I walk over to her and tilt her chin up, so I can look into her eyes. She keeps her eyes down. “Ryanne, what’s wrong?”
She doesn’t respond. I walk backward and sit down on the edge of the bed, so I am closer to her eyelevel. I pull her so that she is standing between my knees and tilt her chin, so she is looking at me. With a sigh, she tells me, “I can’t do this. I can’t be that girl. I can’t do what everyone expects me to do. I’m not the prophecy girl, Colton. It’s not me.”
“Ry, you’re—”
“Colton, I’m scared all the time. I’m scared that I’m going to wake up one morning and find out that I imagined everything. I’m scared that something or someone is going to come and take you away from me. I’m scared that Dravin’s going to capture me again. I’m scared that this is all one freaking dream, and I’m scared that I’m going to screw up and let everyone down. I’ve been given way too many chances,” she pauses.
Silent tears start to fall down her cheeks. I cup her face and wipe the tears away. “The girl in that vision was completely fearless. She wasn’t scared that they were going to capture her. For crying out loud, she was calling them dumb and complaining that it was too easy. I wouldn’t do that. I get the crap beat out of me every time I see Dravin. There’s no way I can be that girl in the vision even if I wanted to be,” her voice cracks at the end. “I’m afraid that something is going to happen to me, and I won’t get to have the life I saw in the other vision.”
I pull her to me and hug her. She sighs and bunches her hands into the fabric of my t-shirt. “Ryanne, you’re the most fearless person I know. You go into these situations thinking about others and that makes you stronger than Dravin. You can accomplish anything you put your mind to, as cliché as that sounds. I’m scared too. I’m scared that something is going to happen to you. I’m scared that you’re going to be taken away from me, and there will be nothing I can do. I won’t be able to control what I do if that happens. I need you here beside me. We can work on this together.”
She leans back and looks at me. She has stopped crying, but her face is red from it. I stop rubbing her back and reach up to wipe the last of the tears away. “Really?”
“Yes, and I’ve seen you appear fearless. When you were at Dravin’s, you were acting just like the girl in the vision. Though, I didn’t like it, it showed how strong you are. You weren’t afraid of him. You can do this. I, along with everyone downstairs, will be right beside you to help in any way that we can.” She slowly nods and reaches up to rub her eyes. When she looks back at me, the skin under her eyes is red, but she looks adorable. Her eyes are brighter than usual; the green flecks in them shining brightly.
“Thank you, Colton,” she whispers as she steps away from me and goes over to grab her training clothes. My eyes follow her as she gathers everything and walks into the bathroom to change. I don’t look away until she closes the door. I push myself over to the dresser and grab my training clothes. I quickly get dressed and wait for her to finish.
Ryanne opens the bathroom door, but she doesn’t walk out immediately. I can hear her moving around in the bathroom. She walks out of the bathroom as she is tying her hair up in a ponytail. Even pulled back, her hair falls down to her mid-back. My eyes slowly move from her eyes to the rest of her. I really do need to get her other work-out clothes. These reveal way too much. They cling to her like a second skin, and she has no idea the effect she has on everyone.
She doesn’t look like all the other mage girls. She’s doesn’t have the height that they have, and she has curves which attracts the attention of all mage guys. David and I don’t think anything of it because we both went to a public school and were surrounded by humans, but not everyone did. Most mages grow up surrounded by other mages. However, we’re still guys, and Ryanne is very attractive.
“What?” she asks me. I flick my eyes away from her body and back to her eyes. Her cheeks are stained red. Ahh, that is even more attractive.
“Ryanne, what did you mean when you said you were scared that you won’t get to have the life you saw in the other vision? What did you see?” I know that she is referring to the vision she had in the backyard when I touched her.
Her blush darkens a little as she takes a step toward me. She doesn’t look at me as she says, “I saw us.”
“Us?”
“Yeah, us. Together. The vision took place about eight years in the future.” There is more. I reach out and tilt her head, so she is looking at me.