Blank Girl - (Book One)

Chapter 13 - As Close as You'll Get

"My dad would throw us a joint birthday party in the backyard by the pool. We'd have pizza and ice cream and our friends came over. He's been doing it since we were little." I laughed a little to myself, remembering the happy times.

"Cassie who's "we"?" Michael asked and felt my heart palpitate.

"My sisters, Sia, Helena and me." A buzzing began behind my ears and I rubbed my temples.

"Tell me about them."

The buzzing got louder. "Sia and Helena are, were, twins. They're two years older."

"Tell me about your father."

The buzzing took on a shrillness and my jaw began to hurt. I squeezed my eyes shut and touched the side of my face. I tried to talk but it felt like someone was driving an ice pick in my ear. I felt something wet touch my fingertips and I pulled my hand away. Fear gripped my body when I saw blood. I touched my hand to the side of my head and realized that I was bleeding from my ear. 

"Cassie I need you to calm down." Michael said but he sounded far away, like he was yelling at me from across a football field. A red veil clouded my eyesight.

"Michael, you're going to cause irreparable damage if you push her any further!" Katherine? And she was yelling. It was the first time she had ever sounded the least bit flustered.

Then I saw nothing. The world was dark again, that  familiar black nothing that always tempted to swallow me whole and envelope me. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw something.

It was Greg. He walked straight through the darkness, like it wasn't even there. He grasped my hands and stared into my eyes, reminding me of the beach. The world was silent and still, but we were there on the beach together. Just like this morning when we sat there and gazed at the waves.

-

Slowly the world began to filter back in and I felt a coolness on my forehead.

I heard a panicked whisper. "There's obviously a ridiculously strong mental block up. If we don't take this slowly, she will die. Whoever put that wall up wasn't joking around."

I opened my eyes and groaned. "Oh my head hurts."

"That's understandable dear, your eardrums ruptured. I had to perform a quick bit of work there." Katherine removed the damp cloth from my forehead. I tried to get up but a gentle hand on my chest held me down. "You mustn't get up yet. I'm still checking that I haven't missed anything."

Katherine ran her fingertips across the base of my skull and around my head. After a few moments, she  nodded and held her hands out to help me sit up. I saw Greg lying on the sofa across from me.

Emily piped up. "Lover boy did a bit of quick work too. He dove in with you when you fainted."

"What do you mean?"

"He deflected some of the damage that was being done to you."

"I don't really understand."

"No, I don't imagine you would." Michael said as he folded up a cloth covered in blood. "I was attempting to break a Telepathic wall that has been put up in your mind. I let my own hubris run away with me and delved far deeper than I should have. I became lost in the quagmire of a very dangerous Psychic trap. My son managed to keep you from falling into a coma and Katherine repaired the physical damage quite expertly with her telekinesis, as per usual."

"Cassie," Emily interrupted him, " That's a fancy way of Mike saying he royally fucked up and damn near killed himself and you in the process."

I braced myself for the blow back from Michael. Surely he wasn't the type of man who would allow being talked to in that manner. But, he just hung his head and took a deep shaky breath.

"As much as I am loathe to admit it, Emily is right and I must apologize to you Cassie. My impatience and pride nearly cost you your life. I will endeavor to better myself in the future." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. It was a gesture I had seen Greg do and I guess that's who he got it from. He was about to speak again when Greg came to. He helped his son sit up and offered his hand. Greg shook it and Michael spoke again. "You did well Gregory."

With a final sigh, Michael excused himself and left the library. Greg looked gobsmacked and a little smile played on Katherine's face. Emily started laughing as she walked out. "Well I suppose that's as close to a 'thank you for saving my ass' as you'll ever get."

"I suppose that's enough for today. Michael will want to try again, maybe tomorrow, but we will have certain safety measures in place by then.  Dinner will be at six. Use the rest of the day as you see fit." Katherine patted my hand and gave Greg one more smile as she walked out.

When everyone was out of earshot, Greg looked at me with a cheeky, lopsided grin. "So did I earn another kiss?"

-

Author's Note - This chapter is dedicated to RobinLoverThree for all those AMAZING comments!

I've decided to run a contest in preparation for Blank Girl's 1000th view!

One lucky reader will have a character named after him/her (or someone of their choice) in the next chapter and a dedication.

All you have to do is leave a comment with the following information:

1) Name You Want To Be Used

2) Top 3 Favorite Superpowers

Optional: If you want to write a full bio, GO FOR IT!  Have a certain RL person's appearance in mind for the character? Just tell me who!

One entry per person.

I'll pick the reader, at random, after a minimum of 10 entries.

Don't forget to VOTE AND SHARE!