Seasons of Ferne, Summer's Passion

Chapter 22

But it was working now, and it was working better than she had hoped.

At first it was only the normal waves of emotional sensations Evelyn felt, something she had finally began to grow accustomed to. But the more she concentrated on the officer, the clearer those emotions became. What was once nothing more than physical sensations that had to be understood and interpreted, such as tickling pins or sharp stabs, was suddenly becoming the actual emotions themselves.

For the first time ever, Evelyn was actually feeling what someone else was feeling. It was at once the most terrifying and intriguing experience she had encountered since developing her abilities. Coming from the man was a mixture of impatience and worry, accompanied by just a little frustration. He didn't want to be there, he wanted to be out with his co-workers searching for something, or someone. The man's impatience was the most palpable thing, Evelyn could tell he felt as if what he was doing was wasting precious time.

The flood of emotion, along with the information she was able to convey from it, was almost overwhelming. Evelyn found herself gripping Brandon's arm to keep herself from falling over as her head began to spin. Nausea welled up in her stomach, threatening to relieve Evelyn of her breakfast. Closing her eyes, Evelyn forced herself to close down her senses, dulling her mind to the assault of sensations that attempted to send her crashing to the ground.

"Are you ok?" Brandon whispered, wrapping his arm around Evelyn's waist before she could fall.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be ok. Just need a second." She said, leaning against him. Already the nausea and dizziness were fading, but she noted that the gem around her neck had warmed to the point that it almost burned her skin. Evelyn just hoped it wouldn't start to glow in front of the officer.

"Evelyn Jensen?" He asked as he stepped up to the pair.

She nodded, forcing a small smile. "Yes, that's me."

He nodded. "I'm Officer Dawson, I need to ask you some questions about two of your classmates. Jessica Williams and Derek Jameson."

"OK, what about them?"

"I understand you know them fairly well?"

Evelyn nodded. "I've known Jessica for years, we're not exactly friends. I don't really know Derek. Never talked to him."

"I'm told you've had some altercations with them recently."

Evelyn chuckled. "I've had problems with Jessica since I've known her. We don't really get along, so she tries to make life hard for me."

"And most of the issues recently have been with me." Brandon said, stepping slightly past Evelyn.

The officer turned to Brandon. "And what's your name?"

"Brandon Chase, sir." He said, holding out his hand.

The officer looked down at Brandon's hand but didn't take it. "And what sort of problems have you been having with them?" He asked, taking out a notebook.

Brandon shrugged. "No problems on my part. From what I can tell, Derek just doesn't like me dating Evelyn. He's tried to start a couple fights with me, but nothing big."

"What kind of fights?"

"The high school kind." Brandon said with a hint of annoyance.

"I'll need more details than that." The officer said calmly.

"He's pushed me around in the hallways and locker rooms, knocked things out of my hands, that kind of stuff. Like I said, nothing big."

"And you haven't done anything in return?"