Masquerade (Heven and Hell #1)(81)
Author: Cambria Hebert

“What!?” she exclaimed.

I shook my head, “Sorry, you startled me.” It was a pathetic lie.

“My goodness, you about gave me a heart attack.” I stared at her even when she moved away.

What’s going on?

There’s a huge ring of color around her. It keeps changing.

Are there colors around me?

No.

Anything else?

No.

Sam glanced at Grandma and moved to sit at the table next to me. “I brought some movies with me. I thought maybe you might like to watch them today, if you don’t have plans, that is.”

“No plans,” I said and then turned to Grandma, who sat down across from us. “Would it be okay if Sam hung out for a while?”

“That’s fine dear. A movie day is just what you need. And I won’t feel guilty for leaving you alone to go to the store.”

Sam palmed a few movies that I hadn’t even noticed and stood, pushing in his chair. “Thank you for the muffin and coffee, Mrs. Montgomery.”

“You’re welcome, Sam.”

I stared at Grandma as the colors around her shifted some more.

Come on, Heven.

I stood, grabbing my coffee. I felt sluggish and tired. Sam took the mug from me and led me into the family room where the TV and DVD player were. He went about sliding a movie into the player, and I settled on the couch, pulling a blanket over me. When he turned around I slid the sunglasses up over my head. What’s happening?

Looks like we just discovered the supernatural ability that Airis gave you.

We did?

You can see people’s auras.

Did that even count as some sort of supernatural ability? It wasn’t particularly exciting. And it wasn’t that useful. Sam settled down on the sofa next to me, and my first thought was to curl up in his lap and lay my head on his chest. But then Grandma banged a pan in the kitchen and put an end to those tempting thoughts. With a sigh I settled for scooting a little closer and laying my head on his shoulder. With one hand he pressed some buttons on the remote, and the movie flashed on the screen. I didn’t notice what he put in because his other hand was busy slipping beneath the blanket to slide his fingers through mine. I closed my eyes and sighed, thinking that maybe if I went to sleep, when I woke up my headache would be gone and there wouldn’t be a ring of colors surrounding my grandma. Except I couldn’t sleep. As exhausted as I felt, my mind wouldn’t shut off and leave me alone. It was annoying.

Questions plagued me. If I really could see auras then why didn’t Sam have a ring of color around him? Would I be able to see colors around everyone that I looked at? That was going to be extremely distracting. How was I supposed to walk around school and not let on that everyone was glowing? I felt like such a freak; first the hideous scar and now this. At least this was something that no one else had to know about. And how was I going to explain at school tomorrow where my scar went? I couldn’t possibly tell the truth.

And what about my eye sensitivity? When would that go away? Wearing sunglasses 24/7 just wasn’t an option. I guess I could–

Stop.

Sam’s demand brought me out of my swirling mind. What?

Stop worrying. We’ll figure it out.

I can’t, I have too many questions.

Then let’s get some answers.

How?

He hit the pause button on the remote, and I looked over at the TV, noticing the movie for the first time. How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days?

He shrugged, “You’ve seen it?”

“Sure. Have you?”

He shook his head. “It looked like a girly movie, and I thought it would make you happy.”

I smiled. “You’d sit through a girly movie just for me?”

“Yes, although, I actually think it’s kind of funny.”

“Let’s finish watching it.”

He shook his head. “Later. We have something to do.”

“We do?”

“Go offer to go to the store for your grandma. I’ll drive you.”

“I don’t know if I want to go out…”

“Wouldn’t you rather learn about what you’re seeing today at the grocery store with me instead of at school tomorrow?”

“Totally.” I tossed the blanket to the side and tugged his hand as I stood.

We went into the kitchen where my grandma was reading the newspaper. I stood there a minute trying to get a handle on the colors that circled around her. The brightest, most dominant color was blue. I watched in fascination as other clouds of color in green and purple floated around her. Sam squeezed my hand, and I cleared my throat. “Grandma, if you give me your list I would be happy to go to the store for you.”

She looked up from her paper. “I thought you had a headache.”

“The pain reliever you gave me really helped.”

“Well, good. But I still think you should rest.”

“I really feel fine, and you do so much for me. I really don’t mind. Getting out for a while might be nice.”

“You’ll drive her, Sam?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“All right then.” When she walked across the room the colors went with her. She pulled out a list and some cash. “Here you are. Make sure that you pick up something for dinner tonight. Sam, you are welcome to join us.”

I leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Grandma. I love you.”

She smiled and the colors around her flared a shade of pink. Somewhere inside me a voice told me that the color of pink stood for love. “Love you too. Don’t stay out too long.”

Sam waited downstairs as I went to change out of my PJs. As I dressed I couldn’t help but feel the irony. Just last week I would have been thrilled to go out in public without my gross scars, and now that I could, I was too nervous to enjoy it. I was afraid that Sam was right and that I really would see everyone’s aura. It made me feel like I was still a freak, just in a different way.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Heven

The parking lot at the grocery store wasn’t crowded. I was incredibly relieved because I was already shaking. From the minute we’d turned onto the busy street I was assaulted with too many bright colors. Everywhere I looked there were people exploding with different hues, so much so that my head began to pound all over again. It was sensory overload to the tenth degree.

Sam parked the truck and turned off the ignition, but made no move to get out, instead turning to look at me.

“How am I supposed to process all of this at once?”