See How She Runs (14 page)

The present rushed in around me causing me
to become disoriented. I tried to steady myself, but the roll of
nausea became too much to bear. I ran to the restroom before
tossing up my breakfast. I sat on the floor for a minute, trying to
get my stomach to stop trying to exit my body. Once I finally
calmed myself, I got up and rinsed my mouth and brushed my teeth
before heading back to my room.

“Will it be like that every time?" I asked
Kennan. If I got sick every time I tried to sift through someone’s
memories, that would be one heck of a tell.

“No, I should have told you to sever the
contact. I cut it off and that is what made you sick. I felt you
trying to look through memories that aren’t yours to see. So we are
done for now. You should probably try and get some sleep for a
while." And with that he left me alone.

I knew that I had been wading into memories
he asked me not to see, but him not wanting me to see them made me
want to know what they were. I lay down on my bed with his memories
to keep my own company. I marveled at all of the things he had seen
and I had just hit the highlights. There was so much more. The more
I thought about it though, the worse I felt. I suddenly felt like I
had seen things he probably had not wanted me to see. After all, if
a person wants you to know something, they would tell you. In this
case, I had just pried into his head and pulled out memories that
were not mine to take.

This Seer business kind of sucked. I had all
of these super powers, but I felt guilty using them. My mom and
Grams both always taught me that it was not polite to pry. Yet,
that is exactly what I had just done. I wondered if all of those
warnings were to keep me from maniacally going about the world
sifting through everyone’s memories. I could probably turn a lot of
bad guys in to the authorities.

But then I would have to do the whole,
"Ma’am, how did you know he robbed that convenient store?"

And then I would have to be all, "Well you
see officer, I saw it in his head."

Then they would proceed to cart me off to
the loony bin. So it probably was best for me to not go sifting
where I was not welcome.

I lay on the bed for a long time, feeling
guiltier as the seconds ticked by. So instead of wallowing in my
guilt I decided to get up, put my big girl panties on, and
apologize for trying to barge into memories Kennan did not want me
to see. I opened the door and found him sitting on the couch
reading a book.

“Kennan, I am sorry. I know that I went
poking where I was not supposed to. So, yeah, I suck. Sorry," I
said sheepishly.

“Iz, I get it. You need to know how to do
the whole mind meld thing, but next time don’t push. There are
reasons I don’t want you to sift through those memories. Reasons I
will tell you someday. But as my friend, I need you to promise not
to go there yet." The word friend caught me off guard. More
importantly, it pissed me off.

“Oh, so now we are friends again. Awesome.
You can’t just go throw the friend card around whenever I have done
something to upset you. Because you have been kind of a shit friend
the last few days. Pardon my French." I sat down heavily in the
chair across from him. I felt weird having actually cussed. I was
raised to know better, but sometimes a girl just needed a stronger
word.

Shocked at my outburst, and even rarer use
of colorful language, Kennan paled. He rubbed his face again and
walked over toward my chair. He lowered his massive frame down so
that he was eye level with me before leaning in and kissing my
forehead.

“You will always be my friend, Izzy. No
matter what may come, you are my friend. And yes, I have been an
unmitigated ass to you the past few days. It was just so much
easier when you didn’t know. I could just be your friend and not
have to worry about protecting you or training you. I lived in
denial for so long that now reality is rushing in and I am ill
equipped. So, just let me get my bearings. I will try and be less
of an ass, okay?" He stuck his hand out with his pinky up.

“Are you late for high tea or something,
Kennan?" I asked snarkily.

“No, I am trying to pinky promise you." He
looked serious and I suddenly burst out laughing.

Something about the sight of a man his size
trying to pinky promise finally cracked through all of the other
emotions weighing me down. I laughed for the longest time and the
harder I laughed, the more irritated Kennan’s expression became.
Which only fueled my laughter further. By the time I had composed
myself, Kennan had moved back to the couch and had gone back to
reading his book.

“Okay, I am sorry, but you have to admit
that you looked ridiculous. I mean, when have you ever pinky
promised in your life?" I had trouble imagining such a guy’s guy
ever doing anything as girly as pinky promising.

“If you must know, you used to make me pinky
promise you all of the time. So just shove that in your pipe and
smoke it, smarty pants." He never took his eyes off of his book as
he delivered that little nugget.

“Well, I am pretty sure I was much smaller,
but I will take your pinky promise all the same. You have to know
that a pinky promise is quite binding. Horrible, terrible things
befall those that forsake the oath spoken over the pinky. I am
pretty sure if you start being an ass to me again you might bring
down a plague or a swarm of locusts upon yourself," I said with
mock seriousness. I knew teasing him was probably not the best
course of action.

Suddenly, Kennan was right in front of me
holding out his pinky once more. I smiled barely able to contain my
laughter. Once my eyes locked with Kennan’s, some of my humor
faded. His eyes spoke of a serious vow not to be broken. So, I
hooked his pinky in my own and realized that the feeling was not so
unfamiliar. I wondered what things I had made him promise when I
was young.

“I vow to try and be both your friend and
Guardian. I will try my very best not to be an ass if you promise
to stop doing stupid stuff around me." He looked me in the eyes
like I should know exactly what stupid stuff he was talking
about.

“What stupid stuff? Didn’t you just vow not
to be an ass?”

“I mean the whole prancing about in lingerie
and stripping down to nothing in front of me. You never did that
back in Chicago, why would you do it now?”

“Whoa there big guy. I am pretty sure you
packed those clothes. Second of all, I thought you were asleep."
The second I practically yelled. I would be darned if he was going
to blame me for something that was not intentionally done.

“Fine, whatever, just promise to be fully
clothed from now on." His eyes sparked in a way that made me think
part of him did not want me to promise at all.

“Deal. No more exhibitionist Izzy in
exchange for a friendly non-hostile Kennan O’Malley. Do we have an
accord?" I asked with our pinkies still entwined.

He shook my hand up and down before
releasing it.

“Well, now that is all cleared up." I
cleared my throat in an effort to avoid the giant elephant in the
room. “What next. It is only half way through the day and my mind
is pretty much mush. I don’t think I can do any more mind melding
or anything else at this point. So is there something I can do
around here?”

“Well, we are actually expecting a visitor.
That is what I initially came in here to tell you along with the
apology, obviously," he said as though he guessed my thoughts.

“Who is coming?" I asked, hoping that it
might be Mike. Another familiar face might make things easier for
me. After all, it had just been Kennan and I for the past few days,
and the closed quarters were causing all sorts of drama between us.
A third person would be a welcome change.

“No one you know," he said squashing that
hope. “It is another Guardian. His name is Ian and he is a pain in
my ever loving arse. But, he has some information that might be
able to help us. So, he is headed up here and will be here sometime
this evening. I just wanted to give you a heads up that he is a
bit, well different," he said as if different were the nicest word
he could come up with to describe the guy.

“Alright, I consider myself warned. So, is
there anything I can do to help around here before he comes? Any
food or anything I can help cook? I mean, manual labor is still out
with my feet being all jacked, but I could do some light filing or
something," I said with a glimmer of my old self returning. The
prospect of having another person around to mediate Kennan and I
was exciting. Despite his warnings about Ian, I was looking forward
to meeting another Guardian.

“This isn’t an office, there is no light
filing. Maybe you could clean the bathroom or something?" He looked
at me seriously for a beat before cracking into a broad smile.

I punched him in the arm and was surprised
to feel the weight lift from my shoulders. The past few days had
been difficult not knowing where I stood with Kennan and now we
were at least on even ground. I did not know how long it would
last, but I would take a cue from my mom and enjoy what I had right
now and not worry about what tomorrow might bring. I was pretty
sure if I did not stay grounded in the now, I would go insane. What
with the visions and all.

“Almighty Guardian, if it would please you
for me to clean your bathroom, then how can I possibly refuse?" I
deadpanned before feeling the sudden need to say something more. I
needed to say something that had more substance before we moved
into the land of denial and fluffy rainbow happiness.

“Kennan,” I started hesitantly, “I am sorry
it took me so long to come around. It had to of been hard living
all of those years with no end in sight. So, yeah, that and I am
really sorry for trying to stick my nose where it did not
belong."

Kennan stood up, yanking me with him and
pulled me into his arms. His embrace was a balm to my raw emotions.
I had not realized how frayed I was starting to feel. But I
supposed with the emotional rollercoaster I had been on the past
few days, it should have been obvious. I sighed as I let his warmth
envelope me. I was suddenly struck by how right it felt to be there
in his arms, as if that were the safest place in the world. His
heart beat a soothing rhythm in my ear. He held me like that for a
minute before releasing me and looking down into my face.

“I would have waited another thousand years
to find you. It is more of an honor than you know to protect you.
An honor and a pain of course. We both know you aren’t going to
make this easy on me," he said with a smile that finally reached
his eyes.

Then he let me go with instructions to relax
and read something or watch a movie while he worked. He set about
picking the place up before he went in the kitchen and fixed us
some lunch. The rest of the afternoon passed that way. I read and
relaxed for the first time since this whole thing began, and Kennan
moved around the cabin getting things ready.

*********

FIFTEEN

After dinner, there was a knock on the door.
Before either of us could get it, in burst what could only be
described as the strangest sight I had ever seen. In walked Ian. He
met my eyes, and a giant smile engulfed his gorgeous face. I was
starting to think that all Guardians were blessed with mega
hotness. His good looks aside, his overall appearance was a bit
hard to swallow. He was just as tall as Kennan, but where Kennan
dressed in reserved clothing that could be considered sporty, Ian
was dressed in some of the loudest clothes I had ever seen. He was
wearing plaid pants that were probably better suited to a golf
course, a loud yellow shirt printed paisley, and his hair was
bleached at the ends and sticking up in spikes all over his head. I
was sure my jaw was on the floor. His eyes sparked with a sort of
humor I had caught in Kennan’s a thousand times before. Something
told me that this man was more of a trickster than Kennan could
ever be.

“Well, hello there Lass. You must be the
adorable Izzy I have heard so much about," ,he said with a bare
hint of brogue lacing his accent.

“Um, yeah, I am Izzy," I said, after finally
regaining my composure.

“Well, then let’s get right down to the
serious stuff and get that out of the way shall we?" He moved into
the cabin and embraced Kennan before moving to sit next to me on
the couch. “Alright, this is gonna suck, and I hate doing the whole
serious doom and gloom, so I am just gonna come out and say it so
we can move on to jollier topics. Yeah?”

I nodded trying not to stare at the strange
man sitting next to me. He had apparently never heard of the
concept of personal space. Just as the thought danced through my
mind he wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close. He looked as
serious as I thought him capable before continuing with what he
needed to say. Dread filled my stomach. Something told me it took a
lot to make Ian serious about anything.

“Well, you see, we had a problem in Chicago.
Mike is missing. We think that the Corporation got to him. We
aren’t really sure how they knew he worked for us, but there you
have it. He is gone, we have found no trace of him. Hey, do you
guys have any food left? I am famished," he said as he hopped up
from the couch and clapped his hands together.

I choked back a sob that threatened to
escape as tears started to slide down my cheeks. Mike was gone. He
was like a second father to me and now he was gone because of me.
It was like I was some sort of toxic element that destroyed
everyone around me. Kennan was kneeling before me, wiping my tears
away as he scowled at Ian. A look that was probably quite common
between the two men.

“What? What did I do?" Ian asked
dumfounded.

I tried to pull myself out of my grief and
look up into Kennan’s eyes. I nodded once, trying to convey that I
was okay. I was heartbroken, but it was not an unfamiliar feeling.
If I were being honest, this was something I had been dreading
since we left Chicago. In my heart, I knew that something would
probably happen to Mike. I just hoped that he was in hiding and not
taken by the Corporation. Or as I was starting to think of them,
Evil Bastards Inc.