Sofie?

"This is your house?"  Sofie asked sounding dazzled at the sight.  

"Yeah, to be honest, I probably have too much money for my own good."  I told her matter-of-factually.  She pulled the emergency break and cut the engine, pivoting herself in the driver's seat so she could face me better.  

"Okay, so what's the deal with that guy?"  She probed.  I sighed, it was a topic I wasn't really looking forward too.  

"He's this guy, he attends the same college, and we work at the same place.  His name is Anthony, and to be honest, I don't know how to feel about him."  I looked at her scrunching my face in bitter confusion.  

"No, you know how you feel about him.  It was clear at the club, you must be attracted to him."  She said all too certainly.

"Mind if I smoke in here?"  She asked pulling out her cigarette pack.  

"Not as long as you let me have one.  I'll spot you the money for some more in the morning, I feel terrible right now."  I told her trying to push away from the "Anthony" topic.  I looked at her, as she lit her cigarette and mine.  She was clueless to her beauty.

"That's the drugs, the comedown isn't so great."  Sofie said talking through the cigarette in her mouth, while handing me the other one she had lit. 

"So listen Sofie, there's a lot about me that you don't know, that you probably should."  I told her with a halfhearted look of concern.  She let out a faint giggle and rolled her eyes a little.  

"You think you know everything about me?"  She asked with disbelief in her accusation.  

"What I mean, is that---I am dangerous."  I told her trying to explain myself further.  

"No more than I am, I'm sure." She stated after taking a drag from her cigarette.  

"Give me your hand, and we can see for ourselves."  I said to her, almost demanding.  I couldn't help but to wonder how she could be so certain of herself.  Here she was in the presence of a killer, a madman, and she wanted to debate about our pasts?  Willfully, and unaware, she reached her free hand across the gearshift and placed it on my lap.  There was a faint smile on her face, and it made me uncomfortable.  

I reached down and grabbed her hand, frustrated, I squeezed a little so she would feel my aggravation.  I felt my body go numb again, as I tried to push forward into her mind this time on purpose.  At first it was hazy, I felt myself blackout shortly after touching her this time.  Quickly I fell into a dreamlike state, and flashes of her memories presented themselves.  

I saw books, old books, things with ancient writing, books not bound traditionally.  I saw visions of her mixing herbs with a mortar and pestle, and reading passages from her books.  I saw a guy, someone whom she had liked, a relationship, with a terrible ending.  I saw her travels, she'd spent the last few years in the city of Salem, Massachusetts.  This girl was here for a reason, I could feel it in the depths of my soul, like my mind was reaching into hers for more information, but before anything else came through, my eyes flew open and I was back in the car.   

Sofie's eyes were pure white, the pupil and iris were no longer visible. 

"Sofie!"  I exclaimed, a chill shot down my back.  This girl was a Pagan, a witch, maybe even something darker.  Her eyes fluttered a few times, and she looked at me with a dark grin.  

"See, a lot more than you thought, right?"  She said self-assured.  I sat there staring at her in disbelief, in fact I was waiting to awake from another twisted dream but that never came.  

"Well, Ryan, don't look so shocked.  You've got some secrets yourself, don't you?"  Sofie's expression was much more serious now.  

"How do you--", she cut me off.  Without fear she placed her finger over my lips to shush me. 

"A girl has to have her secrets."  She told me, followed by flicking her cigarette out of the window.  "So you know what I am then?"  My curiosity was sparked, and clearly she knew more than she was letting on.  

"Well, not exactly, you're some sort of preternatural being, clearly not a very good one either."  Sofie's expression was blank as she sat there looking at me with interest.  

"So you can do the same thing?"  

"No, of course not."  

"You said we went to school together, I don't remember you at all though."  I told her utterly confused.  

"It's been years since you and I went to school together, it was freshman year of high school, and I moved away."  She explained, while lighting another cigarette.  

"To Salem?"  I asked her sounding quite certain of myself.  

"Exactly."  She said promptly.  I shuffled around in my seat, I wasn't sure how comfortable I could be around this chick.  

"How do I know I can trust you, after the shady memories I just saw?"  I asked her curiously.  

"You don't know.  I showed you what I wanted you to see."  This was a lot to absorb, here I thought my abilities were limitless.  

"Look, give me your phone, you can have my number.  When you realize that I we can be of mutual benefit to one another, and you will, then you can shoot me a text or give me a call."  Sofie's hand was again held out in front of me.  I considered grabbing her hand again, while she was unsuspecting, to see what I wanted, rather than what she did.  

"If you really think that I would be stupid enough to present you the opportunity, then you're truly an idiot."  She told me, as if she could hear what I was thinking.  

"You can hear my thoughts?"  I asked her, astonished at her remark.  

"No, but I'm not stupid, I can see the way you're looking at me."  She told me, again sliding her slick grin across her flawless face.  This woman, was so intriguing to me, not only was she beautiful but she was dark and mysterious as well.  I really had no idea how to feel about her.  Reluctantly I obliged, handing Sofie my phone.  She typed away at my phone and placed it on the dash just out of reach.  Sofie opened the door, and stepped slowly out into the driveway. 

"I'll be waiting for your call."  She told me arrogantly.  I was becoming irritated at her cryptic remarks, it made me want to erase her number and forget about her completely.  

"Wait, you're leaving?"  I said while I scuffled with my seat-belt and then with the door to get out of the car after her.  Strangely though, she was nowhere in sight.  I suppose I should have expected that, I shouldn't have been surprised at her disappearance.  Of course that didn't stop me from looking around to see where she'd gone off to.  

"Sofie?"  I called, not really expecting a response.  

After a moment of standing by the car, feeling completely ridiculous, I went inside.  I glanced down at my phone, four thirty, I thought.  My mind was racing, I could still feel the remnants of the drugs in my system.  Perhaps I had been in a delusional drug induced state of mind.  Things were only making less sense to me by the day.

Daybreak came, and with no sleep.  I scurried about the house cleaning incessantly, and the house was spotless.  Before I knew it, nine o'clock had rolled around and all I could think was that I needed to tell someone about Sofie.  Daniel was the only other person who knew anything about my abilities, so he was the logical choice, but I went against my better judgement.  

I picked up the phone, dialed quickly, and listened while the phone rang on the other end.  

"Hello?"  Came a groggy morning voice on the other end. 

"Elisa, I'm sorry I know it's early, but I think it's time we talked."  I rambled quickly to her, while I knew she wouldn't really want to chat.  I heard a sigh, come from the other end.  

"Why should I even consider being at your beckoning call?"  She stated with her regular early morning attitude.  

"Well, you've been so persistent in your pursuit for answers, I figured, why not satisfy your curiosity?"  I said, knowing that she wouldn't be able to turn down my offer.  

"Let me get dressed and I'll be over shortly."  Elisa said after clearing her throat and now sounding a little more enthusiastic.  I clicked off the phone, and sat for a moment, contemplating what I had just done.  I waited on the front porch for her to pull up, and my wait was shorter than I had expected.  

When Elisa got out of her car, she was hardly "dressed", and her hair was a mess, barely in her signature sideways ponytail.

"Listen Ryan, I am not here for games, you better tell me exactly what's going on or I'm leaving just as quickly as I came."  Her demands were clear, as usual.  Elisa never liked the "beat around the bush" method of conversation.  

"Now, what's going on?"  She asked while pulling up the chair next to me.  

"You've been right, this whole time.  I've been---doing things.  Things that are difficult to explain."  I told her.  

"Okay, well you had better explain."  Her expression spelled certainty.  

"Just give me your hand, it would be easier to just show you."  I watched as she shuffled around in her seat, and I could tell that she was uneasy at the thought of what I had just said.  After a few short moments, cautiously she presented me with her hand.  I wasn't trying to see into her mind, nor was I going to extract anything from her.  I had to try to push my memories into hers.  

Her touch was electrifying, I could feel her fear, she was afraid of me.  I could understand why, after everything that I had done.  At the thought of her fear I started to rethink my decision to tell her again.  I showed her everything, this was much easier than telling her anything.  I showed her Travis' untimely demise, and the pleasure I felt from it.  I showed her my manipulation of Alana, and her memories of her late husband.  I showed her Riley, I even showed her my interesting dreams from the previous night.  I watched her face morph across fear into disgust and hate.  Her eyes swelled with tears, each memory traveled into her with a surge of pain.  

Elisa was relentless though, her spirit was strong, and I could feel her fighting rather than surrendering her life to me.  She could see in her mind now, what I was capable of.  It was then that I showed her my encounter with Sofie, after I could trust myself to go on without harming her.  Elisa snatched her hand from my grasp, this was completely unlike any other experience I had previously had.  

"What the hell, Ryan? Why would you show me this?"  She said while sobbing.

"You wanted answers, all I've done is give them to you." 

"What do you expect me to do with this, you're a murderer!"  Her voice was muffled while wiping her tears into her shirt.  

"Not only are you a murderer but you're some kind of monster!  You manipulated Alana, you put Leonna in the hospital!"   She spoke now with only conviction in her voice.  

"I need your help Elisa, can't you see that?"  My voice was now raised in return.  

"If I wanted, I could have easily called someone else, or I could have just killed you when you started asking questions."  I went on to say. 

"Don't you threaten me Ryan!  You're sitting her asking me for help!  This is absolutely outrageous!  I save lives, and you're TAKING THEM!!"  Elisa was now clearly yelling as loud as she could.  

"Elisa please, none of this is making sense!  I'm begging you!  I could easily make you forget those things just as I showed them to you."  My voice was more pleading than threatening.  Elisa was family, she had to help me, didn't she?  

"No, I won't help you!  Don't come near me, I'm going to report you.  You're going to pay for what you've done Ryan!"  Her eyes were bloodshot and pouring tears.  I could see her fighting her decision.  Elisa quickly got up from her seat, and I grabbed her hand before she could move out of reach.  

"Elisa, wait, please!"  But she snatched away too quickly, not that I would've changed her mind.  

"Don't touch me!"  She said, as she rushed back to her car, got in, and pulled off quickly.  My front door opened and Alana, being her usual nosy-self, poked her head out.  

"What's going on?"  Alana's voice came as a surprise to me.  

"How long have you been listening?"  I asked her quickly as I got up from my seat.  

"Long enough, I suppose."  She said sounding unsure of her answer.  

"Alana, go back inside!"  I told her quickly.  

"Don't come near me, whatever it is, I'll call the cops!"  She said sounding frightened now.  Alana quickly turned and attempted to slam the door on me, but I stuck my foot in the threshold.  I ran quickly after her, jumping over the couch and tackling her to the ground. 

"This is my house!"  I yelled in her face, not but an inch away.  I placed my hand over her mouth to cover any attempt at a scream, and hungry for it, I started into her mind.  I felt her energy start to course into me and watched as her eyes flickered a few times, just before closing.  

"You won't threaten me in my house, b***h!"  

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