Changed Time

Chapter Twelve

"So your powers are going awol or something?" Zach asked.

"Shh! Sophie can't know." Paige had kicked us out of the room to allow Sophie to change out of her work clothes into some of Paige's. While they were gone, I used the time to tell Wyatt, Jessie and Zach what Paige had told me. "And I don't know. Maybe. Maybe they're just weakening, and maybe this is just a phase or something, I don't know." I closed my eyes and sighed. "As usual."

Wyatt also sighed and walked closer to me. He put a hand on my shoulder. "Look, Drew. I know you hate not knowing, but it's all part of this. We can't know everything, life would be too easy if we did."

"What's wrong with life being too easy?" I mumbled half to myself.

A bang came from the door. We stopped talking just as the door opened and out stepped Paige, now in a simple navy blue hoodie and dark skinny jeans, and Sophie, now wearing an unbuttoned red, white and black plaid shirt with a white tank top underneath. She replaced her work pants with a pair of skinny jeans.

"We should go. It's almost eleven." Paige threw her black duffle bag in the trunk of the Charger along with Wyatt's, Zach's and Jessie's then turned to us. "You guys good?" She looked at me, mentally asking if I'd told them. I nodded. "Great, how are we all going to fit in this?" She frowned at the car.

"You don't like the classiness of the vehicle?" Zach asked, smiling. "This baby is a collector." He brought his hand down on the hood. Wyatt gave him a hard look and Zach took his hand back.

"You can sit in the front with Drew and me." Wyatt told her. "It'll be a tight squeeze, but we'll make it work." He smiled at her.

"Where's your car?" Jessie asked. "I mean, you had to have gotten here somehow." She looked around. "It isn't as if you flew."

Paige stared at her. "You're right, I didn't fly." She opened the passenger side of the Charger. "I walked." And she got in.

Jessie looked startled. "She what?"

I frowned. "She walked, Jessie. It isn't that impressive." I gave her a look. "I mean, it isn't as if she walked from California. She probably lives nearby."

Jessie scowled at me then rolled her eyes. "She needs to get a car. It would make so much more sense, you know, because she's going around hunting murderers." She tilted her head at me, like she always does before she says a witty comment. "Maybe, you can go with her, Drew. You two can be like Dean and Sam from Supernatural. Saving people from monsters‒"

"Yeah, except we both get visions of people dying. They're already dead, therefore we can't save them." I cut her off.

She rolled her eyes again. "Oh, whatever. You couldn't be Sam or Dean anyways," she opened the car door, "you aren't hot enough." And she got in.

I gave a small laugh and walked to the passenger's side of the Charger. I opened the door and Paige scooted over to the middle. I gave her a smile and slid in, trying to keep as close to the door as possible.

"My dad had a '87 Ford Ranger," she suddenly said. "Stick shift, of course," she gave a small laugh, "I remember the first time he taught me to drive it, I broke the brake line and hit a tree going five miles an hour." Her smile turned sad. "That was just a few months before he died."

I narrowed my eyes. "How'd he die?" I looked at her. I knew how it felt for a parent to die, so I understood her hesitation.

"It was an old truck," she said. "It didn't have any airbags, and the seatbelt didn't always stay in the buckle." She wiped her eyes with her sleeve. She laughed slightly. "My mom always told him that truck would be the death of him, but it was his first car, and he was going to pass it down to me." She stopped talking and looked down.

I took her hand. "I know it hurts, and I wish I could tell you it gets better, but I won't lie to you, it doesn't." I rested my hand under her chin and lifted her head until her gray eyes set themselves on my own green eyes. "You aren't going to forget him, and that is both a curse and a blessing."

A fake cough interrupted the moment. Paige and I turned our heads and Jessie shifted uncomfortably. "Where are those boys and that girl, huh?" She looked around awkwardly.

The driver's door opened and Wyatt slid in, adjusting the seat. "Ready to go?" He asked looking at Paige and me.

Paige wiped her eyes and nodded. "Yeah, the diner is only a couple minutes from here."

The back two doors opened, Zach and Sophie piled in. I glanced at Sophie, her dark blue eyes stare back, then they shift away, toward the window. I jumped from Sophie to Paige, who was staring ahead, in a totally different place.

Paige and Sophie were equally beautiful, but in two different ways. Sophie had softness in her face, almost childlike, her midnight eyes kind, everything about her was peaceful. I could look at her and feel relaxed, and hearing her voice made me believe that everything was going to be okay. Paige on the other hand was everything Sophie was not. Instead of softness in her face, Paige wore her strength like a shield, guarding her expressions. Her gray eyes, though soft, were also hard. Her almost black hair made her look more mysterious than anything.

"Drew?" Paige's voice said my name cautiously. "You there?"

I snapped out of my thoughts and found Paige staring at me, her gray eyes puzzled. I nodded. "Yeah, I was just thinking." I looked around and found that the Charger was parked and everyone was getting out. I opened the door but Paige grabbed my wrist. I turned to her, read her eyes and closed the door. "What is it?"

"I think that you and I should go to the warehouse alone first." She said.

I gave her a confused look. "Why?"

"We are the only ones who know what really went on in there. It would be easier if we went alone, and then if the others want to go, we can go again."

I searched her eyes. I knew there was another reason why she didn't want the others to go, but I left it alone. If she wanted me to know, she would have told me. I nodded. "Okay, I'll talk to Wyatt."

Paige nodded. "I know where the warehouse is, so I'll drive." She slid over to the driver's seat and buckled in.

I got out and walked over to Wyatt, who was talking to Jessie. "Wyatt." I said. He stopped talking and turned to me. Jessie looked over my shoulder to the Charger.

"What the hell is she doing in the driver's seat?" She asked acknowledging something was up. "What's going on, Drew?"

"Paige and I have decided that it would be easier if she and I just went to the warehouse alone." I said. "We need to see it by ourselves, without any distractions."

Jessie snorted. "That's all we are, now?" She asked. "We're only distractions to you and your new girlfriend."

"She isn't my girlfriend," I snapped.

Jessie opened her mouth to say something witty, but Wyatt lifted his hand and she pressed her lips together, her jaw clenched. "Drew's right, Jessie. They need to see it first, to figure out what went on, and you guys can pick us up after you're done." Jessie's jaw dropped and if it were a movie she would have given a huff and stomped away, but that wasn't Jessie's style. Instead she sent a daggered glare at me and walked away with some dignity. Wyatt and I watched her leave then he turned to me. "Just be careful, Drew. I know we think the murderers have left Thorp, but we don't know for sure." He stared at me with my own eyes. "Take the glock with you, it's in the glove compartment."

I nodded. "We'll be back to pick you guys up, and I'll call if we need help." I looked into his eyes, the eyes that are a reflection of mine. "We'll be fine, Wyatt." I held out my fist and he bumped it with his own.

I walked back to the Charger and opened the passenger door. I nodded to Wyatt and after he nodded back I got into the car.

"Ready?" Paige asked, her voice lower and more serious.

I nodded. "Let's go."