“You’re such a brat.” Donovan rolled his eyes as he said it, but the love and affection in his voice made it sound more like an endearment.
A comfortable peace settled between us as we finished breakfast and went our separate ways. For the first time in days, I walked back into my house with a smile on my face.
“Alright, Louis. Let’s meditate.”
Thoroughly unimpressed, Louis oozed over onto his back, splayed out in a patch of sunlight, and promptly went to sleep.
“That’s the spirit.” I sorted through the supplies I’d bought from Ori, most of them still in the bag. I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do with them yet. Having a bunch of crystals just sitting around seemed like a recipe for disaster, with my limited knowledge and experience.
One of Ori’s suggestions included swapping out the quartz for amethyst, because that apparently helped? Thankfully, they’d included a small card identifying each stone, otherwise I’d have no idea which was which. The little chunk of purple rock didn’t seem like much, but I’d made a promise to myself to take this seriously. Or at least to not outright dismiss the idea that it could help.
Still, I couldn’t shake the self-consciousness when I sat down on the couch with a book in one hand and the stone in the other. I knew no one could see me, not anymore, but it still seemed crazy.
“Nope. Not going down that road,” I murmured, pulling my thoughts back. Acknowledging those words would just lead me back down the road to grief and missing Charlie.
Focus, Alex.
Concentrating on my breathing came a little easier this time after practicing with Ori.
Maybe I’m getting the hang of this, after all. Ori was pretty helpful. I still can’t believe I’d never met them before. How is that possible?
“Shit,” I whispered. Counting out the rhythm of breaths in my head helped bring my wayward thoughts back, and a soft sort of peace settled around me as I drifted.
In for four, hold for four, out for four.
Rather than words, hazy images of the town drifted through my mind. The colors were muted, as though I was seeing it through a snowstorm. No one place stuck out and after a few seconds, my mind wandered further, into the trees and mountains surrounding Lowery’s Crossing.
In for four, hold for four, out for four.
Cold pricks my skin, tiny snowflakes landing and melting the moment they touch me. The smell of pine and snow waft past, carried by the wind coming down from the mountains. I run through the trees, but not out of fear. No, it’s simpler than that. I run because I can. Because it brings me pleasure. No matter what anyone else says, I’m whole and I’m fine. I’m better than fine. I’m free.
A sharp sting in my hand pulled me out of my mind and I flinched, opening my eyes and looking down to see the amethyst stone biting into my palm. The smell of trees and touch of snow vanished, but for a moment, they’d felt so real, like I’d actually been standing outside in the snow.
“Okay, I think that’s enough meditation for today.”
Louis, naturally, didn’t so much as twitch an ear as I got up and put the crystal back in the bag. For some reason, the hair on my arms was standing on end and an odd unease curdled my stomach. Why, though? Of all the places my mind could have wandered to, being outside in the fresh air was the best possible choice.
A glance at the clock showed I’d only lost an hour to this little endeavor, which left me with a whole day to myself. Maybe I’d read before I hit the grocery story?
Rubbing my arms to ward off a sudden chill, I paused and grabbed the LCPD sweater I’d left on the back of the couch and tugged it on. Even after a cycle in the washer, it still smelled like Donovan and I shamelessly snuggled up in it as I curled up in my armchair with my book. All thoughts of meditating and snow and mountains flitted away as I immersed myself in the story. Two chapters later, I’d completely forgotten anything strange happened at all.
Chapter 12
Donovan
Foronce,IbeatWill to the station. I usually lingered with Alex over breakfast and Will basically lived here some days, so being the first one in was rare. I put the bag and cup from Camille on Will’s desk, front and center. Camille would have sent over his favorites, like usual, and I’d grabbed another coffee to go on my way out the door.
The final report for the Perez case needed to be written up still, so I worked on that while I waited for my partner. Since it thankfully hadn’t ended with an actual crime, putting it all together was fairly routine. I was deep in the middle of transcribing our interview with Landon DeVor when Will walked in.
“Am I late?” He paused in the doorway, pulling me out of the monotony of the report. He made a show of looking at his watch, then at me. “Or are you early?”
“A little of both, maybe?” I shrugged. “We left Buns ‘n’ Roses a little earlier than usual to escape the interrogators.”
Will blinked, turning those words over in his head for a moment. “Okay, clearly I’m going to need caffeine for this.” He grabbed the cup I’d left on his desk, sniffing it before taking a sip. “Apple tea today. Cami must’ve been in a good mood.” He took another sip and settled at his desk directly across from me. “Okay. You said ‘we’. Last I heard, that was an issue, so it sounds like something’s changed since Saturday.”
I gave him the quick rundown of the morning, leaving out anything too personal. Since he already knew about Alex’s ability and actually was the only one who didn’t know he was working on controlling it, I filled him in on that, too. Again, I left out the details, though. That was Alex’s story to tell, if he wanted.
“Awesome. So the two of you have matching hero complexes?”
