“I know, I know,” Nate sighed. “I was just being overprotective. The truth is, I know how hurt I felt when I realized you’d been lying to me and hiding this for the whole time we’ve known each other. We had years of friendship and partnership behind us. But with Chris, things are still new. You have the chance to do it right. He’ll understand that you had to be sure about him before you could come out and tell him. Use this opportunity to show that you trust him. Make up for pulling your gun.”
“What about what you said?” Laura asked. “About the fact that he might try to have me committed if he thinks I’m crazy?”
“I don’t know if he’ll do that,” Nate admitted. “I was projecting. I’m the one who jumped to the conclusion that something was wrong with you. And when you told me about your dream, it made me realize—I would never do that to you. I would stand by your side. So, if it does go badly and he does try to have you committed, I’ll stand by you and be a witness on your side. I’ll accuse Chris of making it up if I have to. I won’t let that happen.”
Laura thought it over for a moment. What Nate was saying was really monumental, considering where they had been not too long ago. He hadn’t even wanted to know her. He’d been about to move away just so he wouldn’t have to sit in the same office with her on the odd days neither of them was on assignment.
Now he was back where he had been all along before that rift came between them: right next to her. Nate had always had her back as a partner and as a friend too.
And hearing his words made her feel unbelievably light. Like a huge weight and pressure had been lifted away from her.
That was how she knew that telling Chris was the right thing to do. Nothing that was wrong could ever make her feel this good just to think about the possibility of it happening.
“Thanks,” she said, and meant it with deep sincerity.
“Yeah, well,” Nate said, shrugging self-consciously and clearing his throat again. “Anyway. What are you thinking? Chinese? Pizza? Burgers?”
Laura laughed, though gently so as not to hurt her throat.
It didn’t matter what they ate tonight. Suddenly, she did want to go to bed early after all. Because tomorrow, she had something to look forward to.
Even if it terrified her—the thought of it going wrong and losing Chris—for the first time in a long time, Laura had so much hope for the future that she could only smile all the way back to the motel.
***
Laura opened her front door and nodded a greeting, seeing one of the two men she had to meet today waiting for her.
“How’s your throat?” Zach asked, hand going to his own in sympathy.
Laura smiled and shrugged. “A little rough,” she said, the husky croak of her voice providing evidence. She’d had to do it this way round. Zach first, then Chris. Because she knew that if she did it the other way around, and Chris rejected her, she would be emotionally weak.
She might not have the strength to do what she now knew she needed to do, in order to keep her abilities and keep saving lives.
The problems with her visions had gone on for too long, and she needed to fix them. Until this trip, she hadn’t understood how. But now that she knew, she couldn’t ignore it.
“Sit down,” she said, gesturing toward her sofa, letting Zach enter the apartment past her before closing the door.
Zach sat, but the older man did so slowly. He looked at her when he was done—straight-backed, his hands resting flat on his knees, looking like he was ready to attend a job interview. His face was gentle and resigned.
He must have known.
Laura sat at a right angle to him in the armchair, folding her legs over one another and then trying to find the best way to start. It was delicate, and she didn’t think she knew exactly the words to use.
“You’ve called me here to say goodbye,” Zach said, breaking the silence with regret in his tone.
“Yes,” Laura said with some relief, and hesitated. “Did you work it out too?”
“It’s our proximity,” Zach said. He heaved a deep breath, looking down at his hands. “I only started to have visions again once you left for your case. When you were gone, they were hazy and hard to understand. Then as time went on, they seemed to get clearer. It’s the same phenomenon that happened last time. We’ve been too close by one another.”
“Then you understand,” Laura said, looking down. She couldn’t bear to look him in the eye.
All this time she had spent looking for another psychic, for someone like her. Someone who might help her to understand her abilities better, even mentor her. Zach had seemed like the perfect candidate.
But the fact that he was just like her was precisely the reason why she could never see him again.
“I do understand,” Zach nodded slowly. “For you, the visions are so important. You’re using them to save lives. Much more important than spending time with an old man.”
It nearly broke Laura’s heart to hear him say that. “We can experiment,” she said. “Once you go back home, maybe we can try calling or emailing. Video call, even. It might be different then. It might not affect us so badly.”