Loving the Genie (Genie's Love, Book 2) (17 page)

The next morning, Mom tells me she needs to catch the next plane to California. One of her good friends was in a car accident and Mom wants to be there for her.

“There are no planes until later this afternoon.” Mom runs her hands through her hair.

When Sebastian walks into the kitchen and hears us discussing it, his ears perk up. “I can take your mother,” he says.

I stop talking and turn to him.

“I can take her to California,” he continues. “She’ll be there within minutes and can see her friend.”

“But she’s not your master. I am. Are you able to take her?”

His eyebrows knit. “No, I’d probably have to take you along.”

“What’s going on?” Mom asks. I explain it to her and her eyes fill with intrigue. “Can he really do that?”

“Mom, can you please stop talking about him as though he’s not in the room? He’s standing right in front of you. You can ask him and I’ll pass it on to him.”

Mom looks like she doesn’t like this at all. I know she doesn’t approve of my decision to date Sebastian, but he’s the right guy for me. I know he is.

“Sebastian can take us to California, but I need to wish for it and I need to come along,” I tell her.

Mom nods slowly, as though everything is gradually making sense in her head. “Okay….that’s very…interesting.” She gets to her feet. “I’ll go pack my bag.” She leaves the room. Call me crazy, but it seems like she’s running away from us, like she’s saving herself from getting contaminated.

Sebastian sits down next to me. “She’s not comfortable around me.”

“All this genie stuff freaks her out. She doesn’t believe in anything she can’t see, hear, or feel.” She’s even not one hundred percent sure she believes she’s completely healed, and can’t wait to see her doctor next week, but I don’t tell Sebastian that.

“But I revealed myself to her.” The hurt is evident in his voice. I know how much he wants my mother to like him. She’s a big part of my life.

I place my hand on his. “All she saw was a golden guy. Once she goes to the doctor and he tells her the good news, she’ll believe in you. Assuming the cancer is gone.”

His face falls. “You, too? Why won’t you believe me?”

“I do believe you. It’s just that illnesses aren’t that simple. And you told me wishes can get screwed up sometimes. I’m just worried.”

He wraps his arms around me and tugs me to his chest, resting his chin on my head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to accuse you.”

I reach up and kiss his lips. “You don’t have to apologize. I have no idea what you’re going through, wanting to be seen and heard, wanting to live like a regular guy but being stuck in a genie body. I really wish I could help cure you.”

He moves his hands to the back of my head and tilts it up so I’m gazing into his eyes. “Thank you, but I don’t think there’s a cure.” He laughs bitterly. “When King Sorenten banished me to be a genie, he must have known what he was doing. He has very strong magic, and the elder who tried to help me is no match.”

I can see how much this topic pains him. “Let’s not talk about it.” I press my face in his chest, inhaling his genie smell. Sebastian lowers his mouth to my cheek and kisses it softly. I turn my head and our lips meet. We kiss gently at first, then deeper, harder. I can feel Sebastian’s heart hammering against his ribcage. My breathing is as heavy as his. We don’t stop until someone clears her throat.

Mom.

She’s standing there with her luggage in one hand and an awkward smile on her face. I almost forgot that Sebastian and I are not alone. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

I get to my feet. “Ready to go?”

She heaves her bag onto the chair near the couch. “Shouldn’t you pack?”

“What for? I’m going to be back home in a few hours.”

Her cheeks flush slightly. “Right. This whole genie and magic thing is going to take a while to get used to.”

We stand there quietly.

“How do we do this?” Mom asks.

Sebastian stands in the center of the living room. I face him. “I wish for my mother and me to go to her home in California.”

The winds gust all around us and less than thirty seconds later, we’re standing outside the home I grew up in. Mom’s face is sheet white.

“Are you okay?” I ask her.

“I think so. One minute we’re in your apartment in New York and the next we’re all the way across the country.”

I laugh. “That’s genie magic for you.”

Mom faces the house. “Thank you, Sebastian.”

“Uh, he’s over there.” I point to the right.

“Oh. Well thanks, wherever you are.” She laughs awkwardly before climbing the stairs and sticking her key into the lock. Sebastian and I follow her inside, where she places her bag on the floor. Then we head to the hospital.

***

I’m in the hospital waiting room. Mom’s friend Silvia is in surgery right now. I asked Sebastian if I could wish to heal her, but he told me I don’t have a personal connection to her. Therefore she can’t benefit from my wish. I’m worried, but I have confidence in the doctors trying to save her life.

Mom’s sitting at the other end of the room with Silvia’s husband and family.

Sebastian is seated next to me as we flip through a magazine. He wanted to browse it on his own, but since it’ll look very weird to have a floating magazine, I suggested I turn the pages. From the expression on his face, I see how hard this is for him. Just a few days ago, he was part of this world. He was getting used to being human, of having an ordinary life where he had to worry about school and work. He was working on getting his GED. He had a job interview.

But all that went to hell.

I wish I could kiss his cheek, but there are many people around. Instead, I press my finger to my mouth and tap it on his hand. He gives me a curious look. “It’s a kiss,” I whisper. “Because you’re feeling down.”

He shakes his head. “I’m okay.” He turns another page.

“Sebastian, you’d tell me if something was bothering you, right? I don’t want to be the kind of couple who hides things from one another.”

A middle-aged woman, who’s sitting two chairs away from us, raises her eyebrows. I shift in my seat, trying not to let her stares bother me.

Sebastian kisses my temple. “I don’t want to hide anything from you.” He takes my hands. I look down at how they must look to other people, floating in the air. Sebastian must realize, too, because he drops them. “Please don’t worry about me. If I’m sad or feeling hopeless about everything that’s happened to me, I don’t want you to take my problems upon yourself. I’ll try not to feel defeated every time I’m reminded that I can’t be human, but I can’t promise it won’t bother me.”

“I’m sorry I can’t do anything to help. But I want you to talk to me. About everything. I don’t care what I’m doing, if I’m busy or even sleeping. If something’s on your mind, I want you to feel like you can pour your heart out to me.”

He nods. “I already feel that way.” He gives me a small smile. “It’s harder than I thought it’d be.”

“Being with me?”

“No, being around all these humans.” He scans around. “I’ve never been to a doctor.”

I laugh lightly. “Believe me, you’re not missing out. Some people don’t find going to the doctor to be a pleasant experience.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’d still like to see what it’s like. I’d like to see what it’s like to go to school, to have a job. To be a nurse, like I wanted.” His eyes meet mine. “To be passionate about something.”

“You have a lot of passion inside you, Sebastian. I see it every time I gaze into your eyes.”

He’s quiet, his eyes on the floor, before he says, “I don’t want to constantly be negative around you. I need to accept the fact that I’m destined to be like this.”

“You need time to process.”

“I’ve had time to process for hundreds of years.”

“But it’s different now. Before you became a human, you didn’t know what you were missing. Now that you’ve tasted it and enjoyed it, it’s hard for you to accept that you won’t be that way again.”

A man enters the waiting room and heads for Sebastian’s seat. It’s the only vacant one in the room. Sebastian shoots to his feet before the man sits down on him.

I stand and motion for my genie to sit in my seat. Once he does, I make myself comfortable on his lap. I probably look strange sitting on top of air, but I don’t care anymore. This is just the beginning. We’ll encounter many more obstacles in the future.

Twenty minutes pass before a doctor emerges. He talks to Silvia’s family and they almost collapse with relief. A smile captures my face. She’s going to be okay.

After talking a bit more with Silvia’s family, Mom heads over to us.

“She’s going to be okay?” I ask.

“Yes. It was a terrible car accident and she was so close to death…” Her eyes seem to go somewhere else. She must be thinking about Daisy.

I place my hand on hers. “Mom—”

She blinks. “Silvia is in recovery now and it’ll be a while before she wakes up. I’ll come back later. Let’s go out for lunch. George is going to meet us at the restaurant.”

“George? Wait, I’m going to meet your boyfriend?” I don’t mean to freak out like this. I’ve just never been in such a situation, since Mom has never had a boyfriend before. She told me she really likes this guy. I can’t screw anything up for her. That means no talking to my invisible genie, not even smiling at him.

Mom pats my shoulder. “George is a nice man. You have nothing to worry about.”

“What if I embarrass you?”

She chuckles. “Lily, you can never embarrass me. Let’s go.”

The familiar floral smell enters my nose. Opening my eyes, I find myself in the meadow with flowers surrounding me.

I walk around the area, searching for any signs of life. There doesn’t seem to be anyone around. Not even Sebastian. I call for him, but he doesn’t respond. The only sound is from the breeze whistling through the trees.

Stepping deeper in the meadow, I notice the grass is taller and it’s difficult for me to weave my way through.

I don’t know where I’m headed, but it seems like this grass leads to nowhere. I must have been trudging through for half an hour.

Laughter sounds on my left. I whip around, but no one’s there. Next, I hear the laughter on my right. When I turn there, I don’t see anything.

“Hello?”

Nothing. Even the laugher has died down.

“Is anyone there?” I ask.

Again, complete silence except for the wind. A chill runs down my spine, but I ignore it and continue on. My legs are starting to burn, but I plow on, determined to get back to civilization.

Something wraps around my waist and hauls me to the ground. Lips press into my temple. A smell, a different one, enters my nose. Spices.

Sebastian.

I look up and find him beside me. He closes his arms around me. “Boo.”

I lightly slap his chest. “You scared me!”

“Sorry.” He nuzzles my nose. “I was looking for you. The grass is crazy tall. It’s so easy to get lost here.”

“Where exactly is here?”

He gives me a look like I’m asking him how to solve an easy math problem. “What do you mean? Don’t you know?”

I shake my head as a feeling of dread nestles in the pit of my stomach. “Where are we? What’s going on?”

He laughs and kisses my cheek. “You’re so cute.”

I try to push him away, but he’s very strong. “I’m serious. Where are we?”

His smile vanishes and his eyebrows furrow. He opens his mouth to say something, but a black cloud swoops down on us. I can’t see a thing and can hardly breathe. The cloud is so thick, entering my lungs and causing me to choke. I’m lifted in the air and spin around as though I’m in a tornado.

I don’t see Sebastian anywhere. I try to call for him, but no sound leaves my mouth. Smoke enters instead, and I feel like I’m suffocating.

Help
, my mind yells.
Someone help me!

The smoke isn’t lessening. I feel like I’m moments away from death.

“It’s time, Lily,” a cold, hard voice says. “It’s time.”

My eyes fly open and I shoot to a sitting position. Taking in my surroundings, I realize I’m no longer in the meadow, but at Mom’s house. She and Sebastian are sitting on either side of me on the couch. A movie is playing on TV. Did I fall asleep watching?

Mom and Sebastian stare at me with alarmed expressions on their faces.

“Lily?” Mom asks.

Sebastian reaches for me, but Mom’s quicker and clutches my shoulders. My body is covered in sweat and is trembling.

That dream. It started off like the others, but ended completely different. A shudder goes down my back. What was that black cloud? And what did that voice mean when he said it’s time?

I wipe some sweat off my forehead with the hem of my T-shirt. I’ve never been so wet before in my life. “I’m okay,” I tell them. “It was just a dream. I don’t even remember it.” Sebastian’s eyes pierce mine. I know what he’s thinking, that I’ve had another nightmare. He doesn’t know about the others, and I wish he wouldn’t have heard this one. I don’t want him to worry about me. I know he and I just talked about being completely honest and open with each other, but this is different. I’m fine and don’t want him to think otherwise. I don’t know why I’m having these dreams, but they don’t mean anything. At least, I hope they don’t.

I stand. “I’m going to the bathroom,” I tell them.

Mom says, “Are you sure you’re okay? You were thrashing around and you’re soaked.”

I force a smile. “I’m okay. Really.”

She nods unsurely.

I enter the bathroom and splash water on my face. After dabbing it with a towel, I stare at my reflection in the mirror. Is something weird happening to me? Will the dreams get stronger? Am I wrong to keep this from Sebastian?

No, they’re just nightmares. They can’t hurt me, I’m sure.

As I emerge from the bathroom, I find Sebastian leaning against the opposite wall. “Are you okay?” he asks.

“You followed me here?”

His eyes move toward the living room. “I didn’t mean to invade your privacy. I just want to speak with you privately.”

I motion for him to talk.

“You had a nightmare again.” His voice is soft, not demanding. His eyes are filled with love for me. “I know you don’t want me to make a big deal about it, but you were shaking. Was it the same dream? With the meadow?”

I nod. “Only this time you were in it.”

“Me?”

I think it’s time I tell him everything, every detail, including the black cloud swarming us. “I was suffocating, but I heard a voice in my head. It was a man. He said, ‘It’s time, Lily.’”

“‘It’s time?’ Time for what?”

“No clue.”

His forehead furrows. “Did the voice sound familiar?”

I shake my head. “Do you think it means something? Because I don’t. Maybe I do. I don’t know. I think I’m trying to convince myself it’s nothing.”

He runs his hand through his hair. “I’m not an expert on dreams. I don’t know what to make of it.”

I rest my hand on his chest. “Can we please not worry about it? Maybe it’s just some phase I’m going through. I’m sure it’ll pass.”

He nods slowly. “They do seem to be less frequent…” He rubs his chin. “Is there something in your life you’re avoiding? From what I read online—”

I kiss him to shut him up. “I love that you care so much about me. But I don’t want these dreams to hold me back from enjoying life. Can we forget about them and move on?”

“I don’t know.”

“They’re not hurting anyone.”

Sebastian and I are going to have a lot of things to deal with, more so than many other couples. I’m not going to add freaking-out-over-weird-dreams to the pile. I’ll be fine. If bad dreams are the worst of it, then I’ll accept it.

Sebastian is about to say something, when Mom calls, “Lily? Is everything all right?”

“We’d better get back to the living room,” I tell Sebastian.

Mom smiles as I take my seat beside her. “Are you okay?” she asks.

“Yeah.”

She studies my face. “You still seem a little spooked.” She pushes some hair off my shoulder. “Do you dream…?” She shuts her eyes, then takes a deep breath and opens them. “Are you having dreams because of Daisy?”

I stare at her. She shifts in her seat, her eyes anywhere but on my face. “I have dreams about her. I don’t wake up sweating or trembling, but I do feel lonely. I’ve spoken to the therapist about it and she told me it’s normal to have such dreams, but it’s important to talk about them.” She rubs my arm. “I think it’s…time we talk about Daisy.”

My gaze lowers to the gray rug as I think about her words. Could my nightmares have to do with Daisy’s death? I went back in time and was there when it happened. I didn’t see it, but I felt it. Can that be the cause of everything that’s happening to me? The dreams, the shadows. Am I…traumatized?

But how can her death be the reason? I dream about a meadow, somewhere I’ve never been before. Somewhere Daisy has never been before. Also, it was a man who called my name, not my sister.

I’m so confused.

Mom hugs me close, squeezing my shoulder. “I always think about that big smile she always wore on her face. How she loved helping people.” Mom’s smile is strained.

“I remember how she gave up her prom queen title to a girl who was dying.”

Tears gather in my mother’s eyes as she nods. “I often asked myself how I merited to have two wonderful, kind daughters. Daughters who put others before themselves.”

“We had a great role model.”

Mom’s smile widens a little. We spend a good few hours talking about memories, the good, the bad, the ugly. We cry and laugh as we remember my sister.

Mom dabs her eyes with a tissue. “If only I can see her. Just one more time.”

I’m quiet before I say, “I did.”

She raises an eyebrow. I tell her about Sebastian taking me back in time so I could explain to Daisy that her boyfriend Jimmy didn’t cheat on her with me. We had been discussing their three-year anniversary. She had died being upset with me and Jimmy, but after I explained everything, she died in peace.

Mom leans back on the couch. “Sebastian did this for you?”

“Yeah. I didn’t wish for it. He did it on his own. He’s such a special person, Mom.” I smile at him.

Mom nods. “I can see that. I have no objection with him as a person, but I still don’t like the idea of the two of you dating.”

“Mom, please.”

She sighs. “I’m sorry. I won’t bring up the topic again.”

Sebastian steps forward. “Tell your mother that she can see Daisy, but just once and it needs to be quick.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you wish for your mother and yourself to see her, I’ll be able to bring her into the house, but for only a few minutes.”

I gape at him. “How can you do that?”

“I’ve done it for a master a few years ago. I’m not sure how it works on someone else—like your mom—but I assume she’ll be able to see Daisy through you.”

“Will it be her ghost?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “I can’t bring her from the afterworld to this world. It’ll be an image. A memory. It’ll be like I’m taking the two of you back in time to a memory that took place in this house.”

I inform Mom what we’re talking about and her eyes practically shoot toward her forehead.

“Do you want that?” I ask.

“I’d love to see her. It doesn’t matter how or when. I just want to see her face one last time. Will I be able to touch her?”

I look at Sebastian, who nods. “Yes, but it’ll only be for a few minutes,” I say.

Sebastian instructs us to stand around him. I make my wish, and gusts of wind blows at us. Once they’re gone, I look up and notice someone standing before us. She has light brown, wavy hair and green eyes.

Daisy.

Peering at the calendar on the wall, I realize that Sebastian has brought us back to a few weeks before Daisy’s death.

“Daisy.” Mom pulls her into her arms. “Oh, my Daisy. You have no idea how happy I am to see you.”

Daisy tightens the hug, laughing softly. “I was just at the store, Mom.”

Mom stares into my sister’s eyes like she can’t believe what she’s seeing. I decide to stay on the side because Mom only has a few minutes with Daisy and I already had my turn.

Mom doesn’t release her hold on Daisy. She kisses her forehead, then her cheeks, telling her over and over how much she loves her and how sorry she is.

Daisy draws back. “Sorry for what?”

Mom shakes her head, wiping her eyes. Daisy stares at her. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

Mom plays with my sister’s hair. “It’s nothing. I’m just so happy to see you.” She kisses her cheek again. “You’re going to be okay, sweetie,” she tells her. “You’re going to be okay. Lily and I will be okay, too. Just know that we love you so much and we think about you every day.”

Daisy gives her a confused look. She’s about to say something, when she begins to flicker, like she’s a malfunctioning hologram.

“Time’s just about up,” Sebastian says, taking my hand. Mom must figure this, because she takes Daisy in her arms again. Daisy’s hand goes right through my mom.

“Bye, honey,” Mom whispers before Daisy completely disappears. Mom wipes her eyes, but the tears keep coming.

I stretch my arm over her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

She nods. “Sebastian, thank you.” Her eyes roam the room. I point to where he is and she steps before him. “You’re a good guy. A very sweet, caring, and a special person. I can’t thank you enough, and I’m glad you’re part of our life.” She reaches up. Sebastian must understand her intention because he lowers his head, allowing her to place a kiss on his cheek.