All in the Family
Nerves stretched out like cotton candy, I kept reminding myself to breathe, to borrow trouble before it hatched.
I think anyone in my shoes would be nervous.
I was meeting people who would be in my life for years to come.
People who didn’t have to like me. Brandon and Mack assured me it’d be fine, that everyone in their family was easygoing and I’d become part of the family, but still.
My own parents didn’t like me. How could I expect anyone else to?
I kept up in the airport hallways, not wanting to be left behind, and it was kind of a crazy dream. I’d spent my entire life in Arizona, had never crossed the state’s borders until this morning.
Brandon had his phone at his ear, calling someone for a pickup. He’d said his parents would get us. I’d video chatted a little with his family and they did seem super nice. Hopefully that stuck.
We hit the outside, with the massive concrete overhangs, and people lined up for ages waiting on their people to show up.
The air was bitingly cold, colder than I’d expected.
It somehow felt different than the cold I was used to, and that excited me a little, to already be experiencing something new about my new home.
I kept one firm hand on my suitcase, and the other rested on my messenger bag.
I was never leaving my messenger bag behind.
Booker had gotten me amazing stuff, and it’d proven handy more than once.
I have the same feelings for it that I would a security blanket—even if I didn’t need it, I’d rather have it.
Brandon lifted a hand in a wave. He must see the right vehicle.
A white Chevy Tahoe pulled up to the curb, passenger side window going down. Oh, Alani had come too? She had her dark hair up in a twist at the back of her head, a plain shirt on, and a brilliant smile. “Welcome home! Oh, Gwyn, its good to meet you in person.”
Something about her smile took my nerves down a notch. She seemed to mean it? “I’m happy to be here.”
“Hop on in,” she said.
I handed my suitcase to Brandon, so he could load it in the back. When I got inside the vehicle, I realized that there were two captain chairs in the middle and then a bench seat in the very back. Knowing how long Brandon’s legs were, I took the very back bench.
Kanye turned in the driver’s seat to shoot me a smile. “Welcome, Gwyn. Good flight?”
“Yeah, it wasn’t terrible.”
Mack loaded in and dropped into the far chair. “At least no ghosts on this flight.”
I thought that a strange comment to make and had to ask, “Does that happen?”
“More often than you’d think.” He shot me a wry look. “Had one on the way to Arizona, in fact.”
Uh. Seriously? Was this something I’d need to be on guard for? Booker telling me to keep my messenger bag at hand at all times now made more sense.
Brandon loaded in and Kanye wasted no time pulling away from the curb.
Turning in her seat, Alani told all three of us, “There’s a welcome dinner tonight for Gwyn. Lauren and I did most of the cooking, all you need to do is show up. Gwyn, we invited Skylar and Abby, they’re excited to meet you.”
“Oh, cool.” I hoped she was right. It’d be great to make friends. Especially since I’d be homeschooled the rest of high school and wouldn’t get a chance to make friends my own age.
I took a good look around as we got onto the freeway.
There were so many trees here. They were mostly bare since it was November, but it was mind boggling.
It looked odd in a way, to not have sandstone and cactuses in every direction.
Busy, too, Nashville was way bigger than anything I’m used to.
Hopefully that meant there was more fun things to do, too.
Brandon reached forward, grabbed something his mother offered him, then leaned back to hand it to me. “This doesn’t have to be all of the time, but if we’re going to see Jon or Abby, you’d better put your phone into this. It’s an EMP case.”
I took it, looking it over. It wasn’t anything fancy looking, just a pouch with a snap on it. “Uh, you told me Jon runs hot as a psychic, but that hot?”
“That hot,” he said wryly, eyes suggesting he found my reaction kinda funny.
“I once saw him fry a man’s watch by shaking his hand.
So if you like your phone”—I did. It was new, latest model, and sparkly—“then leave it in the case when you’re around them.
If you do check the phone, take a good three steps back from Jon before you do it. ”
Wow. To be that much of a grim reaper when it came to tech was insane. How had he even survived without an anchor? I ask this in all seriousness. “Uh, is Abby as bad as Jon?”
“Fortunately not. Still plenty powerful, her eyes can’t be fooled either, but she’s not quite as hot. She can handle phones, and ride in normal cars, they just don’t last as long as they should.” Brandon gave a shrug like it was just the way it was.
At least Abby had met her anchor pretty quickly, as a teenager. She had that going for her. Still, that was crazy. Made me wonder, “So…power level wise, do Eli and Jon more or less match up?”
The way Mack and Brandon looked at each other, like the question hadn’t even occurred to them, was kind of funny.
Alani, though, she twisted around to tell me, “I actually asked Jon once, as I was curious. He said she basically was. The difference is that her psychic power can be controlled, she can turn hers on and off, he can’t.”
“That makes total sense.” Huh, wow, he was as powerful as Eli?
Cause Eli almost burned my eye sockets right out.
I didn’t think I’d be able to See his aura like I could Eli’s—different type of psychic energy after all—but maybe I could?
Since I was a Psychic Energy Reader, too. I guess I’d see shortly.
Interestingly enough, we didn’t stop at a normal house.
We were in a strip mall? Sort of? It looked like an older part of town, with lots of small businesses all lined up, like a bookstore and a boutique.
Ah, Mack had mentioned Jon lived in a renovated pizza parlor, that now tracked.
When I got out, messenger bag still with me, I took a good look around.
Everything was clean and well kept, and there were blinds on the main windows, no business sign, I guess to discourage people from thinking of it as a place to enter.
Mack silently urged me through the front door, and sure enough, there was the dinner party I expected.
Two folding tables with chairs, a full spread of food sitting to one side under plate covers, and so many people.
People I could barely put a name and face to.
Everyone was smiling, though? Seemed happy to be there.
The room was huge, as expected of a former restaurant, and very brightly painted with a bold color scheme.
Oh? Cats spotted in the tree house near the window.
I almost made a beeline for them just ’cause I liked cats.
“There she is.” Donovan came straight to me, offering a hug. “Hi, Gwyn.”
After so many video calls with him, arranging my furniture and stuff, I felt like he was a friend so was happy for a hug. I stepped right in to one of the best bear hugs of my life. “Hi, Donovan.”
“Glad you’re finally here. Let me make introductions.” He turned and started pointing to people. “Jon—ah come to think of it, you got the EMP case on?”
“I do,” I promised him but my eyes were mostly on Jon.
Wow. Uh. So, turned out, I could See his aura fine.
He was like Seiji or Eli—just bam, all the aura leaking out in all directions.
Mack had told me to never, ever use Jon as a battery and I had to wonder, was my mentor out of his fucking mind?
Who would look at Jon and think, “Yup, he’s a great source for energy”?
’Cause I could only see a catastrophic meltdown of epic proportions if I tried anything with his energy. “Hi, Jon.”
“Hi,” he said, manner very friendly. Then his expression turned understanding with a soft smile. “You’re in good hands, Gwyn, I promise you.”
Oh. Right. He could see my nerves. Damn, really could not keep anything from this man.
Turning, he gestured to the two girls seated next to him. “Abby, my apprentice, and Skylar, my niece.”
Abby popped up and gave me a quick hug, which I absolutely hadn’t expected.
It was nice, though? Like, the gesture felt genuine.
She also looked powerful to me, not as wowzer as Jon, but still very much up there.
She was cute, too, with a pear shaped figure and awesome curly brown hair she’d tamed into ringlets that floated around her shoulders.
“We’re going to be friends,” she promised me, an outrageous grin on her face. “I can tell by your lines. Listen, being a Reader is crazypants even on the best of days, Medium has to be crazy too, so if you need backup, you’ve got it in spades in this family.”
“I’m going to need backup,” I promised her, but warmed a little.
“Oh, I know it, which is why I’m saying so now.”
Oh, she seemed really cool. I understood she was a senior, so she had three years on me.
I’d never had close friendships growing up—the ghosts had always scared people away—so her offer to be friends shocked me.
Then again, if she Saw things the way Jon could, maybe she could read friendship compatibility?
Like, maybe it really had taken her two seconds to realize she wanted to be friends?
Not going to lie, I felt super wistful and hopeful now.
I would love, love, love close female friends.
Especially someone like her, who knew the biz, who understood the insanity that sometimes hit.
Skylar, all gorgeous ginger hair and friendly blue eyes, popped up to give me a hug too. “Welcome, Gwyn. Take a load off, yeah?”
“Thanks.” She also seemed pretty cool. She must be to be anchored to Abby.
Got a feeling I’d be super tight with these two, and I couldn’t wait.