The Empaths (Book one in The Empaths series)

Chapter Seventeen

Friday morning, Lucy woke early again, only this time, she woke in a pool of sweat. Vivid flashbacks of the dream she was having made her quickly flick on her bedside lamp. She could almost feel the water filling her lungs, making her choke.

She sat up and dropped her legs over the edge of the bed, wiping her face with her hands. They came away glistening.

Quietly, she crept out of her room and into the bathroom to find a washcloth so she could wipe her face. The cool water felt soothing against her skin.

"Can't sleep?"

Lucy nearly slipped over as she spun around to face her brother, standing in the doorway. He, too, was drenched in sweat.

She shook her head.

"Me neither," he replied, taking the washcloth from her and running it under the cold water. He put the whole cloth over his face and hair, groaning. "I keep seeing them pull you out of that water." He yanked the cloth down over his face and let it slap against the sink.

"I'm sorry, Jared," she replied, sadly.

Jared smirked and shook his head. "Still apologising for things that are out of your control."

"I know," she said, rubbing her face. "But I do feel terrible for what happened."

"It wasn't your fault, Lucy. You weren't to know that would happen. None of us could have guessed that merely hugging each other could cause something like that."

She nodded.

"Come on," he said, leaving the bathroom, "let's get a drink."

Lucy followed Jared downstairs, nearly running into him at the bottom when he suddenly stopped. Scarlett was sitting at the dining table with her head in her hands, crying.

"Scarlett?" Lucy said, stepping around Jared to run across the room. "Are you alright?" She carefully pulled out the chair beside her and sat down. "Scarlett?"

Scarlett wiped her face and looked up at them. "I'm sorry if I woke you both," she said, her face red and puffy.

"You didn't," Jared reassured her as he sat down at the table. "What's going on?"

Scarlett shook her head and looked at Lucy, placing her hand on Lucy's cheek. "I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw you lying there on that wharf." She squeezed her eyes shut and a tear ran down her cheek. "I've never felt so helpless in all my life."

"It's alright, Scarlett," Lucy said, taking her hand. "I'm fine now."

"But you nearly weren't." She shook her head. "It's my job to take care of you two. Your parents trusted me."

"And they still would," Lucy replied. "What happened last night probably would have happened even if they had been here."

"We should've warned you all," Scarlett pleaded. "We should've explained it better."

Lucy was shaking her head. "You already did warn us. All of you did. We just didn't listen or take the time to understand how powerful we are, that's all." She widened her eyes. "But don't worry, we'll be very careful about any kind of contact in the future." She pulled a face, trying to lighten the moment.

It worked a little. Scarlett made a sound similar to a laugh, but not quite. "I wish your mother was here," she whispered.

Jared reached across the table and took Scarlett's other hand. "As much as we would love to have mom and dad here too, we're glad we have you, Scarlett."

She gave him a sad smile. "Please promise me that you'll both be careful. I couldn't bare it if I lost either of you."

"We promise," Jared answered and Lucy nodded.