Chapter 8

After Mr. Shepherd’s declaration, he excused himself and went upstairs. I still had questions – nay, demands for him. I couldn’t understand why he had said what he did. I wasn’t anyone important. Certainly not to fate. However, Christian kept me from following the man upstairs. I tried asking him some questions but he told me that he would call Rachel again when Mr. Shepherd was feeling up to talking again. Feeling both apprehensive about the rest of the day and a little putout, I left quietly.

The drive back with Rachel turned into something of an argument. Knowing that Mr. Shepherd’s second vision had been triggered by the first, I was trying to talk my way out of the apartment. I tried my best to convince Rachel that an apartment for me might not be the best idea.

“I do appreciate that Mr. Shepherd is trying to help and that you’re willing to take on the additional costs, but I still don’t understand the need for it.” That was the summary of my argument.

“Ral, you’re being stubborn.” And that was her side of it. “Both of us are trying to help you, it’s that simple.”

“I can’t afford an apartment though.”

“That’s why I’m helping you with it.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean?” she asked, glancing at me.

“Why are you so willing to help?”

For a while, she drove without saying anything. I thought she was trying to avoid answering but then she said, “I want to help ... for my reasons.”

That struck me as a bit odd. She had reasons but she wasn’t willing to share them. I knew I was looking a gift horse in the mouth, but her motives, more than Mr. Shepherd’s, were a complete mystery to me. Mr. Shepherd may have seen some catastrophe with me at the center should I stay at the dorm. They say ‘seeing is believing’ so I could understand his motivation. He simply didn’t want what he’d seen to come to pass. Rachel, on the other hand, was deliberately being mysterious.

“If I agree to move, to let you help me, will you tell me why?” I asked gently.

Again, she sat there, thinking while driving. “I ... I’m not sure.”

“So, even if I go along with Mr. Shepherd’s suggestion, you won’t necessarily tell me why you’re willing to make me a charity case?”

She looked at me then. “You’re not a charity case.”

“If I need help that has no reason for it, I’d say I am.”

“So, to you, I want something in return for helping you?” She didn’t sound happy asking that.

I turned to look out the window, my shoulders slumped and my insides felt quite saggy too. “I don’t know. I just don’t understand why you’d be willing to get me an apartment.”

“Friends are supposed to help each other out,” she said simply.

I looked at her again. “We haven’t known each other for twenty–four hours. I like the idea of us becoming fast friends but how can either of us have built enough trust to do something like this?”

She shrugged. “People do it all the time. They take the chance and either come away having learned a lesson about the other person or they’ve made a friend they can trust.”

“So, this is just a matter of us taking a chance on each other?” Even to me that sounded tactless.

She looked at me for a few seconds. “I’d say I’m taking the bigger chance, wouldn’t you?”

A twinge of guilt shot through me with that. “Yeah.”

“Then why are you so worried?” she asked.

I looked out the window while thinking. I wasn’t sure why I was worried. Mr. Shepherd had offered the suggestion. I didn’t have to take it and neither did Rachel. He wasn’t our boss or parent or any other kind of authority figure, so he couldn’t make us do what he suggested. Did he have an ulterior motive for this? Did Rachel? I didn’t know either of them well enough to know. Finally, I said, “No one’s ever just given me anything before. There was always a reason behind it or an exchange of some kind.” Then I looked at her. “My parents wouldn’t even get me a car.”

Rachel glanced back at me. “Well don’t look at me for that. I’m not either.” Then she smiled, taking the sting out of her barb.

I smiled too. I didn’t expect her to give me anything. Of course, there were other reasons for not wanting an apartment, other than just being able to afford the rent. Not having any furniture was one thing, and sleeping on the floor didn’t sound appealing. The last thing I wanted to do was argue with Rachel about getting an apartment for me and then turn around and ask if she could help with furniture. Of course, she had already admitted to planning on helping me with that too, which was what led to Mr. Shepherd’s second vision.

“You don’t have to buy me a new mattress,” I said under my breath. She still heard me and understood the implications.

“That second vision won’t just go away Ral. It was going to happen whether you were there or not.” She glanced over at me. “Is that what’s got you so worried?”

I glanced at her in turn and nodded. “I can’t get it out of my head. How the hell am I supposed to stop someone from killing two people? Act like a human shield? Take the bullets and hope that I can heal myself enough to survive?”

Rachel shook her head. “I don’t think that’s the case. Mr. Shepherd would have said something if you were going to get hurt.”

“Would he? I don’t doubt he’s had plenty of visions, but I’m sure some of his warnings about danger have only led the person in question into the very danger he foresaw rather than away from it.”

She was shaking her head again. “I can’t account for every vision he’s ever had. I’m sure what you’re saying is true, but in all the visions he’s told me about, he’s been as honest as possible. He’s no different from you or me. He does the best he can and we have to trust that what he sees is going to help.”

Trust. That was the key. How much did I trust Mr. Shepherd? I knew less about him than I did Rachel, yet here I was agreeing to his suggestion for an apartment so no danger would befall anyone else in the dorm around me or so that I wouldn’t accidentally use any of them as guinea pigs. For all I knew, he wanted me isolated for some nefarious purpose. What that could be, I had no idea. He seemed to be as ignorant as he was knowledgeable. Though he had answered some of the questions I had about seeing auras, I left there with almost as many questions unanswered.

We drove on, getting closer to Arlington. The sun wasn’t even close to setting, but the clock on her dashboard read 4:30. The office closed at five. Traffic was heavy, but moving freely along the highway.

Out of nowhere, Rachel said, “I honestly don’t know why I’m willing to get you an apartment.” It bothered her as much as me.

I looked at her. She continued watching the road. “Thank you,” I said softly.

She looked over at me with a smile. As our eyes met for that minuscule fragment of a second, I felt blessed with the warmth of her smile. Then she looked back at the road and the feeling was gone.