“Jesus,” I whispered. I could almost picture those inconsolable infants, suffering from a fate they didn’t deserve. And their parents, floundering for a way to help.
“Dan and Joyce put up with it for about six years.” Charlie lowered his hand. Stared down at my sheets. “They listened when the boy told them about his waking nightmares of old people having strokes, of young people getting into gory car accidents, of children drowning in canals. They told the little girl’s teachers that she suffered from seizures and heart murmurs which sometimes made it seem as if she had no pulse. But the knowledge that they had done this to their children began to eat away at them until they couldn’t even stand to look at the twins anymore.”
Here he leaned forward to place his elbows on his knees. He spoke to the floor, hurrying through the rest of his story. “Dan called his brother, Victor, and told him everything, practically begged him to take the kids if only for a week or two. Victor agreed to help. It was obvious his brother needed a break and he had some vacation time, so why not? The twins were on a plane three days later. Before they left, their parents assured them that it was temporary, they’d all be together again soon, and they were still loved.”
He seemed so genuinely hurt; it made my eyes sting. I reached out to touch his back. He stiffened but didn’t shy away from my touch.
“When Dan and Joyce called Victor to ask for an extension, he hesitantly agreed. He hired a temporary nanny to help with the kids while he returned to work. But then three weeks turned into two months and two months into six and six into a year.”
Charlie took a deep, shuddering breath and forged on. “All of the twins’ things were shipped to Victor’s apartment. Letters and checks started arriving in the mail, short excuses from Dan and Joyce, funds to help Victor raise their children. When the nanny was driven away by the girl’s strange condition and the boy’s angry outbursts, Victor hired a doctor to care for them full time. The doctor was paid handsomely for his services and discretion. To protect the girl from the scrutiny of outsiders, she was kept indoors. And the boy…”
An ugly chuckle. “The boy was allowed to come and go as he pleased, if only to create the illusion of freedom. But there’s no such thing for the cursed. There never will be.”
We sat in silence for a while. He kept his head bowed. I kept my hand on his back. The monitors beeped. The rain fell.
“That’s the worst story I’ve ever heard,” I finally said.
“Isn’t it?” Charlie sniffled and drew an arm across his nose.
I rubbed his back, a lump of anger and grief lodged in my throat. I didn’t know if I believed him just yet, but one thing was for certain: I hated seeing him like this.
“You want some Jell-O?” I asked, reaching for the nurse call button.
“No. It’s okay.” His voice was surprisingly steady. When he lifted his head, his eyes were bloodshot but dry. “Thanks.”
I took my hand back. Charlie sat up. We stared at each other for a long time. He seemed to be waiting for something or maybe bracing himself for something.
“So you saw me getting beaten up?” I asked. “Because I was going to die?”
“Yeah.”
“But I didn’t die. You got to me before that, made sure I was brought to the hospital.”
“Yeah.” He tugged on his earlobe and lowered his gaze. “I yelled really loud during the vision and my uncle heard me. He’s the one who called the ambulance.”
“What happens to you?” I rolled my wrist. “During your visions, I mean. Do you pass out?”
Charlie nodded.
“And, when you’re caught in a vision, are you there with the person dying or are you kind of floating on the ceiling and watching it all happen?”
“Both.” At my raised eyebrows, he added, “It’s different every time.”
“Your sister—”
His entire body grew tense, like he was waiting for me to punch him.
“She has all of my same injuries?”
He relaxed. “She did, but she’s healed now. The only thing left is the memory of the pain.”
I shivered and hugged myself. That didn’t sound any better. “It’s so damn cold in here,” I said to cover it up.
He frowned. “None of this freaks you out?”
Of course it freaked me out. But if he hadn’t intervened I’d be dead right now, so why should it matter whether I was freaked out or not?
“Death is a vengeful bitch. That doesn’t surprise me. The fact that she has the power to make people miserable ain’t too surprising either.” I chuckled. “The fact that she’s actually a real entity is surprising but not improbable. That I would meet the only guy on the planet who has bigger issues than I do is the real shock. Then again, I’m on heavy pain meds so I might not be thinking clearly.”
“You didn’t answer the question,” he said.
“Yeah, it freaks me out.” I shrugged. “But so does the future, and the possibility that there’s a God, and whether the government is really spying on us through our smart speakers. But you ain’t seeing me shrinking away from those questions. They’re a part of our lives so we deal with them when they come.”
Charlie tilted his head to the side. “You think Alexa is a government spy?”
“I don’t know. That’s why it freaks me out.” I placed a hand over my chest when it felt like a vice was tightening around my lungs. I was breathing too hard.
“You all right?” he asked, sitting up.
“The point is...” I took a second to catch my breath. “I’m not gonna…stop being friends with you…just because you have an ability…that scares me a little.” I smirked at the blank
