Plagued by never-ending nightmares and cursed with a mysterious ability to sense others' emotions, 19-year-old Diana Massey is no stranger to the peculiar. Bizarre events start piling up when a young man named Casimir comes to live at her family far...
The rest of the week passed without incident, as I didn't faint, feel sick, or have any more new dreams. Our household quickly fell into a new routine, with Casimir at its center. Since we went to the same school, he became my new traveling buddy, silently sitting next to me as we took the long train ride back and forth each day. Even when I insisted he need not wait for me, Casimir would just smile and putter about until I was done with my art club. I was flummoxed where his endless energy came from as he went to bed much later than Grandpa, but would rise early to help in the orchard each morning, even on the weekend. The most shocking part was that despite all of this work, he still managed to get all of his homework done on time, and would complete any household chores he was given as well. He also liked to cook, making more than enough food for everyone in the house throughout the week. I never saw much of him at home except for when he was cooking or at mealtimes, as he kept mostly to himself. Any free time he had was spent upstairs in his room, watching movies or reading from his small book collection. Just watching him made me feel exhausted, and a smidge jealous. Okay, I was insanely jealous.
It was the weekend, and I was relaxing on the couch, group texting with Zola and Sunita about my grumblings with Casimir's perceived perfection.
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Me: It's just not fair, there is no way someone is this nice and can be good at so many things.
Zola: Present company excluded, of course?
Me: You know what I mean.
Zola: Oh no, he is obviously secretly a serial killer or something.
Sunita:-_-
Me: lol
"Diana."
I lifted my head from my phone. My grandfather had come in from work and was standing at the edge of the couch, looking down at me.
"Yes, what's going on?"
"Could you do me a favor and run to the store for some groceries?" he asked, waving a list in his hand.
I panicked as I did a quick risk assessment in my head. There was an issue I didn't want to tell my grandfather about, and that subject involved Len, the last boy I had gone on a date with. He was the son of the local grocer and my not-quite-ex-boyfriend. After a night of sloppy kisses on his couch, he pushed for more, and I declined. I could tell he would have pushed the issue if his friends hadn't interrupted us. Afterward, Len was determined to get me to agree to a second date, and so far, I had done a really good job of avoiding him. I was hoping Len would get the hint soon before I ended up yelling at him. I knew if I told my Grandfather about it, he would just overreact, and it would cause friction in the town. I normally never had a problem shopping, but Sundays were now iffy as Len usually worked that day, so his parents could go to church. I'm sure the hesitation showed on my face because my grandfather let out an impatient sigh.
