Tangled Ripples by Erin Thedwall

Author:Erin Thedwall [Thedwall, Erin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Emerald Rose Publising
Published: 2017-10-18T23:00:00+00:00

{ Chapter 24 }

Clarissa leaned heavily on Valerie as they walked to the car. Her head throbbed where the Oracle had touched her with her power. Every inch of her body was sizzling, like any minute she could catch fire.

While giving her the power, the Oracle had hinted at what was to come. Clarissa kept repeating those words in her head, terrified she might forget them.

Betrayal. Sacrifice. Revenge. Redemption.

Thinking about it made her head hurt more; their lives were clearly not going to get any easier. Clarissa eased into her seat with Valerie’s help. She thought sitting would help, but she still felt sore and shaken.

“It’ll get easier,” Valerie said as she shut the passenger door. Clarissa leaned her head back, barely acknowledging Valerie. She closed her eyes, wishing for any relief from the pain. Even though she tried not to think about it, she couldn’t help but replay every minute of their visit in her mind.

They drove for a while before Clarissa finally worked up the nerve to ask Valerie what she had been wondering. “Why didn’t you tell me you had visited the Oracle already?”

Valerie sighed and a forlorn expression crossed her face. “It wasn’t too long after the death of my parents. I didn’t want to bring it up if I could avoid it.”

“Why did you see her?” Clarissa asked, the words tumbling out of her mouth before considering whether she really wanted to hear the answer.

“Because of you,” Valerie answered as she stared out at the road in front of her.

Clarissa thought back to those days, trying to remember if she had said anything to cause Valerie to put herself through this. They hadn’t really spoken since the funeral.

“I don’t know if you’ll even remember,” Valerie continued. “It was right after the burial. I was on the ground sobbing. You came over and hugged me.”

Clarissa was even more confused. She remembered that moment. She and Gavin had been talking with other relatives when she noticed Valerie crying at the gravesites. She felt helpless seeing Valerie so completely devastated and heartbroken. She left Gavin, sat on the ground beside Valerie, and held her while she cried. It was the last time they were together.

“But what…” she started.

“I didn’t have any control of my power back then,” Valerie explained. “In my heightened emotional state, it was running rampant. When you hugged me, it surged and somehow entwined itself with your power, or at least that’s what I think happened. In that moment, I saw with absolute and perfect clarity that my parents didn’t just die. They were murdered. And I saw more than that — they weren’t supposed to die. Gavin was meant to die on the boat that day,” Valerie said, choking back tears.

Clarissa’s heart leapt into her throat. This was also her fault. Valerie not speaking to them, blaming her brother for their parents’ death. It was her fault, again. Her stomach twisted in agony as she thought about all the pain she had caused Valerie.

Valerie wiped tears from her eyes as she continued her story.

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