“Look, you can be angry. You can be confused. What you can’t be is disrespectful, so don’t get pissy. Learn to live the life you’ve been dealt,” my grandma said, sounding nicer but still firm.
“That’s just it,” I whispered. “I have no idea what my life is now.”
I stood, kissed Grams’ cheek, tried to smile in Muriel’s direction, and slowly walked out of the apartment. I hoped I had enough money to take a taxi home because I didn’t want to ride with Muriel. I didn’t even want to look at her.
I heard Muriel yell my name. Then Grams’ soft voice floated after me as I shut the door. “It’s okay, child. Let her be.”
***
I stood outside my grandmother’s senior citizen apartment complex, digging around in my purse for my wallet. A sudden squeezing in my stomach choked the air from my lungs. “Damn it!” I yelled. My head started to pound, and I nearly dropped my purse. Voices screamed through my head.
A woman crying. A man laughing.
Shaking my head to clear it, I held out my arm to hail a cab driving down the street. The yellow taxi pulled to the curb beside me, and I opened the door just as a scream pierced my ears. Jumping, I dropped my purse and slapped my hands over my ears. I looked around; there was no one there. Then another scream came, and my vision began to blur.
A woman in a blue dress. A man in an alley. She screams. He’s grabbing at something— What is it?
“C’mon, kid,” the taxi driver yelled. “I ain’t got all night. Are you gettin’ in or what?”
The vision fizzled away. “Yeah. Just a second.” I took in a big breath and started to shove the stuff back into my purse when I saw her—the woman in the blue dress. She was trying to hail a cab, but several drove past.
She’s gonna leave. Stop her.
The woman turned from the road and started walking toward me.
Stop her.
The vision became clearer. She’d walk down the sidewalk, past an alley. A man would be there, waiting. He’d grab her and… Oh!
Stop her!
“Ma’am?” I called, waving at her.
She looked around. “Me?” she asked when she realized we were the only two in front of the building.
“Yes.” I smiled. “I saw you were trying to get a cab. Do you want to share?”
“Yes.” She took a deep breath. “Thank you. I didn’t want to have to walk to the next street to get one. I hate walking alone at night.”
She asked where I was going. When I told her, her shoulders sagged. “I’m heading in the opposite direction. Maybe you could just drop me at the next street?”
The vision played in my head like a video. It didn’t change. If I gave her a ride to the next street, she’d still meet the man. He’d cut through the alley and grab her on the other side. She’d still be in danger.
My skin prickled. “No, that’s okay. I don’t really need a cab. My cousin is here; I can catch a ride with her.” I stepped aside to let her get into the taxi.
“Are you sure? I feel bad taking your cab.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. You take it.”
“Thank you.” She smiled and got into the cab. “I appreciate this so much.”
“No problem. Have a good night.” I waved as the cab pulled away from the curb. The vision fell away, and the stabbing pains in my stomach eased. The physical relief from pain was always the most pronounced after a vision. Stopping the claws from ripping me apart from the inside out was definitely a bonus. There was also a kind of peace mixed with joy that came after the pain eased. For a short time, I think I felt how it would be if evil didn’t exist in our world.
Muriel walked out of the apartment building just as the cab disappeared down the street. I was digging through the never-ending crap in my purse for my cell phone. Silently, Muriel handed me hers. I stared at it for a few beats. Finally, deciding it was better to use her phone than stand there for the week it would take me to actually find mine, I took it and punched in 911.
“911. What’s your emergency?”
“The rapist that’s been on the news? I just saw him.”
“Where?”
I rattled off my grandmother’s address and told the dispatcher that he was in one of the alleyways lining the main road.
“What’s your name, miss?”
I clicked off the line and handed the phone back to Muriel. “Thanks,” I said. Climbing into Muriel’s car, I turned to look out of the passenger window. We didn’t speak on the ride home.
***
As soon as I got home, I went into the family room where my parents were watching the news.
“You’re an angel?” I blurted, staring at my dad. He looked the same as he had that morning, but so much had changed since then.
My dad straightened and reached for the remote, putting the TV on mute. “Grams said you’d talked. I wish she’d given me a little bit of a heads-up.” He leaned forward in his chair, his hands falling between his knees like he always did when we had a serious talk, but it seemed wrong somehow. Like he was an imposter of my real dad. “Yes, I’m an angel. But it’s not quite that simple.”