D. Graham - What Are The Chances?

Sophie shot me a cautionary glare.

“It sucked,” I said loudly for her benefit, then winked at Doug and whispered, “It was the most amazing experience of my life.”

Sophie groaned. Doug chuckled and hugged her. “Don’t worry, babe. When the band makes it big we’ll tour all over the world.”

“From Winnipeg to New York, then Tokyo,” she muttered.

“Exactly.” Doug pointed at her to cement the point. “Positive intentions.”

“Make it happen.” She shoved his shoulder. “I’m going to be pissed until it does.”

“On it,” he promised before he encouraged Kailyn to stand and dance with him while he sang her a Riley Rivers song.

“Doug’s in a good mood,” I said to Sophie as I made scrambled eggs.

“Yeah. Weird, right? He’s been perma-happy since we went on tour. And I don’t know why since life on the road kind of bites.” She flicked my arm and raised one eyebrow in a suggestive way. “We passed Murphy and Trevor going the other way on the highway. When did he get home from California?”

“Last night.” I served the eggs onto five plates and slid them across the table one at a time.

“That’s interesting timing. Did he come over for breakfast?” She braced her boot against the side of the cupboards and leaned until her stool teetered on only two feet, balancing by resting her back against the wall.

“Nope.” I leaned my elbows on the table.

“Too bad,” she made a purring sound in her throat. Doug gave her a pseudo-offended look, so she said, “Don’t worry, babe. The ruggedly handsome outdoorsy type doesn’t do it for me.”

He laughed.

She kicked my leg. “I have a good feeling. I think you and Trevor are going to finally get together this summer.”

“You should probably let go of that hope. It definitely wasn’t meant to be. He has a girlfriend now.”

“What? When did that happen?”

I shrugged, not really sure about the details. “Kailyn mentioned something about it a couple of months ago. I also overheard Murphy and his brother going on once about how hot she is.”

“Hey, Doug!” Sophie shouted across the kitchen and interrupted the guys talking. “Did you know Trevor’s been seeing someone?”

His smile disappeared and his eyes shifted between Sophie and me. “I. Uh.” He frowned, trying to figure out the best way to answer the question. “I.” He winced. “Maybe.”

She shook her head and threw a spoon that bounced off his chest. “You need to mention shit like that.”

“Sorry. I didn’t know about that rule.” He chuckled. “Next time I’ll tell you right away.”

“You, of all people, know ignorance of the law is not a defence. I’ll deal with you later.”

He smiled in a way that made it seem like he was looking forward to whatever her wrath for withholding information was going to be. He winked at her, then rejoined the conversation with the guys.

Sophie pulled a bottle of purple nail polish out of her pocket. “I don’t get why Trevor still hasn’t asked you out. You were single all year.”

I twirled a chunk of my hair around my finger repeatedly. “He obviously had better options. Her name is Lindy.”

“Lindy Jacobsen wants to make a baby with Trevor,” Kailyn said.

“See.” My face unintentionally grimaced at the visual of Trevor and Lindy doing it.

Sophie laughed as she applied a coat of dark-purple over her already black nails. “Don’t give up yet, Deri. You have the rest of the summer to get in his pants and make him forget he ever met her.”

“I don’t want to. I accepted the scholarship in Toronto. There’s no point to having a summer fling that can’t go anywhere after that.”

“Oh, there’s a point to a summer fling. Trust me.”

“Not with Trevor.” I shook my head. “I would want more if I ever got together with him. But.” I paused for dramatic effect. “I heard Mason is back in town. I wouldn’t mind a summer fling with him. He would definitely be a nice way to soak up every second of the last summer I will ever spend in Britannia Beach. Fun. Carefree.”

“Mason?” Her lips puckered into a fish face and she glanced up at the ceiling as she thought back. “Cartwright? I almost forgot about that guy.”

“I didn’t.” I lifted my eyebrows in an animated way and smiled.

She wrinkled her nose, not as enthusiastic about the option of Mason as I was.

Thunder cracked outside. When I glanced out the window a series of completely random images flicked through my mind: It was pouring rain. I fell and my body jolted from the painful impact. Rocks and water flooded towards me. Fast. Lots of rushing water. Then freezing-cold darkness engulfed me. I couldn’t breathe. I was drowning.

“Derian.” Sophie gently placed her hand on my wrist. She was one of the few people outside my family and Trevor’s family who knew I sometimes experienced intuitive visions. She also knew that it usually predicted something traumatic. She studied my expression as she waited for me to tell her what I’d seen.

My heart pounded. My breath was still ragged, as if I had actually fallen and almost drowned.

“What happens?” Sophie whispered so the guys wouldn’t hear.

“I don’t know. It felt like someone drowning. It was too vague, as usual. Just rain and water and, ugh, nothing useful about who, when, or where.” I glanced over at the guys in the band to see if any of them had noticed me have my brain glitch. Fortunately, they were busy washing their dishes and not paying attention. I lowered my voice and said, “I didn’t have any visions the entire time I was in Europe. Maybe they only happen when I’m near something I’m emotionally connected to, like Britannia Beach.”

“Or Trevor,” she said.

Hmm. That hadn’t occurred to me, but it was possible. Trevor and Britannia Beach went hand in hand, so it was hard to separate which one had more influence. My unusually heightened intuition was something I inherited from my grandmother’s grandmother and it started when I was about three. When I was young, I’d do things that could be explained as just coincidental, like get up to go meet my dad at the door before his truck even turned in off the highway. Or I would insist on wearing rain boots on a sunny morning in preparation for the unforecasted storm that inevitably showed up in the afternoon. I thought everyone could see things before they happened and I was shocked when Trevor told me he couldn’t. As I got older, I almost only ever saw traumatic things before they happened. And although my visions sometimes helped to prevent the bad thing from happening, they didn’t always. And that was hard to deal with. If I moved away and stopped having the visions, it would be both a relief and a weird loss.

Kailyn interrupted my thoughts when she randomly said to Sophie, “I like your red lips and black eyeliner. You look pretty.”

“Thank you, Kailyn. Could you please tell my mother that?” Sophie slid her sunglasses down from the top of her head and tipped the stool onto all four feet again.