He shakes his head. "No, I had no idea." He pauses for a minute to think. "Maybe I didn't need to have a vision, because you were going to have one and stop anything bad from happening."
I shrug. "But I'm not Kassy's protector. Wouldn't you get all of the important visions for her?"
Alexa steps in. "I think you're both her protectors." She looks at Gavin. "Maybe when you were given the assignment for Kassy, the council didn't see that she already had one. El isn't exactly on their radar or I’m sure someone would’ve reached out to her a long time ago. She kind of just showed up out of nowhere," she says, sounding intrigued by the situation.
Gavin nods his head, agreeing with her musings. "I guess it would make sense why I haven't really had to do anything to protect Kassy yet. Aella keeps getting there before me." He looks at me with admiration, causing a hidden blush to creep up my neck.
Kassy's voice breaks into our discussion, laced with concern. "So, if El is the one who is going to have to fight off my demons, then it's probably not too good that she hasn't finished developing, right?"
"Basically, we are going to have to really start focusing more on you discovering and mastering your abilities, El," Alexa says, sounding sorry but determined.
I tuck my hair behind my ear, feeling even more freaked. "How am I going to do that, guys? I have school every day during the week and so does Kassy. What if Thrane shows up there? He has before."
"You'll have to take a break from school, Aella, for yours and Kassy's protection," Gavin says next to me.
"I just started though. I'll fail my classes."
“I can still go to school right, Gavin? You can keep following me around there while El trains and she can pass along any visions she may have?" Kassy asks, completely desperate.
He tips his head at her.
She grins and turns back to me. "There, El. You can practice your abilities here during the day while I'm at school and I'll bring all of your work to you so that you don't fall behind for 35
now. Almost everything is online anyways.” She places a hand on my shoulder, trying to reassure me. "It will all work out. You’ve never let me down."
I slouch and roll my neck, to ease the stress kinks. "All right, let's do it then."
Alexa pulls her phone out. "I'll call mom and tell her that you girls are going to stay with us for a while." I stop her with my hand out before she wanders off.
I shake my head. "We can't do that, Lex. Thrane will just find us there and I don't want him to bring trouble to your mom or your grandmother."
Gavin clears his throat, making us all turn in his direction. "The three of you will stay here. I have plenty of room and the house is very safe and secure. It just makes the most sense since you'll be using my gym every day." He avoids eye contact with me, looking shy, which only makes him even more adorable.
Alexa claps her hands together in excitement. “Woo! Vacation!”
Kassy bounces up and down. "I’ve never been on this kind of vacation, but I'm more than cool with it.”
Gavin watches the two crazy girls with amusement in his tired eyes. I didn’t notice before, but something about him seems off. Under his eyes, the skin is dark and unhealthy looking and his smiles don’t reach the heights I’ve grown accustomed to. His shoulders lack their usual strength as well.
Kassy turns to Gavin and he sits up straighter. “I just hope it's okay if Liam can come see me here, and we'll have to tell Mr. and Mrs. Henderson."
Her mention of our landlords makes me start to freak out again. I flip my hair behind me and run to the window. It hasn't started getting dark yet. "Guys, I almost forgot!” I turn to Alexa and stutter, trying to rush my explanation. “We n-need to work on my vision memory too because I always do that after a vision.”
I address Gavin this time. “I remember that before Thrane goes after Kassy and I, he kills our landlords, the Hendersons." Tears start to build up in my eyes at the image of them that pops up in my head. "Thrane must've gotten to them before we got there. We have to go right now and make them leave so that he can't find them!" I shout, feeling panicked.
He stands up tall and comes over to me, untucking my hair from behind my ear. "Hey, don't worry, I will go over there right now and get them away from the house." he says, looking right into my eyes and soothing my fears as his fingers send tingles through my cheek and neck.
He looks at his hand and then pulls it back abruptly before he turns to leave.
36
I stand there, feeling that chill that always hits me when he walks away. I wipe the tears away from my eyes and turn to Kassy who has a few of her own. She gives me a softer hug this time and then speaks to Alexa.
"What's for dinner, Lex? We need to feed the teenage boy.” she says in her unique way that makes everyone forget their worries. Almost.
Alexa lets out a deep breath and shakes her head. "Let's go raid my brother's fridge. It’s practically ours now too." She grabs our hands and drags us both into the beautiful kitchen. She leans into me and whispers. "Gavin will take care
