chapter 72 *Wingspan*

pure white snow falls down at medium tempo. 

any moment it was going to pile high on the sidewalks and overlap the streets, blocking off my safe path en route and force me to walk on the road. once that happened the good people of st. peters ville could forget about driving; at least until the roads were plowed over with salt.

and given the sheriffs office only employed two people not to mention the recent budget cuts that would take a while.

i lift the suitcase up in my arms in spite of the pang in my wrist trying to get a better grip on the darn thing. i packed a couple bare essentials like undergarments and body lotion so i wouldn't necessarily miss any of it.

i thought about ditching it to the side of the road but it was the suitcase grandma gave me i was sentimental about.

i alternately look down in-between small branches and use my free hand to keep limbs with sharp leaves on them from poking me in the face. pine hurt. evergreens were the worst.

now that was a scratch that would prick.

there was a particular reason i was not speaking to my best friend right now; i had a sneaky understanding chanel would not like me prying and so i kept it to myself. i could see dead people and my gift let me channel some things i had no control over.

i used to celebrate Christmas until the day chanel died.

the season triggered old wounds that had a unique way of choking me up. mentally exhausting memories were my definition of the boogeyman. each time i thought i was safe and in the clear there it was again, like a bad rash that only appeared on one spot of your tummy.

it was a Thursday and that particular week held a three day weekend.

students from my old school were pumped because instead of Friday we had an extra day to party and that Thursday started it off. 

for some reason i couldn't understand i stayed home that night. i lied that i was coming down with the flu and told chanel that it wouldn't do any good to stay behind if i was contagious. so she went. that day i just couldn't face people and i knew that Chanel was looking forward to the weekend and in hindsight now it all seemed irrelevant.

i look on past the smoke.

i was standing in a favored backstreet accumulating a large pile of snow.

people died every day but it was different witnessing a loved turn lifeless right before your eyes in a matter of seconds. my heart was heavy with grief. i wanted to block it out but couldn't since they were chanels last memories before the explosion killed her and two others.

once it began i stare in horror unable to look away. it was dark. well past midnight in a two lane road and the oncoming vehicle was coming in fast and reckless. 

the crying caught my attention first. it all happened so fast and they were all wasted; they never had a chance. no matter how many times i saw it i had always wondered if chanel felt any pain at the end.

a spark would ignite causing the flames to burn everything.

i can feel the scorching heat amid the snowstorm. i pick at my turtleneck drenched with sweat underneath the gaudy material. sooner than anticipated a loud bang erupts followed by shooting car parts.

i back up when a corroded side panel flies my way.

i cough as my lungs breathe in gasoline fumes-

"aislin? aislin!"

the smoke finally clears and i see chanel starring at me in a matching candy winter outfit.

i laugh secretly hoping she didn't know that i knew.

"for loving eternity." her emotion warps to irritation. the indigo lights that sparked from her body turning red like fireworks. "how could you not here me calling your name?" she eyed me, her brown eyebrows furrowed.

"sorry." i grin wiping away tears. i was crying? "i was mentally going over notes for the pop quiz we may or may not have monday. the headmistress really has it in for us." i watch her expression in case she suspected anything.

"what's the deal with the professor?" she asks taking the bait.

i lift an eyebrow at her sudden interest. "she's the headmistress." i tell her. "basically she manages the student roster and tells all the professors on campus what to do."

"she's the one who could"...chanel makes a cut of throat comparison.

"yeah." i nod my head thinking about what happened earlier with my parents. "that's why im taking it so seriously, you know?"

chanel squeals loudly. "ooh. we're here." she leaves me behind and floats to our car.

i shake my head. honestly...

a chauffeur opens the door. "thanks." i greet him.

"do you want to put that in the back then miss?"

i shake my head. "i got it." i sit down with the suitcase on my lap. he closes the door and walks to the driver side.

"this is nice." chanel floats in between leather seat cushions.

yeah it was. 

i try not to laugh as i look on at the passing trees. despite the bizarre synchronicities i was grateful to be at stark house. i put a lot of stress on myself not to mention all that late night studying. it was a perfect time for a short getaway that couldn't have come too soon.

"aislin?" chanel leans forward and waves her hand in my face. light shooting from her fingertips like sparklers.

i shake my head of former thoughts. "i'm sorry. what did you say?" i ask the driver who had stopped the car and was now waiting for me.

"we're here." the driver announces patiently and looks at me through the backseat mirror.

i open the door before he could get out.

"right. thank you." i grab my suitcase and swing the door shut.

with chanel behind me i walk on the pebble mosaic pathway and up three wooden steps.

i roll my fingers in a tight fist and round out a set of taps -rat tat tat- rat tat tat- my lifeless fingers pounding on the door relentlessly.

not long after the door opens and a friendly smile greets me.

i clean the bottom of my boots on the welcome mat and step inside.

"thank you for the cab." i say putting my suitcase down next to the coat rack.

grandma was a seer. 

she had clients and that's how she made her money. she would look into the future without using the pretense of a crystal ball and by using her intuition would tell a client what direction their fate was leaning into if she stayed at that standstill job. 

like me, grandma loved her clients and didn't stop herself from suggesting how he should better seek fulfillment in another past time hobby or prevent that middle aged couple from going on a vacation at this time. 

and because grandma provided her services she could save a mans life just by suggesting he go on a separate cruise.

apart from me grandma was the only woman in my family who had a gift. she must have known that i was coming today even though i didn't bother to call and tell her that i was on my way. grandma must have been working today because she wore her goddess outfit, a classic black scoop of the neck dress that stopped below her knee and gemstones for jewelry. a silver belt cinched her waist. 

grandmas favorite color was turquoise and on her left hand she had two cocktail rings, one a skinny oval, the other had a chunky facet with a small gemstone in the middle. 

with a healthy glow she was just as rejuvenated as ever. i welcomed a perfectly powdered face that had been perfected over the years done up with black eye brow filler, dashing blue eye shadow that enhanced her brown eyes and pretty 'n pink lipstick painted with care on her thin lips. 

the striker gene not only had a cavernous tooth for all things sweet but we aged in degrees. people mentioned all the time that she didn't look like a grandma with an almost eighteen year old for a granddaughter. 

"Nonsense." she envelopes me in a strong hug. Her pearl white chandelier earrings dangle -swish swish swash and since grandma was taller than me by at least four feet her pretty earrings hit me in the face. 

i let myself sink into her hug and smelled all the memories that enveloped me over the years. grandma always smelled like home. 

"but i am curious. why didn't you let me pick you up at stark house?" she asks walking past a table that had burning incense wafting up my nose.

that did it for me.

all the longing, the feeling of not belonging dissipated for the time i was back at grandmas. this comfort was exactly what i'd needed to get back on track.

"it's a long story." i tell her all about my new school and the people i met as i lock the front door behind me.

"and you brought your friend." grandma smiles patiently waiting for me in the hallway.