The Seeing Mate

13 years earlier Time changes everything, including people, but what if the change is deeper then just metal or emotional? There's the question, because as much as a person can change physically, it's their mental or emotional state that really matters. I lived with my mom in a small town in North Dakota. It was just the two of us for as long as I could remember. Mom never really dated and, thanks to my gift, I never had any friends. Not live ones anyway. From the moment I was walking I can remember seeing things all the time. Sometimes they came in shapes, but for the most part in human form. When I started to talk, I would play by myself, my young mind thinking I had a lot of friends. Until the preschool teachers started to inform Mom that I was always alone, I was making up stories for attention, or I would be causing trouble for the other students. Like the time my friend Jo cut Emma's hair and I yelled at him not to do that. Jo gave me the scissors but I got in trouble for it. Nobody wanted to play with me and after school Mom told me that I needed to stop talking to my friends. They weren't good for me. I would cry because they were my only friends. Mom would always send them away. I knew she could see them, but I never understood why she never told others she could. Then one day, the day fate really played me. Mom and I were in the park like normal. I ran into a "friend" of mine. We were playing tag, and my friend pushed me a little too hard and I fell. I scratched my knees and hands. I was hidden well enough that Mom couldn't see me. I cried because it hurt really badly, and I was bleeding. "Are you okay?" I heard and looked up. There stood a boy. He looked older than me but still young. I looked away, and just cried silently to myself. He knelt down and pulled my hands toward his face and licked my palms. "Ewww, what are you doing!" I yelled, pulling my hands away from him. "Cleaning them, how do you feel?" "Mila, what happened, are you okay?" Mom said before I could reply. She had been talking with the kid's Mom. I didn't say anything. Mom had told me not to talk to my friends. Would she get mad at me? "We were playing and she tripped, I'm sorry." said the kid to Mom, with puppy dog eyes. "Oh, well, you two need to be more careful, but you are playing so it was an accident." I sighed as Mom helped me up and we went to get my cuts cleaned up. After that, we got ice cream with the other Mom and her son. Joshua was his name but he told me to call him Josh. I ate my ice cream slowly and shyly, where as he was already done with his and was swinging his legs off the bench as he sat next to me. I looked around, wondering if he'd leave in a while, but never did. Once I got done, he didn't move. I was about to tell him he could go play, when Sophia came over. "Hi, want to come play with me and my friends?" "No." he replied simply, not even looking up at her. "You shouldn't play with her, she's weird!" Sophia pushed, and this time Josh looked up at her. "Thanks, but I like weird," he said and she looked angrily at me, then turned to walk away. "You don't have to pretend to like me, nobody does." I said sadly. He looked at me and gave me a big smile. "You think I'm pretending, I must be a great actor then!" he posed with a dramatic flourish. That made me giggle. "You don't have to stay here with me, go play." He gave me a small smile but sat down next to me again. "I'm not going anywhere, friends stay together." "We're friends?" "Of course, friends forever!" That was the first time I had ever felt something towards another human being. From that day on, we became close. He was older but he always found a way to play with me or hang out with me. We did homework together, he helped me with things I needed help with, and he even convinced my mom to put me into the same Taekwondo classes. For ten years, everyone thought we were dating. One was never without the other. Until his senior year and my junior year, just before his seventeenth birthday, things started to change. More like he was acting really possessive, a little controlling, but then would turn around and stop talking to me for days at a time. It wasn't until one day, I was walking to my car, and my heart stopped when I saw what was in front of me. Sophia and Josh were making out in his truck. A part of me wanted to go over and pull them apart, but my sensible side realized that he was a free man, so he could see or...kiss anyone he wanted. Sophia had had the biggest crush on him from when we were young, and why wouldn't she? Josh was handsome, popular, and...and free. I quickly got into my car and drove off, my heart tearing up in my chest. When I got to my house I was so out of it, I didn't notice my senses yelling at me that something was up. It wasn't until I got inside that I froze in the doorway, when I heard unfamiliar voices. "She's about the age, Martha, she needs training." "Why, is it so hard for me to believe that you're interested in helping us, especially after how you and Mom left things?" There was silence for a while. "Carmen was my little sister, but she had gone against what our people believe, more over she...she went too far for her freedom." "You followed her out soon after!" "But I didn't draw blood, blood of a being that could wipe out our whole family, and we wouldn't even see it coming!" A little silence, then sniffling and a throat clearing. "Mila, you can come in." I heard Mom say. Carefully, I walked into the room and saw there was a woman in the kitchen with Mom. They both looked at me. The woman scanned me carefully, even came and did a whole circle around me. "She definitely carries the Martinez blood." the woman said proudly, " what do you think, Amelia?" I jumped as a girl I hadn't seen or heard came out from behind me. She was probably a couple years older, not much taller than me. She also scanned me up and down, her eyes felt like an x-ray. "Potential, she definitely has something." The older woman nodded and smiled. "Mom?" I finally asked, looking at her. "Mila, this is my aunt and my youngest cousin." she said pointing at them both introducing them. "Hi, I'm Camila." "We know who you are, dear, and it's a pleasure to meet you!" said my great aunt. I gave them a small smile. "They'll be staying with us," said Mom, with a stressed look. "Oh, okay." "We're going to share a room, and they share my room," Mom explained, and I nodded. After a while of just standing there, I excused myself and headed up to my room. I dropped on the bed, feeling exhausted. It wasn't long when I heard the door and I looked up. "Hey, what's wrong?" asked Mom walking and closing the door. "Nothing, it's stupid." "Josh?" she asked and I laughed, but nodded. "I guess he's dating Sophia now, and I'm the last one to know." She sighed and nodded. "Maybe it's just time to give each other the chance to grow and find your own path." "I thought I was, I got into that cooking program, and I work at the dog shelter. I guess he finally realized..." "What? that you're a normal girl? That he's not the center of your world?" I shrugged. Mom came and sat next to me and gave me a hug. "Mami, maybe you need to look where else. Joshua isn't the only guy in town or in the world." "I know. Let me pull out my list of guys and pick the next one in line. Mom!" I said with sarcasm and just dropped on the bed. "I know it's not going to be easy, but give it a chance," she said with a lifted eyebrow. "Fine." I said, sighing. "Just give it a try, you never know." I nodded. She also explained that Amelia was going to be finishing school here too. "Give her a chance. There might be a lot of change but some changes are good." I nodded again, then we both headed down to start dinner. The first week, I was honestly surprised that Amelia actually talked to me and would sit with me at lunch. The classes we had together we would sit together. I did notice that Josh would head straight towards Sophia but I could tell he was curious about Amelia. For a while after the first few days, I noticed that Amelia was a little too close for comfort or would touch me at really random times, or would whisper things in my ear. Was she hitting on me? She went as far as pull me on top of her when she fell. I quickly got to my feet, and I'd had enough. "What the hell is your problem!?" She bit her lip and pulled me toward the car. Once inside, all the s****l actions dropped. "That jock...what's his face...John?" I looked over to where she was pointing. Josh was looking toward us. "Josh, you mean?" "Yeah, he really wants to make everyone believe that he's forgotten you, but..." "You honestly want me to believe you've been all over me to get him jealous!?" She looked surprised that I was just getting it, but then rolled her eyes and smiled. "I was trying to see what was going on, and I've seen enough. He's trying to hide something and keeping you at a distance is part of it." I looked over but his truck was gone. "So what do you suggest?" "He's interested. Why he's trying to show the contrary is a mystery. Liz is having a party tonight. We should get ready and head over." "I don't do parties." "Come on, live a little!" I sighed, turned the car on, and nodded. "Let's go." Back at the house, Mom asked what our plans were for the weekend. I was about to tell her about the party. Amelia, stopped me and made up a lie. Mom looked at me to confirm. Again, to my surprise, I went with the lie. That was the first time I had ever lied that big to my mom. We finished dinner and headed up stairs. Mom later came in to tell me she was running out real quick. I nodded and soon after she left we started getting ready. An hour later, we parked in a driveway that was packed with vehicles. We parked and I was trying to work up the nerve. "What?" "I can't do this!" I said in a panic, but she shook her head and got out of the car. I got out after her and ran behind her. "Look, it's a party, just calm down and have fun!" "Everyone at this party hates me!" "Do they? All of them? Or has that been what he told you?" "That's how they treat me, because of stupid Sophia! Everyone knows that I talk to ghosts!" Amelia looked at me with a pitying look, but sighed. "Our gifts are what they are, but it's not only who we are. You've been alone with it too long, you've never been taught to blend with everyone else, or to embrace it. Come on, this is the first step!" I looked down at the halter top and the jeans I had on. This was way out of my comfort zone. Amelia even put a little more make-up on me, my long black hair curled at the ends and all down. This has been the most dressed up I've ever been. Looking at her, I nodded and she pulled me toward the house, and the party.