two of them quickly enter into a discussion on the kinds of STDs Ingrid and company might have contracted, as well as
how
they might have contracted them, pointing
out individuals currently seated at the “popular” table.

I'm listening in morbid curiosity until Frank's hand brushes back and forth over my thigh. “Will you come and eat with us at the house after school today?” he asks quietly. “It'll save you having to make your way over later on for the project meeting thing.”

“
Sure, I'd like that,” I tell him, just before the two of us burst into laughter at a scenario Alex is currently describing about a snobbish friend of Ingrid's called Maria and a can of coco-cola. I actually have to make a conscious effort not to break out in a mad blush. Caroline adds a few details onto the story, and I momentarily wonder if her strict mother knows the kinds of things that go on in that innocent looking head of hers.

The stare Frank gives me is intense, considering the current topic of conversation. I know he's eager for us to begin a sexual relationship together, it just makes me incredibly nervous to think about it. I simply smile at him and get lost in watching the flames lick at his shoulder. Flames only I can see.

Later that day Frank helps me into the passenger seat of the van, while Alex, Kevin and Benji hop into the back. I lean my forehead against the window, tracing shapes into the steam as it builds up after the heater kicks in. The weather is slowly moving into winter territory, getting colder and more damp.

It seems that the teenagers who live in Chesterport take the town's beauty for granted. It's not like the city where I grew up. Tribane is full of buildings and not much else. Here there are trees lining almost every street, they shed their leaves in varying hues of red, yellow and orange. Most of the time the weather is mild and sunny, with some rainy periods that make for great days to sit in with a good book.

Up until Dad's arrival, Gran's house was a haven of security for me, well, at least it seemed like it was before I knew she was making shady deals with evil witches. On the whole though, Chesterport is synonymous with Frank, and that's why it gives me a warm and tingly feeling inside. I love how it feels like I don't have to care about anything when he's around. I always feel safe with him near, even if he does have a demon lurking inside of him.

After we've gotten back to the house and had something to eat, Hayley pulls me aside for a private word. Frank raises his eyebrows at her questioningly, but he doesn't ask her what she wants to speak with me about.

“
I wanted to put a proposition to you,” she says, as we stand in a corner by the staircase out in the hall. “Well it's a bit of a job offer, of sorts.”

“
A j-job for me?” I ask her with interest.

She smiles warmly. “Yes honey, a job for you. Now tell me if it's not something you'd be comfortable with, but I was wondering if you'd like to put your – special talents to use.”

I'm dumbstruck for a moment, then I reply, “You mean, the way I can see auras...and stuff.” The “and stuff” refers to the fact that I can actually manipulate a person's emotions, positively and negatively. I have only used this ability once in my life to achieve a negative effect, and that was when I'd wanted to make a witch fear me in order to keep her from murdering Ross.

“
Every Thursday after closing time the bookshop holds private psychic nights. We have two psychics who currently do readings, one uses tarot cards to predict the future, and the other is a medium who makes contact with the dead. I thought that adding your unique skill set to the pot would be a good way to shake things up a bit. What do you think?”

“
Um, what would I have to do exactly?” I can't say I'm not interested, especially since it was only today that I was thinking I need to find a way to make some money.

Hayley steps closer and puts her arm around my shoulders. “Don't look so nervous honey. All you'd be doing is sitting down and talking to people, having a look at their auras and telling them what you see. Sometimes people just want someone who can tell them what they're feeling so that they can make sense of their own emotions. You'd get paid for every client you take on.”

I think about it for a moment. I'm really not much of a fan of psychics. I used to watch this guy who does a show on television about contacting the dead and I could always tell that he was a fake. But perhaps there are genuine mediums out there, perhaps it's only the showbiz types who are conning people. Small town psychics might be genuinely interested in helping people for a small charge to keep them ticking over.

“
Okay, I'll t-try it for one night and see how it goes,” I tell her, eager to make her happy. I like having Hayley's arm around me, she has this kind of motherly warmth about her that soothes me.

“
Brilliant, you can bring Frank with you if you like. I know he'll probably insist on it anyway. Between you and me, I don't think he believes in the psychics that we have at the shop, he thinks they're con artists,” she shakes her head as though indulging Frank's cynicism. I don't know, my opinion would probably be in line with Frank's to be honest. But it can't hurt to give the whole thing a try.

“
What did Hayley want?” Frank asks as I step into the large living room to join him. Caroline has just arrived for our group meeting. For a moment I get caught up in admiring Frank's biceps flexing just beneath his short sleeved t-shirt. He's lifting a coffee table and moving it closer to one of the couches, for writing on, I presume.

“
Oh she wants me to do some readings at the book shop this Thursday for some psychic night thingy.”

“
You're psychic Flo?” Caroline asks curiously, pulling a folder out of her bag.

“
Um, kind of,” I'd completely forgotten not to talk about being an Empath in front of Caroline. She's far too inquisitive.

“
So, what can you do?” she probes. Crap.

I look at Caroline for a moment before venturing to answer her. “I just s-study auras, that's all.”

“
Auras? Like those things that we're supposed to have around our bodies that we can't see?”

“
Yeah, um, it's something I've been doing for a long time. I've learned it over the years.”

“
That's really cool, how unusual,” she exclaims.

Alex gives me a knowing smirk, but I just shake my head at him. The less Caroline knows about all of us the better. She's a good person and all, but I don't think she'd be able to help herself not to tell someone.

A minute later there's a knock at the door and I volunteer to go and get it, which is odd because I know it's going to be Josh and Ingrid. I might not have mentioned this yet, but despite the fact that both of them make me feel like shit at times, my inner Empath wants to heal them.

Ingrid puts on the bitch act, but in her dark pink aura I can see her insecurity, her selfishness born of a need to be perfect and adored by all. I also noticed that she was actually hurt by what Alex said to her today about dressing like a slut. But mainly she was hurt because she's grudgingly attracted to him, I picked up on a few dashes of red in her aura.

Alex is very good looking, but he dresses too alternative to ever be acceptable for Ingrid's high standards. Her friends expect her to be with guys who wear Fred Perry shirts and expensive boat shoes with their chinos. Guys like Josh. I've rarely seen Alex in a
clean
t-shirt, never mind a designer one. His long hair is always messy and he's got a lip ring. No, he's not Ingrid's usual type at all.

And then there's Josh, a bit of a conundrum really. He's basically the male version of Ingrid, except he's got a lot more issues bubbling up inside of him. His emotions and his actions tend to be at loggerheads, he'll say something mean to me but then feel guilty about it. Or he'll put on a confident and superior front, while his colours will show me self-consciousness, frustration and inferiority.

Normally people's stories are obvious to me, and Josh is no different. He comes from money but his dad treats him badly, perhaps because of work stress or because his son isn't living up to his expectations. I imagine the abuse is mainly psychological, though it could be physical too. Sometimes it's hard to tell if it's one or the other or a combination of both.

“
Hello,” I say with a small smile as I answer the door to them.

I'm determined to be polite, even though they probably don't deserve it. The problem with being an Empath is that you'll tend to feel sorry for the people who cause you pain, because you can see that there's a reason for the way they treat you. It's the same with Dad. I try to hate him for what he does to me, but then from time to time I'll see his pain and self-hatred, which he uses substances to help him to forget, and I'll just want to take it all away for him.

Ingrid shoots me a hostile look and pushes past me, walking right into the house like she owns the place. Josh hovers at the doorstep, appearing uncomfortable.

“
C-come on in,” I tell him, looking at his aura to find that he's wary of being around Frank and Alex on their home turf. I try to reassure him when I say, “Nobody's going to bite your head off so long as you keep your s-s-smart comments to yourself. You do know it's your mouth that gets you into trouble most of the time, right?”

“
You sound just like my father, Flo,” he looks down at me disdainfully. Being only 5”4 means that people generally have an advantage over you when it comes to height.

“
He s-says stuff like that to you a lot?” I ask inquisitively.

“
Mm-hmm,” Josh mumbles, sticking his hands in his, yes you guessed it, chino pockets and finally stepping into the house. He takes a look around the front hallway. I close the door and he turns back to me.

“
Hey, do you remember that thing you did for me before, the, um, meditation thing? Do you think you could do that again?”