Deviation

21: Practice Makes Perfect

“What’s wrong?” Vincent asked me at breakfast the next morning, instantly noticing something was off. Connor and Rocky were absent from the table. Rocky had been gone since I woke up and I wondered if she’d even came back at all. The only proof that I had was the rumpled state of her bed.

I poked at my cereal with my spoon. “My parents are getting a divorce.”

“I’m sorry Gina; I know how much that sucks,” he sympathized. When I looked over at him, he had a sincere expression. I managed a small smile in reply; he knew how I was feeling because he’d gone through it as well.

After taking a small bite of cereal and swallowing, I said, “Thanks. I guess it was just a big surprise. I mean sometimes they fought, but not that much. Maybe it got worse.”

“Are you okay?” He asked, taking my hand over the table and holding onto it. The warmth I felt was amazing.

I nodded, turning my hand so I could interlace our fingers. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“Gina,” he stated, giving me a disbelieving look. I gulped, feeling guilty about my half-truth.

I sighed and dropped my spoon. “Okay, maybe I’m not. But I will be… Right now, I’m going to go write. Do you want to come to the library with me?” He shrugged and we threw away the remains of our breakfasts before going into the library.

“My mom wants to know if you’ve decided about visiting over winter break,” Vincent told me a couple hours later. We’d left the library and were hanging out in Vincent’s dorm. We’d been watching TV and I was curled up against him, with my head on his shoulder.

I thought for a minute, trying to make myself want to go home for Christmas. But where would home be? Would Mom be moved out? Who would I visit?

I tightened my grip on Vincent’s arm. “I would love to. Do your parents mind if I stay the whole time? I don’t really want to go home…”

“Of course, my mom would love that because that way I can spend Christmas week with her and the week before with my dad,” he informed me. Then he added, “But are you sure you don’t want to go to your house?”

I nodded, looking up at him. “I’m sure.”

“Okay.” He hugged me closer to him as he texted his mom back with his other hand. I closed my eyes, relaxing into the side of his body. I had never been more comfortable in my entire life. Before I realized it, I was drifting to sleep.

I woke up in my dorm, a few minutes before dinner. Vincent must have carried me back to my dorm… I looked over to see if Rocky was back. Sure enough, she was sitting on her bed, arms wrapped around her and staring at the wall in front of her. Her expression was so vacant it scared me.

“Rocky, are you okay?” I asked timidly, making her jump. Her head whipped around, sending a mass of curly hair flying, so she was looking at me.

 She sighed in relief when she saw it was only me and not some creep that snuck into our room. “Yeah, I’m fine… I just wish there was some way I could talk to Emily.”

“I could…” I started to offer using my gift, but Rocky shook her head immediately.

Going over to the mirror, she ran her finger over her hair, trying to calm it. “I didn’t mean it like that. I know how tired it makes you.”

“I would be okay; I saw Maya without getting tired. Maybe something changed,” I shrugged. “And we can try it after dinner, so if I do pass out it won’t matter.”

She looked over at me, her brown eyes sparkling with unwept tears. “Are you sure?”

“Positive, I need to practice anyways,” I replied, standing up and stretching.