She shook her head. “No, nothing like that.”
I didn’t believe her. My gut screamed at me that something was coming, but I couldn't figure out what.
“How long is she staying?” I went to the sink to rinse out my cup.
“Not long.” Mom answered as the water started.
Masie was Mom’s little sister, and since their parents passed away before I was born, she was the only extended family we ever saw. Dad wasn’t close to his family. His parents lived somewhere remote in Maine and only visited once since Aiden was born. They hadn’t even come to see Brielle, so I didn’t count them as family.
“Oh, bummer.”
“We have something to talk to you about.” Dad’s tone made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I froze, waiting for him to continue. My heart pounded in my chest. Something was wrong. I knew it. Something bad. My hands shook and the glass slipped from my grasp. It crashed into the sink with a loud clatter, but the water that had filled it stayed suspended in the air, as if the cup was still there.
“Saige!” Mom’s scream startled me, and I flinched away from the ball of water in front of me.
“Are you guys okay?” Masie came running back into the kitchen with Aiden on her heels.
I looked from her to my parents, then back at the sink. The water dropped and splashed up the sides but didn’t reach me.
My breath came in pants. Were they going to tell her?
“What happened?” she asked, taking a small step toward me.
I shook my head. “I’m not sure.”
“Aiden, why don’t you go play in your room for a little while,” Mom suggested. He looked like he wanted to argue, but the tension on her face and in the air changed his mind. He glanced around the room one more time before turning and heading back up the stairs.
“The water. It was floating there. Just a mass getting bigger and bigger.” Dad’s wide eyes stayed on me.
“Saige, did you do that?” Masie asked as if that wasn’t the most insane question ever.
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.
“She caused an earthquake last night,” Mom said quietly.
I stared at her. She thought I did that too? I expected her to come up with some random explanation to make it all seem normal.
“Earth and Water?” Masie muttered to herself. She stared down at the tile, lost in thought until her eyes snapped up to mine. “Has anything else happened?”
I shook my head, but Dad answered. “Her nightmares have been getting worse. She refuses to sleep now. She thinks she’s causing the disasters.”
Masie’s face softened, and she reached her hand out to me. I stepped toward her, and she put her arm around me. “Anything else unusual?”
Anything else? Wasn’t what we said enough? There was clearly something seriously wrong with me, and she was acting like there should be more.
I shook my head. Even if there was, I intended on keeping it to myself. The last thing I wanted was to give my parents more reason to have me locked up.
She let out a slow breath. “And this just started?”
“Not the nightmares,” I answered.
“Right. Let’s go sit down.”
Mom picked up Brielle and followed the rest of us into the living room. Dad sat in one of the armchairs while Mom took the other, leaving me and Masie together on the couch. She sat close to me with my hand in hers.
“We hoped this wouldn’t happen,” she murmured, almost to herself.
“What?” She didn’t immediately respond, so I looked to my parents. “What is it?”