Free Heal Me (A Touched Trilogy Book 2) by Angela Fristoe Page A

certain type of desperation, not for me to feel secure in my decision, but in fear that her visions had been wrong yet again.
    “You have no idea what it’s like...” I shook my head, unable to even begin explaining it to her. How could I ever hope that she would feel what I did?
    “Then tell me, Lils. Because obviously something is wrong with Dylan and you’re not willing to help him.”
    Not willing to help. If only she could feel how much I had helped him already.
    “You have the easiest gift of all of us,” she continued. “You simply touch someone and make everything feel better. Why won’t you just help Dylan and then things can go back to normal?”
    The unfamiliar rise of anger sparked in me again. She had no clue what my gift was like. She wanted me to use my gift, just so she could comfort herself in the knowledge that her ability was still working right.
    “Have you ever stuck your hand over a candle and held it there? Have you thrust your entire arm into a pot of boiling water?” The words poured out of me, devoid of any of the raging emotions I was feeling, and once they started, I couldn’t seem to hold them in any longer. “Would you find that easier than staring into space and watching a blurry picture? Would you like to feel every ounce of pain and suffering a person is going through when they’ve just watched someone they love die? Would you like to have the memory of how Mom felt as she bled out?”
    Phoebe stared at me in growing horror. She had no clue what my gift was about. No one did.
    “It hurts. I hurt. Every moment of every day, I feel all the pain and anger and crap that everyone around me is feeling. Each time Dylan touches me, I want to die. He pulls everything I am out of me and replaces it with this vile, twisting mess of negativity and emptiness. That’s why I’ve been so tired, because he leaves me with nothing inside.”
    I knew she was shocked and hurt. And that was exactly why I had never told my sisters what my gift did to me. This moment would change everything between us and I hated the fact that I had caused it and the desire to pull the words back in was overwhelming, but it was too late.
    “I...I’m sorry, Lils,” she said, staring at me as if I’d grown horns. “I had no idea... you never said anything. I’m so sorry.”
    She was sorry and I was sorry, because in the end, telling her wouldn’t fix anything. So, I did what I always did. I reached out and touched her hand. A few seconds and she wore a hint of a smile.
    If only it were that easy to heal myself.

 
     
    Chapter 5
     
    Despite telling him I’d be over, I skipped going to Micah’s that afternoon, preferring to avoid his curious hazel gaze and continue wallowing in self-pity. I’d never been a fan of pity parties, but this felt like the kind of day that lent itself to one. Although, considering I'd just dumped him, Dylan probably had a better reason to feel sorry for himself. It was hard not to think about him. I hadn’t been sure I loved him when I told him it was over, but I knew now.
    I did love him, I probably always would, just not enough.
    My cell phone rang a few times with Dylan’s picture flashing across the screen. After the fourth call, I turned it off. He eventually must have figured out I’d done that, because he switched to calling the home phone. Luckily Dad wasn’t there, because as much as he liked Dylan, he’d pull out all his legal jargon about harassment and stalking laws.
    Dylan’s third call on the home phone came after Phoebe made it home from Nathan’s. I was sitting on the couch watching The Hobbit when she came into the den, holding the phone in one hand. She held it up to me, but I shook my head, letting my red curtain of curls cover my face.
    “I’m sorry, Dylan,” she said into the receiver. “I thought she was in her room, but I guess she’s still over at M...out.”
    She tried to cover that she’d nearly said I was over at Micah’s, which could only