Blood Haze Read Free

skin was decidedly paler.
    “I
wondered if you’d show up tonight,” she said as he moved around to sit next to
her.
    “I
had something to take care of and it took me longer than I thought,” he said,
in an evasive way. He gained the waitress’s attention and ordered a draft. “So,
what’d I miss?” he asked, once he received his drink.
    She
studied her brother as unease settled over her. Her brother was the baby and
had been babied by them all. She knew she was as much to blame as anyone.
“Nothing,” she finally answered. “You’re not up to anything that would get you
into more trouble are you?” she asked.
    He
rolled his eyes at her and looked to Drew. “How do you put up with her,” he
said.
    Used
to their banter, Drew leaned toward her and covered her hand with one of his
own. “Oh, she’s not so bad,” he said with a wink.
    At
the touch of his fingers, a high-pitched whistle seemed to go off in her head.
She blinked even more rapidly as she strove to cope with the noise. She glanced
once more at Drew, then Ian, but they didn’t appear to hear the loud whistle.
Black spots began to appear before her eyes until she was practically blind.
Then like scenes on a TV, she began to see images as they flitted between her
vision and the blackness just behind it. She saw flashes of a man’s hand as it
snaked up a naked, feminine body. She could make out the interior of a car with
black leather seats. With his lips, a man she couldn’t see clearly, made his
way slowly up a woman’s neck. Arabella strained to make out the identity of the
couple but the snatches of pictures she saw were fuzzy.  
    Arabella’s
vision jerked back to the dim light of the club when Drew shook her arm to gain
her attention. She blinked rapidly once again and gave him a small smile.
“Sorry. What?” she asked.
    With
mild impatience, he withdrew the napkin from under his drink and handed it to
her. “Your nose is running.”
    Embarrassed,
she took the napkin, bowed her head, and pressed it against her nose. She
wasn’t surprised to see blood staining the napkin. It was always what happened
when she got what she termed a ‘glimpsing’ - not really a vision, but a mere
glimpse of some future or past happening. “Sorry,” she murmured.
    “I
thought you’d stopped having those,” he said, while glancing around to see if
others had noticed.
    She
gave him an apologetic shrug of her shoulders and pressed the cloth more firmly
against her face. When the blood continued to run from her nose, she excused
herself and strode quickly into the bathroom. Just inside the expansive
bathroom, a ruby-red chaise lounge sat adjacent to a bank of sinks. She sat on
its edge and leaned back until her head was laid against the cool marble wall
behind her with the napkin pressed firmly against her nose. Her stomach roiled
and she swallowed convulsively to quiet it. She concentrated on taking smooth
even breaths to steady herself. It seemed no matter how many times she went
through this, the sight of blood still made her queasy.
    She
sighed as Drew’s words washed over her, I
thought you’d stopped having those. She’d quit telling him long ago about
her glimpsings, and remembering his earlier frustrations, reminded her why she
had. She hated the gulf which appeared when this happened… she understood it,
but hated it nonetheless. But no matter what, he’d been her rock when she’d
needed him. But was it fair to him to keep making him put up with this
craziness?
    She
hated to think how Ian must have felt. He’d lived through the harsh realities
of what happens when people found out about any type of psychic ability. She’d
kept hers hidden from all but a few people, thanks to the experience she’d gained
from her mother.
    She
sat in the bathroom for almost fifteen minutes, aware of women coming through
the facilities, before her nose stopped bleeding. Finally satisfied it’d
stopped, she made her way back out into club. She blinked to