Vindicate (15 page)

“I ’ve see n it. We’ll be fine , ” Charlie said , not believing her own words. I saw the frustration in Madison’s eyes as she looked over me , then Charlie.

“O
K
, let’s go ,”
I said , nodding to Nana to tell her thank you once more. Charlie and Madison went to her. I left the room , letting them say their goodbyes.

I found Brady and Olivia lingering in the entry hall. They both looked over me with wide eyes. “How did she do that?” Brady asked .

“What?” I said in a confused tone.

“Bring your energy back . I f I didn’t know any better , I would think Landen was here.”

“He is,” I said , moving my hand to my chest. “Is everyone up there?” I asked , looking up the stairs.

“Yeah, their dad was saying goodbye , ” Olivia said as she fought the anguish of those words.

“Is he O
K
?” I asked , willing to give him peace , even though that was a small exchange for his sons.

“Hard to say,” Brady said. “Austin said they have been expecting it, but that doesn’t mean the moment is any less harsh.”

I nodded; agreeing with him , then went to the stairs. I followed the emotions , mixed in anguish, excitement, and foreboding , to the stone steps that led to the studio I’d appeared in.

When I got there , I saw Monroe and her brothers sitting on the couch .
Austin was sitting in the chair. In the center of the room , there was Aden and Draven , and a tall man was standing in front of them. I walked quietly to the man’s side , then reached for his arm. He started to pull away at first , but then as he felt my calm emotion -
the one that I remembered from my dad, from August, the protective instinct I always felt from Ashten . T
he man hesitated and smiled down at me as his green eyes rapidly moved across mine – as he took in what I was showing him.

“Looks like men I could trust,” he said humbly to me.

My eyes sparkled as I relished in the fact that with my touch , I could share my memories, that I could show someone why I felt the way I did.
“They are, and right now they ’
re more than likely very upset with me , so I need to go ; we need to go.”

The man nodded once at me , then pulled both Aden and Draven to him. They hugged him back , and the emotion between those three nearly made me cry. I’d seen my parents tell me goodbye more times than I cared to remember .

Charlie and Madison came in the room behind me, and the others stood.

“Alright , there are four of us and seven of them – we should be able to guide them fairly easily , ” Brady said.

Austin sho ok his head no. “They can see. C
learly.”

Brady raised his eyebrows in r espectful shock. “Alright, let ’
s go,” he said , looking back at me.

The passage that we had entered into was in front of a wall of amps and speakers – someone who was not looking for the string would have easily looked it over more than once. At first it was hard for me to see , but then I saw the wave of energy a nd felt the pull of the string – then our path opened a little wider as if it w ere inviting us in.

I felt the nervousness of the others behind me. I reached back for Charlie , knowing her emotions w ere strongest , and felt her gratitude as my calm emotions swarmed through her.

Draven was at her side , but I felt a distance between them . N
either of them wanted to look at each other , but i t wasn’t that they were fighting. I felt Charlie’s intent not to show Draven something and Draven’s intent not to ask . T
hey had a simple reason for that act : i t would be painful for the both of them.

Austin led , and I walked slowly , urging Charlie to do the same. The others walked ahead , leaving her in the back with me. I nodded for Brady to go ahead. I wanted to talk to Charlie before we stepped into Esterious. I wanted her and I to come to an understanding. We needed to figure out how both of our fates were entwined, w hat each of us could give to the other to save the souls we were fighting for.

Olivia took the opportunity to talk to Madison. She was curious abou t her, almost as much as I was. Draven glanced over his shoulder , noticing that I had managed to discreetly pull Charlie from his side. He looked at me and tried to smile , then caught up to Aden and the brothers Grayson and Winston.

“So,” I said quietly , “I met Draven’s mom.”

Instant shock came through Charlie as she regarded me with wide , dark eyes.

“How did that go ?
” she asked slyly , clearly trying to sound braver than she was feeling.

“Well…seems you ’
re the leader of this group. T
he one who saw reason in the madness that surrounded you.”

“I don’t know if I would say that,” she said under her breath.

“Listen,” I said , putting my hand on her back , pushing calm through her. “You and I have a lot in common. I’m not really clear on what you’re fighting outside of this darkness or how closely that dilemma weave s through this one, but I will tell you this,” I said , nodding towar d Draven. “That boy loves you, and if I had to guess , I would say that he thinks he’s too dangerous for you.” The calm I was giving her was overpowered by anger and sadness that vibrated through the energy of the string. I focused on how I felt when I was one with Landen and managed to bring those emotions to a h alt. “You know when this began, my hell , I had a fight with Landen . H
e thought that by us be ing together that others were suff ering, that if we loved each other , that would be a selfish choice. H
e was willing to put others before us.”

Charlie looked at me with wide eyes as disbelief coursed through her.

“That idea didn’t last long , ” I promised her. “And later we learned that together we were stronger. T
hat somewhere before this life , we made choices that led us here.
I’m the one that creates any and all turmoil between us.
I do that b ecause I hide things from him. Things he can feel. W
e ignore the obvious …
if I had any advice for you , I would tell you not to hide. F
ace it, especially if Draven can see the way all of you say tha t you can. It will be painful.
I can’t say that it won’t be , but that sharp , instant , fading pain is better than dwelling in the numbing pain of denial day after day.”

“I see now why you ’
re so respected in your home , ” Charlie muttered , looking down.

“I’m just like you : a girl who ’
s dealing with some really weird crap – at least trying to .” I looked down , hearing the lie in my own words , h earing the echoes of the advice August, Perodine , and countless others had spoken to me over the last few months, hearing them tell me that facing th is fate was my only real choice. T
hat I could not hide from who I was.

I glanced to my side to see Charlie studying every part of me, reading me. I felt her sympathy. I felt her understand the image I was trying to portray to her.

“Ok…maybe that ’
s just how I want you to see me.
The truth is that our path is only troubled because our calling his high. Just like yours.”

I felt her compassion as h er eyes continued to look over me. I noticed how wide her pupils were ; it made her eyes even darker. I wondered if that was the physical reaction when they ‘saw’
someone. “Go us. The overachievers.
”
She said with a humorous sarcastic disdain.

I smirked.
I liked this girl. A lot.
“So when you saw me before, my past , did you see those butterflies. O
nes I saw a few days ago?” I asked , quietly remembering how they had led me to a path that allowed me to undo my arguments with Clarissa and Olivia.

She nodded to confirm as her eyes questioned me.

“Are the y the same as yours?
”
I asked .

Charlie nodded toward Monroe , who was hovering close to Grayson, the older brother. “She told me they were a guide, a reflection of my power. Suppos ed l y, they lead you to what you want, bu t what sucks about that is they don’t override the challen ges you have to face to get there . The y cause everything to come faster.”

“You use them in The Realm , ” I confirmed .

She moved her head from side to side. “I don’t use them ; they appear , and that ’
s not always a good thing.”

Her grief and heartbreak that appeared when she said that led me to believe that there was another, someone just as powerful as Draven seemed to be. It almost felt like she had found balance with all that was going on in her life, but the slight guilt I felt lingering around her led me to believe that in the back of her mind , there was someone toying with her thoughts, her heart. I had no doubt that by helping me she was finding a distraction from whatever love triangle she was in. I knew that once this was over, that triangle would still be there, and I wanted to take ever y chance I had to tell her what I had learned the hard way.

I glanced at her , then ahead at Draven , who was growing more anxious the further we walked. “I’m going to give you advice that I have yet to take myself. Love them both. Love them both because we ’
re meant to feel love for everythin g and everyone in this universe. Y
our soul knows where it belongs , and it will never let yo u stray too far from that point. T
rust your heart and doubt the thoughts that bring logic – be cause there is no logic in love. N
ever has been.”

“Are you seeing me?” she assumed .

I moved my head from side to side. “Just taking in what I know about you , your emotions and your intent. T
he truth I see in you.”

“That ’
s seeing . W
ell , the first part of it. N
ow you just have to open your eyes and let your imagination take you there , ” Charlie said with the intent to help me grasp this.

“Let’s hope I can do that.” I found myself staring at Madison. “If I can’t…
i f I can’t , what kind of impact will Madison make there ?
”
M
y eyes moved to Charlie at my side. “Will anyone there recognize her?”
I needed to know if my instinct was right. If Madison was battling an internal war with her fate or whatever dreams Nana mentioned her having. If that war would bring more harm than good.

Sadne ss filled Charlie. “Hard to say. S
he said sometimes…
sometimes he sees her, but most of the time he ’
s looking at someone else.”

“Drake?
” I confirmed .

Her eyes told me yes. “Listen,” Charlie said , almost completely stopping in the string. “I know Madison. I know that she ’
ll shut the world away and run. I’ve seen her do it. I’ve seen her make every excuse when someone comes for her heart.
If you push her , she ’
ll run. F
or all I know , she ’
ll run anyway , but pushing her isn ’
t the way to go about this.”

“I won’t.” Didn’t really have time to do that. “D
oes she trust me? Does she hate me?” I asked , knowing I would if I were in her shoes.

“Honestly, she hasn’t conceived the idea that he’s real. She blocks her dreams from us. The only way Draven and I figured it out was because she sketched his image and Preston showed me who he was when I came looking for you. I haven’t found the nerve to tell her that he ’
s real. N
one of us have.”

Oh this was going to be a rude awaking for Madison. “She’s an artist?” I clarified , raising my eyebrows.

“She can sketch better than I can play.” Charlie smirked. “That’s a compl i ment. I promise.”

I thought of the time I was trapped in Evelyn’s body. The room full of canvas Drake had given me. How he told how much he loved the gift or art. I glanced at Madison. She was going to spoiled head-to-toe. Adored by her people. Adored by her lover. That almost made the hell I was going through worth it. Almost.

“And just so you know. T
here is someone else in her life , ” Charlie whispered.

“Who?” I asked , looking at the brothers Winston and Grayson , knowing I didn’t feel anything between them.

“Britain.”

“The one that was addicted to you?” I asked , not sure I was keeping up with everything I ’
d learned in last few hours about these people. It was like there was a depth that I couldn ’
t see but needed to if I was going to understand where they were coming from, how we could help each other.

She furrowed her eyebrows as she looked at me. “Are you sure you’re not seeing me?”

“Very.
Draven told me about it.”

“Did he?” she said , looking at him as her emotions swarmed from everything from worry to relief. “That’s him. He’s very charismatic, very powerful. S
he doesn’t trust him, but I catch her thinking about him. If you hadn’t have shown up when you did, chances are he would have found a way to her heart. H
e’s almost there.”

“There ’
s a reason for everything , ” I mumbled under my breath as I felt a familiar emotion that was very livid coming at me.