I slammed my car's door, and walked to the front door of my home. I was pissed, and I had a headache that wouldn't go away: today was a bad day, I could feel it in my guts.
"Hey honey, how was college?" my mother asked, as she walked past me to go in the kitchen. "You seem angry. What's wrong?" she asked, as I sat at the kitchen island.
"I have a headache since this morning, and Alice and I argued earlier," I explained, rubbing my temples.
"What happened?" my mother asked, full of concern as she sat across from me.
"I told her I didn't want to be a nurse anymore, and she got mad because we had plans."
"Plans? What kind of plans?"
"We wanted to finish college and then move in together and find a job in the same hospital. She feels like I'm letting her down, and I don't like it. This is not what I'm doing, I just feel like I want to be a doctor, and be surrounded by children, you know?" I asked my mom, and a smile appeared on her face. "What are you smiling for?"
"You're grown now, Hayley. You're a grown woman who knows what she wants and who makes her own choice, and witnessing that when you're a parent is the best feeling in the world," she explained, rubbing the top of my hand. "Go for it. Become a doctor, save lives."
"I have this party tonight, maybe Alice and I would be able to talk together. I don't want to lose her. It's like she's the only one with who I feel comfortable enough to be who I am."
"But still, she doesn't know about your gift, honey. Maybe you should tell her, I'm sure she would understand," mom reassured me, once again.
"I don't think so, mom. If she's not able to understand that I didn't change my mind about being a nurse to hurt her feelings, do you think she'll be able to understand that I can see the future?" I asked her.
"You'll know that once you guys will talk tonight. If you see she understands, then you know she'll believe you," she smiled again.
I smiled back at my mother's words, ignoring the throbbing pain in my head. I stood up, and gave her a tight and loving hug. But at the moment I took her in my arms, a weird feeling invaded me. I felt a sharp pain in my stomach, like someone punched me, or even like someone shot me. I quickly pulled away from her with terror written all over my face.
"Hayley, what is it?" my mother asked, cupping my face, as I looked at her with widened eyes. "Are you alright?"
"I—I don't know. I'm feeling weird, I—I need to sit down," I said, sitting down on the bar stool my mother was sitting on a minute ago.
"Where does it hurt?"
"My head is spinning, and it hurts. A—And I don't know, I felt a pain in my stomach too, like someone punched me."
"Do you want some aspirin? Did you eat well today?"
"Mom, it's not that," I shook my head, and looked up at her. "I think-- I think it's happening again."
"Honey, what are you talking about?" my mother asked, as she started to worry.
"I didn't see anything, but I can feel it," I said, with a lump forming in my throat. "Something's about to happen... to you," I voiced, getting scared of my own words.
"Honey, I'm fine. Don't worry. Nothing can happen to me, we're safe here."
"You don't understand mom, I feel it. Was I ever wrong about such a thing?" I asked, raising my voice a little as I was getting scared of that weird feeling I had.
"No," she shook her head, and took me in her arms. "But I'll be careful, I promise," she kissed my forehead, and I held onto her tightly. "You go upstairs and get prepared for your party."
"When is dad coming home?"
"He should be there in a few," she said, and shooed me away. "No go make yourself even prettier, and get ready to have a conversation with Alice."
I smiled, and stood up, "Thank you, mom."
Once again, I ignored the headache I had and ran upstairs to my room. I changed my clothes and put a new pair of black high waisted jeans, and a white blouse with some black heels I put with practically everything. After I changed my clothes, I went to the bathroom to look at myself in the mirror and put some cold water over my face. I exhaled loudly, and did my hair and make up.
Doing so, different thoughts came in my mind: what if I was simply becoming paranoid? What if that weird feeling was nothing? What if I was just upset with the fact that Alice and I argued?
Ever since I discovered I had the ability to see the future, I was always careful about the feelings I had. It started when I was much younger, around twelve years old. My grandfather was sick, and nobody knew it but me because I saw him in a hospital bed even before he was told he was sick. Shortly after I told my mother that I thought something was wrong with him according to the flashes I had, he was diagnosed with a lung cancer. And that's when she knew I was special. Ever since that day, I could feel whenever something was wrong with someone I cared for, someone I loved.
As the bathroom's window was open, I felt the wind hitting my neck, which gave me chills all over my body. I finished putting my make up on, and closed the window to prevent the chilly wind to come into the room. I put my hands on the frame, and, at the contact of my skin on the cold surface, images came flooding my mind.
I shut my eyes tightly, as the flashes continued to direct my mind. It was all blurry, and I had troubles to understand everything that was going on. All I could see was a couple of men coming into the house through the bathroom's window. Their faces were covered with ski masks, so I couldn't identify who was hiding behind them.
I shook my head, and locked the bathroom's window, careful to look if nobody was on the outside of the house. Without thinking twice about it, I went back downstairs and called after my mom several times.
"Hayley, calm down, I'm here!" she exclaimed, and appeared in the living room where I was standing. "What is it?"
"I—I saw them. You have to leave the house tonight."
"What are you talking about? Who did you see?"
"There were wearing masks, I—I didn't see their face," I stuttered, panicked. "They were coming through the bathroom's window. Mom, trust me, please. You have to leave the house tonight!"
"And let some people come into my home without doing anything? Hayley, this is absurd!"
"Absurd? Mom, please! You don't get it, it's dangerous!" I raised my voice, more scared than ever.
"What is going on here?" my father asked, as he arrived in the living room with his little suitcase in his right hand.
"Oh God, dad," I said, as I ran to him and hugged him tightly.
Again, at the contact of his body against mine, I felt another sharp pain in my left shoulder this time. Without warning, images of my dad with his hands up in the air invaded my mind. Quickly after, images of a man pointing a gun towards him made my blood run cold.
"Dad, you need to leave the house tonight," I commanded, looking at him straight in the eyes. "I saw them, they're going to kill you both!"
"Baby, what are you talking about?"
I explained him what I saw, and I saw so panicked that it was hard for me to make sentences that made sense. They were confused, both of them. I could easily see this on their face. My whole body was shaking as I told them what I saw, and they had no other choice to believe me.
"How can you know it's going to happen tonight?" my dad asked me, intrigued.
"Because you were both dressed in the same clothes. I saw it. I know it sounds crazy, but please, trust me," I begged with tears in my eyes.
"We trust you," my dad soothed, as he took me in his reassuring arms. "We're going out tonight. Ad you're going to your party."
"No! I want to stay with you," I refused, shaking my head from side to side.
"Hayley Katherine Thames," my dad said in a threatening tone. "You're going. You need that, you need to get your mind off of things. We're going out tonight, we will be safe. Okay?"
"But dad—"
"No buts," he cut me off. "Just do that, and don't drink too much," he said, a laid a kiss on the top of my head.
I looked at my parents as tears started to run down my cheeks. I didn't want to leave them with that horrible feeling I had in my guts. My mind was a mess, and I didn't know whether to listen to them, or not.
"Please Hayley, go have some fun. We'll be out of the house shortly after you, I promise," my mom said, as she stood up from the couch and cupped my face in her hands.
"Thank you for saving our life, now we're safe, baby girl," my father smiled, and hugged me tightly. "We'll sleep at Grams' house tonight."
"Okay," I simply said, as I hugged him back with the same force. "I love you dad."
"I love you too," he answered, and I pulled away. "Bye mom, I love you," I said, giving a hug to my mom too. "Get out as soon as possible," I reminded them, on my way to the front door.
I looked at the both of them once again, as they were smiling and waving at me, and walked out the door.
– – –
"Al, I'm not doing that to hurt you. I'm doing that because I feel like I won't be fully happy as a nurse," I explained for the hundredth time. "Even though I have to stay three more years in college, we can still work in the same hospital and live together."
"But this wasn't how we planned this," she argued, throwing rocks in the lake in front of us.
"I know, but trust me, this is going to work out well. I promise you this," I reassured, patting her knee gently. "I don't want to lose you, Al. You're my best friend, I can't live without you."
"Really?" she asked, a smile touching her lips.
"Really," I verified, chuckling slightly. "Forgive me?"
"Of course, I'm sorry," she sincerely said before taking me in her arms. "I've been a bitch to you. I am so nervous because of finals and stuff. I didn't mean everything I said. You're not the worst friend in the world, and you're not selfish."
"And I'm sorry for calling you a bitch and a dumbass."
"Don't worry, I acted like one," she chuckled, and she pulled away from me. "Now this is over, maybe you can tell me why you're all nervous and weird?"
"Uh, I—I was just afraid you wouldn't talk to me anymore," I shrugged, and half-lied to her face.
At some point in our conversation, I wanted to tell her everything. The real reason why I was so stressed out. But I wasn't strong enough to tell her about my gift, and I was acting out of selfishness. I was so scared to lose her, to be alone, that I chose to lie to her face.
The reason why I was weird was not really because of my headache, but because I was too nervous to even be able to have fun. I didn't belong at this party. The image of my father being shot was the only thing that was haunting my mind.
"You're pale too. Are you sick?" she asked, putting the back of her hand on my forehead to check if I had a fever.
"It's just a headache. I shouldn't have come, but I wanted to see you," I explained, sincere.
"Okay, you saw me, we're cool now. You can leave now, girl. I'll come check on you tomorrow," my friend said, concerned.
"Are you sure? I just got there fifteen minutes ago."
"Yeah, I think I got a ticket with this little cutie over there," she said, nodding towards a blonde-haired guy who stood by the bonfire. "He'll keep me good company, I'm sure."
"Okay. Then I'll see you tomorrow. I'll be at my grandmother's house."
"Okay," she said, and gave me a hug. "I love you, bitch."
"Love you too, dumbass," I snorted, hugging her back.
Just like that, I left the party.
– – –
While I was driving to my grandmother's place, I passed my house, and a chill ran down my spine. However, as I looked carefully, I noticed my parents' car was still in the driveway. I applied heavy braking, and parked my car on the side of the road. In a fast move, I got out of the car, and walked to my parents' car. When I heard the car was running and that nobody was inside, I started to panic, and automatically, I ran to the front door of the house.
When I was in the middle of the stairs, I heard a gunshot.
And then another one.
"Mom!" I shouted, as I was breathing heavily.
I opened one eye for a second before closing it again because of the light that was assaulting my irises. I gave it another try, and opened my two eyes, raising my hand to block the sun from hitting my sleepy eyes. It took me a minute to realize I wasn't home, and I wasn't in my bed. I was at the hospital, in a hospital bed.
"Hayley! Oh my God, honey!" Grams said, as she took me in her arms. "How are you feeling? Are you alright?"
"M—Mom and dad, they—" I stuttered, totally disoriented, as I looked at my surroundings, looking for my parents.
"Hayley, take a deep breath, the doctors will be there in a few, I just pressed the button," she soothed, as I tried to leave the bed. "No, no! You're not going anywhere!"
"I need to see them, I—I need to save them," I said, out of breath, as I was trying to take my IV off of the top of my hand.
"You're at the hospital, honey! Oh my God, you're drenched in sweat," she said, before taking a tissue to wipe my sweaty forehead.
When I looked at her, and saw the worry and the tiredness in her eyes, I stopped fighting. I was finally coming back to reality, and the harsh truth hit my face with force: my parents were gone, I was just reliving that night. I felt every emotion, every detail seemed real. It's like I was there, again.
"What am I doing here, Grams?" I asked, as I looked at my surroundings, as tears gathered in my eyes.
I didn't know in which part of the hospital I was, as I didn't recognize the room I was in. The rays of the Californian sun brightened the room, but this was in total opposition with what was inside my head: darkness. I didn't remember what happened to me, or what was the last thing I did. It's like I was brainwashed, and I felt like I could barely remember my own name.
"W—What happened?" I asked her again, as my grandmother's silence started to get me nervous.
"You blacked out, a—and your colleagues didn't find what was wrong with you," she finally answered in a shaky voice, rubbing my hair back.
"I blacked out—but why?"
"That's the thing, nobody knows why it happened. You were healthy, and—and your vitals were good. But you've been out of it for five whole days honey."
"F—Five days? I don't get it, I—"
"Brit!" a familiar voice exclaimed, and soon enough, Alice was in front of me. "Oh God, girl. What the fuck? You scared the shit out of me! How are you?" she asked, as she was hugging the living hell out of me.
"What happened?" I asked her, ignoring her question. "How did I end up here?"
It's like it was the only question I could ask. I had no idea what happened to me, and this was starting to scare me.
"You collapsed five days ago," she simply said, writing my vitals down. "Carl picked you before you fell down. What's the last thing you remember?"
"That's the thing, I have no idea," I practically whispered, as I collapsed on my pillow. "I don't remember anything."
"Think harder," Alice encouraged, as she took my hand in hers. "So you remember being sick?"
"I—I don't know, I woke up with my head spinning, and I don't know why—I— went to work and my head ached so much, and then I went to meet Mi—"
"Michael Jackson," Al finished my sentence. "Don't tell me you fainted because you fangirled over the guy. It's not your type."
"He left this bouquet of flowers for you," Grams gently said, as she took a little card from a giant bouquet of orange roses.
"He left that? For me? Why?" I asked, confused.
"You fainted just before the guy's eyes, he probably felt bad for it, thinking he was the reason why you blacked-out like this," Al shrugged, as she sat on the edge of my bed.
"Come on, read it," Grams encouraged, handing me the card.
"I'll read it later," I said, as I took my chart in my hands to read what the doctor wrote in it. "My vitals were always good. Why did I end up in a coma?"
"Nobody understands why you were in that state," Alice declared, a kind of uneasiness washing over her. "You're a mystery to science."
Al kept on talking, but it's like I couldn't hear her because of the loud noise my thoughts made. Tons of question ran through my mind when she told me I was a mystery to science. She was right on that. I knew it. If I had this ability, that meant one thing: my brain wasn't functioning like anybody else's.
"Dr. Thames!" a woman in a white smoke cheered with a smile, as she walked into my room, interrupting my trail of thoughts and Alice's speech. "Glad to have you back, I'm doctor Howard."
"Nice to meet you," I simply said, closing my own chart and handing it to her. "Nothing's changed, apart from me being awoken now. My vitals are good, and I feel fine, really. I'm responsive, and my ideas are clear."
"Thank you, Doctor, but I still have to examine you," she chuckled, and put her stethoscope over my heart.
Apart from being kind of dizzy after a five-days sleep full of nightmares, I was physically okay. Of course, mentally speaking, it was another story. Everything in my head was blurry. I didn't understand why I ended up in a hospital bed or why my head was so aching before I blacked-out.
Also, I didn't know why I relieved all of these events, especially my parent's death. All of the feelings I felt back then, all of the sadness, the despair, the anger, the fear when I heard the gunshots... This is what woke me up, as I couldn't bear to witness that all over again.
"Hayley!" Carl called, as he came into the room. "Oh God, are you alright?" he asked, as my eyes were on Alice.
"I'll see you later," she whispered, as she squeezed my upper arm slightly.
Carl looked at her leaving the room with an uneasy expression, before he walked closer to my bed, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make her leave."
"It's okay, she'll come back," I simply said, as Dr. Howard left the room, leaving us some privacy.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, as he looked at my chart, just like I did before. "You seem alright."
"I am," I nodded. "Everything's fine."
"Great," he sincerely smiled, and turned to my grandmother. "We never officially met, Mrs. Thames. I'm Carl, Hayley's boss and friend," he announced, stretching his hand towards her.
"Friend, huh?" she asked, as she shook his hand. "I didn't know you two were friends."
"It's kinda new," I waved a hand to show her it was no big deal. "How are the kids doing?" I switched topic, and concentrated on Carl again.
"They miss you. Tom and Kyle have been asking for you for days," he smiled, and sat on the edge of my bed.
"How's Tom recovering?"
"He's doing great. He'll be out in a couple of days."
"Good. I'll see him tomorrow."
"No you won't," he shook his head, and put on a serious face. "You're taking a week off, Hayley. You need some rest."
"What? No! I'm fine!" I argued, raising my voice. "Carl, seriously, I'm alright. You're a doctor, you can see I'm not lying."
"I don't know what's inside your mind. Physically, you're alright, but mentally? I don't know. You need a break. You've been working non-stop for the past year."
"Because I love my job! Don't send me home, please."
"Honey, he's right. You need a break, to take some time for yourself," Grams reasoned, taking my hand in hers. "One week isn't long, you'll be back here in a heartbeat."
"But I am fine," I whined like a child.
"You look fine, but what happened to you remains a mystery. A bunch of doctors have been working on your case, and we haven't found anything yet."
"We? You're working with them?" I wondered, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm maybe a pediatric surgeon, but I remain a doctor, and I don't like mysteries in science. There must be a scientific reason to this. We've been analyzing your brain scans, but nothing seem damaged. Maybe you actually did fangirl over Michael Jackson," he laughed, and I rolled my eyes.
"I did not fangirl over the guy, it's just that I happened to blackout when I shook his hand, that's—" I stopped dead in the middle of my sentence when something made sense.
"Hale?" my grandmother called, concerned, as she probably saw the confused look on my face.
"I—uh, I need to talk to you Grams," I told her, slightly panicking. "Can you leave us some privacy?" I asked Carl, and he looked as confused as me.
"Uh, sure. Are you okay?"
"I am. Please, go," I told him the nicest way I could.
"Oh-kay," he said, frowning at my sudden change of mood. "I'll come back later. It was nice seeing you, Mrs. Thames."
Carl left the room with a confused expression on his face. His eyebrows were knitted together, and he looked at me like I was hiding something from him, which I was. When he closed the door behind him, I didn't waste a minute to jump out of my bed. My grandmother was telling me to lay down, but I didn't listen, and instead, went to the door to lock it.
"Hayley, you're starting to scare me. What is it?"
"When I was out of it, I—I kinda relived the day when mom and dad died, and-- Grams, I could feel the same way I felt that day. Every emotion, everything."
"What's your point?"
"Everytime I touched them, things happened in my brain, I felt pain, I saw images of them, of what was about to happen to them that day."
"I know, but why are you telling me this?" she asked, as I could read she was afraid on her face.
"It happened again, with Michael Jackson. I—I remember now. I saw him, he's in danger, Grams. He—he's about to go through hell."
"What? H—How would you know? You don't know him, you never met him before! I thought this happened only with people with whom you share a special bond?"
"I thought too, but... It's happening again, Grams. I saw it. He's in danger."
"In danger? How?"
"I saw a lot of thing, I—I'm confused, I don't remember well. I saw him in tears, I saw him angry, I saw his face changing, I saw him aging, I saw him in a courthouse, I saw pills...," I explained, rubbing my temple, pacing up and down like a lion in cage. "And... I think I saw myself."
"You saw yourself with him? You never saw yourself in your visions, Hayley. Are you sure?"
"No--I... It's so blurry. I don't remember, I'm not sure," I sighed heavily. "Grams, it's like I saw his entire life in a matter of fifteen seconds."
"And you think this is the reason why you fell into a coma?"
"I don't think so, I'm sure about it," I corrected her, as I stopped pacing. "It's like my ability was evolving."
"But why with him?" Grams wondered, as she looked at me with confusion on her face.
"I have no idea," I exhaled loudly, as I took the card he left in my hands. Chills ran through my entire body at the contact of my skin with the little piece of cardboard. I sighed heavily again, and opened it, only to find a messy handwritten message, "I hope you'll feel better soon, Dr. Thames. The children and I are praying for your recovery. God bless you, Michael Jackson," I read out loud, and looked at my grandmother.
"This is scaring me," Grams confessed, as I put the note down. "What if you were wrong?"
"I am not wrong, Grams," I declared, as I looked back at her. "It's happening again."
"What are you going to do? This man is almost untouchable, you won't be able to come near him. You can't help him, Hayley."
"But I need to understand, Grams. Why him? Why now? Why is this different from what happened in the past?"
She stayed silent, and looked down at her hands. I was heartbroken to see her so worried about me. I sat down in front of her, and took both of her hands in mine. She looked up at me with teary eyes, and opened her mouth to speak: "You can't go through this again. This is happening for a reason, but if you ignore it, it will probably go away."
"I need answers, Grams. I need to understand why."
"How are you going to do that?"
"First, I need to get out of here, and then I'll think about it."