Silent Orchids (The Age of Alandria: Book One) by Morgan Wylie Page B

she realized they were both staring at her, waiting for her to finish.
    Finn looked pale. Seriously, what is going on with him?  
    “Well, what are these ‘flashes’ about?” asked Chel, obviously trying to remain calm as her eyes shifted back and forth between Kaeleigh and Finn.
    “Once, I saw images of a wedding in a forest with a crowd of people and creatures I didn’t know or had never seen before. This last one, there was some kind of battle.” Kaeleigh looked over at Finn, silently asking if she could tell Chel about last night, but before she could even say anything, he looked at her and nodded as if he knew what she was going to ask. 
    “I already told Finn about it because he had some kind of premonition or something that I was in trouble and came over to check on me. Or maybe I screamed and he heard me, but whatever,” she said with an embarrassed shrug. “Apparently, my flash had me in some kind of comatose state that he had a hard time waking me out of. I was pretty shaken up so he stayed the night.” Kaeleigh quickly glanced at Chel from under her lashes to see how she was going to react to that last part.
    “Wow, that’s intense. I’d have hit him if he had left you like that. Wait!... Oh man, that means you guys had a slumber party without me. Sad,” she said with a pouty face. “It’s okay, I had a slumber party of my own, if you know what I mean,” she unabashedly said as she winked at Kaeleigh AGAIN. Kaeleigh blushed, which she was sure was Chel’s intent, and hit her hand against her forehead. Only Chel would change the subject like that. Kaeleigh just shook her head.
    “What’s with all the winking today, or does your eye just have a twitch going on?” Kaeleigh bit out, slightly irritated as she exaggerated a wink back at her.
    “If he comes back, let me know RIGHT AWAY, and for god’s sake stop dreaming or flashing—or whatever it is!” Finn got up and stormed out of The Station. Chel and Kaeleigh both looked at each other, dumbfounded. Again with the walking away?
    “What the F was that about? What is going on with him?” Kaeleigh asked Chel, but didn’t expect her to have an answer.  
    Chel stared out the window for a minute, deep in thought, then shrugged and kept drinking her coffee. “He’s just moody, maybe it’s his time of the month,” she said, laughing into her cup. “And did you just say ‘what the F’?” Chel laughed out. 
    “What can I say, I didn’t want to dirty the loveliness of this space.” She shrugged.
    “Well then, I guess you better stop flashing too,” Chel laughed out again, causing Kaeleigh to laugh too which was of course her point. Taking a deep breath and a more serious tone she added, “He is right, though, you should let us know if he comes back.” Chel paused with a vacant expression on her face then snapped out of it, adding, “Well, at least me because I want a good look at him.” She purposefully winked yet again.
    Ugh! She really shouldn’t be allowed to have her own ‘slumber parties’—she’s much too chipper .
    Chel, suddenly serious, asked, “Do you think the flashes really might mean something, or maybe they are some kind of self-imposed coping mechanism that your imagination created to deal with stress?” Chel vacantly stared into space then shrugged, offering a sly smirk.
    “Wow. Well, doctor , I hadn’t even thought of that until you so subtly pointed it out,” Kaeleigh said sarcastically, yet sobered at the thought of its possibilities. 
    “Please keep us posted if you have more. Don’t shut us out, okay, Kaeleigh?” Chel said softly, pleading with her eyes. Kaeleigh nodded. 
    “I mean it’s not like you can just ‘stop flashing.’ What’s the matter with him?” Chel said with a smirk, trying not to laugh while she gathered her things to leave. “You know, it must have been the sun shining on your face. Your eyes seem their normal green now.” Shrugging it off, she added, “Hey, don’t you