“Don’t you trust me?”
I looked at him over my shoulder and winked. “You’re the one who told me I didn’t know who I could trust, Chay.”
He rolled his eyes and chuckled. “Whatever.”
Chay was right. His cousins were there to help, but his uncle gave us ice cream cones for checking on him, so it was worth the trip. Jeff was right. If I hung around Uncle Stewart too much, I was going to gain fifty pounds—all in ice cream.
When halftime was over, Chay decided to spend the rest of the game teaching me the finer points of football. He pointed at the players running back and forth on the field. I tried to listen and learn all the different plays and rules he explained, but by the time the game was over, I didn’t know any more about how the game was played than when I got there.
But I did know I liked it when Chay leaned his head down to mine, when I felt his breath skim across my cheek as he talked. I liked the warmth of his thigh against mine, and the smell of his cologne swirling in the air when he gestured with his hands and pointed at the players. Yeah, I learned a lot of things, none of which were related to football.
The best thing I learned was that I loved how it felt when he took my hand in his and laced our fingers together. He didn’t ask, and it wasn’t awkward. Chay just picked up my hand, looked at it for a beat, threaded his fingers with mine, and continued explaining the game.
Jen looked at us with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged a shoulder. I had no idea what the hell was going on in his head. But secretly, I relished the feeling that not only was he holding my hand, he also didn’t care who saw.
We were all having a great time, talking, cheering, joking—and for once, our team was winning. It was wonderful until my stomach started to twist. I ignored it.
It’s just all the junk food I ate. It’ll go away. Please, let it go away.
But when my head started to pound and a fine sheen of sweat covered my face, I couldn’t hide it any longer.
“What’s wrong?” Chay whispered in my ear.
“Nothing.” I bit the inside of my check. If Chay hadn’t sensed I was going to have a vision, it must not be anything bad—so I lied.
Not now. Please, please, not now. I’ll just wait it out. I’ll be like a woman in labor and breathe through my pain. Except I don’t know how to do that. Shit! My stomach is on fire.
“A vision?” His mouth was so close to my ear that I felt his lips moving.
“No,” I whispered. It was the only thing I could manage to say in a somewhat normal voice. He still hadn’t sensed my vision. He was just guessing. I could wait him out. A pain shot through me like an arrow. I bent forward and lay on the tops of my thighs, my arms wrapped around my knees.
“But it’s coming.” This time it wasn’t really a question, and his blue-green lasers burned into my eyes.
“Mm-hmm.” My breath came in small pants. It felt like someone was sitting on my chest. I couldn’t get enough air, and my lungs burned.
“Let’s get down before it hits. We’ll go to the ice cream truck.” He helped me up.
“What’s wrong?” Jen asked. Muriel leaned forward in her seat and looked at me.
“Vision,” Chay mouthed. “We’re going to get some ice cream,” he said aloud. The people around us must’ve thought I lived on ice cream.
We climbed down the bleachers and had just rounded the corner when I doubled over and threw up on the ground.
“I’m so sorry.” My face burned from embarrassment.
“It’s okay.” Chay ran his hands over my hair and gently held it back. “C’mon, let’s get to my uncle.”
We barely made it to the ice cream truck when the vision hit me full force, knocking me backward into Chay.
Sulfur. Heat.
I could smell the sulfur. It was as if the source of the stench was in the truck. It burned the back of my throat and stung my nose.
“Could I have something to drink, please?”
“You can have whatever you want, darlin’,” Chay’s uncle told me. “Whatever you want.”
“What do you see, Milayna?” Chay popped the tab on a Coke and held it out to me.
“Nothing really. I smell sulfur, and I feel heat. But I don’t see anything yet.” I took a big drink of Coke.
Football field. Lily. Hobgoblins.
“It’s going to happen here. I see the field. The stands are empty. Lily.” I spat her name; it was so repulsive to me.
“Okay, Evils, what else? Demi-demons?” Chay rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand.
I shook my head. “I don’t… how do I tell?”
“There’d be a group, like ours.”
“I don’t know. It’s gone. Can’t you tell? Aren’t you getting a sense that there’s danger?” I looked at him and took another drink of my Coke. The carbonation bubbled back up, and I hiccupped. “Oops, excuse me.” I let out a giggle and felt my face warm.
“Even your burps are cute,” Chay said with a chuckle. “Anyway, mine aren’t as reliable as yours. You’re sure the stands were empty?”
“Yeah.”