"I understand. I get it, Sam. You've been through hell, and now you're worried about Tommy. None of us will ever understand what it's been like for you. You saved us all from that fate and now you have to live it alone. I'm so sorry." He touched my hand briefly, then pulled back, as if unsure how to offer comfort without stepping into something more than friendship.
"I'm glad no one else has to experience this. And everyone has been very supportive. It's not so bad." Even as I said it, my heart cracked open, and a sob escaped.
All of the fear and anguish and loneliness and misery poured out of me. I hadn't cried since Ana had been born, not wanting to saddle her with that emotional baggage so soon, but this awful fear for Tommy and his mother released all my pent-up grief.
Darren reached across the seats and put his arms around me, using his powers to keep the car steady, and I turned his shirt into a wet mess of tears. He didn't speak, didn't tell me to stop crying. He just let me be until my sobs turned to hiccups, and I could finally breathe again.
I used my sleeve to wipe my eyes. "This is embarrassing. Maybe I should've come alone. I'm clearly not sane enough to be around other people."
He wiped the hair out of my face. "That's why you shouldn't be alone, Sam. You need your friends."
A familiar tension built between us, and it scared me. "Darren, we are friends, and I'm so grateful. More than you could know. But that's all I can be right now. Please understand."
He smiled, his hazel eyes full of compassion. "I'm not going to lie, Sam. I've had a crush on you since we were kids. If we could ever be something more, I want it, but now is not the time. Just know that I'm here for you, as a friend, or... more."
His strength and warm presence tempted me, but my heart wasn't mine to give away. Not anymore, and maybe not ever. Still, I had no idea he'd felt that way for so long. Suddenly all the little things in our past presented themselves in a whole new way—the time he'd shared his lunch with me when Mary had splattered mine into my lap, the way he'd always shared school supplies in class. We'd never talked much, so I didn't know him well, but he'd been a steady presence in my life since kindergarten.
I'd always thought of him as a kid, but the man sitting before me gave me a new perspective. Neither of us was a kid anymore, and for better or worse, the dynamics of our relationship had changed. I didn't know what to say or how to respond to his declaration.
Before I could come up with something, a vision slammed into me.
'Sam! Sam! Help me, Sam! They're coming for me. Sam!'
Tommy called for me, but I couldn't see him the way I sometimes saw the other kids—one of the new powers the Seeker had given me. I only saw a ball of light that represented Tommy.
'Hurry, Sam. I don't have long.'
"Sam, what's going on? What do you see?"
"It's Tommy. Someone's coming for him. We have to hurry."
He pulled his arm away and clutched the wheel. The car lunged forward. "Do you know where he is?"
"He's close, or was. We need to keep an eye on the road."
Haunted trees cast strange shadows in the headlights, their normal beauty taking on a sinister glare. Monsters seemed to lurk there in the dark.
My stomach clenched in fear and future grief. Whom would I mourn tonight? For evil stalked me, and I wouldn't face the morning unscathed.
Twenty minutes later, the flicker of dying headlights by the road confirmed my fears. "Stop!"
Darren slammed on the brakes. Before the car could even settle, I flew out and ran to the side of the road, using our own headlights to navigate the treacherous terrain.
"Sam, slow down. We don't know what's down there."
But I knew. Her mind, slow and sluggish, called to me.
'Sam, they took him. You have to save my baby. Please.'
"Darren, help me. She's in the car!"
The car had toppled down a steep embankment and landed on its side. Darren used his telekinesis to pull off the driver's door and lift Mrs. Beaumont out.
I cried, feeling helpless and scared. "Where's Tommy? Darren, find Tommy!"
"Sam, she's the only one in there. I'm sorry." He laid her on the pavement next to us and called 9-1-1.
I sat by her, holding her hand, while her chest heaved in unnatural rhythms and blood gurgled from her mouth. Something had partially smashed her face in. "Just hold on. Please, hold on. Help will be here soon."
A tear, laced with blood, trickled from the corner of her eye. She couldn't speak, but she could think. 'Men in black ran us off the road. Took Tommy. Save him. He needs you, Sam. Please.'
"I will. I swear it. I'll find him." The grit of the road bit into my knees as her blood soaked my hands. More blood. I'll never be free of the stains.
In her final moments, her mind burst open, showing me everything about her life—Tommy, and her ex-husband, the pedophile I'd exposed on my last assignment. She'd already seen the monster in him, and had been ready to act when I came. She knew about my para-powers long before I went public, and had contributed the large donations that had helped me and my friends reestablish ourselves once we'd all escaped Rent-A-Kid. I owed her so much.
With her dying breath, she passed the care of her son into my hands.
My bloodstained, shaking hands.
Chapter 82 – Drake