The Necklace

12: Help Me

The sun shines through the open blinds and warms my face as I wake up from last night. Calvin demonstrated his ability to touch me in my dreams, and I felt it. If he tried to kill me, would I feel it? Would I even die? I don't want to find out the answer to either of those questions.

I hear Sienne rummaging around in the kitchen so I get up to go eat some breakfast with her.

"He touched you?! ...Did you like it?" Sienne asks.

"No! It was after I told him not to come closer!"

"The man does need to work on consent. What does he look like anyways, I'm gonna need some details if I'm going to fantasize about this later"

"Ugh you're actually the worst. He is quite attractive though. He has a nice tan, dark brown wavy hair, amazingly chiseled jaw, and he has really nice eyes they're like this golden amber color."

"He sounds kinda dreamy. You two should get married."

"Ha Ha" I say dryly.

"I'm not going to marry him, despite what he thinks. He's an arrogant jerk who thinks that he can have whatever he wants. I'm gonna figure out a way out of this" I say.

I look up and Sienne has already stopped paying attention to what I'm saying and is scrolling through her phone.

"Oh my god Ellie come look at these pictures of our trip before I post them" She says.

Sienne shows me a variety of pictures she took while we were at Plato Beach. She's always been obsessed with social media and has to get a second opinion before posting anything. My eyes widen when I see one of the pictures. It's a selfie that Sienne took with me outside of the psychic's shop. I remember that the psychic warned me of great danger the same night I met Calvin, and he gave me the necklace. Is that what she was talking about? Does she know something about the necklace?!

"Sienne! That's the psychic's shop! Do you remember what she said to me that night?" I ask.

Sienne's eyes widen as she comes to the same realization as me.

"Do you think she knew about Calvin and the necklace? She basically warned you about danger right before it happened" She says.

"I'm not sure, but I have to talk to her again and find out!"

I pull out my phone and try to remember the name of the psychic. I try looking up her shop and don't get any results. Sienne gives me the idea to look it up on a map since she remembers exactly where we were. Madame Ziad's Psychic Readings. She doesn't have a website, but there is a number listed.

I try calling the number but it automatically goes to "We're sorry, the number you have dialed is no longer in service, please try... blah blah blah"

"Fuckkkk, the number isn't in service!" I say.

"So what are you going to do now?" Sienne asks.

"I need to call Jesse. I think I need a favor."

I dial Jesse's number and he picks up pretty quickly.

"Hey El, what'd you need?"

I tell Jesse about how I had a psychic reading the night of the incident with Calvin and what Madame Ziad said about me being in danger.

"Did you try calling the shop?" He asks.

"Yeah but the number is dead. I was wondering if you would do me a huge favor and come back to Plato Beach with me to ask her in person?"

I hear Jesse pause and sigh into the phone.

"Yeah. I'll drive. When did you want to go?"

"...Today?"

"Okay. I'll pick you up at noon."

"Thanks Jess"

Jesse pulls up around noon as promised and we head off on a mini road trip to see the psychic. I haven't spoken to him since that night at the park, and there's a weird tension in the air between us.

"So... Do you think the psychic will actually be able to tell you anything about the necklace?" He breaks the silence to ask.

"I don't really know. It's possible that she's just another run of the mill fake psychic and her reading was random. But at this point I'm desperate and If there's even a small chance she knows how to get this thing off, I have to try" I respond.

"Why the sudden desperation?"

"The necklace binds me to Calvin and one of the things he can apparently do with that bond is visit me in my dreams."

"So it's like you're having dreams about him?"

"No, not exactly. It's like I wake up and I'm in a room with him and we can talk and he can touch me. It's like a lucid dream, but I can feel physical sensation."

"Hold up, he's touching you?!" Jesse asks angrily.

"He touched my face last night, and I felt it..." I say quietly.

"He can't just force himself on you like that El. You need to tell him to leave you alone."

"You think I haven't tried that?! Do I have to remind you that I wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for you?!"

Jesse lets out a sigh as a look of guilt comes over his face.

"I'm sorry Jesse. I didn't mean to snap at you, I'm just scared and confused about this whole thing. I know you didn't know that it would be like this, and that you did it to protect your mom, but I just feel like I'm losing it a little" I say.

"No. I'm sorry. You're right that you wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for me. But I want you to know that I'm going to do whatever I can to help you get out of this. Starting with taking you to this psychic."

2 hours later we finally get to Plato Beach and park on the same block the Psychic's shop was on. We walk up to the boardwalk and down the same alley Sienne and I went down before. The familiar flickering of Madame Ziad's purple neon sign comes into view. I go to open the front door, but this time it's locked. She has to be in there though, her sign is on.

Jesse knocks on the door. I hear someone rummaging with the beads on the other side, and it opens. Madame Ziad has an annoyed look on her face that morphs into surprise when she recognizes me.

"Oh it's you! What are you doing hear de-" She starts to say.

Before she finishes her sentence, he eyes gaze down to my chest and they widen when she sees the necklace.

"I'm sorry, but it's getting to be a little late and the shop is closed. You both have to leave now." She says.

"Wait no! We came all this way, can't you just-" I say, interrupted by the door slamming shut.

I take a long deep breath, bewildered by what just happened. She literally saw the necklace, and slammed the door in my face. She obviously knows something. I lean against the wall next to the door and sink down to the floor. My face feels hot, my throat begins to tighten and I can feel the tears coming. How could she know something and not help me?

"El, it's going to be okay, we'll figure this out" Jesse says in an effort to console me.

"It's not going to be fine Jesse! It's never going to be fucking fine! I have 83 days! I have never felt more out of control. I know nothing and have no idea how to deal with this!" I say sobbing. 

Jesse lowers himself to the floor and sits next to me. He lets me lean my head on his shoulder while he tells me it'll all be okay. I suddenly hear rummaging from inside again and hear the door open. Madame Ziad pops her head out to look at us.

"We can't talk long. Come inside." She says.