Free Turbulence by Elaina John Page B

nodded. “Yes, Avalon. I do. Very much. Do you mind
staying with her while I’m gone? I’ll pay you extra.”
    “No need. I would do it even if you had not asked.” She’d
noticed Lily getting more fatigued and rushing off to the bathroom frequently.
It made Avalon worried too.
    “Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.”
    Before she even realized what was happening, Dex kissed her
cheek. It was quick, but it caused her face to burn like fire.
    Getting back to the present, Avalon walked across the living
room. She had laundry to fold, but it could wait. It would take her no time to
do it later. She pointed to the chair. “Mind if I sit here?”
    “Not at all. Sit here on the couch.” Lily moved her feet
back, making a portion of the couch free for Avalon.
    “Thank you. How are you feeling?”
    “Good. Better.”
    “Truly?”
    “Yes. Everything’s fine over here.” She gestured to herself,
but there was something guarded in her eyes. A secret she could not quite hide.
“Want to watch TV? I have Worst Cooks in America on DVR.”
    Avalon had no clue what that was, but she agreed. It turned
out to be a show where bad cooks competed against each other while burning
things and using wrong ingredients unintentionally. Avalon learned tips and
recipes from the professional chefs who served as team leaders that she planned
to use when she cooked dinner.
    “I like this show.”
    “Yeah, me too,” Lily said. “It makes me want to bake.”
    “You bake?”
    “Don’t look so surprised. I did it all before you came
along. Baking was something my twin sister and I loved to do, especially Shay.
Cookies were her thing.” A sad, resigned smile stretched her lips.
    “Where is she?” There were a few photos around the house of
Lily with her sister, but she did not talk about her and Avalon never asked,
though she wondered why the young woman never came around. Was it because she
was human?
    Lily shrugged. “I don’t know where she is. She took off a
year ago when the Jhetans were living in Nevada. My parents are on my case,
convinced I’m hiding something for Shay.”
    “Are you?” Avalon posed.
    “You don’t know, do you?”
    Avalon shook her head back and forth. She was not one to
listen to gossip or to believe hearsay. However, after she heard the story Lily
relayed about the evil of Department X and her sister’s abduction, Avalon was
horrified. Not only at what happened to Shay but what the Jhetans had to go
through.
    Lily fast-forwarded through the commercials on the
television. “Now you see why I can’t tell my parents anything? They can’t know
that. And I have hope that Shay will come home.”
    Avalon wasn’t quite sure what she should say. She thought
her life before this was rocky. They all had a tough go at it.
    They continued to watch the reality show, but she couldn’t
quite let go of the feeling that Lily was hiding something more than worry for
her sister. The look in her eyes earlier wasn’t easy to forget.
    Avalon didn’t like using her ability in an underhanded,
selfish fashion. Yet she could not stop herself. She scooted over so that
Lily’s foot touched her thigh. There was no telling what she’d see or at what
time period, but it was worth a shot. If Lily was seriously ill, someone needed
to know. Maybe she could receive help in time.
    Avalon released the hold she kept on her gift. It overtook
her, sucking her into a vortex. The vision appeared, fuzzy at first and then
clearer. It was a warm day, the sun bright in the sky. A blanket lay across a
green lawn. On top of the blanket was Dex and Lily. Lily looked healthy, a rosy
glow to her cheeks. She and Dex grinned at each other and then both looked down
with adoring eyes. Between them was a baby with a head full of dark hair,
wearing a white t-shirt and a diaper.
    Dex started to say something. The vision shattered away
before Avalon could get more. But she got enough. She stared at Lily with wide
eyes.
    “You’re with child.”
    Lily sucked