The Clairvoyant

Twenty-first | 56 days, 22nd hour

Cane hid quietly on the foot of my bed, his ears tucked neatly below his paws from the continuous thunderstorm. He hid his ebony tail under his belly, and as I scratched the back of its neck, it purred lovingly at me.

Then all of a sudden my phone, which was just beside him, buzzes to his fright.

Cane jumps up, panicking, but I soothe his fur and take the phone in my hand.

“’sup?” The cranky voice on the other line begins as soon as I place it on my ear.

“Hi, Audrey, you sound cranky.”

“I can’t believe Cain’s being such a b***h right now,” She replies nonchalantly. “I mean, he’s going on and on about how to ask you out. What did you tell him? Ask your hand in marriage?” She laughs evilly, and I can hear music pounding on the other side.

I roll over on my back, placing the book I was reading on my bedside table. “So why’d you call? To tell me his plans of asking me to be his girlfriend or because you’re just really bored?”

I don’t mean it in a harsh way, but it comes out that way.

“To tell you about my boyfriend who’s soon to become an ‘ex’.”

I feel Cain crawling over to my pillow. He snuggles just in the middle of the bed and pillow, meowing as he does.

“Colton? Why? What did he do?” I ask, half concerned and half worried I’d crush my cat to its untimely death.

Moving to the other side of the single bed, I watch the kitten fall into deep slumber.

“Well, last night we were eating dinner like always, then all of a sudden his phone starts ringing in the middle of the date.” I remember when Cain did that too, not that we were eating dinner though. “And then he’s still on the phone by the time I’m done eating. And when I ask him who it is, he won’t tell me!”

“Maybe it was just his relative,” I answer, taking a book in my hand a flipping through the words at random. “Or maybe his mother. Maybe it’s family secret or whatever that’s why he won’t tell you. Or a surprise for you.”

I can hear Audrey snort over the line. “Dude, Colton’s family is like, in New York.”

What’s he doing here then? “Well, maybe it’s from work?”

“I doubt it,” She sighs heavily, and I do too. “I can’t believe he just won’t show it to me, you know? I mean, aren’t I his girlfriend? I have every right to know, don’t I? Dude, are you even listening to me blabbering nonstop?”

“Believe me,” I pinch Cane’s ear and he jerks away. “I’m listening.”

“So Colton’s like, ‘let’s just go home for tonight’. And then he’s sending me home, right? But then when we get home, he won’t even give me a kiss!” She screams into the phone, my ears suddenly blaring from her sudden yell.

I put a hand over my other ear, squeezing my eyes shut.

I think I’m going deaf, I think aloud as Audrey says, “I think we’re gonna break up soon, don’t you think? Then it’s final. You definitely can’t answer Cain until we patch things up.”

“Ah,”

“Ah?”

Grinning from ear to ear, I sigh deeply and begin laughing like an i***t.

“That’s the whole reason why you called, huh? To tell me not to answer him so long as Colton and you are still fighting, right?” I chortle, and Audrey’s gone eerily quiet over the phone. “Why didn’t you just say so?”

I hear Audrey begin laughing. “It’s not fun when I tell it to you straight away.”

“I don’t really see the point in prolonging the topic though,” I smile to myself, even though my words sound harsh. “Besides, if he’s really not paying attention to you, then I suggest you do the same. Make him come after you, you know?”

“That’s not gonna work,” She replies sadly. “He’s not that type. He’ll just wait for me to come back like a puppy. Whatever, you just have to seriously promise me you’re not going to answer Cain until Colton and I fix this problem.”

I give her a nod. “Yes, yes, I promise.”

“Good.”

“Good.” I repeat tiredly. “So are we done talking?”

“Man you need to fix that conversation skills of yours,” Audrey sighs over the phone. “The next time I call, you can’t go on and on about not wanting to listen, Stel. You have to listen to my problems – that’s what friends do.”

“Yes ma’am,” I think about how Chey can do this to her friends.

Listening to their problems for endless of ours, rack your brain out as you listen on and on about names you’ve just heard – you can’t even say any of your opinions since, either way, they’ve already made up their mind.

You can either change their idea, or not change their idea at all.

“So anyways, there’s this awesome boutique I want to check out, and you should totally come.” Audrey begins a new topic, as if the one before it wasn’t enough. “It’s got cool skirts and dresses, and lovely vintage accessories.”

The word ‘skirts’, ‘dresses’, and ‘accessories’ hits me.

I feel myself drooling as if it were food.

Glancing at my closet, I slowly pinch the bridge of my nose and say, “Yeah, I think I’ll go with you. I think it’s high time we buy clothes for summer, you know? Not that I’m saying we should do it right away.”

“What about next week, or the week after that?”

“I don’t really know,” I mutter, flipping through the calendar on my bedside table.

“What about tomorrow?”

Seeing the red big circle on my calendar, I shake my head.

“I can’t. I have to go to the office tomorrow.” I mutter, shaking my head and then facing Cane who’s already fast asleep on his side of the bed.

“Office? What does Cain’s dad want from you?”

“Something about my grades.”

Audrey gasps. “Are you failing?”

“No.”

“What did you do? Cheat on an exam?”

“No.”

I can imagine Audrey’s confused expression right now, and a small laugh escapes my lips.

“Hey! Don’t laugh! I’m genially concerned here! What did you do, Stel? How come he’s looking for you?”

“He just wants to talk about my grades,” I answer her as if I hadn’t done that just a while ago. “That’s just it. I haven’t more to say.”

“Then you definitely must tell me tomorrow what happens, okay?”

“Yes ma’am,” I give a mock salute and hear the door bell ring. “Look Stel, someone just came home, and since I’m home alone today I better go answer it.” I mutter, swinging my legs off my comfy warm bed.

Audrey snorts on the other line. “Can’t you just answer the phone while talking to me?”

“What if it’s a kidnapper, Audrey?”

“More to talk to me while opening the door,” She laughs.

I roll my eyes and jump down the flight of stairs. I can see Chey’s long brown hair on the frosted glass window and begin unlocking the chains. “So who is it? How come you’re alone? Why didn’t you tell me to come over?”

“It’s my sister, and they all went their own separate ways tonight.” I reply, clicking the door knob then turning it over. “I didn’t tell you to come over because… well… I don’t know. Last time I saw you, you were in the student council.”

And then as I opened the door, a gasp left my lips.

“Stella? You okay?” Says Audrey over the phone.

“Hey Aud, I’ll call you later, or tomorrow okay?” I breath in the phone as my sister pass beside me, greeting me a good evening and telling her she brought over a friend. “I have a guest coming in right now.”

And before she can even ask ‘who’, I push the uncall button and cross my arms over my chest.

“I think it’s really time for me to go home,” The guy says nervously, his eyes switching from mine to my twin sister’s back. “And it’s really late. Your parents might come home any minute, and it’s not appropriate for a guy.”

Chey sighs heavily, then finally gives the guy a kiss on the cheek.

I raise my eyebrow. “Are you seeing her?”

Chey gives a hearty laugh. “We’re just friends!” She squeals with that usual cheeriness in hers, mistaking my grumpiness with the usual grumpiness I have every day at this time of the night. “Chill Stella, I can handle myself thank you very much.”

“Why this guy though?”

My sister slaps me on the back. “You’re such a critic!” She beams as if nothing’s wrong.

“Yeah, a critic.” I mutter, now glaring at the guy.

“So yeah, this is good night! Thanks for walking me home,” Chey hugs the guy, her chest hitting his and he topples backward a bit as if unprepared. She laughs again, as if she found this funny. “Oh, you’re so funny Blake.”

The name rings in my ear, I roll my eyes at the closeness of the two. “Yeah, funny.”

I close the door right in his face as my sister runs up the stairs. When she’s gone, and I know she is, I open the door and still find Blake leaning against the wall. His foot’s up, and he’s crossing his arms looking rather cool.

“What’s the meaning of this, Blake?” I demand as soon as I close the door.

Blake just raises his hands up, surrendering. “I didn’t know she was your sister, Stella.”

“What do you mean you didn’t know!” I scream into the night, and Blake tells me to hush up.

I stomp my foot at him but he doesn’t recoil. “Is this your plan after Audrey and the guys went into your hideout, Blake? Getting my sister’s attention so you can use her later for your evil schemes? I didn’t know you were like this at all, I can’t believe you.”

“Stella, I swear, I didn’t know she was your sister,” Blake begins, eyes turning into daggers.

“Then since you know already, get out of my face and don’t come back!”

“Stella?”

We turn our heads and see Chey looking at us weirdly. “What’s wrong?”

I punch my fists into my jacket pockets, brushing past her. “Nothing,” I mutter, wanting to literally punch Blake in the face right now.

“That’s not nothing,” Chey begins softly, looking at Blake. “Did she do something?”

“Me? Something?” I find my voice rising. This catches me in surprise, and apparently it does the same to my twin sister. “Chey, you don’t even know him. You just met him today, and you’re taking his side?”

Chey frowns right away. “I’ve met him since the other day, Stella. Since we bought Ian’s cat.”

I remember how that was already past a few days ago.

Heck, it’s been half a week already.

“I’ll just go,” Blake mutters, pushing himself off the wall. “Sorry to disturb you.”

“You really weren’t a disturbance,” Chey calls out, smiling at him. When he’s gone already, his back a shadowy figure in the dark, Chey eyes me with anger in her eyes. “That wasn’t nice, Stella. You can’t just randomly shout at a guy I’m seeing. You don’t even-“

“Don’t tell me I don’t know him,” I snap, pointing at her. I stare into her eyes and we’re doing this little challenge in our mind on who’s right and who’s wrong. “I know him, and I know him more than you do.”

“Don’t point your finger at me,” Chey retorts.

She pushes past me and into the kitchen, and I follow after her, slamming the door behind me. “Chey, you don’t know how dangerous the guy is. I’m telling you it’s not a good idea to see him. You have lots of other guys out there, Chey!”

Chey suddenly bangs her hand on the table, causing the small flower vase to rattle. “But he’s different, Stella! He treated me differently, kindly even! He doesn’t know me as Regis High’s Cheyenne leBlanche!”

I bite my lower lip, realizing how wrong I was at saying that she has other guys. I know my sister better than anyone else. As I love clothes and accessories and dresses, Chey loves a guy who doesn’t see her as others do.

She’s always dating guys randomly, but she rarely ever sees a guy who really likes her.

These kinds of things, they're really important to her.

Already at a loss for words, I quickly storm up the stairs, stomping my feet.

“Stella, come down here and talk to me!” I hear Chey scream.

But I just pause on the top of the stairs, not turning back. I think about how Chey is seriously beginning to like Blake – even though she says they’re just friends. The idea doesn’t really settle in with my stomach so I scream, “I don’t want to talk to you!”

I shut my door with a loud bang.

Seconds later, I hear stomps up the stairs, and another bang just beside mine.

Slowly sliding down the door, I look up at my ceiling, unsure what to do.

Shit, I think, fishing my phone out of my pocket and seeing a message from Cain popping out of the screen. He’s bidding me a ‘good night’ but I don’t have it in me to reply at all and just throw it on my bed, not far away from Cane.

Oh s**t, I panic, banging my head against the wooden door.

I can’t believe this is happening.