Vengeance (4 page)

Now the girl who resembled me and the guy who looked like Drew were walking through a garden, talking about something serious. The scene
wasn’t
as clear as the one in the ballroom, and I had no idea what they were discussing. Something was pulling me back. It was like being underwater, where everything sounds fuzzy and when you open your eyes to see, the world has a surreal, blurry quality.

I
wasn’t
supposed to be there, but I held on, wanting to know more.

The scene flashed to my and Drew’s lookalikes inside an old house. He looked devastated, and I
couldn’t
imagine what had happened to him. Then it switched again, and what I saw in front of me was unmistakable. It was a wedding.
My and Drew’s past selves stood at an altar in a magnificent church as they exchanged vows.
The fuzziness made it hard to see their exact expressions, but it
didn’t
matter. I knew what I was seeing, and it meant I was right.

Drew and I were supposed to end up together.

Then I
was yanked
back to the present, to the room in the back of Mystic Pathways. My eyes snapped open, and I gasped as though I had emerged from the water after trying to see how long I could stay
under
.

What had I seen? I watched the flames of the candles flicker in front of me as I reoriented myself, sorting the images as they played through my mind. I knew they
couldn’t
be real, but they felt like it. It was
like
they were memories, but ones I hadn’t experienced myself.

It could only mean … but
no, that was impossible
. Still, I
couldn’t
shake the thought.

The memories were ones I had experienced in another lifetime.

“What did you see?” Genevieve asked. She watched me closely, her eyes glowing in anticipation as she waited for me to respond.

“It’s impossible.” I shook my head, unable to accept it. However, the images remained in my mind, as real as if they had actually happened. I had no idea how to handle this. I wanted to forget what
I’d
seen, but I couldn’t force the memories out of my head. There was no turning back.

“Rare, but
not impossible
,” Genevieve said. “Reincarnated souls don’t come around often. It’s my job to help them recall
their
past lives, and help them in their current one.
And
you, my dear, are in much need of my help. So tell me…” She leaned forward, pressing the tips of her gnarled fingers together. “What did you see?”

Unable to keep it to myself, I told her about the scenes, giving as many details as I could. She listened intently, nodding here and there, pleased as I described everything. The strangest thing was, as much as I barely believed it, I
couldn’t
deny what I’d seen.

I lived a past life, and in that
life
I married Drew. Even though every logical part of my brain told me it was impossible, it felt real. I told myself it was ridiculous, but that
didn’t
matter. The feeling
wasn’t
something I could make go away.
And
I wasn’t sure I wanted it to.

“Very interesting,” Genevieve said once I finished. “But in this life things don’t seem to be working out the same way, do they?”

“No,” I said, sitting back in disappointment. My chest tightened at the memory of Drew running after Lizzie at Shannon’s party, and of Lizzie telling
me
she thought she and Drew were “meant to be.” If only she knew what I had seen—that in the past Drew ended up with me, not her. I doubted she would act all high and mighty then. “Even when Drew and I were together, there were times he would act distant, and he wouldn’t tell me what he was thinking. Then he started to pull away, and no matter how hard I tried, I
couldn’t
get him back. It was all because of her—Lizzie.” I sneered when I said her name. “It’s like she put a spell on him. He’s entranced by her, and I have no idea how to make things right between us.”

“And what if I told you I could help?” Genevieve asked.

“I’m listening.” I folded my hands on my lap, waiting for her to elaborate. I
wasn’t
sure what she could do for me, but I was out of other options. I was willing to do anything at this point.

She got up and walked to a wicker basket in the back of the room, opening it and pulling something out. It was a vial, capped shut and filled with tinted red liquid. It looked like diluted cranberry juice. She held it to her forehead, closing her eyes and muttering something I
couldn’t
understand, and then walked back over to the chair to sit again.

“Take this,” she said, holding the vial out to me. “It’s something special I made myself, with the expectation that someone who needed it would be coming to me soon.”

I reached to take the vial from her, surprised by its warmth. “What is it?” I asked. “And what do I do with it?” Capped shut with a rubber top, it was like something from a laboratory. I swished it around. The liquid inside was about the same consistency as water.

“Tonight is the full moon.” Genevieve’s eyes took on that chilling look again. “You want things in this life to end up the same way they did in your past life, don’t you?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “I do.”

“Then what you have to do is simple,” Genevieve said. “First you must drink the solution.
It’s
very important you do that before the other steps. Then you will light a candle—
I’ll
give you one. After the candle
is lit
, write your wish on a piece of paper. Word it
exactly
as I say.” She paused for a second, watching me closely to let me know how serious she was about this part. “You will write, ‘I wish everything in this life between me, Drew, and Lizzie will end up the same way it did in our past life.’ Once
it’s
written, close your eyes and recall the images you saw in your past life regression. Focus on the way things ended with you and Drew in the past, and how you want it to turn out the same way in the present. Once
you’ve
recalled everything you saw, look into the flame and burn the paper with your wish on it. When the paper is gone, you may blow out the candle.”

I stared at her
like
she’d lost her mind. “It sounds like you’re asking me to cast a spell,” I said, waiting for her to deny it.
It was one thing to think about hallways and doors and seeing something that
could
possibly
be a past life.
But
to drink potions, light candles, and burn papers with wishes written on them? That was way beyond my comfort zone.

“That’s exactly what I’m asking you to do,” she said, her voice flat and serious. “You wanted help, and I’m giving you what you need. Making that solution was not simple.” She paused to examine the vial I held in my hand. “It’s rare that I give someone such a valuable gift. At the very least, take it home and think about it. You have until sunrise to make your decision. If you don’t go through with it tonight, then you will have to wait until the next full moon, and the solution will no longer be at its full strength.”

I looked at the potion again, wondering what was in it. I had a feeling I
didn’t
want to know the answer.

“Fine,” I gave in. “I’m not going to promise anything, but I’ll think about it.”

“Good,” Genevieve said, relaxing in her chair.

I
couldn’t
help but wonder why she wanted me to do this so badly. What was in it for her? Not that it mattered. If it helped me, that was all I cared about.

“Don’t tell anyone about what we did in here today,” Genevieve continued. “Not Shannon, and especially not Lizzie or Drew. They will try to tell you
lies
to confuse you, to make you doubt yourself, but you need to trust what you saw. As long as you do what I told you, fate will make sure everything ends up the way it did in the past. That’s what you want, isn’t it dear?” 

“Yes,” I agreed, holding the vial tighter in my hand. “More than anything in the world.”

CHAPTER 6

Shannon must have understood that what went on between me and Genevieve in the back room wasn’t supposed to be shared, because she didn’t ask any questions about it while we shopped for the rest of the day. Even though I loved the mall, it was hard to focus on shopping after everything that had just happened. I had to remind myself when Shannon was speaking to me, and to respond appropriately. We ended up buying a few things, mainly in the form of clothing, and after a few hours decided to head back to her house. Shannon told me Amber was going to meet up with us there, and the three of us were going to hang out. She thought some girl time would help get my mind off everything. Maybe she was right. At least it was better than sitting around my house with nothing to do, waiting for the full moon.

I clutched my purse during the drive, the vial with the potion and the candle tucked inside. The idea of using the potion seemed ridiculous, but I
wasn’t
against trying it. The worst that could happen would be it not working. Still, before I did anything drastic I wanted to know if this was
something
I could fix on my own, without outside help.

The only way to do that was by talking to Drew.

Gathering up my courage, I took out my cell phone to text him.

Are you busy right now?
I wrote, pressing send without giving myself time to second guess what I was doing.

I hated being so forward—I usually let guys do the chasing—but I had to talk to him before doing Genevieve’s spell tonight.
Also
, when Drew and I dated, we spent tons of time together. We ate lunch together every day, and after
school
I would go over his house and we would do homework.
I’d
thought of him not only as a boyfriend, but a friend as well. He owed me a better explanation about what he did, and why he did it.

I prayed he
wasn’t
with Lizzie right now, but Lizzie and I had been friends for long enough for me to know she had dinner with her mom on Sundays. I hoped she was doing that instead of hanging out with Drew.

My phone buzzed a few seconds later, and my heart raced at the prospect of what he wrote back to me.

I’m
not busy.
What’s
up?

I smiled at the response. He could have ignored me, but he
didn’t
. That had to be a good sign.

Coming back from the mall with Shannon.
We’re
gonna hang out at her house for a bit.
I’ve
been thinking a lot about what happened in the past few weeks, and since you live so close to her, I was wondering if I could stop by for a few minutes. Just to talk.

I pressed send without re-reading it. His response arrived in less than ten seconds.

I’m
not sure that’s a good idea …

My heart dropped when I read the message. But on the bright side, it wasn’t a
no
. Maybe I still had a chance with him.

Just a few minutes?
Lizzie came to talk to me last night, wanting to be friends again, but I
couldn’t
. I want to talk to you to try to understand what happened, so I can forgive her.

It was a lie, but I sent it anyway. It
didn’t
matter how I got to be alone with Drew—just that I managed to do it. From there, he would realize how much he missed me and what a bad choice he made ditching me for Lizzie. If Genevieve
was
right and we were together in the past, it made sense for us to be together in the present.

He
couldn’t
fight fate.

When the phone buzzed with his response, I was afraid to see what
he’d
said. I forced myself to look anyway.

Okay … you can come by.
But
I have homework to do for tomorrow, so you can’t stay long.

It
wasn’t
much, but I smiled anyway. It was finally time for me to make things right again.

“Can you drop me off at Drew’s?” I asked Shannon.

“Is that who you were texting so furiously?” she asked.

“Yep.” I tossed my cell into my purse. “He said he’ll talk to me, and I can go over now.
That’s
okay, right?
I’ll
come back to hang out with you and Amber after I talk with him. Everything’s been so hectic the past few days, and I haven’t had time alone with him since your party …”