Arcadia's Gift(42)

She didn’t look very happy, but seemed resigned to let it go for now. Instead, she picked up one of those long candle lighters and began flicking it, watching the tiny licks of flame.
“So, what happened after you gained control over your abilities?” I asked. “Did your parents let you come home?”
“No,” she replied with a sigh. “You see, my father is very…prominent. Back in the early eighties, he built a large technology company from the ground up and it was very successful. By the time I was eighteen, he and Millicent and their kids were like this big happy family where I just didn’t fit anymore. Besides, Father was starting to get interested in politics. The last thing a politician needs is a crazy daughter running around ruining his image.”
“So, what did you do then?”
Jinx inhaled deeply through her nose and let it out with a whoosh through her mouth blowing out the weak tongue of flame. She dropped the lighter back down on the end table. “Honestly? He bought me off.”
“What do you mean?”
“My father set me up with a large trust fund under the condition that I disappear.”
“Are you serious?”
She shrugged with one shoulder. “It’s not like we were close anyway. He worked constantly when I was growing up, and I never saw him. Millicent couldn’t stand me and didn’t want me around her kids. I figured I would just go off and start my own life, so I moved to Dubuque. The end.”
I thought about my own parents and what it would be like without them. Sure, things were strained in my family now, but no matter what happens I know they love me. Whether they would believe that I’m an empath or not is another story. My mother is intensely skeptical about all things that can’t be proven scientifically. My father might be more receptive, but it’s hard to say.
“So, you just, like, live off your trust fund? Or do you work?” I asked.
“I never touch that money if I don’t have to,” she said with a tone that implied that money was tainted. “I live off of my gifts. I’m a life consultant.”
“A what?”
“A life consultant, a therapist. I got my degree in counseling through an online program and now I meet with people who are having problems and give them advice.”
“Lots of people are therapists. Where does the whole using your gift thing come in?”
“I listen to the things they aren’t telling me. It makes me much more effective than a normal therapist. Most people censor their words, only speaking in partial truths. I’m not saying people are dishonest, just selective. My gift enables me to serve them better.”
I shook my head in wonder. Outside the window, I spotted a sliver of moon in the inky black sky, reminding me of the time.
“It’s getting late. I better get home before my mom worries.”
Jinx grinned. “She’s sleeping. Wish I could read dreams better. I’m seeing flashes of a shirtless Hugh Jackman.”
Ew.
I stood and stretched.
Jinx walked with me outside where she bent to retrieve a soggy Shopper Stopper from the ground next to her steps.
“When do we begin?” I asked. “With the whole blocking thing? If I’m going to make it through high school, I have to find a way to ignore my classmates.”
“I don’t have regular work hours. I work by appointment only, and I always go to my client’s homes. If my car is in the driveway, I’m home.” She inclined her head toward a newer model VW Beetle parked a few yards away. “Feel free to stop by when you have time.”
I gave one last wave to Jinx before she turned to go back inside, and I headed home.






 
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Chapter 19


After school the next day, I fumbled with the dead bolt lock on my front door. I was already inside, but couldn’t get my key out. Lony and Aaron never had trouble with this lock, but for some reason, it just didn’t like me.
The muffled sound of Florence + The Machine began playing on my cell phone in my backpack. I let the keys dangle and dug it out.
“Hello?” I answered, still concentrating on not breaking the key off in the door.
“Cady? It’s Bryan. Is this a bad time?”
“No. I’m just getting home.”
With a hard tug the key gave way, smashing my elbow against the wall.
“Son of a —!” I censored myself just in time. I held the phone in the crook of my neck so I could rub my funny bone. “Ouch!”
“Are you okay?” Bryan asked. “What happened?”
“I’m all right,” I groaned. “No big deal.”