Free Visions: The Mystical Encounter Series (The Mystical Encounter Series Book 1) by Kimberly Readnour Page A

as she blinked away her tears. At that moment, Caleb joined us while dropping his tray down beside me.
    “What’s with you?” he asked, directing his question toward Nicole.
    “Nothing…‌We’re just having a heart–to–heart discussion. You know, girl stuff,” she replied with a half–smile, composing herself rather quickly. As she straightened in her seat, she un–wrapped her sandwich as if we hadn’t just had one of the most intense conversations of my life.
    “Women.” He shook his head as Barry and couple more friends piled in around us. “I’ll never understand them.”
    When Barry smiled as he sat down across from me, I somehow managed a weak smile back, but I couldn’t bring myself to meet his eyes. Still upset, I didn’t want to be anywhere close to him. With my gaze dropping down to my lunch, I studied it as if it was the most intriguing macaroni and cheese I’d ever seen. Though my appetite disappeared, I didn’t want to chance him noticing my expression. It would take him one minute to figure out how upset I was. Not wanting to risk him asking in front of everyone, I sat there toying with my food. I was miserable, knowing the bonds of trust between us were shattered, and I would never consider him trustworthy. It was a horrible resolution. I knew he’d hurt me one day, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon.
    As the group’s discussion turned to last night’s baseball game on television, I tuned everyone out. It was a habit to which I was accustomed, making it easy for me to fall back into my old tendencies.
    What clouded my mind was the fact another person besides Barry knew about my abilities. It was pretty naive of me to believe nobody would find out. I mean, eventually it would come out. It’s just…‌I wasn’t ready for anyone to be aware yet. I certainly didn’t expect Barry to go blab the first chance he got, either. I thought he understood my need for secrecy.
    His betrayal upset me the most. Having somebody else know my secret was painful enough, but telling Nicole behind my back, that hurt. Not only was the knife plunged deep into my back, but as the seconds passed, he slowly twisted the handle, sinking it deeper. Sitting across from him was torturous.
    All through lunch, the minutes ticked excruciatingly slow. I was pretty sure Barry kept glancing my way because the weight of his stare descended upon me heavily. I refused to give him any interaction as I blocked him, and everyone else, out. The need to escape was almost overwhelming. I wanted to run as far away as possible and be alone. At least when I was by myself, nobody could hurt me. Debating whether I should leave that instant or remain seated, I decided to stay. Leaving now would cause people to ask questions I didn’t want to answer yet. So I sat there, feeling numb, while waiting for the bell to release me from my private hell.
    After a grueling twenty minutes, lunch ended. I let out the breath I seemed to be holding as everyone started leaving. Nicole rose, and I noticed her slight hesitation before she made the correct choice and left. With no attempt to acknowledge her existence, I remained seated as she scurried off. But I wasn’t alone. Barry didn’t make an effort to move, either. As soon as everyone was out of hearing range, he leaned across the table and asked, “Are you mad at me?”
    Extremely , I wanted to shout. Still not willing to glance his way, I stared at my uneaten lunch. As calmly as possible, I said, “I’m fine.”
    “Heather, don’t play games with me. Something’s bothering you, I can tell.”
    My eyes snapped up, boring directly into his as my voice came across icier than intended. “I have to get to class.”
    As I started to walk away, he raced to the end of the table grabbing my arm and said, “Heather…‌ Wait.”
    I halted, turned my head toward him, and just glared. He dropped his hand quickly, as an understanding crossed his face before stating, “Nicole said something to