Page 60 of Seer
I said, “If we have time before we leave, I’d love to see some of the animals.”
“Sure. There’s a road that winds through the property, so at the very least we can see them on the way out. Most of the Wonders live in cabins or small houses on the other side of the animal enclosures, so you won’t meet any more unless you want me to ask Mom to take you.”
I shook my head. “No, thanks. I’d like to leave before dinnertime tomorrow if we can.”
Greg folded his arms across his belly. “Sorry, I’m making this harder.”
I slid my hand up across his back to grip his shoulder. “You didn’t have a great childhood. I’m impressed you can evenbe here at all. I don’t think I’d want to come back if I were you.”
“I don’t blame my mom, not really. She tried, but there wasn’t anyone else to be in charge after my dad died.”
We went through a door into the hall that led to the stairwell. As we climbed, I said, “At least your mom tries to make things easier for you. I’d have given a lot to have a mom who cared like that.”
He glanced at me as we headed down the hall toward the bedroom. “Yeah? What were your parents like?”
I grimaced. “Well, I never knew my dad. And I didn’t get the impression my mom was very happy to be saddled with a kid, you know?”
We went into the bedroom, and I finally dropped my hand from Greg’s back. He didn’t look at me, busying himself with plugging his phone into the charger.
I kicked off my shoes and climbed onto the bed I’d been sitting on earlier. There wasn’t anywhere elsetosit. I’d left my backpack on the foot of the bed, and I pulled it toward me, holding it on my lap like a teddy bear.
“Steve’s mom gave this to me when he and I started middle school. She told me the store had had a two-for-one sale, but I’m pretty sure she paid full price.” I stroked my hand over the nylon. “My mom never got me anything outside of the list of supplies the school gave her.” I cleared my throat. “Anyway, that was the year my visions started.”
Greg got on the other bed and sat against the headboard. “Were they bad?”
I sighed, not looking up from the backpack. “Not at first. They were all pretty minor events. When I realized they were more than dreams, I told Steve first, then I told my mom.”
I aimed a sardonic smile at the backpack. “She kept saying I was making it up, so I stopped mentioning the visions to her at all. Steve was the only one I talked to about them.” I heaved a big breath. “But one night when I was thirteen, I had a vision that Steve’s mom died.”
Greg made a pained noise and swung his legs off his bed. He came over and sat next to me, putting his warm hand on my arm. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah.” I blinked rapidly, swallowing against the lump in my throat. “I got up and ran to tell my mom. I was crying. She told me it was only a nightmare and to go back to sleep.” I threaded the strap of the backpack through my fingers. “But in the morning Steve called and said his mom was dead.”
“Oh, Cal, that’s horrible. I’m so sorry.” He put his arm across my shoulder, and I leaned into him. He might be an asshole, but it was still nice to get a hug sometimes.
“Yeah, and it didn’t help that the next day after school, my mom was waiting for me at home with a priest.” I snorted. “She didn’t even go to church, and she never claimed to be Catholic.”
“Did the priest try to do an exorcism?”
I shrugged. “I got away and ran to Steve’s house. I never told him I had a vision of his mom dying though.”
“I don’t think I would’ve either. Did you go back to your mom’s house?”
I made a face. “Yeah. Steve’s family was in mourning. I couldn’t stay.” I stroked the fabric of the backpack. “My mom gave me the silent treatment for a week and then she pretended nothing had ever happened.” I looked at Greg. “But I knew she might turn on me at any time. I started taking any odd job I could to get money. Most of it I kept atSteve’s house with my birth certificate and some clothes, but some of it I used to buy computer parts. I built a PC and taught myself how to code. I wanted to have a skill that would get me a decent job when I got out of high school.”
Greg’s forehead creased, and his grey eyes seemed darker than usual. “That’s awful. I’m so sorry you had such a difficult childhood.”
I rubbed my eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make this about me.”
Greg chuckled darkly. “I don’t mind. I kind of like knowing someone else had just as shitty an upbringing as I did.”
He squeezed my shoulders, and I turned to look at him. His beautiful face wasright there. I could’ve kissed him, and I thought he would’ve kissed me back.
But this was the same guy who ran away yesterday when he realized we were compatible.
I sat up, letting Greg’s arm fall away behind me. “I’d like to go to bed so we can get an early start tomorrow. I’ll take the bathroom first.”
I pretended to already be asleep when he got into his own bed.
