The Seer~Part Two

When I got home the house was dark and the door locked. From my purse I took out my keys, found the right one, and inserted it into the lock.

Before you ask, I lived with my parents still. I know, odd for a twenty-one year old, but I was doing community and online college . Plus I pay my parents rent so it wasn't like I was free loading or anything. If you think about it, the only odd thing about it was that I loved home so much I wasn't hot to leave it as soon as I had graduated.

I paused in front of the recently taken picture of my family before going to my room. It featured Daddy and my stepmother, Cindy, standing in the back. My half sister Laura and I were seated in the front.

I sighed, both my parents were probably with Laura right now. She was supposed to have chemo today. I would have gone too but I had needed to go to work as a bank teller, excuse me, customer service representative.

In my room I peeled my wet clothes off. I considered taking a shower but decided against it. Slowly warming up snuggled in a blanket with some cocoa and a trashy book sounded more pleasant than a shower.

First I put on underwear and a sports bra. I couldn't decide on comfy loose sweats, or a slightly more attractive pair of jeans. I put on a kaki skirt which I felt gave me the best of both worlds. Next came a light blue tee. I paused when my hand grabbed the knob of the top drawer. Earlier that day flashed into mind. Ironically, if my hands had been covered, I wouldn't have tried to talk the man out of dying. Which means, because how and when he got on the bus could have changed, he might have lived.

With a painful sigh, I opened the drawer. Dozens of gloves neatly folded up in pairs greeted me. I picked a pair that matched my outfit and slipped them on. They were beige with blue embroidery and went halfway up my forearm.

With a cup of instant hot cocoa in one hand and a Nora Roberts book in the other I curled up on the couch and zoned out. I didn't come out of that position until I heard someone call my name. I looked up from my book, dog earring the page.

"Yes," I answered back.

Daddy appeared in the hall that led from the front door to the living room.

"Just wanted to know if you where home sweetie." He came and sat down beside me. He seemed tired. When he moved, it was like watching a man struggle to move through a thick swamp. His voice had the strained quality all voices have that are forced to sound perky when the person talking is headed towards a mental breakdown.

"I take it, it didn't go so well," I inched close to Daddy and leaned against him.

He rubbed his forehead with his hand. "Laura had to stay in the hospital. They're not sure if she's going to make it." Daddy looked at me, his eyes haggard. From the way they were blood shot, I could guess he had been crying. "I don't know if I could stand if she died too."

I sighed. I knew the feeling.

"The worst part is the uncertainty." Daddy continued. "A part of me feels I should mentally prepare myself for Laura's death, but the other part tells me I should keep hope....." he reached out and grabbed my hands, rubbing them thoughtfully. His brow creased. "Why are you wearing gloves again?"

"I had an accident this afternoon," I said sharply while pulling my hands away. "I won't touch her. She is probably the only person I'm close to who I don't know how she is going to die."

"What about your mother?" my father insisted.

"She's dead."

"I meant you stepmother."

"I said close to."

"Sarah please," Daddy begged. "Even if you see she is to die the next minute, it would be a blessing to know."

I tried to swallow a rising lump in my throat. "No."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I lied.

The next day I found myself in the hospital, talking to Laura. Dear God! how frail a thing she looked. I felt like taking the bandanna off her head, telling her, her lack of hair was a badge of honor. I would compare it with my ability while flexing my bare hands at her. It was something we both had to overcome that was hard for us, but we overcame it any way.

Only I knew that would crush her, and my hands were safely encased in a pair of gloves.

I talked with Laura a good long while, trying the whole time to take one of my gloves off and touch her. I would always make up an excuse, or simply not have the guts to do it.

I jerked with surprise when the alarm from my cell phone went off. Laura smiled while I dug for it frantically.

"One would think they would design a special cell phone space in a purse," I grumbled.

"That's way the pocket on the outside is for," Laura oh-so-kindly informed me.

"This pocket? Well yes, but it is put there so thieves have an easier time stealing you cell phone." I finally found the blasted thing and turned it off.

Laura sighed, her face fallen. "Now you have to go?"

"Yes," I said with a sigh of my own. "I don't want to though." I stayed a moment in my chair, realizing I hadn't touched her. I knew that if I peeled my glove off now and touched Laura she would suspect what I was doing.

On a sudden impulse, I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. Just a simple peck. Done quickly and nonchalantly enough Laura probably wouldn't even think about it.

I broke something sacred.

When I got home, I had planned to go straight to work on an essay I had to write but Daddy stopped me.

"Did you touch Laura?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered.

"So..."

"She lives," my voice choked up and tears formed in my eyes.

Daddy hugged me fiercely. "Praise God!" he cried. He left, looking as if the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders.

I crawled into my bed and sobbed.

I had lied again.