Authors: Sharon Sala
Tara blinked back tears as she poured the water into the coffee maker and turned it on.
That’s been a long time coming, but I’m proud of you.
Tara sighed. The whisper in her ear was from the only motherly figure she’d ever known. Millicent was a spirit who never bothered to show herself beyond a puff of pink smoke, but she was always Tara’s backup.
Henry popped in beside Tara and gave her a ghostly hug before ricocheting off the ceiling and rattling the back door, just to let her know he thought she rocked the house.
It was enough to lighten Tara’s mood, and by the time she finished her cereal, Pat was downing his second cup of coffee and heading out the door with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to eat on the way to work.
“Have a good day honey, and I love you.”
“You, too, Uncle Pat and I love you, too.”
Just like that, the fuss was over. Tara was about to get dressed for school when the phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hey, girlfriend, wanna ride to school today or are you breaking out the ark?”
Tara laughed. BFFs were the best, especially BFFs like Nikki Scott. “You are too funny, and I would love a ride to school.”
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
“Fifteen? Yikes.”
Nikki laughed. “Sorry. I have to drop my sisters off at the gym for early basketball practice, so it’s now or never.”
“Now, and I promise I won’t keep you waiting.”
“Great. See you in a few,” Nikki said.
Tara hung up, rinsed her cereal bowl and left it in the sink as she ran to get dressed. Ten minutes later she was standing in front of the bathroom mirror, eyeing her jeans and her orange Oklahoma State University sweatshirt. She smiled at her reflection. OSU rocked.
Because of the weather, she pulled her hair back in a ponytail, which then left her with nothing to hide behind. That used to be a big deal, but not so much anymore. The older Tara got, the more comfortable she was in her own skin. Still, if she squinted just a little and turned her head to the left, she thought she looked a little bit like Angelina Jolie, who was her all-time favorite movie star. But not because Angelina was beautiful—because she adopted children no one else wanted.
A quick slash of lip gloss and she was good to go. When Nikki drove up a couple of minutes later, Tara was standing on the porch with her raincoat on, the hood pulled up over her head, and her book bag on her shoulder.
Kiss kiss.
Tara stifled a grin. Millicent was definitely in mother mode this morning, giving her a kiss goodbye.
“As if you ever stay behind,” Tara muttered, and made a mad dash into the downpour to Nikki’s SUV. “OMG
. . .
the rain is cold,” she said, as she quickly shut the door behind her.
Nikki’s two younger sisters were in the back seat, giving her the once-over. They knew from Nikki that Tara was psychic and were suitably impressed.
“Hi Tara,” they said in unison.
Tara glanced over her shoulder and smiled at them as Nikki drove off. They looked like different versions of Nikki, all with long dark hair, almond shaped eyes, and that beautiful skin, compliments of a mother who was part Native American.
“Hi, you guys. So you have early practice, hunh?”
Rachelle nodded and Morgan rolled her eyes.
Tara laughed. “Better you than me. I can’t walk and chew gum at the same time, let alone dribble a ball and run.”
“I wish I was as tall as you and Rachelle are,” Morgan said. “I’d be the star on the team.”
“You guys aren’t through growing. Give it some time,” Tara said.
Morgan rolled her eyes. “I’m not holding my breath. Look at Nikki. She’s the oldest and she barely made it past five feet.”
Nikki frowned. Her height was a sore spot with her, especially because her younger sister, Rachelle, was already five feet, nine inches tall and still growing. “I’m almost five feet, four inches, thank you very much.”
“Which means you’re only five feet, three inches,” Rachelle said, and then giggled.
Tara couldn’t stop smiling. She didn’t have siblings, and this family banter was endearing to her, although she could tell from the look on Nikki’s face that she wasn’t nearly as impressed with her sisterly duties.
After they dropped the girls off at the gym, they headed back across town to Stillwater High, talking about boys and school as they went.
“So, are you and Flynn getting serious?” Nikki asked.
Tara shrugged. “I don’t know. We don’t talk about serious. We’re just having a good time together.”
Nikki nodded. “That’s smart. We’ve got our whole lives ahead of us, right?”
Tara thought about college. “You said you were going to OSU. What are you going to study?”
“Haven’t decided yet, have you?”
In my last life, I never learned to read.
Tara blinked. She should have known Millicent wouldn’t stay absent for long, especially when they were talking about boys. Millicent did love the opposite sex.
“No, not yet,” Tara said.
You could read palms. You’d be good at that.
Tara stifled a snort, which Millicent detected.
It was only a suggestion. Oh look! Hunk alert at three o’clock! Oops! He’s in trouble.
Tara glanced out the window and to her horror saw some stranger had Flynn backed against the wall of a building. From the looks on their faces, they were close to coming to blows. Within seconds, she was nauseous from the dark energy and knew this was connected to the trouble she’d been sensing.
“Nikki. There’s Flynn. Pull over, quick.”
Nikki turned off the street into the parking lot of the quick stop, as horrified as Tara had been by what was happening to Flynn.
“What do we do?” Nikki asked.
“Honk the horn!” Tara said.
Nikki gave the horn three sharp blasts.
The stranger turned, obviously startled by their arrival and darted off into the alley between the buildings.
Nikki honked again and motioned for him to get in.
Flynn didn’t hesitate as he ran through the rain and got into the back seat the Scott sisters had just vacated.
The darkness came with Flynn, leaving Tara struggling not to throw up her cereal as Nikki took off out of the parking lot.
“What was that all about?” Tara asked.
The hood of the poncho Flynn was wearing had slipped off when he ran, soaking his face and hair to the point that he appeared to be crying. He swiped angrily at his face and ignored her question.
It has something to do with his father, and oh my, he smells good. I remember men’s cologne. Once upon a time I—
Tara frowned.
Oh for Pete’s sake, Millicent. Not now.
She heard a huff and then a pop. She’d ticked Millicent off, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t be back. However, this thing with Flynn and the bad guy at the station was beginning to make sense. Flynn’s father had cancer and was dying—but he was also in prison. Was the bad stuff she’d been sensing for so long actually connected to Flynn, or to his father
. . .
or maybe both?
She twisted in the seat until she was facing Flynn, only to find he wouldn’t look at her.
“Are you alright?” she asked.
His hands were knotted into fists. “I’m fine,” he muttered. “Thanks for the ride. The rain sucks.”
Tara, being Tara, persisted. “Who was that man? Was he trying to rob you or something?”
“Let it go, Moon Girl. It has nothing to do with you.”
And just like that, Tara’s feelings were hurt. She glanced at Nikki, who shrugged and made a sad face in sympathy for the way Flynn had dissed her.
They were silent the rest of the way to school. No sooner had Nikki parked than Flynn was out of the car.
“Thanks again for the ride. See you later,” he mumbled, and made a run for the door without waiting to walk Tara in like he usually did.
Tara’s heart hurt, but the really awful part was that the moment Flynn left the car, the sick feeling went with him. OMG. Was it possible for a girl to become allergic to her boyfriend?
“Maybe it embarrassed or just scared him and he didn’t know what to say,” Nikki said.
Tara shrugged. Her feelings were hurt and she wanted to cry, but not in front of Nikki. “Maybe, but you were a sweetheart to stop like that and pick him up. I didn’t think that I might be involving you in something bad.”
Nikki threw a hand up in the air, as if dismissing the incident. “Pfft, I gave two of my friends a ride to school this morning. Nothing bad about that.”
Tara sighed. “Well, it was a lot to me, and I really appreciate it.”
Nikki smiled. “I’ll see you at lunch. In the meantime, don’t let the enemy see you sweat.”
Tara laughed. Nikki Scott was good for her soul.
“You got it, girlfriend.”
Nikki high-fived her. “Now that’s what I’m talking about. Are you ready? You do know we’re gonna get wet no matter how fast we move.”
“LET’S DO THIS!” they squealed, opened their doors in unison, leaped into the downpour, slammed the doors behind them and headed across the parking lot to Stillwater High on the run.
They were still laughing when they ran through the front door. Coach Jones was on hall duty. Tara liked Coach Jones. He was one of the really cool teachers here.
“Good morning, ladies,” he said, as they shifted from run to walk.
“Good morning, Coach,” they echoed, dripping water as they made a beeline to their lockers.
“So, see you at lunch?” Nikki said.
Tara nodded. They parted company, each heading to first hour with a load of books and an acceptance that they wouldn’t be free of this place for the next eight hours.
The hall was full of kids just as wet as she was, most of which were talking at a Wi-Fi pace. The hall sounded like it was full of clucking chickens. She kept looking for Flynn as she walked, but didn’t see him anywhere. Okay, so he would certainly have been frightened by what had happened, but his reaction to her concern made no sense. What kind of a girlfriend would she have been if she’d ignored the whole thing?
It’s about money and his father.
Tara jumped.
For real?
For real. His father hid something
. . .
money I think, that also belongs to that man and his friends. They all found out he’s dying, which means he won’t be getting out to give up the location. The hunk is in big trouble. They’re going to try to get to the father through the son.
What do I do?
YOU do nothing. You tell Flynn to tell the coppers.
Tara rolled her eyes
. It’s cops, not coppers.
She heard a pop, which meant Millicent was gone, but it was no big deal because she’d reached her classroom. Thanks to Millicent, at least now Tara knew what was wrong. She just didn’t yet know what to do about it.
As usual, there was a rush to get into the room before the last bell rang. The floors were slick from the water dripping off clothes and shoes and she was hurrying. One minute she was upright and the next thing she knew her feet were in the air. This was definitely going to hurt.
Only she never hit the floor. Just as she began to fall, she felt hands beneath her elbows and suddenly she was back on her feet.
“Oh my gosh,” Tara said as she turned to thank her rescuer, but all she saw was the back of a very tall guy in a long black poncho walking away. “Hey!” she yelled.