Uncaged

Chapter 8

I lay in bed, my body exhausted from the mowing and the garage, but my mind alive and excited. She had been reading my mind. There was no way to deny that, right? She kept answering my questions, every time I thought them. There couldn't be any other explanation.

And yet, the thought of that wasn't possible. Mind reading was something silly you saw on television or in cringy magic shows out in Vegas. It wasn't real!

But I'd seen her. I'd read the expressions on her face. I'd seen the nods and the smiles, the blown kiss, and the winks. Hold on a minute! She knew I was there before she even read my mind. She looked right at me, knowing it was me before she even saw me. How the hell did she do that? Was this some Harry Potter shit happening? She was a wizard, right? Or a witch? Were there others? Fuck! My mind was blown, and I had no idea what to do. It was one thing to explain everything else to Jane, but this wasn't something I could share.

She was in danger, and a prisoner. Her own family wasn't letting her leave, and she seemed scared when the other cars came. Who had come to see them? Jasmine didn't seem afraid of her, but they obviously had done something with the collar to prevent her leaving. I had to make a plan for Christmas. That would most likely be my only chance. But even if I went to see her then, what could I do?

It wasn't like I could easily sneak her out of the house. Not to mention, if she was Jasmine's twin then she was a minor so that wouldn't go over well with the authorities. Or would it? How would they even report a missing person for someone who doesn't exist? I had no idea anymore. I had just over a month to figure it out, and I hoped I could. But one way or another, I had to see her, and talk to her. I couldn't understand why I was so drawn to her, but she was like a magnet to me, and I couldn't stay away. There were a lot of pretty girls in school, her sister included, but when I looked at this girl it was like she had an aura about her. She almost glowed in my eyes.

I finally fell asleep with visions of her final blown kiss in my head. It was going to be a long month.

Every week was getting harder. I was still doing well in school, but my mind was constantly distracted by Jasmine's twin. The best I could do was think happy thoughts, and constantly reassure her whenever I was over there mowing, so that she would know I was happy to see her and that I was working on a plan to help. Jane wasn't helping either, always wanting to ask me more, but I just couldn't answer. I must have told her that there were no changes a half dozen times per day for the next week.

I was hoping that the Thanksgiving break would be a welcome break, but it was not to be. My dad was working over 24 straight hours, picking up shifts wherever he could and making good overtime as he did every holiday. Sam cooked us up a small turkey since they were all on sale, as well as some mashed potatoes and honey carrots. My mom was able to eat a few small bites, which was about all she could do these days, but we sat in there with her while she did. That took a lot out of her though, and soon she was asleep again. The holidays were the worst, seeing her like this when she used to be so excited about them. I couldn't even imagine what she would be like at Christmas. The holidays weren't joyous in the least.

She used to love decorating the house. Even if we never did too many of the exterior lights, the interior would be festooned with garlands and a little town with carolers surrounded by cotton snow. The tree was always lit up beautifully and the smell of cookies was almost always in the air. Now, we barely did anything but the tree, and we felt guilty for any money spent on a present that wasn't a necessity. Underwear and socks were big presents these days.

But we were closer. The only good news was that my dad already got an e-mail from Mr. Garrison that was asking him to cater their holiday party, so my plan to sneak into the room was still on. I just had no idea how it would work. I knew about where the room was, and picking the lock on the interior door locks was pretty simple, but then what?