Muriel’s words were shoved away and pain, swift and sharp, took their place. My stomach scraped together like someone punched through my gut and scrubbed my insides with sandpaper. My breathing became ragged and shallow, my head pounding in rhythm with my heart.
The sights and sounds around me moved in slow motion. Muriel spoke, but I couldn’t understand her, her voice too deep and slow. It sounded like she was underwater. What’s going on? What’s happening to me?
I gripped the armrest on the car with one hand and wrapped my other arm around my stomach. It felt as though someone were drilling holes inside me. I ground my teeth together against the pain.
Muriel continued her story, maneuvering her car down the street toward an intersection. The light was green, and we inched toward it.
I knew something was going to happen—the same feeling I’d had at the park rolled in the pit of my stomach. Licking my lips, I tipped my head forward so my hair created a curtain between Muriel and me. I didn’t want her to see my eyes darting back and forth and the sweat beading on my upper lip.
A yellow car was on our right. The driver talked on her cell phone, and a baby slept in a car seat behind her, its thumb dangling from its lips. A blue minivan merged into the left turn lane on our left. We all sped closer and closer to the intersection.
A red car. The stoplight.
I saw it. Not with my eyes, but in my mind. I saw what was going to happen. My breath rushed out of my lungs, and time sped up around me.
“Muriel, watch out for the red car!”
“What red car?” Muriel looked to the side.
“It’s gonna run the stoplight.” I pointed to the left.
Just as I said it, the red car came into view. Muriel slammed on the brakes. We lurched forward before the seatbelts snapped us back against our seats. The car whizzed in front of us, narrowly missing the yellow car.
I covered my mouth with a shaky hand and watched the car as it sped out of sight. A shiver ran down my spine.
We could have died! What the hell…?
“Whoa! That was way too close.” Muriel let out a shaky breath and looked at me. “How did you see that car?”
I’d like an answer to that question too. What the freaky hell is going on?
“Where are the police when you need them, huh?” I puffed out my cheeks and blew out a breath.
It was the second time in as many days that I had a vision, or premonition. Whatever they were, they scared the crap outta me.
My fingers squeezed together so tightly that they turned white and began to throb in time to my heartbeat. Sucking in a deep breath through my nose like my mom’s meditation DVD instructed, I forced each finger to relax and straighten. I counted to ten as I let the breath out through slightly parted lips so I didn’t draw Muriel’s attention. I repeated the breathing exercise—deep breath in and deep breath out. My insides that felt as though they’d slid out of place slowly righted themselves, and I stopped shaking.
“Milayna?” Muriel grabbed my arm. “How’d you know that car was going to run the red light?”
Should I tell her how? I don’t even know what’s happening to me! Oh, by the way, Muriel, I can see the future. That’s how I knew about the car. Yeah, she’d think I was crazy for sure. I already feel like I need a padded cell. I don’t need her to confirm it.
“Um—he was coming too fast to stop.”
Muriel narrowed her eyes at me. “I’m just glad you saw him because I sure didn’t.”
“You were just focused on the road, that’s all.” I bit the inside of my cheek and hoped she’d just drop the subject.
Muriel nodded and turned to look out of the windshield.
***
“What do you know about Chay?” I looked at Muriel across the table in the mall’s food court. Pieces of pretzel dropped to the paper wrapper below as I ripped it apart.
Muriel shoved a bite of pretzel in her mouth, mustard dribbling down her fingers. “Not much. Why?” she asked around the blob.
“He saved me from Joe this afternoon before English class.” I scooted my chair over to make room for a lady pushing a stroller to pass by.
“Poor Joe.” She frowned. I immediately tuned her out, focusing on the oldies music piped through the speakers that were spread through the court and hidden behind plants. “He’s such a nice guy, Milayna. You really should—”
With a sigh, I finally interrupted Muriel’s list of reasons I should date Joe. “He is nice, Muriel, but there’s nothing there. About Chay?”
“You like him?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know him. Just curious.”
“Why’d he care about Joe?” Muriel took a sip of her Coke.
“Said he was tired of watching me try to turn him down without hurting his feelings. Then he said something really weird.”
She leaned closer to me. “Yeah? What?”
“He told me to be careful. That they were here for me, or something like that.” I dropped what was left of my pretzel, brushing off my hands.