Mama shoots Dad a look and he just shrugs. No one was expecting this.
Then in unison, our hosts say, “We’re pregnant!”
The entire table erupts in applause and shouts of joy. I hoot and holler along with everyone, so happy for them. Addison, a mom!Me,an aunt! I can’t wait.
We all rise and give hugs and congratulations. When it’s my turn, I wrap up my sister tightly and whisper, “I’m so happy for you. I can’t wait to spoil him or her.”
She pulls back, dragging her hands down my arms. She gives me a huge grin. “I can’t wait for you to spoil my baby, either.”
As the congratulations go on, I step off to the side and head back to my chair. I’m almost there when an explosion rocks my head.
A bright light flares like a supernova, and when it recedes, I see Devlin. We’re talking about something. We’re happy. I’m happy.
It’s nighttime. The ground is wet. The air smells like rain. My arms are sticky from the humidity.
I walk away from him, out into the street, but turn around to give him a smile. Then a bright light’s shining on me, and when I turn to look, lights are bearing down, a horn’s blaring, and then everything goes black.
The vision disappears, winking out like a light. I am not okay. I grab hold of the table, sucking in air and clutching my trembling hands to my chest to ease the tremors that are racking my body.
I suddenly understand why everything happened the way it did with Devlin. All of it makes sense now.
My heart is beating frantically. I search him out, and when we lock gazes, his eyes flare with worry. He knows I’ve seen it. He knows I’ve seen his secret, and nothing will ever be the same.
28
“Let’s go to the maze,” I tell Devlin after dinner’s cleaned up.
I’ve been silent for the past hour, replaying the vision in my head. Devlin’s attention has been stolen by my dad, who wanted to talk about inventions and dragons. I don’t know how those two work together, but in my dad’s mind they must.
Outside, the air’s thick. It’s going to rain. When we arrived, the sun hadn’t fully set, but now the sky’s inky, and not a star nor the moon can be seen.
“Blair—” he murmurs.
“The maze,” I say. “I thought you wanted to go.”
“I do.” His eyes cut to my face, and he must see the hard set of my mouth because he says, “Okay. Let’s do it.”
The maze hedges are tall, at least nine feet, and they’re so thick that you wouldn’t want to try pushing your way through them to reach the other side.
The walkway’s glowing with footlights, and the inside is bright, yet it’s intimate, like even though my family’s only a few yards away, it feels like Devlin and I are in our own universe.
He exhales a slow breath as soon as we step on the pebbled path. “Youknow.”
I fold my arms. “Know what?”
He rolls his eyes. “Thevision. The one with you in it.”
“You mean the one where I get hit by the truck?”
He winces. “That’s the one.”
He’s not looking at me, and I want him to. I desperately need him to look at me. I want to be wrong on this more than I’ve ever wanted anything, but there’s no way that I am.
“When did you first see it?”
He’s staring straight ahead. “When do you think?”
“I wouldn’t know, Devlin. Just answer.”
