A Pocket Full of Posies (Book 2)

Chapter Ten (Part 2)

Ten minutes or so later, I'm cured. Okay, so I might've been a little dramatic. Only a little. I can pretty much hear normally again, and the searing pain in my ears has gone. That better not happen during landing. I glance around, but don't see Annabel anywhere. I think I can hear hers and Lucy's voices in the distance though, so I figure they're distracted enough for me to spill the beans with Ava. When I do, she's visibly a bit peeved at me for keeping it to myself until now, but I think I redeem myself when I explain wanting to try and figure it out with Annabel first.

"Okay, groovy, well I can't imagine Annabel would lie," is the first thing Ava says once I finish relaying the visions, and Annabel's response to them.

"I hope not," I mutter.

"She wouldn't. She was protecting you from the dark spirits after the crash. Why would she have done that if she was on their side? And she, whoa, she literally saved your life and became your guide because of it." Ava shakes her head. "No, that just wouldn't make sense, and that other vision you had just sounds like Annabel was a typical teenager who found her little brother annoying. She and that other spirit could've been talking about anything. I'm not saying we should rule out her being the one turning dark completely--we can't really rule anything out at this point, but we shouldn't jump to conclusions either."

The realisation that Ava has more faith in Annabel than me after knowing her five minutes, when she's been with me through thick and thin and never once not had my back, makes me feel like absolute shit.

"I think you could be right about her muddling her memories," Ava continues before I can beat myself up too much. "Especially because her memories are coming back in small bits. If anything, it would be weird for them to be completely accurate all the time."

I feel like an idiot. And an arsehole. Of course Annie isn't lying. I saw how she reacted to returning to the crash site, saw how even the smallest pieces of memory literally tore her to bits. In fact, I can't even know for sure she wasn't in the car; my younger self hardly scouted out every corner of it, and I don't even think I looked to my side during that vision.

My mum could have obstructed my view of Annie sitting next to us. Hell, she could've been in the boot or something. I had foster parents who used to let me ride in the boot because I found it fun. Probably a glaring health and safety issue, but it's not that far-fetched. It could've been part of a plan. She could've been hiding in the boot ready to pounce if things took a turn for the worst. Either way, there are plenty of explanations as to why Annabel wasn't, or at least didn't look like, she was in the car with us that night.

Ava starts talking about the mystery man in the passenger seat, and while I'm just as desperate to know who he is as the next guy, I can't get my mind off Annabel. If it takes that little to doubt her, then maybe I am the one with the problem. Maybe my mind really is fickle enough to fall for whatever lies a bunch of dark spirits sold me as an eight-year-old. Just as I begin contemplating being the sole cause of all this crap all over again, the plane jolts. My heart makes a break for it out of my mouth as I firmly grasp my armrest, and turn to Ava with wide eyes. What the--

"Don't panic, it's just turbulence."

God, I miss being on earth.

Relief washes over me as the plane comes to a halt on safe land. Landing was somehow even more torturous for my ears as taking off. Despite the turbulence giving me a near heart attack and the looming fear of deafness, flying is fun. It's still mad to me how small things can become. Also, no ghosts at thirty-thousand feet. That's a big plus. Annie and Lucy don't count because they came with us. Maybe the whole ear torture thing gets better the more you do it. Here's hoping.