Falling Under by Gwen Hayes Page A

of Varnie’s house, I reminded myself of Ame with her endless enthusiasm. A huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders knowing that I would soon understand what was pulling me towards Haden—or Haden towards me. I knocked on the door and leaned to look in the picture window of the front room. The boxes were gone.
    Dread frosted over my previous optimism. The house looked empty. I muttered a string of words I’d learned from Donny and sat dejectedly on the stoop. Varnie had made good on his proclamation of leaving town. I rose and sent one more dejected look at his front door.
    As I accepted the inevitable, I noticed the white corner of an envelope sticking out from under the welcome mat. I toed it the rest of the way out. It had my name on it. I scooped it up and sat down on the step again, tearing into it before I remembered I was an Alderson and above that kind of unseemly behavior.
    My hands shook as I read Varnie’s unfamiliar scrawl.
    Theia,
    I’m sorry I missed you. I knew you’d come back (see, I told you I was the real deal), but things were just too dicey for me to hang around.
    I wish I had all the answers you need. I really don’t know what is going on with you. The problem with being a psychic, even a very good one, is that you can’t always control what is visible and what remains in the shadows.
    You, little girl, are shadowed more than anyone I’ve ever met.
    I’ve tried to get a clearer shot of you, but I just can’t. All I can tell you is what I said the other day. Something wants you, and badly.
    You’ll need a talisman. It won’t protect you, but you’ll need one just the same. Talk to Miss Amelia. She’ll be able to help you with that.
    Good luck to you. And your friends. I wish I could stick around and help, but I’m not sure I could do much for you anyway. In other words, I’m too scared to hang around and find out.
    Varnie
     
    I walked around town for an hour, letting Varnie’s words crisscross my brain over and over again. Donny texted me for a coffee date, but I wasn’t ready to talk yet and she knew me so well that I wouldn’t be able to hide what I was feeling, so I declined, claiming homework.
    I hit the side roads then, so Donny wouldn’t see me on her way to the coffee shop. She texted me again to remind me we were going dancing at Chasm that night and that I wasn’t allowed to bail. And then once more to tell me she’d run into “that sneetch with the book” again. This time, she’d let him look down her shirt before she “accidentally” spilled her mocha on his trendy tennis shoes. I sighed as I typed “LOL” even though what I meant was “Poor Gabe.”
    I figured I should go home or ask Amelia what Varnie meant about a talisman, but I just didn’t want to yet. I was scared and angry and confused. I didn’t want to talk about it—I didn’t even want to think about it. I just needed a break from my own life.
    A huge pickup with muddy flaps passed me, then stopped and came back at me in reverse. My heart caught in my throat. Haden rolled the passenger window down.
    It wasn’t exactly the vehicle I’d expected to see him drive. He seemed more like a sports car bloke. Something low to the ground with too much chrome and shiny paint. Instead, this behemoth truck dwarfed me with its size and excessive show of masculinity.
    “Theia?” Haden hit a button and I heard the door unlock. “Do you need a ride?”
    I glanced around furtively. “I’m not really sure where I’m going.”
    “So hop in,” said the spider to the fly.
    Doubt settled in my stomach. The warnings of Varnie and my father swirled together into a slow-cooked stew of unease. I barely knew this boy—and what little I did know of him was not comforting in the least.
    “I don’t know.” To be honest, I wanted to get in, despite the possible danger. Maybe because of it. “Okay.” I decided. “Thanks.”
    I hesitated at the door. A person of my height needed a stepladder to get into his