Page 19 of Anchored to the Storm

I was already shaking my head. “No way.” My fingers reached out, warmth flooding me again where I had felt cold after Johnny left. It was the water. The sparkles. They connected me to Johnny. “I feel so close to him, Ethan. It’s… wow.” I closed my eyes, and I could picture his face, his smile. “It’s like he’s right here.”

The chaotic emotions I’d felt before the shower seemed to even out again. While I still felt sorrow and pain, they no longer ruled or overwhelmed me.

I swayed slightly on my feet, caught up in the extraordinary link that I now shared with Johnny.

“Sarah?”

I didn’t respond. My eyes fluttered, and I just lived in the safe and warmly content place that I never wanted to leave.

“Sarah,” Ethan spoke my name more forcefully, and my eyes snapped open. His worried expression pulled me back into reality. “We don’t know what this means or if it’s a good thing. I know it feels exciting, but I think we should be asking questions.”

“What kind of questions?” I tugged my hand out of the water.

“What does this mean for us? For Johnny? Is it only me and you, or will Gage, Finn, and Seb see water sparkling, too?” Ethan shook his head as if trying to clear it. “What if this isn’t the only thing that we see? What if we change in other ways?”

Ethan was right. This seemed amazing on the surface, and it truly was, but we didn’t have any information, and the one person who could give us answers was forced to leave.

“We don’t know.” I sank back against the tile. “I see your point.”

Reality and the need for caution danced across his features as he turned off the water. “We have to talk to him. We’ve got to find a way to contact Johnny.”

As I felt a pull to the water, to stick my hand back into the glittering spray that was now gone, I wondered if Johnny could feel me like I just felt him.

West Two

Sebastian

He is life. . . for us. . .

“Sebastian,” Harmony called out as I jogged up the stairs. “We would really love to talk to you guys.”

“I need a minute,” I sang out, bordering on such rudeness that I was practically saying fuck off, but I couldn’t stop myself. I suddenly felt like the pin had been pulled from this grenade: me.

She responded, hollering up at me, “We will talk to everyone when Dale and I get back. Running an errand.”

Who cares!

I heard the front door shut when I reached the top of the stairs. Passing by the bathroom door, it suddenly swung open. Exiting was Ethan. “Hey,” he said, “We need to talk to you.”

My feet slowed because he looked a bit concerned. “We?”

Sarah popped out from behind him, in a towel. “Yeah, I’m here.”

Disgusted, because her boyfriend recently died in a car wreck and she was already replacing him, I shook my head. “Are you two serious right now? My only chance at revenge for Blue and the man who killed Caleb just rolled away in a stranger’s car, and you two traitors are in here⁠—”

“Whoa,” warned Ethan. “To all that shit you’re spewin’.”

“Seb, you have this all wrong,” Sarah insisted.

I gawked at her. I have eyes. To stab her emotionally, I imitated her: “Johnny! Don’t leave!” Then I gestured to her towel. “Feel better now?”

Then I flew into a hallway wall, courtesy of Ethan.

“Stop! Stop!” Sarah was between us before he could catch up and give voice to the fury in his eyes.

Leaving the wall behind, I headed for my bedroom. A couple of heavy footfalls followed, but Sarah stopped Ethan, saying, “Just give him a minute to cool off.”

Not bothering to look back, I shot all watching a middle finger. “That’s all I’m asking for!”