Free Parallel Visions by Cheryl Rainfield

sister ’ s husband? ”
    I nod and cough some more. Use the inhaler again. No way am I going to the hospital. I can control it. “ Spies on her, then hurts her. ” Another cough.
     
    “ Always have your cell on you! ” Mason roars. “ I want to be able to reach you any time I need you. ”
    Jenna cringes, nodding.
    Mason smiles, fingering the cell in his jean ’ s pocket.
     
    “ I ’ m taking you home, ” Gil says.
    “ No. It ’ s almost over, ” I say. “ We have to help Jenna. ”
    “ Yeah, we do. But not like this. ”
     

ELEVEN
    I look up at Gil, confused. I cough again, and suck more air into my whistling lungs. “ Like what? ”
    Gil stands and pulls me up with him. His face is dark, his mouth tight. “ You did this on purpose. You triggered an attack to get a vision. ”
    Wow. I didn ’ t think he ’ d know. Didn ’ t think anyone would ever know. But I can ’ t deny it. “ Of course I did! I have to try to help her. ” I cough harder, my chest tightening again.
     
    Inez strides home from school, repeatedly looking over her shoulder. Three teen boys follow her, school blazers flapping, shouting, “ Lezzie ! Hey, dyke! ”
    They drag her into an alley and ram her up against the wall. Inez punches and kicks them, but there are too many of them. One pins her arms while another unzips her pants.
    “ You haven ’ t had it with a real man yet. We ’ ll make you like boys, you queer dyke. ”
    Inez screams, punching at them, but they hold her down.
     
    “ Kate! ” Gil pushes my inhaler toward my mouth. “ If this doesn ’ t get better fast, I don ’ t care what you say, I ’ m calling 911. ”
    “ It ’ s getting better! ” I say, wheezing, and cough again.
     
    Inez rocks on her bed, arms wrapped tight around her stomach. “ No one will believe me, ” she whispers to herself. “ The lesbian who cries rape. Who doesn ’ t like boys. Who asked for it. ” Tears stream down her reddened cheeks. “ Three upstanding boys against queer little me. ” And then she gets up, lifts up her mattress, and pulls out a stash of hidden pills.
     
    “ Don ’ t you want to know what I saw about Inez? ” I cough again, my chest aching, but my breathing is coming easier, now.
    “ You know I do! ” Gil yells, his eyes too bright. “ But you can ’ t keep doing this. How is it going to help Inez and Jenna if you kill yourself? Do you know how guilty they ’ ll feel? ”
    “ They won ’ t know! And I ’ m not going to die. ”
    “ I ’ ll know! ” Gil jabs his chest.
    In the house across the street, someone pulls back the drapes and a face appears at the window.
    “ I ’ m sorry, ” I say. “ I didn ’ t know how else to do this. ” I wheeze harder.
    I have to stay calm. I can talk in complete sentences again, which means I ’ m out of the danger zone. But strong emotion can trigger another attack, or make this one worse. I breathe out. “ Inez was gang-raped by some boys from school. They targeted her because she ’ s queer. Said they could make her straight. ”
    Gil ’ s hands clench. “ Those bastards! Tell me who they are! I ’ ll kill them! ” A vein in his neck pulses.
    I ’ ve never seen him so angry. It should frighten me, after seeing what Mason ’ s done to Jenna, but it doesn ’ t feel the same. This is protective rage. “ I didn ’ t recognize them; I only know they ’ re from school because of their jackets. They looked a year or two older than us. ”
    “ Can you pick them out of the yearbooks? ” Gil asks hoarsely.
    “ I don ’ t know, ” I say. “ But even if I could, that ’ s up to Inez, not me. And I don ’ t think she ’ s ready for that. ”
    “ You ’ re right. Damn it! ” Gil slumps. “ Maybe what you told me will help me help her. But neither Inez or Jenna would want you to kill yourself just to help them! ” The vein in Gil ’ s neck is pulsing again. “ Was all that stuff you told Inez about wanting to live just a lie? I won